Wythenshawe F.C.

History

Summarize

Perspective

Formation and early years (1946–1950s)

The club was established in 1946 by Reg Gauntlet under the name Wythenshawe Lads Club and joined the Manchester Federation of Lads' Clubs League.^[2] In 1949, the players became too old for the league, leading the club to form an adult side that entered the South Manchester and Wythenshawe League.^[2] The club also changed its name to Wythenshawe Amateurs. After a series of promotions, the club became Division One champions in the 1952–53 season.^[2]

Following this, Wythenshawe joined the Altrincham & District League, where they played for one season before switching to Division 3A of the Lancashire & Cheshire League.

Lancashire & Cheshire League (1950s–1960s)

In their first season in the Lancashire & Cheshire League, Wythenshawe won the Hellawell Shield and the Division 3A title, securing promotion to Division Three. The following season, they finished second in Division Three, earning promotion to Division Two.^[2] Additionally, they reached the final of the Altrincham FA's Whitaker Cup, holding Manchester United to a 1–1 draw after extra time, leading to the cup being shared.^[2]

During the 1956–57 season, the club secured a third consecutive promotion by winning the Division Two title. After their promotion to Division One, Wythenshawe won the league’s Rhodes Cup in both the 1957–58 and 1960–61 seasons, and were crowned Division One champions in the 1961–62 season.^[2]

Progression through local leagues (1970s–1980s)

Wythenshawe won the Rhodes Cup once again in the 1971–72 season before being promoted to Division One of the Manchester League. In their first season in Division One, the club were crowned champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division.^[3]

In the 1975–76 season, Wythenshawe won the Lancashire Amateur Cup.^[2] They were runners-up in the Premier Division in both the 1979–80 and 1984–85 seasons,^[4] and lifted the Gilgryst Cup in 1985–86 and 1986–87. The 1989–90 season saw the club achieve a historic treble, becoming Premier Division champions, winning the Lancashire Amateur Cup, and securing the Gilgryst Cup.^[2]

Premier Division (1990s–2000s)

Wythenshawe finished as Premier Division runners-up in 1991–92 before winning the league again in the 1992–93 season and finishing as runners-up once more in 1993–94.^[5] The club won the Lancashire Amateur Cup again in the 1995–96 season and the Gilgryst Cup in 1998–99, 2000–01, and 2008–09.^[2]

In the league, the club finished as runners-up six times between 2000 and 2017.^[5] After another runner-up finish and a Gilgryst Cup victory in the 2017–18 season, the club was accepted into Division One South of the North West Counties League.^[5]

Recent developments (2010s–2020s)

In the 2022–23, Wythenshawe won the Division One South title, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They also won the Division One Champions Cup, defeating Pilkington 2–1 in the final.

In July 2023, the club dropped “Amateurs” from its name, becoming Wythenshawe Football Club.^[6] They went on to win the Premier Division title in the 2023–24 season, defeating rivals Wythenshawe Town on the final day of the season.^[7] This secured a second consecutive promotion, this time to Division One West of the Northern Premier League.

Ground

The club initially played at the Cleveland Playing Fields, before moving to Wythenshawe Park in 1949.^[2] In 1958 they relocated to the Christie Playing Fields, where they played until moving to the Federation of Lads' Clubs Ground in nearby Chorlton in 1961. This was later renamed the Harry Dalton playing fields (Dalton having been in charge of the club when they became an adult side).^[2] In 1983 they relocated to Wythenshawe Cricket Club's Longley Lane ground.^[2] After several years of fundraising,^[8] the club built a new ground, Hollyhedge Park, which opened on 30 September 2017 with a 1–1 draw against Hindsford.^[2]

Honours

North West Counties League
- Premier Division champions 2023–24
- Division One South champions 2022–23
- Division One South Champions Cup winners 2022-23
Manchester League
- Premier Division champions 1989–90, 1992–93
- Division One champions 1972–73
- Gilgryst Cup winners 1985–86, 1986–87, 1989–90, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2008–09, 2017–18
- Norman Noden Memorial Invitation Cup winners 2008–09^[9]
Lancashire & Cheshire League
- Division One champions 1961–62
- Division Two champions 1956–57
- Division 3A champions 1954–55
- Rhodes Cup winners 1957–58, 1960–61, 1971–72
- Hellawell Shield winners 1954–55
South Manchester and Wythenshawe League
- Division One champions 1952–53
Whitaker Cup
- Winners 1955–56 (joint)

Records

Best FA Cup performance: Preliminary round, 2020–21^[5]
Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 1972–73^[1]
Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 1984–85^[5]
Record attendance: 1,450 vs Wythenshawe Town, North West Counties League Premier Division, 26 December 2023^[10]
Biggest win: 10–1 vs AFC Monton, Manchester League Premier Division, 18 November 2017; 9–0 vs St Martins, North West Counties League Division One South, 26 February 2022^[1]
Heaviest defeat: 6–0 vs Avro, Manchester League Premier Division, 25 February 2012; 6–0 vs Ashton Athletic, North West Counties League Cup, 7 December 2019^[1]