Manawatu United (previously known as YoungHeart Manawatu) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It participated in the

New Zealand Football Championship The New Zealand Football Championship ( mi, Te Whakataetae Whutupaoro a Aotearoa) was a men's association football league at the top of the New Zealand league system. Founded in 2004, the New Zealand Football Championship was the successor to a m ...

, and fielded a youth side in the National Youth League. Their home ground was Memorial Park. In 2014, the team was renamed to Manawatu United.

History

Manawatu United was formed in 2004, under the name YoungHeart Manawatu, to compete in the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC). Based in Palmerston North, they were the sole franchise in the region. In the inaugural NZFC season (2004–2005), Manawatu United finished bottom of the league. However, in 2005–2006 they finished runner-up to champions

Auckland City FC Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League (New Zealand), Northern League. Auckland City have established the ...

at the end of the regular season. In the finals, United lost both their playoff matches and exited early. The 2006–07 season saw Manawatu United finish second again at the conclusion of the regular season, this time behind

Waitakere United Waitakere United was a football club based in Waitakere City, New Zealand. They were one of the franchises in the ISPS Handa Premiership. They played their home games at Fred Taylor Park in Kumeu and The Trusts Arena. History Waitakere Uni ...

. United lost their preliminary final to Auckland and missed out on a spot in the O-League as a result. 2007–08 was a somewhat disappointing campaign given the success of the previous two seasons. Manawatu United finished the regular season placed sixth on the table, well adrift of the playoffs. A return to the playoffs came in the 2008/09 season, as United finished in third place in the condensed regular season. What followed was an emphatic two-goal victory in the first leg of a two-legged semi-final against

. In the return leg Auckland used their home advantage equally as well to win 3–0, consigning Manawatu to a 4–3 defeat on aggregate and another missed grand final and O-League appearance. Auckland went on to win the final. 2009–10 was a frustrating season for the Manawatu United faithful as the side finished in sixth place but only two points away from a playoff spot. Perhaps the highlight of the season was an unexpected 4–1 victory over

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

Kiwitea Street Kiwitea Street, also known as Freyberg Field, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used for football (soccer) matches and is the home stadium of both Auckland City FC and Central United. Terrace ...

. A bittersweet moment came during the 2010 off-season as standout young player Cory Chettleburgh signed a contract with professional

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

club

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

. This was a significant loss for the side as they looked to bounce back from a fairly disappointing campaign. At the conclusion of the 2012–13 season the franchise didn't have their league license renewed and were replaced by a New Zealand Under 20 squad

Wanderers Special Club Wanderers Special Club (often abbreviated as Wanderers SC) were a football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. Club overview The team was age-restricted, and featured only players below 20 years of age. The club was formed to develop players ...

for the 2013–14 season although they retained a team in the ASB Youth League.

Folding

Due to the ASB Youth League being reduced to only the 10 teams given licenses to the 2016–17 ASB Premiership, Manawatu United dissolved at the end of the 2015 ASB Youth League Season.

Ground

Memorial Park was the home ground of Manawatu United. They had played at this ground since the 2008–09 season, having previously played their home fixtures at

Central Energy Trust Arena Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square metre publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city centre in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stadiu ...

. Memorial Park has a capacity of approximately 8000 people.

Squad

''2010–11''

Staff

* Team Manager: Steve Green. * Head Coach:

Stu Jacobs Stu Jacobs (born 25 October 1965) is a New Zealand association football player and manager who represented New Zealand and coached the New Zealand Men's Olympic team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In October 2016 he was awarded Capital F ...

. * Assistant Coach: Andy Sawyer. * Goalkeeper coach: Steve Green. * Physiotherapist: Rodney Brooks-Mann. * General Manager: Neil Perry * Sponsorship & Marketing Manager:

Club Records

* All-time leading goalscorer:

Benjamin Totori Benjamin Totori (born 20 February 1986) is a Solomon Islands association football, footballer who plays as a striker for Kossa FC, Kossa. Club career A small but speedy striker, Totori made his name at New Zealand Football Championship, NZFC ...

(33) * Most goals in a season:

(24 in 2006/07 season) * Biggest win: 8–1 vs.

Hawke's Bay United Hawke's Bay United was a professional Association football club based in Napier, New Zealand. HB United most recently played in the ISPS Handa Premiership – a semi-professional franchise based league, which ran independently of the winte ...

, 2005/06 season * Biggest loss: 0–8 vs.

Team Wellington Team Wellington Football Club was a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Miramar in Wellington, New Zealand. They competed in the ISPS Handa Premiership. Team Wellington had traditionally been one of the most succe ...

, 2007/08 season

Managers

Shane Rufer Shane Arthur Rufer (born 23 March 1960) is a New Zealand former association football player, who played as a centre forward, midfielder and defender. He represented New Zealand on nineteen occasions between 1979 and 1985, making his debut on 2 ...

(July 2006 – June 2008) *

Bob Sova Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

(July 2008 – June 2011) *

(July 2011–15)

Performance in OFC competitions

Oceania Club Championship The OFC Champions League, also known as the O-League, is the premier men's club soccer competition in Oceania. It is organised by the OFC, Oceania's football governing body. Beginning as the Oceania Club Championship (1987–2006), it has been ...

: (1 appearance) ::

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

– 3rd place – Won against

Nokia Eagles Nadi Football Club is a Fijian football club based in Nadi that competes in the Fiji Premier League. Their home stadium is Prince Charles. History Nadi Football Club was founded in 1937 under the leadership of Edward Grant. The local competiti ...

4 – 0 (stage 4 of 4)

References

External links

New Zealand Football Championship (official league site)

Official club siteYouth Soccer Palmerston North
{{New Zealand Football Championship Association football clubs in Palmerston North Association football clubs established in 2004 2004 establishments in New Zealand Sport in Manawatū-Whanganui Association football clubs disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in New Zealand