Fulchester United FC

:"For the fictional team featured in Viz, see Billy the Fish"

""'Football club infobox
clubname = Fulchester United FC

| fullname = Fulchester United Football Club| nickname = Fulchester
founded = 2002, as "Fulchester United F.C."
chairman= flagicon|ENG Kevin Brown | manager = flagicon|END Mark Thompson (FUFC)
flagicon|CAN Jared Biggs (FUFC)
flagicon|CAN Tangyne Berry (FU WW)
league = Saskatoon and District Soccer Association

pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=333366|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=333366|shorts1=333366|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=111111|body2=111111|rightarm2=111111|shorts2=111111|socks2=111111 Fulchester United FC is an amateur football club operating in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The club was founded in 2002 by three expatriates and has had varying levels of success in the Saskatoon and District Soccer Association.

History

Origins of the team

Fulchester United FC was formed in principle in March of 2002.

Mark Berry and Mark Franklin were team-mates with the disbanding Saskatoon Fire and were looking to form a team. Kev Brown was the third ex-pat member of the founders, set to finish his schooling that year and looking to re-enter the competitive sporting community.

The 3 met at the Copper Mug bar and restaurant on 8th St. in Saskatoon and decided that between them they could muster enough players to form a team and that this should be done in preparation for the 2002 outdoor season. Mark Berry was initially appointed as manager due to his previous experience managing several youth and women's teams in the city as well as his vocational experience in a management role. The first players to be considered were Brad Will, Jeff Halderman and Conrad Brassard who had also played for the Saskatoon Fire and were looking to play for a different team than the Fire's splinter-team David's Lounge Lizards (now defunct).

Through Mark Berry, the team also approached Keith Bonham, David Sanders, Bill Mantyka, Tim Daskalchuk and Andy Holt. This was considered to be what would become the nucleus of the team for the upcoming season. Andy Holt's association with the team however, turned out to be a great deal shorter than expected.

The next round of players to be added were Steven Simpson, Jason Trask and Adam Trotchie. Joel Thomspon was drafted in by way of his association with Conrad Brassard and Kent Mortenson was added to the roster as a first-time soccer player. A later addition was Bryn Hirsch, who joined the team with the season under way. These players were the core of the team that embarked on the inaugural season for the Fulchester United Football Club.

The team was formed with a relaxed, social yet competitive approach to the game. In keeping with this approach, a tongue-in-cheek name was suggested at the initial meeting by Mark Berry and was adopted almost instantly.

Since its inception, Fulchester has maintained its original goals of being a highly sociable team with a wide demographic range of players of differing experience and skill levels.

The Name and Motto

The name Fulchester United is derived from a popular English comic for adults called "Viz". The comic was popular in the late eighties and early nineties and featured many grossly politically-incorrect characters such as Johnny Fartpants and Finbar Saunders and his Double Entendres. Another less-provocative character was Billy the Fish. A freak born half-boy, half-fish, Billy played as a goalkeeper for Fulchester United.

The team's motto "Carpe Jugulum" was added later in the first season and is borrowed from the name of a book by an English Author (Terry Pratchett). The phrase is a Latin expression which is a cynical pun based on "Carpe Diem", or "Seize the Day". Jugulum being the Latin for Throat, a literal translation would be "Seize the Throat" with the informal version being "Go for the throat".

Expansion and Contraction

In the fall of 2005, Fulchester underwent major changes in its organizational structure, as club formed a second Mens' team and brought affiliated womens' team Walking Wounded into the fold. The club operated under this structure for five seasons before returning to one Mens' team for the 2008 outdoor season. The club now consists of Fulchester United FC (Mens') and Fulchester Walking Wounded (Womens') who are represented in the Men's and Women's leagues respectively.

Original players still with the club

* Mark Berry
* Kevin Brown
* Keith Bonham
* Tim Daskalchuk
* Jeff Halderman
* Bill Mantyka
* David Sanders
* Jason Trask

List of Chairmen

Honours (Team)

(Under old format; Division 1 is highest division)
* 2003 Outdoor Division 3 Champions (FUFC)
* 2005 Presidents' Cup Runners-Up (FUFC)
* 2005/2006 Indoor Division 2 Champions (FU I)
* 2005/2006 Indoor Provincial Champions (FU I)
* 2006 SAL Cup Champions (FU II)
* 2006 Outdoor Division 3 Champions (FU II)
* 2006 Presidents' Cup Runners-Up (FU I)
* 2006 Outdoor Provincial Runners-Up (FU I)
* 2006/2007 Indoor Division 1 Runners-Up (FU I)
* 2006/2007 Indoor Provincial Runners-Up (FU I)(Under new format; Division 2 is highest division)
* 2008 Outdoor Division 3 Champions (FUFC)

Records (Individual)

Most Games Played
272 - Jeff Halderman
260 - Chad Kosokowsky
253 - Tim Daskalchuk

Most Goals Scored
124 - Keith Bonham
116 - Jeff Halderman
112 - David Sanders

Most Clean Sheets
12 - Rob McCaffrey
8 - Dan Clegg
7 - Conrad Brassard
Most Disciplinary Points
20 - Adam Janis (14Y, 2R)

"(Correct at Thursday, September 11, 2008)"

DSA League Performance

Fulchester United FC

* 2nd (of 8) - 2002 Outdoor, Men's Division 3
* 7th (of 8) - 2002/2003 Indoor, Men's Division 3
* 1st (of 8) - 2003 Outdoor, Men's Division 3
* 6th (of 12) - 2003/2004 Indoor, Men's Division 2
* 5th (of 10) - 2004 Outdoor, Men's Division 2
* 10th (of 10) - 2004/2005 Indoor, Men's Division 2
* 4th (of 8) - 2005 Outdoor, Men's Division 2

Fulchester United I

* 1st (of 8) - 2005/2006 Indoor, Men's Division 2
* 2nd (of 5) - 2006 Outdoor, Men's Division 1
* 2nd (of 8) - 2006/2007 Indoor, Men's Division 1
* 4th (of 10) - 2007 Outdoor, Men's Division 1
* 4th (of 7) - 2006/2007 Indoor, Men's 7v7 Division 1

Fulchester United II

* 10th (of 14) - 2005/2006 Indoor, Men's Division 3
* 1st (of 10) - 2006 Outdoor, Men's Division 3
* 4th (of 10) - 2006/2007 Indoor, Men's 7v7 Open Division
* 8th (of 10) - 2007 Outdoor, Men's Division 2
* 5th (of 7) - 2006/2007 Indoor, Men's 7v7 Division 1

External links

Official sites

* [http://www.fulchesterunited.com/ Fulchester United Official website]