Club History
Club History 1 of 2

1. Club History


Founded in 1868 Harefield United Football Club is the oldest in Middlesex.

The Club has had a number of names throughout it’s history, one of the earliest being Harefield Victoria where the local paper of 1891 has a match report of a 1-0 win over Rickmansworth Rovers, the goal being scored by G Harland. The team was D Collett (goal), C Milton and J Varcos (backs), A Oates and J P Richardson (half backs), C Brown Jnr and G Webster (centres), W Prickett, G Winship, C Armour and G Harland (forwards).

One of the next names was Breakspear Institute FC, who played in the local Uxbridge leagues. The oldest copy of a document is the minutes of their AGM held in 1897. We also have early team photographs of Breakspear from 1903 showing some of the many honours won at the turn of the century. There is also a programme from 1922 when Breakspear and Harefield played against each other in front of 1922 people. The merger with Harefield FC was in 1934 when the team became Harefield United. However, they are one of those longstanding clubs who has had success on the football field but little at the senior level.

Harefield United originally played in local leagues, including the Uxbridge & District League, before the team progressed to the Great Western Combination in 1947. During the years spent in the U&DL Harefield United managed to win Division 3, the Uxbridge Junior Cup and Uxbridge Premier Cup.

The Club spent nearly twenty years in the Great Western Combination league winning Division 2 in their first year along with the Chesham Cup. The Club winning Division 1 in 1951 followed this. The Reserves had their success during the 1960s in the Great Western Combination Reserve Divisions. Harefield's next bit of silverware came after a move to the Parthenon League in 1964, the Championship being won in the debut campaign. . After two season the 'Hares' moved on to the Middlesex League and it was in that competition that they had their most successful period to date. The league Championship was won on 4 occasions between 1966 and 1971 and the League Cup was also taken twice in that period.

1975 saw Harefield accepted into the Athenian League where they remained for nine seasons. It was period of slow consolidation for the 'Hares' who eventually claimed the Runners-up spot in 1983/84, so earning themselves the right to a place in the newly expanded Isthmian League. United became founder members of the Division Two (North) in 1984/85 and played in that Division for two seasons before changing over to Division Two (South), the Club being caught up in the no-man's land where the boundaries of the regionalised divisions met.

Harefield struggled to make an impact in Division Two (North), finishing 18th out of the twenty clubs in both of the two campaigns spent in that Division. However, the change to the South section led to better performances and in 1986/7 they finished in 10th place out of 21 clubs, this was followed by a final placing of 13th the next season and then in season 1988/89 the 'Hares' were 5th. They dropped to a disappointing 12th the following campaign, but the final year of the regionalised leagues saw 7th place achieved. This meant that Harefield had made the cut off point for qualification to play in the first year of the newly formed Diadora (Isthmian) Division Two the following season.

The new division was a struggle for the Middlesex Club and they just missed relegation in the first year, but the next season were demoted along with Southall to Division 3. Despite this set back, the achievements of the Club in recent years have been quite remarkable considering that Harefield is a comparatively isolated location with a small population and consequently small crowds. The record attendance at Preston Park is 430, for a FA Vase tie against Bashley, which the Hares won 1-0.
1995/96 proved to be the last in the Icis (isthmian) League. Due to lack of funds to carry out ground improvements, the 'Hares' resigned from the League in November and were allocated to the Spartan League for season 1996/97.

The Hares spent one season in the Spartan League before it merged with the South Midlands League. There were two Premier Divisions in the first season, and the clubs, which finished in the top half of each Division, formed the Premier Division for the following season. Unfortunately the Hares only managed 11th position so they had to play in the Senior Division (now changed to Division 1). However, in 2002 the Hares gained promotion to the Premier, finally missing out on the League Championship by just one point. The consolation was beating the league champions, Greenacres, 4-1 in the final of the League Cup. There then followed more success during 2002/03 season, winning the Challenge Trophy, beating Dunstable Town (the league winners) 4-1 over two legs. The Hares also reached the final of the Premier League Cup and finished 4th. The Club also had good runs in both the FA Cup and FA Vase, beating Ryman sides on the way. This success continued during 2003/04 with a SSM Premier League Cup win, 1-0 against Brook House, and getting beaten 2-1 (aet) by Wealdstone in the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup. Season 2004/5 saw the teams consolidate their positions in near the top of their leagues and we had the inaugural season for a U18 side in the Allied Counties East division.

Season 2005/06 had it highs and lows. Despite the first team finishing 4th, its highest place since Stuart Leavy took over the senior side the team missed out getting promoted under the new league structure on goal difference. However, the ground improvements needed to get an E grading were completed before the deadline, this puts us in good stead for the future. The good news is that the U18 side not only won the East Division to get promoted to the Premier but they won the Middlesex Youth Cup. To cap off a good season for the Club the Reserves came runners up in the North Division of the Suburban and are now in the Premier.

The club has since remained in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division finishing runners-up twice, in the 2006–07 season and the 2008–09 season where they lost out on goal difference against Biggleswade Town.

Manager Ian Crane left to join A.F.C. Hayes in the summer of 2012, and he was replaced by Uxbridge reserve boss Phil Granville. However, Granville left in the summer of 2015 to become Hanwell Town's manager and he was replaced by Jason Shaw in May 2015.

In the 2018-2019 season, Jason Shaw lead Harefield United to promotion with 5 games to spare in his fourth season with the club. The club would join Arsenal and Preston North End going the whole league season unbeaten in the 2018-2019 Spartan South Midlands Football League Division 1.

Club honours

League honours

Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division :
Runners-up: 2006–07, 2008–09

Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One:
Winners: 2018-2019

Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One:
Runners-up: 2001–02

Great Western Combination league Division One:
Winners: 1950–51

Great Western Combination league Division Two:
Winners: 1947–48

Parthenon league :
Winners: 1964–65

Cup honours

Middlesex Premier Cup:
Winners: 2018-2019

Middlesex Senior Charity Cup:
Runners-up: 2003–04

Chesham Cup:
Winners: 1947–48

Spartan South Midlands Football League Cup:
Winners: 2001–02

Spartan South Midlands Football League Challenge Trophy:
Winners: 2002–03

Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier League Cup:
Runners-up: 2002–03
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League History

2021-2022 11th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 1(Step 5)

2018-19 1st Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 1(Step 6)

2017-18 9th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 1(Step 6)

2016-17 8th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 1(Step 6)

2015-16 21st Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2014-15 4th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2013-14 14th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2012-13 10th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2011-12 18th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2010-11 21st Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2009-10 6th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2008-09 2nd Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2007-08 5th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5

2006-07 2nd Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2005-06 4th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2004-05 5th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2003-04 5th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2002-03 4th Molten Spartan South Midlands Premier (Step 5)

2001-02 2nd Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 1 (Step 6)

2000-01 15th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 2 (Step 7)

1999-00 15th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 2 (Step 7)

1998-99 20th Molten Spartan South Midlands Division 2 (Step 7)

1997-98 13th Molten Spartan South Premier Division South (Step 7)

1997-98 13th Molten Spartan South Premier Division South (Step 7)

1996-97 16th Molten Spartan Premier Division (Step 6)

1995-96 15th Isthmian League Division 3 (Step 5)

1994-95 16th Isthmian League Division 3 (Step 5)

1993-94 11th Isthmian League Division 3 (Step 5)

1992-93 21th Isthmian League Division 2 (Step 5)

1991-92 19th Isthmian League Division 2 (Step 5)

1990-91 7th Isthmian League Division 2 South (Step 5)

1989-90 12th Isthmian League Division 2 South (Step 5)

1988-89 5th Isthmian League Division 2 South (Step 5)