A guide to Aldershot Town F.C.

Aldershot Town Football Club is a football team based in Hampshire. It was founded in 1992, after Aldershot FC went out of business due to their mounting debts. The club currently competes in League Two and plays its home matches at The Recreation Ground. They are nicknamed as'The Shots'. Hence, this article will provide a guide on this club.

Aldershot FC and birth of Aldershot Town Football Club

The original Aldershot FC were founded in 1926, playing their early years in non-league. The election to the Football League was gained in 1932, where they went on to place in the bottom-half of the Third Division South. A restructuring of the Football League in 1958 saw Aldershot become a founder member of the Fourth Division. For the next three decades, Aldershot went back-and-forth between the Third and Fourth divisions. The financial problems at the club became apparent in the final few years of their existence, with the club going out of business on 25th March 1992, with their final game being a 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City.

Success since 1992

Soon after Aldershot FC's demise, Aldershot Town FC were formed and took their place in the Isthmian League Third Division. They gained promotion in their first season and made their way through the Isthmian League structure to finally gain promotion to the Football Conference by winning the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2002-03. Their first season saw them maintain their progression by reaching the Football Conference Playoff Final, but they were cruelly denied by Shrewsbury Town, who defeated The Shots 3-0 on penalties. They also reached the FA Trophy Semi-Finals, but they were defeated by Hednesford Town. The promotion to the Football League was achieved in the 2007-08 season, when they won the Conference National, and were victorious in lifting the Conference League Cup.

Recent seasons

After gaining promotion from the Conference National, Aldershot have established themselves in League Two. A fifteenth-place finish in the 2008-09 season was impressively built upon the following year when they finished on the sixth position and gained a place in the League Two Playoffs. However, they were unable to gain promotion after falling to a 3-0 aggregate defeat to Rotherham United in the semi-finals. A poor start to the 2010-11 season saw Dean Holdsworth brought in as manager, and he successfully guided his new club away from relegation to finish fourteenth in the league table.

Stadium

The Recreational Ground has held football matches since 1927, just after the original Aldershot FC were founded. The record attendance for the ground is 19.138 for a game against Carlisle United in 1970. However, the current capacity lies at 7,100, with the club averaging in excess of 3000 supporters per game over the three seasons.