Wythenshawe Town F.C. should not be confused with Wythenshawe F.C..
| Clubname: | Wythenshawe Town |
| Fullname: | Wythenshawe Town Football Club |
| Founded: | 1946 |
| Ground: | Ericstan Park, Wythenshawe, Manchester |
| Chairman: | Chris Eaton |
| Manager: | Rory Fallon |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitecollar |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern So1: | _2 white stripes |
| Leftarm1: | 4169E1 |
| Body1: | 0000FF |
| Rightarm1: | 4169E1 |
| Shorts1: | 0000FF |
| Socks1: | 0000FF |
Wythenshawe Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. They are currently members of the and play at Ericstan Park.
The club was established in 1946 as North Withington Amateur by attendees of St Crispin's Church in nearby Fallowfield.[1] They joined the South Manchester & Wythenshawe League, and were Division Two champions in 1949–50, before winning the Barker Cup in 1950–51.[2] In 1958 the club transferred to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League.[1] After winning Division C in 1958–59, they were Division Three champions the following season. A hugely successful period then saw them win Division B in 1963–64 and Division Two the following season, before winning back-to-back Division One titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67, and then three in a row between 1968–69 and 1970–71.[1] The club also won the league's Whitehead Cup in 1963–64, 1966–67 and 1970–71, and the Lancashire Amateur Cup in 1967–68.[2]
In 1973 North Withington Amateur joined Division Two of the Manchester League and won the division in their first season, earning promotion to Division One.[3] The following season saw them win the Division One title, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division.[3] During a successful period in the second half of the 1970s, they won the Manchester Challenge Trophy in 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1979–80, and the Lancashire Amateur Cup in 1979–80.[2] In 1987 the club adopted their current name, and they won two more Manchester Challenge Trophy finals in 1992–93 and 1994–95. The 1997–98 season saw them finish bottom of the Premier Division, resulting in relegation to Division One. They remained in Division One until winning the division in 2011–12, earning promotion to the Premier Division.
After finishing bottom of the Manchester League Premier Division in 2013–14 with only one win from 28 matches, Wythenshawe transferred to Division Two of the Cheshire League. They went on to win all 18 league matches in 2014–15, as well as all 20 cup matches, claiming the Division Two title, the league's JA Walton Challenge Cup, the Manchester Amateur Cup and the Altrincham Senior Cup.[4] After being promoted, the club won the Division One title in 2015–16, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2018 they successfully applied to move up to Division One South of the North West Counties League. In 2021 the club were promoted to the Premier Division based on their results in the abandoned 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.[5]
Manager James Kinsey led his side to the Frank Hannah Manchester FA Premier Cup Final, after victories against Bury AFC, FC United of Manchester, and Ashton United, but lost 3–0 to Radcliffe. The side also reached the last 16 in the NWCFL Macron cup, but were defeated 3–1 by Squires Gate. In the league, they were pipped to the play-off spot in the final game of the season, finishing four points from an opportunity at promotion.
Before the season, Kinsey, director Nigel Jones and all the players unexpectedly and suddenly left the club. The club recruited Rory Fallon, a young fitness-based manager who had taken Cheadle Heath Nomads to their highest ever finish, and an ambitious group of players. By the final game of the season, against Skelmersdale United, the team had bettered the standards set the season before, earning runners-up and the top spot in the play-offs. After a 2–1 victory against Padiham and a penalty shoot-out victory against Bury, the club earned promotion at first time of asking with its new squad and coaching staff. The side were also holders of the El Civico title, defeating rivals Wythenshawe on both occasions.
Prior to playing in the Northern Premier League, the highest level of football the club has reached, Town won seven out of nine games in their pre-season campaign and progressed to the FA Cup Preliminary Round with their biggest ever cup win, 7–1, against Chadderton, equalling their record FA Cup run.
The club played at Hough End Field on Princess Road until 1974, with their headquarters in the Princess Hotel. They then moved to a new ground on Timpson Road in Wythenshawe, where three prefab houses bought for £500,000 were converted into a clubhouse. The ground was named Ericstan Park after founder members Eric Renard and Stan Hahn.[1] The two are also remembered in the club badge, which includes a fox (Renard in French) and cockerel (Hänchen in German).[1]
A new clubhouse was opened in 2009.[6]