HISTORY
Research finally established
that Northwood Football Club was formed in September 1899, with their first fixture
being on the 23rd of that month, a friendly against Amersham. Click
here for a report
of that first match.
In 1931 Northwood joined the
Harrow, Wembley & District League, and they were immediately successful by winning the
Premier Division title in five consecutive years from 1933 to 1937, as well as
winning the Middlesex Junior Cup in 1938, and the League Senior Challenge Cup three
times during that period.
After the Second World War they were champions in
consecutive years, 1948 and 1949, and they also were Middlesex Junior
Cup finalists in three consecutive years. It was at this time that the club moved
permanently to their current base in Northwood Park after having played at
several different venues in earlier years.
The club hit a slump during
the 'fifties and early 'sixties and played in junior football without much success,
but towards the end of the 1960s the tide began to turn. Northwood were elected
into the Middlesex League in 1970, and they became runners-up two years later.
During the years that followed, the Woods managed to win the Middlesex
League Cup on three occasions and also the League championship in 1978, completing
the Middlesex League double,
and the club were subsequently elected to the Hellenic League.
With help from the London Borough
of Hillingdon, the Woods developed their present pitch into suitable facilities,
and in the first season they were promoted to the top flight as Division One champions,
and were also Hellenic
League Cup and Middlesex Intermediate Cup winners. Floodlights were erected and
senior status was granted in
1981.
Due to increased travelling
costs, Northwood switched to play in the London Spartan League in 1984 and they
were soon to become one of the competition's top clubs. After one League Cup win,
a runners-up spot and two third places, the Woods completed a League and Cup double
in 1992. Along with this success came considerable ground improvements, which allowed
them to take their place in the Third Division of the Isthmian League.
After five years at the higher
level, following early success by winning the 1993 Associate Members Trophy, and
several promotion challenges, Northwood made it to Division Two in 1997.
Following
three seasons in that division, the Woods earned further promotion when they
gained the runners-up spot in 2000. They also captured the Associate Members Trophy
for a second time and reached their first ever Middlesex Senior Cup
final, where they went down 2-0 to GM Vauxhall Conference outfit Hayes.
Another three years later and Northwood found
themselves in the Premier Division, having won the
Division One North championship in 2003. They also captured the Isthmian League Cup
for the first time in 2002, beating Premier Division Hampton & Richmond Borough
in the final, 3-2 after extra-time, and also reached the Middlesex Senior Cup final
once again, this time beaten by Hendon, also in extra-time. September 2002
saw the Woods defeat Premier Division champions Gravesend & Northfleet
4-2 to lift the Isthmian Charity Shield.
It
proved a difficult first season in the Premier Division, but after the F.A.'s restructure of non-League football, Northwood remained in the
division for a second season.
In 2003, Northwood received
the prestigious award of Community Club status from the Football Association in
recognition of the club's commitment to youth football in the area - the club have
teams of all age groups playing their football within the confines of Northwood
Park. Improvements have been made to the standards in recent years, and the club
is hoping this will result in many youngsters developing into first-team players
in the future.
Northwood faced a new challenge
for the 2005-06
campaign, having been moved to the
Southern League Premier Division, and although the first season in the new
league was a struggle, manager Colin Payne steered his team just clear of
relegation on the final day. However, 2007 saw the Woods finish in 22nd place in the division, and relegation followed
- the first time the club had faced demotion in senior football. It wasn't all doom and gloom,
though, as Northwood lifted the Middlesex Senior Cup for the first time in
their history by defeating Hayes, now in Conference South, on their own
ground in the final.
The FA's Leagues Committee decided to move the
club back to the Isthmian League for the 2007-08 campaign, and so they competed in Division One
North - five years after being champions of that section.
A success story
over the years has been
the club's Match Day programme, which has picked up many awards, and in the Wirral Programme Club's annual survey it was adjudged the Best Programme
in non-League football on three occasions, as well as being runner-up twice and
in third place once. It
was given the accolade of Best Programme in the Isthmian League in each of the
first twelve years of the club's membership; a remarkable run of consistency.
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