EXCLUSIVE: Aylesbury to get new semi pro football club
A new semi-professional football club, playing in Aylesbury and managed by former Ducks boss Mark Eaton, has been announced.
The club, called Aylesbury FC, will play at Haywood Way- the former home of Aylesbury Vale, which will no longer exist.
It will play in Vale's current division, The South Midlands Premier League (one step below United), although those behind the project are aiming for promotion to the Southern League within two years, and in the longer term to push on to The Conference.
Haywood Way will be improved to allow it to qualify for higher leagues, although the eventual aim is to move to a new stadium in the town.
The executive committee of the club consists of Roger Dance, former chairman of Dunstable Town, who is to be chairman, Jon Franklin, a former United boss, Bill Harrison and Danny Martone, from Aylesbury Vale, and Mark Eaton, who has today quit as United boss to take the reins at Aylesbury FC.
A club statement released exclusively to The Bucks Herald said that the plan had originally been to buy homeless Aylesbury United, who will play at Leighton next season, and join it with Vale to create the new club.
However, it said that a deal with Aylesbury United chairman Graham Read fell through at the last minute.
The statement goes on: "Naturally this is a big disappointment but Aylesbury FC will push on with the plan and hope that the supporters and everyone associated at Aylesbury United FC understand that the proposal was the best for football in Aylesbury and the door is still open for the clubs to become one.
"The new club will be a non-profit organisation thus enabling it to seek grants from various sources.
"At last there is a way for the people of Aylesbury to have a high standard of football back in Aylesbury and for the youth of the town to progress through the ranks. The committee will lay down foundations for Aylesbury FC to mirror those teams such as Oxford City, Wycombe Wanderers and MK Dons.
"A lot of hard work has been done to make this happen and now it is up to the people of the town to make this a great club that Aylesbury can call its own and be proud of in the future."
For much more information and reaction to this story, read The Bucks Herald, out on Wednesday.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
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