{{short description|Association football club in England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox football club | clubname = Marlow | image = Marlow FC logo.png | fullname = Marlow Football Club | nickname = ''The Blues'' | founded = 22 November 1870 | ground = Alfred Davis Memorial Ground, [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire|Marlow]] | capacity = 3,000 (250 seated)<ref name=NLCD2017>Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p290 {{ISBN|978-1869833695}}</ref> | chairman = Ian Benfell | manager = Mark Bartley | league = {{English football updater|Marlow}} | season = {{English football updater|Marlow2}} | position = {{English football updater|Marlow3}} | pattern_la1 = _whiteborder | pattern_b1 = _vneckwhite | pattern_ra1 = _whiteborder | leftarm1 = 0000ff | body1 = 0000ff | rightarm1 = 0000ff | shorts1 = 0000ff | socks1 = 0000ff | pattern_la2 = | pattern_b2 = | pattern_ra2 = | leftarm2 = ffb300 | body2 = ffb300 | rightarm2 = ffb300 | shorts2 = 000000 | socks2 = 000000 | website = https://www.marlowfc.co.uk }}[[Image:Marlow1894.jpg|thumb|right|The Marlow team of 1894]]
'''Marlow Football Club''' is a [[association football|football]] club based in [[Marlow, Buckinghamshire]], England. They are currently members of the {{English football updater|Marlow}} and play at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground. Marlow are the only football club in England to have applied for entry into the FA Cup every season since its inception in 1871.<ref name=H/>
==History== The club was formed at a meeting at the Compleat Angler Hotel on 22 November 1870.<ref name=H>[http://www.marlowfc.co.uk/a/club-history-39513.html Club History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508195638/http://www.marlowfc.co.uk/a/club-history-39513.html |date=8 May 2019 }} Marlow F.C.</ref> In [[1871–72 FA Cup|1871–72]] they competed in the first edition of the [[FA Cup]], losing 2–0 to [[Maidenhead United F.C.|Maidenhead]] in the first round; one of their players was [[Cuthbert Ottoway]], who went on to captain [[England national football team|England]] in [[1872 Scotland v England football match|their match]] against [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] the following year, the first-ever recognised football international. Another early player, and club captain in the 1870s, [[Sydney Wright (footballer)|Sydney Wright]], refereed the [[1877 FA Cup final]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Marlow sportsman |journal=Bucks Free Press |date=17 February 1928 |page=8}}</ref> In [[1881–82 FA Cup|1881–82]] the club reached the FA Cup semi-finals, losing 5–0 to [[Old Etonians F.C.|Old Etonians]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Old Etonians v Great Marlow |journal=Field |date=11 March 1882 |page=333}}</ref><ref name=FCHD>{{fchd|id=MARLOW|name=Marlow}}</ref> During the 1890s the club was also known as Great Marlow.<ref>{{fchd|id=GT-MARLO|name=Great Marlow}}</ref> They joined the Western Section of the [[Spartan League]] in 1908. However, the club resigned midway through the 1910–11 season.<ref name=FCHD/>
Marlow joined the [[Great Western Suburban League]] for the 1911–12 season. They finished bottom of the league in 1912–13 following a points deduction, and again in 1922–23.<ref name=NLM1>[http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2/GWSL04.html Great Western Suburban League 1904–1931] Non-League Matters</ref> In 1924 they left the league, dropping into the Reading & District League. After moving to the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground in 1928, the club joined Division Two West of the [[Spartan League]].<ref name=NLM2>[http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regs1Df2/Asp07.html Spartan League 1924–1929] Non League Matters</ref> They won the division in 1929–30, earning promotion to Division One.<ref name=NLM2/> In 1937–38 the club were Division One champions and were promoted to the Premier Division.<ref name=NLM3>[http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regs1Df2/Asp34.html Spartan League 1934–1955] Non-League Matters</ref> During [[World War II]] the club played in the [[Great Western Combination]].<ref>[http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2/gwc39.html Great Western Combination 1939–1964] Non-League Matters</ref> After the war they were placed in the Western Division of the Spartan League for the 1945–46 season, but did not finish high enough to earn a place in the Premier Division the following season.
In 1951 Marlow returned to the Spartan League's Premier Division, where they remained until joining Division Two of the [[Athenian League]] in 1965.<ref name=FCHD/> The club were promoted to Division One after finishing third in the division in 1970–71. When the Athenian League was disbanded in 1984, they joined Division Two North of the [[Isthmian League]]. The club were transferred to Division Two South the following season, and in [[1986–87 Isthmian League|1986–87]] they finished second and were promoted to Division One. The [[1987–88 Isthmian League|following season]] saw them win the Division One title, earning promotion to the Premier Division.<ref name=FCHD/> In [[1991–92 FA Cup|1991–92]] the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1892, but lost 6–0 to [[West Bromwich Albion F.C.|West Bromwich Albion]].<ref name=FCHD/>
The [[1992–93 FA Cup|following season]] saw Marlow reach the third round of the FA Cup after beating [[Salisbury City F.C.|Salisbury]] and [[Rugby Town F.C.|VS Rugby]] in the first two rounds. They were drawn at home to Tottenham, but the match was switched to [[White Hart Lane]], where they lost 5–1. Two seasons later they reached the third round again, defeating [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]] in the first round, before losing 2–0 at [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] in the third. The club remained in the Isthmian League's Premier Division until being relegated at the end of the [[1994–95 Isthmian League|1994–95 season]]. Two seasons later they were relegated again. In 2004 they were transferred to Division One West of the Southern League, and were later transferred to Division One Central. In [[2011–12 Southern Football League|2011–12]] the club finished bottom of Division One Central of the Southern League and were relegated to the Premier Division of the [[Hellenic Football League|Hellenic League]].<ref name=FCHD/>
Marlow won the Hellenic League Premier Division at the [[2012–13 Hellenic Football League|first attempt]], earning promotion back to Division One Central of the Southern League. They were subsequently transferred to Division One South & West for the [[2015–16 Southern Football League|2015–16 season]], before returning to Division One Central the following year. In [[2016–17 Southern Football League|2016–17]] the club finished fourth in Division One Central, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, going on to lose 2–0 to [[Barton Rovers F.C.|Barton Rovers]] in the semi-finals. At the end of the [[2017–18 Isthmian League|2017–18 season]] the club were transferred to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League. In [[2023–24 Isthmian League|2023–24]] they were runners-up in the South Central Division, before beating [[Westfield F.C. (Surrey)|Westfield]] 3–2 the play-off semi-finals and then winning the final against [[Leatherhead F.C.|Leatherhead]] 3–1 to earn promotion to the Premier Division South of the Southern League.
In [[2024–25 Southern Football League|2024–25]] Marlow finished bottom of the Premier Division South and were relegated to Division One Central.
==Ground== [[Image:AlfredDavisGroundMarlow.jpg|thumb|right|The main stand at the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground]]
The club played at Aldermeadow until 1898, when they moved to Crown Meadow, now known as the Riley Recreational Ground.<ref name=H/><ref name=PP>[http://pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/marlow.html Marlow] Pyramid Passion</ref> They were forced to relocate to Star Meadow in 1919; the ground was unenclosed and the club had to eventually drop into the Reading & District League.<ref name=H/> In 1928 they moved to the Alfred Davis Memorial Ground, named after their long-serving secretary who had died in 1924.<ref name=H/> A wooden grandstand was built on one side of the pitch in 1930, with a covered area erected on the Green Verges side in 1950.<ref name=PP/> The Green Verges stand was replaced during the 1990s.<ref name=PP/> Terracing was installed on all four sides in 1985, and another covered stand was built at the Trinity End in 1991.<ref name=PP/>
==Honours== *'''Isthmian League''' **Division One champions 1987–88 *'''Spartan League''' **Division One champions 1937–38 **Division Two West champions 1929–30 *'''Hellenic League''' **Premier Division champions 2012–13 *'''[[Berks & Bucks Senior Cup]]''' **Winners 1990–91, 1993–94
==Records== *Best [[FA Cup]] performance: Semi-finals, 1881–82<ref name=FCHD/> *Best [[FA Amateur Cup]] performance: Semi-finals, 1896–97, 1899–1900<ref name=FCHD/> *Best [[FA Trophy]] performance: Fourth round, 2003–04<ref name=FCHD/> *Best [[FA Vase]] performance: Fifth round, 1974–75, 2000–01<ref name=FCHD/> *Record attendance: 3,000 vs [[Oxford United F.C.|Oxford United]], FA Cup first round, 1994<ref name=NLCD2017/> *Most appearances: Mick McKeown, over 500<ref name=NLCD2017/> *Most goals: Kevin Stone<ref name=NLCD2017/> *Record transfer fee received: £8,000 for David Lay from [[Slough Town F.C.|Slough Town]]<ref name=NLCD2017/> *Record transfer fee paid: £5,000 for Richard Evans to [[Sutton United F.C.|Sutton United]]<ref name=NLCD2017/>
==See also== *[[:Category:Marlow F.C. players|Marlow F.C. players]] *[[:Category:Marlow F.C. managers|Marlow F.C. managers]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.marlowfc.co.uk/ Official website]
{{Southern League}} {{Coord|51|34|37.36|N|0|46|26.24|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=title}}
[[Category:Marlow F.C.| ]] [[Category:Men's football clubs in England]] [[Category:Football clubs in Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Association football clubs established in 1870]] [[Category:1870 establishments in England]] [[Category:Marlow, Buckinghamshire]] [[Category:Spartan League]] [[Category:Great Western Combination]] [[Category:Athenian League]] [[Category:Isthmian League clubs]] [[Category:Southern Football League clubs]] [[Category:Hellenic Football League]] [[Category:Great Western Suburban League]]