Slough Town F.C. is an English football (soccer) club. The club was officially founded in 1890 after the amalgamation of three local clubs, Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society, who between them forged a new club, Slough F.C.. The club is a senior non-League football club representing Slough, England.

Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team are currently playing in the Southern League Division One Midlands.

History

Slough F.C. was originally formed in 1890 and initially played in the Southern Alliance alongside the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Windsor & Eton before later moving on to the Great Western Suburban League. In 1921 they attempted to join the Isthmian League but lost out to Wycombe Wanderers in the voting. Instead they chose to join the Spartan League.

In 1936 the owners of the club's ground, Dolphin Stadium, sold up to a greyhound racing consortium, who ordered the football club to vacate the stadium three years later. After being forced to groundshare with Maidenhead United for several years, the club agreed to a merge with Slough Centre F.C. to return to a ground in their home town. The new club took the name Slough United F.C.
After World War II Slough United were reluctant to rejoin the Spartan League and led a breakaway movement to form a new league, which became the Corinthian League. It was from this that the club derived its nickname of "The Rebels". Shortly after this the two clubs which had merged to form Slough United separated once again, with the former Slough F.C. continuing under the new name of Slough Town F.C.
Slough were Corinthian League champions in 1950-51 but in 1964 the league folded and Slough, along with many other former Corinthian clubs, joined an expanded Athenian League. They were champions of this league on three occasions, with the third win earning them promotion to the Isthmian League in 1973. During the 1980s they were league champions on two occasions, the second of which earned them promotion to the Football Conference. They lasted four seasons at this level, were relegated back to the Isthmian League, bounced back at the first attempt, and then played three more seasons of Conference football. In 1998 the consortium which had bought the club out of receivership seven years earlier decided that they were not prepared to pay for ground improvements required to remain in the Conference, and so the club was demoted back to the Isthmian League despite having finished in 8th place.

Further relegation to the Isthmian League Division One followed in 2000-01 but the club regained its Premier Division status in 2003-04 and remained there until the end of the 2006-07 season, when they were relegated having finished bottom and conceded over 120 goals. They transferred over to the Southern Football League Division One South & West for the 2007–08 season, where they finished 21st out of 22 teams. Although initially relegated, they were one of the teams given a provisional reprieve after Halifax Town were placed into administration.

Ground

The club has never had a long-term home.

From 1973 Slough Town were based at the Wexham Park Stadium. At the end of the 2002-03 season, financial disagreements with the stadium's owners led to the club's eviction. The Stadium is still in existence, but has since fallen into a state of serious disrepair.

During the next four seasons (2003-04 to 2006-07) the club were based in Windsor, ground-sharing with Windsor & Eton at their Stag Meadow ground.

In the summer of 2007, the club agreed a ground-share with Beaconsfield SYCOB.

As of June 2009, Slough Town are due to submit a proposal to Slough Borough Council for permission to build a new stadium. The proposed location for the development is the Arbour Vale site on Stoke Road. In addition to a state-of-the-art stadium, the plans include affordable housing and sports fields.

Current squad

International players

In the 2007-08 season, Slough's first team included several 'International' players – something which is probably rather rare for the level at which STFC are currently playing. Three players, Jermaine Gumbs, Romell Gumbs and Brian Connor, won their second caps for Anguilla in a World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador in March 2008. For the 2009–10 season, the squad includes another Anguillan international player, Roy Gumbs.

In April 2009, Scottish international Paul Telfer joined the club.

Club Records

• Record League Win: 17-0 v Railway Clearing House, Saturday 4 March 1922

• Record Cup Win: 16-0 v Wolverton, Saturday 7 December 1935

• Record League Defeat: 10-2 v Wycombe Wanderers, Saturday 23 March 1912

• Record Cup Defeat: 11-1 v Chesham Town Saturday 5th Feb 1910

• Record Transfer Fee Paid: £18,000 for Colin Fielder from Farnborough Town in 1991

• Record Transfer Fee Received: £22,000 for Steve Thompson from Wycombe Wanderers in 1992

Sources