Chichester City F.C.

Chichester City

Full name	Chichester City Football Club
Nickname(s)	Lillywhites
Founded	1873 (as Chichester FC)
Ground	Oaklands Park, Chichester (Capacity: 2000)
Chairman	John Hutter
Manager	Adie Girdler
League	Sussex County League Division One
2010-11	Sussex County League Division One, 14th
Home colours Away colours

Chichester City F.C. are a football club based in Chichester, England. They were established in 2000, following a merger between Chichester City and Portfield. They are currently members of the Sussex County League Division One. The merger venture had been discussed for many years but it was only at the start of the new millennium that the brave step was undertaken. The City had always struggled to support two senior clubs so the merger was seen as the only option for Chichester to become a force in non-league footballing circles. In the club’s first season as Chichester City United FC, 2000/01, the new club finished seventh in Division One of the Sussex County League and were also the highest scorers, as well as having the best away record. The following season, Chi improved further, finishing third, albeit 23 points behind runaway winners Burgess Hill Town; and in 2002/03 the Club finished 4th in the County League, consolidating its position as one of the leading sides in the Division. That promise was fulfilled in 2003/04 as Chi lifted the County League title under the guidance of Aidrian Girdler, after one of the most keenly contested seasons. Despite an appearance in the Final of the RUR Charity Cup (where they lost 0-1 to Ringmer), 2004/05 proved something of a disaster, with the reigning County League champions flirting with relegation and only really securing their Division One status with a win at Redhill in their penultimate game; and a home draw against Three Bridges on the final day of the season. Season 2005/06 produced a more comfortable 8th place finish although attendances continued to fall for a second successive season. The 2006/07 season saw a modest League placing, but had another RUR Cup Final Success vs Whitehawk. Mark Poulton took over as manager and director of football for season 2010/2011 replacing Adrian Girdler who previously held this roles at the club. Their Oaklands Park ground is adjacent to the city's famous Chichester Festival Theatre and was upgraded in 2010 to meet new FA requirements, improvements include hard standing on all four side of the ground, new 2.5 meter high perimeter fencing, turnstiles, car park resurfaced, maintnenace shed, and a new £700,000 club house.

The old Chichester City team were Sussex Senior Cup winners in 1927 and reached the first round proper of the FA Cup in 1960-61, but were thumped 11-0 away to Bristol City, this being the Ashton Gate club's record victory to date.

During a Sussex Charity Cup match on 28 September 2010 against Redhill then manager Mark Pulton was fired in the second half of the match whilst the team was 2-1 up after receiving a telephone call from club director Gary Walker. He was subsequently replaced by Adie Girdler who had been their previous manager. Chichester went on to lose the match 4-2.