Chichester City United FC

Chichester City United Football Club was founded in 2000 following the merger of Chichester City and Portfield Football Clubs. The venture had been discussed for many years but it was only at the start of the new millennium that the pipe dreams became a reality. The City had always struggled to support two semi-professional clubs so the merger was seen as the only option for Chichester to become a force in non-league football.

Chichester City United spent their first eight seasons playing at Portfield's ground in Church Road but the local council sold this off to housing developers in the summer of 2008, with the club returning to Chichester City's old ground at Oaklands Park for the start of the 2008/2009 season. As part of the deal from the land sale, the council will pay for a new clubhouse and stands to be built at Oakland's Park which will hopefully be finished by the summer of 2009.

Season 2000/2001: The club started their debut season in Sussex County League Division One with Adie Girdler as manager and Joe Laidlaw as assistant manager. The club's first ever competitive game resulted in 5-1 defeat at home to Saltdean United - Roger Moore scoring the consolation goal - closely followed by a 4-1 defeat at Pagham. Despite the poor start to the season the first team managed to finish seventh in the league and were also the highest scorers, with Jamie Laidlaw scoring 32 goals in 45 games.

The Reserve team won the Reserve Section West Championship by 10 points from local rivals Oving after going on a 30 league match unbeaten run - a good performance considering they lost their first two games of the season 8-2 and 6-4. They also reached the semi-finals of the Reserve Section Cup where they lost 1-0 to the eventual Reserve Premier league winners, Horsham YMCA.

Season 2001/2002: Chichester City United finished third in the County League Division One, 23 points behind runaway leaders Burgess Hill. The best cup run they achieved was reaching the third round of the John O'Hara League Cup where they lost 7-1 away to Ringmer, although they did reach the second round proper of the FA Vase where they lost 4-2 at home to Hallen.

The Reserves finished 5th in the Reserve Premier League and also reached the Reserve Cup Final where they lost 1-0 to Premier League winners Eastbourne Borough.

Season 2002/2003: Chichester City United finished in fourth place with 69 points from 38 games but one place lower than the previous season when 67 points was sufficient to gain third place. In 50 competitive matches Chi scored 104 goals with Roger Moore heading the goal scoring chart with 24 goals. Jamie Laidlaw contributed 22 goals to bring his tally to 86 goals in three seasons with the Club. Paul Thomas found the net 14 times and Neil Murfin and Tony Stephens scored 9 apiece just ahead of Matt Smith with 8 goals. In total 15 Chi players found the net with spectacular efforts from James Wills at Wick and Stefan Wojciechowski against Pagham amongst the highlights.

Laidlaw missed only one game all season and Moore and goalkeeper, Ben O'Connor only missed a few games each. O'Connor came into the side after Lee Preston was ruled out by a long term injury and performed heroically to keep a clean sheet as Chi were one of the few sides to beat Burgess Hill - and even scored in the penalty shoot out against Lancing. Chi used 43 players in all with many of the players from the successful Youth team set up getting their first taste of senior action.

Performance in Cup competitions was patchy with an early exit from the F.A. Cup after a replay with Deal Town and defeat at Gosport Borough in the first round of the F.A. Vase. Shoreham, Pagham and Selsey ended Chi's interest in the County Cup competitions but at least the Youth Team won the Sussex County Youth Cup. The Reserves reached the semi-final of the Reserve Section cup but underperformed in the Final to be well beaten by Burgess Hill.

Season 2003/2004: Chichester City United secured their first major honour when they were crowned Sussex County League Champions. They finished with 77 points from 36 games, winning 23 and drawing 8 along the way with 87 goals for and 47 against. They also reached the semi-final of the League Cup where they lost 3-0 to Arundel and the semi-final of the R.U.R. Cup where they on penalties to Three Bridges after a 3-3 draw and extra time. In the FA Cup they lost 3-1 to Abingdon Town in the first qualifying round and in the FA Vase they lost 2-1 to Abingdon United in the second qualifying round. In the Sussex Senior Cup they lost 6-1 to Oakwood in the second round.

Chichester Reserves finished fifth in the Reserve Premier.

Season 2004/2005: In remarkable contrast to the previous season, Chichester struggled to maintain their division one status, finishing just 16th with 43 points, just 2 points above the relegation zone. Despite their low finish, they still managed to maintain a positive goal difference with 63 goals scored for and 62 against. Scott Tipper topped the club goal scoring charts with 29 for the season. Chichester tasted their first cup triumph after beating Ryman League club Horsham on penalties in the Brighton Charity Cup Final. They also reached the semi-final of the R.U.R. Charity Cup where they lost 1-0 to Ringmer.

After being in trouble for much of the season, Chichester Reserves staged a late recovery to finish 7th in the reserve Premier League with 47 points from 30 games. James Wills was the Reserve's top goal scorer with 29 goals for the season.

Season 2005/2006: The 2005/2006 season will always be remembered for the death of first team player Steve Bernard, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in November. The majority of players attended Steve's funeral in Bournemouth before returning home to play Selsey in a League Cup match that evening. Nomad-Online also organised a charity match to honour Steve's memory and £2500 was raised, which Steve's family donated to the schools he attended.

The rest of the season was insignificant for Chichester but they did manage to retain the Brighton Charity Cup after beating Ringmer 2-1 at Horsham FC thanks to goals from Adrian Brockway and Alex Ward. First Team Manger Aidie Girdler dedicated the victory to Steve Bernard. Chichester finished 8th in Division One on 60 points (W 17 D9 L12 F 61 A 55), and were knocked out of both the FA Cup (East Preston) and FA Vase (Colliers Wood United) at the first hurdle. Scott Tipper topped the scoring charts on 22 goals with Scott Murfin and Adrian Brockway next best on 13 goals. Scott Tipper also made the most appearances, featuring in 47 matches, with captain Alex Ward close on 40. Aidie Girdler used 41 different players during the season.

Chichester Reserves finished 5th in the Reserve Premier and were knocked out of the Intermediate Cup, Vernon Wentworth Cup and Reserve Cup in the early rounds. Dave Kelly stood down as Reserve Team manager at the end of the season after being offered the post of First team manger at Midhurst FC.

Season 2006/2007: After spending ten years at the helm of the club, Aidie Girdler stepped down as manager in October 2006 due to personal commitments and took up his new backroom role as Director of Football. He first joined Chichester City FC in 1996 and helped push through the amalgamation with neighbours Portfield FC in 2000 before steering the newly formed Chichester City United to the County League Championship in 2003/2004.

Mick Catlin and Ian Saunders took over team affairs for the rest of the 2006/2007 season and their ambition and drive created a close knit squad and a positive atmosphere at the club under difficult circumstances. Chichester only managed to finish eleventh in Division One with 49 points (PL 38 W 14 D 7 L 17 F 59 A 58) but they won the RUR Cup, beating Whitehawk 2-1 in a pulsating final at Culver Road in March and also reached the final of the Brighton Charity Cup where they lost 5-2 a.e.t to Ryman League side Horsham FC. The cup success more than made up for the fact that the club were not entered in the FA Cup or FA Vase due to administration error at the start of the season.

Steve Boston took the top goal scorer award with an amazing haul of 15 goals in 18 games, Neil Murfin won the coveted Player's Player award, Manager's Player went to Paul Jones and the Young Player of the season went to Mike Turvey who scored a spectacular goal in the RUR Cup final.

Andy Probee took over as Reserve Team Player Manager following the departure of Dave Kelly to Midhurst FC and the team started the season back in the Reserve Section West to cut down on travelling for the young squad. Despite limited resources and a very young team, Andy steered the Reserves to fourth place in the league and created a good foundation for the future - Andy stepped down at the end of the season to take over as First Team Manager at Sidlesham FC.

Season 2007/2008: The club were rocked by the resignation of Mick Catlin in early June who decided to take up the vacant manager's post at Wick, with Ian Saunders following him out of Church Road. The club quickly appointed Joe Laidlaw and Louis Savage as joint managers - who had previously worked together at Wessex league side Fareham Town - and the club got off to an excellent start with 4 wins and a draw from the first 7 games taking them to second place in the league.

Due to administration error the previous season, Chichester were once again not entered into the FA Cup and they were soon knocked out of the FA Vase after a 7-0 thumping away to Greenwich Borough in the first round. They did reach the third round in the John O'Hara League Challenge Cup and RUR Cup where they were knocked out by Shoreham (2-1) and Pagham (5-1) respectively, but they were less fortunate in the Sussex Senior Cup and Brighton Charity Cup where they were knocked out at the first hurdle by Wealden (2-0) and Steyning Town (L 3-0).

Joe Laidlaw was sacked in February 2008 following a bad run of results which left Chichester in danger of relegation and Louis Savage decided to follow Joe out of the door. Club Director Aidie Girdler came to the clubs' rescue and eventually steered the first team to safety by winning the last two league games of the season. Chichester City United also said goodbye to their temporary home at Church Road on 19th April 2008 (the land being sold off for housing development and Chichester returning to Oaklands Park after an 8 year absence) and signed off with a 5-4 victory against Three Bridges where Darren Hickman was also presented with the Player of the Season award.

The Reserve team had a credible season considering all the comings and goings at the club and ended up in fifth place in the league although they didn't enjoy any cup success.

Club Honours

Reserve Section West Champions (2000/2001)

CCUFC club history in word.doc format

Chichester statistics courtesy of the Football Club History Database

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Portfield FC

Portfield Football Club started life in 1896 as a group of local lads without a permanent pitch, a club in name only and formed, organised and supported by local business people. Meetings and team selection took place in the Wheatsheaf Inn, a local Public House. Where now stands a set of traffic lights on the A27, Arundel Park Estate and St James Square, were all in their day, home for the 'Field'. Then came a new home ground called 'Downers'.

A cow pasture upon which they were permitted to site an old railway carriage for use as changing rooms, but not allowed to mow, prompted the teams nickname of the 'Field'. Long wet grass where the cows hadn't grazed, and other hazards where they had, made the old leather ball somewhat heavy and difficult to control, and to head it was risking concussion.

The 2nd World war interrupted organised football of course, but 1945 saw the return of most of the lads from the armed forces, and Downers, resplendent with the ex-army camouflage nets on the goals, were to witness the winning of the Sussex Junior Cup closely followed by the West Sussex League championship.

Memories of those days include the sight of Billy Hunt and Fred Bennett trundling their wooden box cart toward the ground on Saturday mornings, their mission being to ensure that the cows had been moved elsewhere, and to remove as much evidence of their presence as possible. Hanging the nets and carrying a bucket of cold water from the big house a quarter of a mile away, were also on the match day agenda.

Despite being well outside the City at a time when very few people had cars, they enjoyed good support, but the biggest crowds usually occured when they played hosts to Graylingwell Mental Hospital because it was practice to walk a supervised party of patients to the match for exercise. They always made plenty of noise and seemed to enjoy themselves even if there were doubts among them as to who the competing teams were. Happy days, but they were poor relations to the likes of Chichester FC who were enjoying the luxurious facilities of one of Chichester's main recreation areas, Priory Park.

In the mid fifties the ever growing need to quarry gravel from around the City's outskirts eventually claimed 'Downers', and they were forced to move to a local recreation ground, Florence Road, which itself had been a quarry some years before. Whilst closer to the City's population and the Wheatsheaf Public House, the infilling of the quarry had not had sufficient time to settle and all manner of sharp flints, metal etc. were often found on the surface. In those days there were also no changing facilities.

In 1958 Portfield were given permission to use the pitch that existed in Church Road (the current temporary home of Chichester City United). D. Rowe and Co., the local car garage were then leasing the ground from Chichester City Council for the firm's sports club, and since their Managing Director's first love was cricket, a wicket square dominated the centre of their ground, with a football pitch running at a right angle of that of today. Three years later, Rowes gave up the lease on the ground which Portfield then acquired.

The team built their first clubhouse in 1969 which housed dressing rooms for both teams and match officials, showers, toilets, clubroom and bar. Separate changing room facilities were added in 1983 followed by floodlights in 1987 and other facilities - the stand and hard standing area around the pitch - have progressively improved.

Club Honours

Sussex County League Division Two Invitation Cup Winners (1971/73)

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Chichester City FC

The first Chichester Football Club was formed in October 1873 and added the title of City to it's name in 1948. The club's original home was in Priory Park but established it's present head quarters in Oaklands Park in the early fifties.

The club was represented in the inaugural meeting of the Sussex County F.A. in September 1882 and competed in the first ever Sussex Senior Cup competition in the same year when they lost to Storrington 5-0 on 2nd November.

In 1896 Chichester became members of the newly formed West Sussex League and remained there until they became founder members of the Sussex County League in 1920.

The first major honour was achieved in 1926 when they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the only time. Inter-war success was limited and most of the club's achievements have been in the post-war era.

In 1960 Chichester clinched their first Sussex County League title and the following season proved even more successful. City retained the League championship, shared the Sussex R.U.R Cup with Brighton & Hove Albion after a 2-2 draw and reached the first round proper of the F.A. Cup before losing 11-0 away to Bristol City. See Report

Success returned to Oaklands Park in 1968 when City recaptured the league title and reached the 4th qualifying round of the F.A. Cup finally succumbing 3-0 to Guildford.

In the 1970's Chichester's fortunes were mixed; the high point being another League Championship in 1973 and a good run in the F.A. Amateur Cup which was finally halted by cup holders Hendon.

That success was only short lived though and after several seasons of struggle, City were facing relegation for the first ever time early in 1979. However, the appointment of ex-Plymouth and Portsmouth player, Ritchie Reynolds, as Club Manager sparked off an amazing revival which saw City claw their way to safety. The following season was one of City's best ever as Reynolds masterminded an outstanding League Championship win (City's fifth and last championship). A late run of nine successive victories left Chichester needing only a draw from their final match; a result that they duly achieved on a memorable May evening, with the home side missing a late penalty.

A spell of mid-table security followed but the club were eventually relegated for the first time in 1983 after a dismal season. City finished sixth in their first season in Division Two but promotion and a Division Two Cup success followed in 1985.

However, this time the stay in Division One was short lived and they returned to the Second Division for the 1987/88 campaign. Promotion proved elusive for two seasons despite being amongst the pacesetters each time although the Division Two Challenge Cup was won once again in 1988.

Then in the summer of 1990 Steve White took over as Club Manager and the side enjoyed another promotion campaign with a third Division Two Challenge Cup success after beating Stamco. The club struggled for several seasons in the County League top flight before again being relegated to Division Two in 1994.

In 1996, City finished in the promotion places behind Selsey and Saltdean United but were denied promotion by the absence of planning consent for floodlights. In the same year a financial crisis threatened the future of the club - but the club survived and Aidie Girdler was appointed club manager in July.

In 1997, City returned to the top flight after finishing runners up to Littlehampton Town and permission was finally granted for floodlights at Oakland Park. City remained in Division One up until the merger with Portfield FC in 2000.

Club Honours