Winsford United F.C.

Football club infobox | clubname = Winsford United


fullname = Winsford United Football Club
nickname = The Blues
founded = 1883, as "Over Wanderers"
ground = Barton Stadium, Winsford
capacity = 7,000 (600 seated)
chairman = flagicon|England Mark Loveless
manager = flagicon|England Joe Gibiliru
league = North West Counties League Premier Division
season = 2007-08
position = 10th
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leftarm1=0050e0|body1=0050e0|rightarm1=0050e0|shorts1=0050e0|socks1=0050e0
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_whitevertical|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=772244|body2=772244|rightarm2=772244|shorts2=772244|socks2=772244|

Winsford United are a football team based in the Cheshire town of Winsford. As of 2008-09, they play in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division.

History

Winsford United were founded in 1883, as Over Wanderers and played football in the Welsh Combination Football League. They changed their name and moved to their current ground, the Barton Stadium (then called the Great Western Playing Field), a few years later. However, after excessive spending, the club soon folded.

They re-formed just before the outbreak of the First World War, and re-grouped after this had finished under a committee led by Mr. R. G. Barton, becoming a founder member of the Cheshire League. From then until the late 1970s, Winsford United played football locally in Cheshire. Highlights of this period included one FA Cup first round appearance, against Peterborough United, and Cheshire league wins in 1920-21 and 1976-77. During this period in the late 1970s, the club also reached the quarter finals of the FA Trophy and featured future Welsh international goalkeeper Neville Southall.

The Cheshire League merged with other regional divisions to become the North West Counties Football League in 1982, with Winsford doing sufficiently well to enter the Northern Premier League Division One upon its formation in 1987. They were promoted from that in 1992, and enjoyed their highest ever finish as runners up of the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 1992-93. They also reached the FA Cup First Round for a second time, losing to Wrexham, and won the Northern Premier League's league cup.

The successful team was broken up, however, when manager Mike McKenzie moved on to local rivals Witton Albion. After a few more seasons in the bottom half of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and another local derby in the FA Cup first round - this time against Chester City - the club were relegated three times in four seasons. At the start of the 2003-04 season, they found themselves in the North West Counties Division Two. They were finally promoted on April 24 2007 to the North West Counties Football League Division One and secured the Division 2 title on April 28 2007.

tadium

The club play at the Barton Stadium, which is located off Kingsway in the Wharton area of the town. The stadium is also home to a greyhound track. It was formerly known as the Great Western Playing Field, but was renamed in honour of R.G. Barton, who led the committee to re-establish Winsford United after the First World War.

References

* [http://www.winsfordunitedfc.com Official Site]
* [http://www.communigate.co.uk/chesh/winsfordunitedfc/page15.phtml Winsford United history]
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