Washington F.C.


Washington Football Club is a football club based in Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. The club was formed by the local miners at the local "F-Pit" Colliery in the early 20th century as Washington Colliery F.C. The clubs distinctive red colours were agreed upon on formation and a codicil written making the team strip of red shirts being in existence in Perpetuity. The modern club was established in 1947 and joined the Wearside League in 1968. In the 1977–78 season, they reached the third round of the FA Vase. The club won promotion to the Northern Football League Division One after winning their last seven games of the 2014–15 season. It was their highest league standing since the 2003–04 season.

History

Little is known of the club prior to 1926–27 when the club became a founder member in division 2 of the North Eastern League. Prior to this, it was known the club did exist but mainly in playing friendlies against other local pits such as Usworth Colliery. A notable player from the early era was Ronnie Starling, who went on to captain Sheffield Wednesday to the FA Cup and won two caps for England.
The club won the Division 2 title in the 1927–28 season and were promoted to division one but didn't enjoy much success. This period, however, did produce their most famous son, Jimmy Hagan, who went on to represent England. He later managed the famous Benfica team that won three successive Portuguese championships between 1971 and 1973. He was also briefly manager of Sporting Lisbon during the 1976–77 season.
After the war the club were re-founded as Washington Colliery Mechanics and joined the Washington and District football league, with the club managing a great amount of success in the 1950s including winning the league title five years in a row, and the coveted Durham Trophy. The Colliery stayed in the league until 1964 when they moved to the Northern Alliance League. Their tenure in that league lasted only one year where then club secretary Billy Benson was successful in applying to become a member of the Wearside League under the name Washington F.C.. Their greatest moment was in 1970–71 reaching the FA Cup 4th qualifying round where they were defeated 3–0 by professional league team Bradford Park Avenue. Currently Washington play in the Northern league and are semi-professional with paid players.
The football club has faced financial hardship due in part to having its changing rooms burnt in an arson attack in 2009; and with league rules stating each team should provide suitable facilities for home and away teams they have had to rely on the help of teams in the two divisions of the Northern Football League until financial support is provided within the club. These problems caused the club to abandon its Albany Park home during the 2010–11 season and take up residence at the Nissan Sports and Leisure Complex in Sunderland, the former home of Northern League rivals Sunderland Nissan, who folded in 2009.
September 2013. Steven Hutchinson appointed manager. Washington finished the season 2013–14 with a defeat in the Ernest Armstrong Cup losing 1–0 to Jarrow Roofing. Season 2014–15 Washington finished runners-up and were promoted into the First Division.
Throughout the 2015–16 and 2016–17 Washington was forced to change managers on several occasions and the club struggled to have a consistent run of form. In December 2016, following the departure of Neil Hixon on the back of 5 defeats, Richie Latimer was appointed as First Team Manager. Latimer appointed experienced Northern League coach James Clark as Assistant Manager.
In February 2017, due to work commitments and personal circumstances, Richie Latimer was forced to step down as Manager. Clark was appointed as First Team Manager with assistance from Player Coach Michael Laws. Both have a wealth of experience in Football.
Prior to joining the club, Clark had recent Ebac Northern League experience as a coach at Whitley Bay. He is also involved with Sport Equipment Company Locust, and as a Consultant with Football Agency Cayalyst4Soccer. Laws has a wealth of experience playing in the Ebac Northern League, most notably as part of the Spennymoor Town side that won 3 League titles in 4 years.
At the end of the 2016/17 season, due to lack volunteers running the club, notice was submitted to the Northern Football League for the club to withdraw its membership for the 2017–18 season. It was a dark day is the history of the club and it was about to disappear into the books of history. An appeal was subsequently made in the local press/social media etc, to find help to take over/assist with the administration of the club.
A local Community Club where football is for all. They are a well-run organisation with a wealth of administrative experience. They provide training for girls and boys in age groups ranging from Under 7s to Under 14s boys and hope to have at least one team in every age division up to Under 18s
The Committee at Washington AFC stepped in to take over running Washington FC and withdrew the clubs resignation from the League. The two clubs are now joining forces. Although the clubs will continue to run independently, members of the AFC Committee will be taking over the main administrative roles installing Rob Cutler as chairman and Treasurer.
Local volunteers have also stepped up and a new club Secretary, Steve Haywood and Media Team have been formed.
Previous Secretary & Chairman, Derek Armstrong; Club President, Tom Boylen and Fundraising Coordinator Graeme English continue to support the club along with the Management and Team at
The club continues to develop and work both on and off the pitch for the start of the season.
Clark was asked to remain as manager and has appointed Laws as player/assistant manager. They have brought in Ross McKay as head coach. Together they are building a young, strong team with a mix of experience and new talent.
Off the field work is continuing to build partnerships with local business and the community. The club are exploring new ways to engage with supporting including the release of a Flickr account and You Tube Channel coming later in the season.
Washington created a media storm in October 2017 when former France and Premier League star Pascal Chimbonda joined the Club. The Mechanics made major news throughout Europe and reaching as far as Japan, India and South America. Chimbonda came to the non-league club as player/coach, hoping to share his experiences of what it is like to play at a high professional level.
With the arrival of Chimbonda, the club parted ways with Coach Ross McKay.
Due to a long term injury to forward Matty Waters, Washington signed striker Vinny Gash to bolster a thin attacking line-up. They also brought in Joshua Akal, Ben Gibbon, Jak Hanson and Abdull Karim from Junior Club Washington AFC Under 23 setup. The new recruits were an instant hit on the pitch and with fans.
Matty Waters would later leave the Club signing for title chasing Shildon AFC.
In January Washington FC parted company with Manager James Clark. Assistant Manager Michael Laws was appointed interim manager with additional support from Club Captain Alex White and Player/Coach Pascal Chimbonda. Laws has also brought in a wealth of expertise to assist with coaching in the form of former Manager Richie Latimer and Graham Carter.
Laws is instilling the ethos of the Club strategy in a community club for the future. He left in March 2018 and was replaced as Manager by Mark Gibbon, Chairman of Washington AFC

Achievements

1. Players that have played/managed in the Football League or any foreign equivalent to this level.
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record.