Wingate & Finchley F.C.
| Full name | Wingate & Finchley Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1991; 25 years ago | ||
| Ground | The Maurice Rebak Stadium, Finchley | ||
| Capacity | 1,500 | ||
| Chairman | Aron Sharpe | ||
| Manager | Keith Rowland | ||
| League | Isthmian League Premier Division | ||
| 2015–16 | Isthmian League Premier Division, 13th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Wingate & Finchley Football Club is an English football club based in Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet. The club are currently members of the Premier Division of the Isthmian League and play at The Harry Abrahams Stadium. Their previous manager was former Hillingdon Borough manager Gary Meakin who arrived as manager in November 2012 from Southern Football League side Northwood. However Meakin and the club parted company in May 2013 citing both parties had different visions regarding the future of the club and was replaced by veteran player Daniel Nielsen with former manager David Norman assuming an overseeing Director of Football role.
History
The club was established in 1991 by a merger of Finchley and Wingate, who parted their company with Leyton.[1] Leyton regained Leyton-Wingate's place in the First Division of Isthmian League, while Wingate & Finchley took Finchley's place in the South Midlands League and played at Finchley's Summers Lane ground, which was renamed after Harry Abrahams, a long time Wingate supporter. In 1994–95 they finished second in the league and joined Division Three of the Isthmian League.
After a second-place finish in 1998–99 they were promoted to Division Two, but were relegated back to Division Three at the end of the following season.[2] After league reorganisation they were placed in Division One North for the 2002–03 season, but in 2004 were transferred to the Eastern Division of the Southern League. The club later returned to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In 2009–10 they finished third, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3–2 to Enfield Town. The following season the club won the Isthmian League Cup and the London Senior Cup, and finished third again. After beating Harlow Town in the play-off semi-finals, they defeated Brentwood Town 3–2 after extra time in the final, earning promotion to the Premier Division - and securing an historic Treble.
The club finished mid-table in its first season in the Ryman Premier Division, before surviving a relegation scare in 2012–13 with one match to spare. In 2013–14, the club were relegated on goal difference behind East Thurrock United despite a final day 5-0 victory. However the drama did not end there, as the resignation of Worksop Town from the Northern Premier League gave Wingate & Finchley a much welcomed reprieve from relegation. The club finished the 2015–16 season in 13th position on 60 points.
Club identity
Wingate & Finchley are often perceived as a 'Jewish club', due to Finchley's sizeable Jewish community and a number of other factors, including sporting the Star of David on the club's badge, having a number of Jewish individuals on the committee of the club and being able to apply for special dispensation to move their games should they fall on Yom Kippur.[3] One of Wingate & Finchley's predecessor clubs, Wingate, was established in order to aim to combat anti-semitism.[4] The original Wingate club was named after Orde Wingate, who had been involved in training the Haganah, the precursor to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Ground
Wingate & Finchley play their home games at The Maurice Rebak Stadium, Summers Lane, Finchley, London, N12 OPD.
Players
Current squad
- As of 21 November 2016.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
As Wingate & Finchley
- Isthmian League
- Division One North Playoff winners 2010-11
- League Cup winners 2010–11
- London Senior Cup[6][7]
- Winners 1994-95, 2010–11
- Runners Up 2004-05
As Finchley FC
- Middlesex Senior Cup
- Winners 1928-29, 1943–44, 1951–52
- London Senior Cup
- Winners 1932-33, 1951–52, 1952-53 (Joint holders with Walthamstow Avenue)
- Middlesex Charity Cup
- Winners 1942-43, 1950–51
- Championship London League
- Winners 1936-37
- London League Challenge Cup
- Winners 1934-35
- London Intermediate Cup
- Winners 1932-33
- Middlesex Intermediate Cup
- Winners 1932-33
- Athenian League
- Winners 1953-54
As Wingate FC
- Herts County League Division One
- Winners 1984-85
References
- ↑ Wingate (Herts) at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ Wingate & Finchley at the Football Club History Database
- ↑ "An ambiguous Jewish identity for Wingate & Finchley". When Saturday Comes. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ↑ "Wingate & Finchley FC: Built up from proud Anglo-Jewish roots". Kick It Out. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ↑ "Wingate & Finchley Football Club". Wingate & Finchley F.C. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
- ↑ 2E0MCA Martin Addison+ Add Contact (2011-05-10). "Wingate & Finchley 3 vs Hendon FC 1 in the London Senior Cup | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ↑ "Memorandum Of Procedures For Dealing With Misconduct Occurring". Docstoc.com. 2010-04-24. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
External links
Coordinates: 51°36′24.649″N 0°10′17.540″W / 51.60684694°N 0.17153889°W