Potted history of Ash United FC

Potted history of Ash United FC


ASH UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB was founded in 1911 and started playing matches at Ash Common.

They soon became well established in the Surrey Intermediate League, winning every honour possible. After the Second World War Ash United restructured and the 1947/48 season was the most successful in their short history, winning the League Championship and four-cup competitions.

They then had to wait until the 1966/67 season for their next successful campaign where they dominated the Surrey Intermediate Premier "A" League. The title was won with only two points dropped out of a possible fifty-two. This included a long unbeaten record with 121 goals for and only 19 against. The reserve team followed suit winning the Division "A" title scoring 137 goals in only 26 games. With the club having a strong squad of players, promotion to the Surrey Senior League was achieved in 1968. Finishing runners up in both the league and the cup in the first season their first spell in the Surrey Senior League came to an end in 1971 when being forced to change grounds.

Ash United were re-admitted to the Surrey Senior League when a new permanent ground was found, which happens to be the current ground at Youngs Drive (Third Generation Services Stadium).

The next successful season was 1977/78. They won the Charity Cup beating Dorking 2-1. The following season they were runners-up in both the newly named Combined Counties League and the Philips Football Floodlighting Cup Competition. Several seasons later, 1981/82, not only did they win the Combined Counties League, but also came runners up in the Concours Trophy and the George Allen. The 1984/85 season they were runners-up in the Concours Trophy again, but also made it through to the quarterfinals of the Surrey Senior Cup. The 1986/87 season saw Ash United win the League for the second time under the management of Chris Penny.

In the 1996/1997 season improvements in the facilities at Shawfield Road were made, most notably the installation of floodlights, improvements to the changing rooms, dugouts, and fencing. Subsequent seasons saw the installation of the stands. The 1997/98 season saw a revival in Ash’s fortunes under the new player/ manager Jamie Horton with his new squad of players that won the Challenge Cup and the Fair Play Trophy in his first season. His team also created a new league and club record with 29 games unbeaten in league and cup, which included a run of 21 straight wins. The following season not only did they win the League title by a massive 13 points but also won the Aldershot Senior Cup beating Fleet Town and reached the last 32 of the FA Vase losing to the Holders & winners Tiverton Town in front of a record crowd at Shawfield Road. Jamie briefly left and then came back for a second stint as manager. During the 2001/2002 season Ash United gained their highest points total for a season, 100, but they finished runners-up to AFC Wallingford. They did, however, regain the Aldershot Senior Cup beating 3 RSME Regiment, also reaching the last 32 of the FA Vase before losing to Tow Law Town. League performances between 2002 and 2012 saw the club remain broadly mid table, apart from two good seasons when a 3rd and a 4th place was achieved. During the same period there were some good performances in both the FA Cup and the FA Vase. In 2012/13 however, the club’s fortunes took a turn for the worse and they ended up second-to-bottom but staved off relegation. Regrettably a similar placing the next season saw Ash United drop into Division One. It was the first time the club had been out of the Premier Division for a considerable number of years.

Rebuilding the first team began from season 2013/14, however, the club struggled to improve on mid- table finishes. Until last season, 2018/19, when Ash United achieved a 7th place, hitting 82 league goals – a tally not seen for over 12 years. Goals against was narrowed down to 66, a big improvement on the previous season, which had only been bettered once in the previous 12 years.

During 2017/18, Sam Wilson was appointed Head Coach, with Colin McCormack as Coach and Physio, Harry Broad as first team Coach and Ryan Weeks as Goalkeeping Coach. Sam Wilson also saw out the season additionally as U18 manager, assisted by George Kennedy and Rob Collins. The club also followed up winning the Division One Fair Play Trophy in 2016/17, with Runners-Up in season 2017/18 and winning Best Matchday Programme for Division One. The U18's won the Allied Counties South Division, with leading scorer, Jake Wilson, getting the Division's "Golden Boot". The U17's under the guidance of Manager Stuart Warren, won the Surrey Primary League's U17 Premier Elite Division.

For the current Covid-affected season (2020/2021) SAM WILSON is 1ST Team Manager, assisted by Coach KIERAN EVANS. The Reserve Team is managed by OLLIE HOOKER, assisted by Coach PAUL GRIFFITHS.

ASH UNITED KEY DATES

1976-77 Joined Surrey Senior League
1978-79 Founder members of Home Counties League (formed from Surrey
Senior League) Home Counties League runner-up
1979-80 League renamed Combined Counties League
Combined Counties League runner-up
1981-82 Played in Western Division
Combined Counties League Western Division Champions
Won overall League title beating Eastern Division Champions
Maldon Town in play-off (Malden Town 0 Ash United 2, Ash United
1 Maldon Town 0 - Agg 3-0)
1982-83 Combined Counties League runner-up
1986-87 Combined Counties League Champions
1998-99 Combined Counties League Champions (2nd time)
1999-00 Combined Counties League runner-up
2001-02 Combined Counties League runner-up
2013-14 Relegated to Division One

1st Team managers since 1999/2000

Jamie Horton (player/manager 1997/2004); Stuart Udal (2004/06); Danny Rolfe (2006/08); Paul Bonner (2008/13); Alan Reed (2013/14); Daniel Bishop (2014/16); Sam Hawkins (2017/18); Sam Wilson (2017, originally as Head Coach and, from 2018 as Manager, to date).