Milton Matters Oxfordshire OX14

Milton United Football Club

Gareth Woodward                        Chairman

February 2024

As the weather has caused so much disruption, leading to several postponed games for all our teams, I thought I’d put out something different this month. I’ve pieced together Milton United’s history and how in recent years the development of the grounds has accelerated, resulting in what you currently see up at The Heights.

The club was a founder member of the North Berks Football League when it was first formed in 1909 and played under the name Milton Hill FC. The club entered the 1920-21 season as Milton FC and in the following season finally stuck with the name Milton United FC. In 1926 Milton gained their first trophy by beating Aston Tirrold 8-2 in a play-off for the Division 2 (Abingdon) League title. Milton continued after the war but folded in the early 1950s, before reforming in 1958, regaining entry to the North Berks League.

 Milton became champions of the North Berks league for the first time in the 1962-63 Season. The club would then enjoy more league title success during the sixties with three further successes in the 1963-64, 1965-66 and 1969-70 seasons. While the club remained in the topflight throughout most of the seventies, the club suffered relegation to the second tier of The North Berks league at the end of the 1978-79 season. Two seasons later the club bounced back to the topflight when they finished as Champions of Division Two, at the end of the 1980-81 season. After being promoted back to the top division in the league the club then went on to win the league a further three times, during the eighties, in the 1985-86, 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons. The club also ended as runners-up in the Berks and Bucks Intermediate Cup in 1984.

 In 1989 they applied to join the Hellenic Football League. The application was successful and finished as runners up in their first season in both the First Division and the Division One Cup, also winning the Berks and Bucks Intermediate Cup. Because of their runners-up position, they were promoted to the Premier Division and became Champions of the Hellenic League at their first attempt. They also retained the Berks and Bucks Intermediate Trophy.

 The Season after winning the Premier Division, Milton made its debut in the FA Vase, reaching the first round before being knocked out by Thame United. Staying in the Premier Division until the end of the 1993-94 season, when the Club was demoted to Division One because of not having floodlights. 1998 brought the move to the current home at Milton Heights, with floodlights being installed and the clubhouse (previously owned by Drayton Golf Club) was erected. The first season at the new ground secured promotion back to the Premier Division, however after finishing bottom of the table in the next two seasons the club was relegated to Division One East. Promotion was achieved once more in the 2003-04 season, which saw the club reach the final of the Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy, losing in the final on penalties. The club stayed in the Premier Division until the end of the 2008-09 season when they were relegated back to Division One East, where they remained for six years. Season 2013-14 saw the team finish as Division One East champions by a margin of five points and promotion back to the Premier Division. This was the first time the club had ever been promoted as the division champions.

 The 2014-15 Season saw Milton re-establish their Step 5 Status, compete in the FA Cup and achieve a Grade F Ground Grading. Milton’s FA Cup run surpassed their previous best, defeating Combined Counties Chertsey Town and Southern League Marlow FC. The League campaign resulted in a respectable 14th place. The ground improvements introduced another 50 covered seats under the main stand (taking the total seating to 100) and the introduction of 150 person covered standing area.

 After relegation at the end of the 2015-16 season, Milton was placed in Hellenic Division One West for one season before moving back into League One East for the 2017-18 season. Managerial changes, the Covid outbreak and a re-structuring of the National Leagues resulted in the dissolution of the Hellenic East Division. However, 2022/23 saw Milton start their second season in Hellenic League Division 1 with a new Management Team led by Christian Lawrence and Assistant Manager Tom Tatford. After achieving the goal of reaching the play-offs, a dramatic home semi-final win against Clanfield 85 FC, resulted in a Play-off final away at Hartpury University. 2-2 at Full-Time and a 4-1 penalty shoot-out win and the rest is history. Milton United FC, once again, are playing Step 5 football and have moved east into the Combined Counties League. We waved goodbye to the Hellenic League, but our move sees us awaken old rivalries with several clubs from the old Hellenic Division 1 East days.

 The Club is going through a period of notable change. In recent times several projects have been completed and we now have a new LED Floodlight System, new pitch surround fencing and dugouts. We have also invested a lot of time and effort in improving the main pitch playing surface, with considerable help from Football Foundation grants. Early 2023, the expectation is to launch the much-awaited plans for a replacement clubhouse, as providing a new Community and Sporting facility is the Clubs aspiration and will play a key part in the Clubs next slice of History.

Gareth Woodward         Chairman Milton United FC

December 2023

As I sit and write my latest article, I just hope the rain has gone away for a few days and gives our pitches a chance to dry out and recover. There is nothing more frustrating than spending several hours during the week mowing, rolling, marking and removing leaves, just for just another heavy down pour to put pay to any matches being played at The Heights. No different for all our players, managers and coaching staff, that dedicate their time to training during the week, just for the Chairman to spread the gloom of another weekend without their ‘football fix’. Nevertheless, all our teams, where possible, continue to perform very well and our Senior Men’s Team continue to sit in a play-off position in the League.

Although the weather has not been kind, our teams have managed a few ‘run outs’ since my last words in the magazine. Most notably was a convincing victory against local rivals Wantage Town. After knocking Abingdon United out of the Berks & Bucks Senior County Cup in the previous round, we prepared for a tougher challenge against a team that plays at the same Step 5 National League level as ourselves.  

This was not the case and the lads in Claret and Blue dealt out an 8-1 thumping and progressed into the next round. We will now face Aylesbury United at home on the 28th of November, after they requested the fixture be reversed and played at Milton. This will only be our second home game under the lights so far this season, so put the word out and let’s make it a night to remember. The Aylesbury ‘Ducks’ continue to struggle this season and now sit third from bottom of the Southern League Div One Central, so a Step 4 scalp could be there for the taking!

At the opposite end of our team age range, the U7s competed in a trophy event in Grove that spanned the last two weekends. Solid team performances, some brilliant goals and outstanding goalkeeping resulted in our team beating Sutton Courtenay in the final and winning the trophy. It’s fantastic to witness the development of these young players within our club and having seen them come through our Mini-Kickers set-up, let’s hope they continue to wear our colours and continue enjoying their football up at The Heights for many years to come.

I did mention last week that we were on the lookout for a new hand mower and local residents will be glad to hear that after a bit of ‘wheeler dealing’ with Paul from Milton Garden Machinery, Dave now has a quieter push along to mow the touchlines. However, my line marker remains as squeaky as ever. Sorry!!

On a separate note, since the nights have drawn in, there has been quite an increase in dog fouling across the top pitches. Please can I ask all dog walkers to clean-up after their pet, because we cannot risk players stumbling on to your mess, ruining their enjoyment and running the risk of becoming seriously ill.

Finally, as ever, I would like to thank everyone associated with the club and wish all our volunteers, neighbours and Milton Parishioners a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Gareth Woodward

Chairman Milton United FC

November 2023

Another month flies by, the rain keeps coming and we have also had our first frost of the season. Nevertheless, all our teams continue to perform very well, with our Senior Men’s Team currently sitting 2nd in the League. More about the club’s football teams later, as I want to take a moment to mention an incredibly special game that took place on Sunday the 15th. Having been approached by Gary Austin of the Wynters Wish Charity, we were honoured to host a game to commemorate Baby Loss Awareness Week and the Global ‘Wave of Light’ event. At 7pm there was a special light show, which was a special time for everyone to come together in remembrance of all the much-loved babies who died to soon and raise awareness of the thousands of families affected by loss each year. Wynters Wish are a bereavement football team that support men affected by baby, child or pregnancy loss and it was great for Milton United to be able to support what turned out to be a very emotional evening and we will look at further opportunities where we can provide additional support to this worthwhile charity.

On the 14th we held our first social event of the season and my thanks must go to our entertainment team who put together a very enjoyable evening. The Horse Racing night proved to be an enormous success and very well supported by club members and local residents alike. Obviously, we look at running social events to provide much-needed income to the club, however it was nice to be able to donate to the charity event the following evening. The committee are already looking at planning our next event and information will be released across our social media sites and local WhatsApp groups. It may not ‘currently’ be the most attractive of venues, but the team do their best to dress the place up and make everyone feel welcome.

We are a football club, so I had better provide an update of how we have been getting on over the last month. Our 1st team have W2, D1 & L1 in the league, which sees them currently sitting in 2nd place just behind and in front of big spenders Rayners Lane and Flackwell Heath, respectively. After a local derby win against Abingdon in the County Cup, we next travel to Wantage Town on the 31st, with an away tie at Aylesbury awaiting the victors. After playing five of or last seven games away from The Heights, November sees a complete reversal with all our league matches scheduled as home matches. Our attendances have increased, which is always good for the coffers and helps pay the bills, but please be assured we will do our best to steward our matches as best as possible, to make The Heights a pleasant place to visit.


The weekends continue to be extremely busy, with our Mini Kickers, U18 girls and U7s playing on Saturday mornings and our Senior Men’s team playing in the afternoon. Our U11, 13, 14 & 17s all play on Sunday mornings, with our Senior Ladies team playing in the afternoon. So, as you can see there is a hive of activity going on at the club, which takes a massive effort by our ground staff to have the pitches ready for all our teams. We do our best to get most of our preparation done during the week, but I do apologise for the squeaky wheels on the line marker, especially on a Saturday morning!! With that in mind, if anyone has an old lawn mower they no longer want, I am sure Dave would love something quieter than the one he is currently pushing about.

The discussions continue with the Parish, District and the Vale as we collectively work towards the new Community building. Both traditional and modular style building designs are on the table, so hopefully soon the preferred build will be selected and we can get the chosen design out on show. With the rain already starting to come through the roof and the temperatures starting to drop, the new building really cannot come quick enough.

Finally, as ever, I would like to thank everyone associated with the club and all the volunteers that help provide the environment and surroundings for all our players to develop and enjoy their time at our Club.

Gareth Woodward     Chairman Milton United FC

October 2023

Well, as the Storm Nigel arrives in Oxfordshire, it seems to have brought Autumn with it. Once again, we have had a sustained dry spell, which has now been followed by several days of heavy rain, causing our groundkeepers a headache, resulting in our first cancelled midweek match so far this season. When the club relies heavily on the income brought in from hosting Wednesday night football, it’s always disappointing to have to postpone games.

As well as our 1st Team playing the odd midweek game, this season we will continue to host Hellenic Over 35 matches on Wednesday nights. We welcome back Goring Vets for another season and Benson Lions Vets, who return to The Heights after several seasons playing at Wallingford Town FC. We will continue to offer our facilities to the Vale representative school teams, local academies and hopefully should the opportunity arise (later in the season), local cup finals, as they all provide much-needed income to the club.

Since the last time I wrote, our 1st Team have played a further six league games and sit in 3rd position, currently behind two of the title favourites. The lads are playing attractive football and fully deserve their current position. As the Chairman, I am more than happy with the performances to date, nevertheless I know both Christian and Tatty will continue pushing for more. You can track the teams progress through the following link: Cherry Red Records Combined Counties Football League (thefa.com)

Over the last couple of weeks both Saturdays and Sundays have become very busy at the Club, as all our teams have now kicked off their respective league fixtures. Milton Ladies started their league campaign with an emphatic 7-3 away victory at Caversham United, but a week later, missing several key players, had to face the disappointment of being knocked out of the FA Cup. I am sure they will bounce back positively. We now have our U18s Girls, U17s and U14s plying their trade on the top large 11x11 pitch, whilst the U13s play alongside on the reduced 11x11 pitch. We continue to have a great relationship with St Blaise C of E School, where in return for providing maintenance and upkeep, Ruth kindly allows our U11s and U7s to play their matches on the school pitch. Results have been extremely encouraging, however, what is more satisfying is all the positive feedback I have received from the managers and coaches. This is at a time where several teams are folding, so it is great to see Milton United FC growing and this is testament to all the volunteers at the Club and for that I thank them all.

Saturday morning Mini Kickers is back, with Tom and Sophie continuing to run the show. The coaching sessions are for age groups 4 to 11 and you can find out more information by contacting Tom at: miltonminikickers@hotmail.com.          

After the huge success of the Summer Holiday Courses, Tom will be running an October Half-Term course. I have included the social media release, however, please get in contact for more information. As the poster says, boys and girls of all abilities are welcome.

One of the success stories so far this season has been the introduction of a new Milton United U7s team, which has been formed from boys and girls that have come together through Mini Kickers. My thanks also go to Jo, Adam and Charlie who have taken up the management and coaching roles for the team, though after recently winning 17-1, I’m not sure if they are playing football or rugby!

As I mentioned in the last Milton Matters, it is imperative that we continue to build relationships and ties within the Parish and amongst the residents around The Heights. With that in mind we aim to hold the first of several social events at the Club on the 14th of October. The theme will be a Horse Racing night and more information will be released very soon across our social media sites and local WhatsApp groups. Everyone is most welcome and hopefully we can all have an enjoyable evening and the first of many.

Work towards the new Community building continues and I am glad to say gathering pace. The Parish, District and Football club are all pulling in the same direction to get this much needed project moving forward, so much so we may be close to awarding contracts soon (fingers crossed).

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone associated with the club and all the volunteers that help provide the environment and surroundings for all our players to develop and enjoy the ‘beautiful game’.

Gareth Woodward         Chairman Milton United FC

September 2023

Hello and welcome to my first words as the new Chairman at Milton United Football Club. I am extremely fortunate to follow in the footsteps of someone who dedicated 13 years to the position and left the club in a far better standing from the one he took over all those years ago. Be rest assured Andy Burchette, now a Life Member of Milton United FC, will still be working extremely hard behind the scenes in helping to drive the new Clubhouse project forward and I am sure I will be calling on his wealth of knowledge and experience as I mature into my new role.

I want to start by saying how privileged and honoured I am to become Chairman of this great football club. This is a community club and my vision for it begins with strengthening the connection between you the parishioners and the leadership of the club. No matter how large or small the amount, supporters are the heartbeat of all clubs, and you are no different. Communication is of paramount importance and as we do our best to build and improve our community focused facilities at The Heights, it will remain my aim to be as transparent as possible. Having been associated with the club as parent, coach, manager, Vice Chair and now Chairman, I will always put the interests of the club first.

On the football front, our Senior Men’s team, under the leadership of Christian and Tom are playing exciting football, whilst encompassing a great blend of youth and experience. It seems an age since the 28th of April, when we travelled to Gloucestershire to face Hartpury University in the Hellenic Division One Play-off and after winning the penalty shoot-out, we gained promotion to National League System Step 5. Having already kicked off the 23/24 season and won two from our first three games, we are already seeing the move east into the Combined Counties Premier (North) as a positive one. We are sad to wave goodbye to local adversaries Abingdon United, however we say hello again to Wallingford & Crowmarsh FC.

With the introduction last season of an U18 girls’ team, we now have a pathway right through to Senior ladies’ football. This is an area I am very keen to assist our existing management and coaching staff in continuing to develop and build our players, coaches and managers of the future. This season will also see the largest amount of Milton United FC youth teams represented in the Oxford Mail youth leagues. A great achievement from our Saturday morning Mini-Kickers, right through to U17’s.
We  have great playing facilities up at The Heights, which continue to improve with help from local sponsors and assistance from the Football Foundation. As previously mentioned, the focus and drive will be to replace the existing clubhouse with a new Community focussed building that supports the Football Club and provides social space and facilities for all to enjoy. Head of Projects Barry Griffiths, aided by Andy will be working hard to secure the capital and associated leases, which will allow us to make improvements to our infrastructure and continue to build on the strong foundations that exist at the Club.

In these early days, I am very focused on gaining an understanding of the Chairmans role and I am confident that with the wealth of knowledge, experience and friendship that exists around me, I can build on my predecessors’ hard work and continue improving our reputation as a well-run, engaging and community focused Club. It is imperative that we continue to build relationships and ties within the expanding number of residents around The Heights and all understand the connection this community has with its football club and its great history dating back to 1909. With that in mind our aim this season will be to hold several social events, which won’t necessarily all be football related. Once dates have been confirmed we will advertise them across our social platforms and the Parish media sites. I also welcome anyone who wishes to ‘pop in’ for a chat and a brew, however, be warned we are always on the lookout for more volunteers! I still have so much more to learn, and I know I must earn your trust as a steward and custodian of Milton United Football Club. I am extremely grateful for this responsibility, and I am excited to get started.