BASHLEY FC HISTORY

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Bashley Football Club is a not-for-profit members' club registered as such with The Football Association

Founded in 1947, Bashley FC joined the Bournemouth League in 1950 and left in 1983 to join the Hampshire League. In 1986 they became founder members of the Wessex League and won the title for next three seasons. In 1987-88 Bashley reached the semi-finals of the FA Vase, losing narrowly to Emley.

In 1989 the club joined the Southern League Southern Division and won the title in their first season. The following season in the Premier Division Bash were in contention for promotion to the Conference but finished in fourth place. The club’s rise came to an end two years later with relegation back to the Southern Division.

Bashley reached the FA Cup First Round proper for the first time in 1994/95 and won 1-0 at Chesham. A Second-Round home tie with Swansea ended with a 1-0 defeat, with Bash came close to causing a huge upset.

August 1997 Bash appointed ex-European Cup winner Jimmy Case as manager. They were promotion challengers during 1997-98, but eventually finished third, with a good FA Trophy run into the last sixteen, losing narrowly at Conference side Hayes.

Young Bash midfielder, Wade Elliott, signed for AFC Bournemouth in January 2000 for £5,000, with Bash receiving further appearance money. Wade subsequently progressed to the Championship with Burnley.

2001/2002 resulted in another FA Trophy run ended by finalists, Stevenage Borough of the Conference. A top six place was achieved in 2002/03. The season was capped by a first ever Hampshire Senior Cup final, played at Southampton’s St Mary’s. It was a superb occasion for the club despite an eventual 2-1 defeat to Conference bound Aldershot Town, with Bash coming close to defeating their illustrious opponents.

Barry Blankley resigned early in 2002-3 and leading players departed. Bashley narrowly missed out on promotion under new manager John Robson and had to settle for a place in Isthmian Division One, as a result of FA restructuring. Robson departed, and Geoff Butler was appointed in the summer. Bash started well but had to settle for a mid table finish. Butler departed summer 2005 and Dave Wakefield took charge as player/manager. After a poor start, Wakefield left and Steve Riley took over as player/manager. An excellent run-in saw Bash finish just outside the play off places.

Another FA restructure saw Bash back in the Southern League South and West Division. They enjoyed a record-breaking season, winning the league by 28 points and achieving a rare double century of 102 points and 111 goals, including a spell of 27 League matches unbeaten. Promotion was an all-round team effort, Bash having the most prolific attack and the meanest defence in the league. Richard Gillespie finished up with 41 goals, the highest total in any of the Southern League divisions and broke the club all time goal-scoring record held by Colin Cummings, which had stood for over thirty years.

Bashley acquitted themselves well in the Southern Premier and finished in fifth place. 2007-08 ended in disappointment with a 4-1 defeat by Team Bath in the play-off semi-final. Steve Riley brought in new signings, but 2008-9 was a very different season. Bash were in the bottom four for long periods but ended with a final position of 14th. Summer 2009 saw the departure of Gillespie to Eastleigh, having scored 173 goals in 308 appearances. Steve Riley signed Farnborough striker Mark Gamble to ensure that Bash entered 2009-10 with renewed hope of being competitive.

In 2009/10 Bash just missed out on a top five finish on final day of the season. An FA Trophy run saw Bash eventually lose to Conference National side, Crawley Town. Bash lost more key players for 2010-11 but rallied to secure a top half finish. After a good start to the next season, however, Bash struggled. A solid run ensured survival, although Steve Riley left during the summer. Bash appointed former Basingstoke manager Frank Gray for 2012-13 and ended the season in 17th place.

Paul Gazzard and Stewart Kearn took over the managerial hot seats in 2013-14 with a much-reduced budget. Results did not go for Bashley, players departed and Kearn stepped down. John Pyatt joined Gazzard to try and stave off relegation. The club was relegated to the South and West Division and were lucky to survive the season.

Andy Darnton, Graham Speechley-Price, Martin Spiers and Dominic Cuncliffe all had brief spells as manager before Speechley-Price took over as caretaker manager in February 2015. The club battled on, but finished bottom and were relegated. Andy Howard took the reserves to the 2014-15 Wyvern League title.

The FA reprieved Bashley, ensuring Southern League football. Ex league player David Stride became manager, only to be replaced by Steve Riley. Riley resigned following a run of defeats and Tom Prodomo took charge. The season ended with no wins, two draws, a bottom finish and relegation to the Wessex League. Season highlight was the 1-0 FA Trophy win against Cinderford, eventual S&W champions.

The 2016-17 campaign, Bashley’s first season back in the Wessex for many years, resulted in a 14th place finish. Almost at the end of that season manager Tom Prodomo departed for Weymouth. Bashley promoted from within with former assistant manager Paul Morris taking over in the manager’s hot seat for the 2017-18 season. The highlight of the 2017/18 came from the Reserves who won the Wyvern Combination League Cup; with the first team once again finishing in 14th place.

In the summer of 2020, Paul Lucas joined the club as a sponsor through his businesses, Banbury Builders and GlenMex. Twelve months later in 2021, Mr. Lucas officially came on board as Bashley Football Club's chairman. Since joining the Bash, the club has undergone some major changes - including the renovation of our executive box and the new club shop.

Bashley won promotion back to the Southern League after a six-year absence, after being runners-up in the 2021-22 Wessex League Premier Division, under the management of Paul Morris and coaching of Leon Scott and Matt Tubbs.