New Milton Town F.C.

New Milton Town

Full name	New Milton Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Linnets
Founded	1998 (as Lymington & New Milton)
Ground	Fawcett's Field, New Milton
Chairman	Jack Holliday
Manager	Glenn Burnett
League	Wessex League Premier Division
2010–11	Wessex League Premier Division, 19th
Home colours Away colours

New Milton Town F.C. is a football club based in New Milton, Hampshire, England. They were formed in 1998 by a merger between AFC Lymington and New Milton Town. They were champions of the Wessex League in 1998-99 and 2004-05. They resigned from the Southern Football League in 2007 and have played in the Wessex League Premier Division since the 2007–08 season.

The team's nickname is "The Linnets".

History

Formation

The club was formed in the summer of 1998 as a result of the merger of AFC Lymington and New Milton Town, as Lymington and New Milton F.C..

AFC Lymington had won the Wessex League twice in succession but found their path to promotion into the Southern League blocked by difficulties with ground-grading. It was impossible to improve the facilities at their home ground in Southampton Road, Lymington, to meet the grading criteria of the higher league due to the sharing of the ground with Lymington Cricket Club. Specifically it would have been impossible to have completely enclosed the football pitch and installed the turnstiling and other safety features demanded by the Southern League.

New Milton Town, on the other hand, had moved into a new purpose-built ground provided for them by New Milton Town Council, but were languishing in the Hampshire League, seemingly unable to progress to a higher level.

The merger was in effect a takeover by AFC Lymington of the New Milton club in order to gain possession of a ground suitable for progression to a higher level of football, and the new team for the 1998-99 season resembled the old AFC Lymington line-up. No New Milton Town players were included in the first team.

New Milton Town F.C. continued for one season back in the Hampshire league under the manager Don Emberson at their new home at Milford-on-Sea, but due to financial constraints the club reluctantly folded.

Some dissenters resented the move from Lymington to New Milton, a distance of some eight miles, and formed a new club, Lymington Town, to use the old facilities at Southampton Road, vacated by the AFC club.

Subsequent history

Fawcett's Field, during a league match versus Poole Town.

Lymington & New Milton FC won the Wessex League at the first attempt, and also had an excellent run in the FA Vase, reaching the last eight before losing at Taunton Town.

Promotion to the Southern League was refused, however, because Fawcett's Field narrowly failed to meet the league’s ground grading requirements, the main issue being the nature of the fence erected at the road end of the ground.

The following season the club gained an even higher points total and lost fewer games than in their inaugural season but only finished as runners-up to Wimborne Town. The club also did well in the FA Cup, reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round before losing to Aldershot Town. Despite only finishing second in the league, the club made another application to join the Southern League, but lack of urgency in completing the needed improvements to the fencing again precluded promotion.

In 2000-01 the Linnets were again runners-up in the Wessex League, this time behind Andover, however this time there was to be no question of promotion because the club withdrew their application, quoting financial reasons.

In 2004-05 the Wessex League title returned to Fawcett's Field with a final day victory over Gosport Borough clinching matters. Another good run in the FA Cup saw another 4th Qualifying Round exit, this time against Football Conference side Woking after a replay.

The Isthmian League initially rejected the club's application for promotion, however an intervention by members of the Woking board, who had been impressed with the facilities offered by Fawcett's Field on their trip to New Milton in the FA Cup, is believed to have swayed matters, and eventually the Linnets were permitted to take their place in the Isthmian League Division One. In the summer of 2006 they were switched into the Southern League as part of a larger reorganisation of the National League System.

In 2007 the club changed its name back to New Milton Town in preparation for the 2007-08 season in the Southern League. Then in early June 2007 a walkout of the chairman, manager and assistant manager had the new committee reviewing the club's finances and future. The club tendered their resignation from the Southern League on 8 June 2007.

Club records (current club)

• Best league performance: 16th in Isthmian League Division One, 2005-06
• Best FA Cup performance: 4th qualifying round, 1999-00, 2003-04, 2004-05
• Best FA Trophy performance: 1st qualifying round, 2005-06
• Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 1998-99

External links

• Club website
• Lymington & New Milton at the Football Club History Database

Coordinates: 50°44′46.03″N 1°40′21.92″W / 50.7461194°N 1.6727556°W / 50.7461194; -1.6727556