Thame United F.C.

Thame United Football Club are a football club based in Thame, Oxfordshire, England. They were established in 1883 and joined the Hellenic League in 1959. The club currently competes in the Southern League Division One Central.

Thame United
Full nameThame United Football Club
Nickname(s)Red Kites
Founded1883
GroundThe ASM Stadium
Capacity2,500[1]
ChairmanJake Collinge
ManagerMark West
LeagueSouthern League Division One Central
2019–20Southern League Division One Central (season abandoned)

History

Thame United were formed in 1883, making them one of Oxfordshire's oldest clubs. They spent their early years playing in local Oxfordshire leagues. In 1959 they stepped up to the Hellenic League, where they were league champions in 1961–62 and 1969–70 and runners-up on three other occasions.

In 1988 the decision was taken to switch to the South Midlands League. In three seasons in this league United finished runners-up twice and then claimed the league title in 1990–91, which saw them promoted to the Isthmian League Division Three. Two promotions followed in quick succession, putting the club in Division One in 1995. Although United were relegated in 1998, they bounced straight back the following season under manager Andy Sinnott, who also led them to the semi-finals of the FA Vase and to within two points of achieving promotion to the Premier Division.

In October 2003 the club reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, going down 2–1 to Conference side Farnborough Town. Since then they have reached this point in the competition twice, losing 1–0 to Hornchurch and 5–0 to Forest Green. In 2004, due to non-league reorganisation, United switched to the Southern League Division One West.

In 2005 severe financial difficulties hit the club, with bailiffs seizing assets to offset unpaid VAT bills, and the landlord of their Windmill Road stadium serving them with notice of eviction. The club managed to limp to the end of the season playing at the ground of neighbours Aylesbury United and a rock-bottom finish saw them relegated back to the Hellenic League after 18 years away.

During the summer of 2006, Aylesbury were also evicted from their ground, leaving Thame homeless once again, leading to a new groundshare arrangement with AFC Wallingford. The results on the playing field continued to be poor, and they completed the 2006–07 season in a relegation position despite the improvement of results following the return of successful manager Mark West. Because of this, they were relegated to the Hellenic Football League Division 1 East for the 2007–08 season. Jack Collinge took over as chairman of the club.

In October 2007 it was announced that the club planned to move to a multi-million pound venue at Church Farm in the North of Thame. They hoped to begin playing in their new stadium by the 2009–10 season, but as of October 2010 the stadium was still being built. After the stadium was completed, a game to celebrate the club's new stadium was played against Football League Two side Oxford United in January 2011.[2] Thame lost 3–1 with the new ASM Stadium's first record attendance of 1,382.[3] At the end of the 2016-17 season, the club was promoted to the Southern League in Step 4 of the National League System under manager Mark West after a final day on which the "Red Kites" beat Henley Town 9-0. In their first Southern League game in decades, Thame came from behind to beat Chalfont St. Peter 2-1.

Management team
  • Manager - Mark West
  • Assistant Manager - Stuart Blaik
  • First Team Coach - Ben Johnson
  • GK Coach - Matt Timberlake

Staff
  • Chairman - Jake Collinge
  • Vice Chairman and Groundsman - John Tuddenham
  • Kit / Turnstiles - Ruth Tuddenham
  • Marketing, Media & Sponsorship Manager - Carl Catling
  • Photographer - Marc Addison
  • Hospitality - Martyn Shaw and Mark Hurley

Current squad
As of 1 September 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ENG Christopher Rackley
2 DF  ENG Matt Peake-Pijnen
5 DF  ENG Callum Mapley
— DF  ENG Finlay Murray
— DF  ENG Calvin Evans
4 DF  ENG Jamie Essex
3 DF  ENG David Lynn
— DF  ENG Morgan Toney-Green
6 MF  ENG Tom Ashworth
— MF  ENG Greg Hackett
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG other=
10 MF  ENG Dan West
— MF  ENG Harry Mepham
— MF  ENG Jack Tutton
8 MF  ENG Ben Sturgess (Captain)
11 FW  ENG Ryan Blake
9 FW  ENG Lynton Goss
— FW  ENG Andy Gledhill
— MF  ENG Connor Harris

Stadium

Thame United play their home games at The ASM Stadium located at Meadow View Park, Thame. From the 2015–16 season, Aylesbury United signed a two-year deal to groundshare with Thame United. The ASM Stadium now hosts Thame United FC and the reserve team Thame Rangers who play in the Hellenic League Division One East.

The 20 acre site is also home to a number of local youth and community teams, 7 pitches including multiple artificial turf training pitches, club bar and function rooms.[4]

Club records
  • Best league performance: 4th in Isthmian League Division 1, 1999–2000
  • Best FA Cup performance: 4th qualifying round, 2003–04, 2004–05
  • Best FA Trophy performance: 3rd round, 2002–03
  • Best FA Vase performance: Semi-finals, 1998–99

Honours

League
  • Hellenic League Premier Division Champions 2016–17
  • Hellenic League Champions – 1961–62 and 1969–70
  • South Midlands Premier Division Champions – 1990–91
  • Isthmian League Division Two Champions – 1994–95

Cup
  • Oxfordshire FA Senior Cup Winners - 1906, 1909, 1910, 1976, 1981, 1993, 2001, 2002
  • Oxfordshire Intermediate Cup Winners - 1977, 1979, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2014
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References
  1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p670 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
  2. thamenews.net Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Thame United
  4. "Thame United - FA Cup journey". thefacup. YouTube. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2014.

Sources

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