History
Poole Town were formed when two local teams, Poole Hornets and Poole Rovers, merged in 1890. Both teams had been in existence since 1880. Poole joined the Dorset League in 1896 then the Hampshire League in 1903. The club enjoyed success in the Dorset Senior Cup in their early years, winning it for the fifth time in 1907.
After several season without football because of the First World War, the club began playing again in the 1919–20 season under the name Poole & St. Marys. They changed their name back to Poole FC after one season. Poole joined the Western League in 1923.
Poole won the Dorset Senior Cup again in 1926, the club also turned professional that year and joined the Southern Football League, Eastern Division. The 1926–27 season saw the club's best FA Cup run in its history. They reached the third round and played Everton, losing 3–1 at Goodison Park. They won the Dorset Senior Cup again in 1927 and reached the First Round of the FA Cup three seasons in a row. Poole rejoined the Western League in 1930 and stayed there (except for the 1934–35 season) until 1957.
In 1933, Poole moved into Poole Stadium (now the home of Poole Pirates) which they stayed in until 1994. They became known as "Poole Town" in 1934. Poole Town reached the First Round Proper of the FA Cup in 1946. They held Queens Park Rangers to a 2–2 draw before losing in the replay 6–0. They reached the first round again in 1963 and 1967. They lost to Watford in a replay in 1963. They lost again to Queens Park Rangers in 1967.
Poole were forced to leave Poole Stadium after 61 years in 1994 and they shared a ground with Hamworthy United. In the 1995–96 season, they equalled the record for the worst season in football history, winning just 1 point from 42 matches. They were relegated from the Southern League and joined the Hampshire League Division One, sharing a ground with Holt United.
Poole won the Dorset Senior Cup for the 12th time in 1998. They also won the Hampshire League Cup and finished 3rd in the league. They won the league cup again in 1999 and finished 2nd in the league but were not promoted. The Hampshire League Premier Division was created for the 2000–01 season but Poole could not join because they did not have sufficient ground grading. They were effectively relegated, staying in the first division.
In 2000, they were promoted into the Hampshire League Premier Division. They moved into Haskells Rec in Newtown but left after a few seasons due to vandalism and started playing at Tatnam, the school field of Oakdale South Road Middle School. They have since had built a permanent barrier around the pitch, hardstanding, floodlights, dugouts, a small club shop, tea hut, licensed bar and a £80,000 stand which allowed them to be promoted into the Wessex League First Division.
In 2008, Poole Town submitted plans for the creation of a new £1.2 million ground at Branksome Recreation Ground which would enable them to meet strict Football Association criteria to gain promotion to the Southern League Division One. However, In December 2009 the Poole Borough Council Planning Committee turned the plans down due to loss of space policy and no community benefit. The club switched to plan B and are now seeking a £2M development at Canford Magna, adjacent to Canford Park Arena.
The 2008–09 season saw Poole win the Wessex Premier title and Dorset Senior Cup (beating Dorchester 2–0 aet). Poole Town were the second best team of 1,600 Football Association clubs in England, based on points per match, with the following record: played 42, won 38, drawn 2, lost 2. They were, however denied promotion due to inadequate ground grading.
In the 2009–10 season Poole Town sold Charlie Austin to Swindon Town for an undisclosed sum. Austin scored 46 goals in 46 games in his first season at Poole and 18 goals in 11 games before his transfer. He signed off with 5 goals in his last game against Moneyfields. Despite jumping six divisions, Austin continued scoring goals, earning a transfer to Championship club Burnley. The season ended with another Wessex title for Poole, but no promotion again due to ground grading.
During the 2010–11 season Poole Town achieved further success winning the Wessex League Premier Division for the 3rd consecutive season. They also enjoyed runs to the semi-final of the FA Vase and reached the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. In contrast to previous seasons, the club were granted promotion to the Southern League after the FA agreed to them staging Southern League football at Tatnam following a temporary upgrade of the facilities.
Poole Borough Council have also agreed that the club can move to a new ground at Bearwood following agreement by the council's planning committee. The club is hoping to complete the build and move into the new stadium in time for the 2013–14 season, staging games at Tatnam in the interim.
Read more about this topic: Poole Town F.C.
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