Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.

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Ashford Town (Middlesex) Football Club are a football club based in Stanwell, Surrey, England. The club are currently members of the Template:English football updater and play at the Robert Parker Stadium in Short Lane. They are affiliated to both the Middlesex FA and the Surrey FA.<ref name=H>A brief history of the club Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref>

History

The club was established in 1958 as Ashford Albion and joined Division Two of the Hounslow & District League. They finished second in their first season,<ref>1958–59 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> earning promotion to Division One. They finished as runners-up again the following season,<ref>Hounslow & District League Division One 1959–60 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> and were promoted to the Premier Division, adopting their current name in 1964.<ref name=H/> However, the club pulled out the Premier Division during the 1964–65 season, resulting in their record being expunged.<ref>Hounslow & District League tables 1964–65 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> The following season the first team took over from the reserves in Division Two.<ref name=H/>

The club finished third in Division Two in 1965–66,<ref>Hounslow & District League Division Two 1965–66 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> resulting in promotion to Division One. After finishing as runners-up in Division One the following season,<ref>Hounslow & District League Division One 1966–67 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> the club joined the Premier Division B of the Surrey Intermediate League (Western) for the 1967–68 season.<ref name=H/> They finished fourth in their first season, earning promotion to Premier Division A.<ref>SIL (W) Premier B table 1967-68 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> After claiming the runners-up spot in 1972–73,<ref>SIL (W) Premier A table 1972-73 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> they won the division in 1974–75.

Ashford became founder members of the Surrey Premier League in 1982.<ref name=FCHD/> In 1989–90 they were league runners-up and won the Surrey Premier Cup, beating Farnham Town Reserves 3–0 in the final.<ref>Surrey Premier League table 1989–90 Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref><ref>Saturday Premier Cup Previous Winners Surrey FA</ref> In 1990 they were formally renamed Ashford Town (Middlesex) to avoid confusion with the Kent club which previously shared the same name,<ref name=H/> but are now named Ashford United. In the same year they joined the Combined Counties League.<ref name=FCHD/> They finished as runners-up in 1993–94, and won the league the following season. They went on to win the league in each of the next three seasons, and again in 1999–2000 (a season in which they also won the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup), after which they were promoted to Division Three of the Isthmian League.<ref name=FCHD>Template:Fchd</ref>

After finishing third in their first season in Division Three, they were promoted to Division Two. In 2002, they were moved to Division One South as a result of league reorganisation and, in 2004, switched to the Western Division of the Southern League. In 2005–06, they finished second in the division, and were promoted, being placed in the Isthmian League Premier Division. In 2006–07 they won the Isthmian League Cup and, in 2008–09, the Surrey Senior Cup.<ref>Saturday Senior Cup Previous Winners Surrey FA</ref> At the end of the 2009–10 season, the club were relegated and placed in Division One Central of the Southern League; although they were offered a late reprieve from relegation after Merthyr Tydfil were liquidated, the club declined to take it and started the 2010–11 season in Division One Central.<ref name=FCHD/>

In 2011–12 the club won both the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup (beating Northwood on penalties after a 4–4 draw) and the Aldershot Senior Cup (defeating Badshot Lea 3–1 in the final). The 2013–14 saw the club finish bottom of Division One Central, resulting in relegation back to the Combined Counties League.<ref name=FCHD/> After finishing third in the Premier Division in their first season back in the league,<ref name=FCHD/> they were runners-up in 2015–16 and were promoted back to Division One Central of the Southern League. The following season saw the club win the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup for the third time, beating Wealdstone 2–1 in the final.<ref>Ashford Town 2 Wealdstone 1: Stones beaten in final of Middlesex Senior Charity Cup final Kilburn Times, 2 May 2017</ref> At the end of the 2017–18 season they were transferred to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League.

In 2024–25 Ashford finished third-from-bottom of the South Central Division and were relegated to the Premier Division North of the Combined Counties League.

Ground

Ashford Town have played home games at Short Lane in Stanwell since 1986.<ref name=H/> The ground has a capacity of 2,550, of which 250 is seated and covered.<ref name=NLCD/> The ground was renamed the Robert Parker Stadium in 2010 in honour of Bob Parker, who had served as chairman for 28 years.<ref name=H/> The club groundshared with Cobham for the 2024–25 season while a new artificial pitch was installed.

Honours

• Isthmian League
  • League Cup winners 2006–07
• Combined Counties League
  • Champions 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000
  • League Cup Winners 1998–99
• Surrey Intermediate League (Western)
  • Premier Division A champions 1974–75
• Surrey Senior Cup
  • Winners 2008–09
• Surrey Premier Cup
  • Winners 1989–90
• Middlesex Senior Charity Cup
  • Winners 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2016–17
• Aldershot Senior Cup Final
  • Winners 2002–03, 2011–12
• Southern Combination Cup
  • Winners 1995–96, 2010–11,<ref>Honours list Ashford Town (Middlesex) F.C.</ref> 2021–22

Records

• Best FA Cup performance: Fourth qualifying round, 2004–05, 2008–09<ref name=FCHD/>
• Best FA Trophy performance: Second round, 2003–04, 2010–11<ref name=FCHD/>
• Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 2000–01<ref name=FCHD/>
• Record attendance: 992 vs AFC Wimbledon, Isthmian League Premier Division, 26 September 2006<ref name=NLCD21>Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2020) Non-League Club Directory 2021, p557 Template:ISBN</ref>
• Most goals: Andy Smith<ref name=NLCD21/>

See also

• Template:C
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External links

• Template:Official website