Potters Bar Town Football Club is an English football club based in
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...
, Hertfordshire, England. They were formed in 1960 as Mount Grace Old Scholars, and, after dropping 'Old Scholars' from the name in 1984, changed to their present name in 1991. Their best performances in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
were in the 2006–07, 2016–17 and 2019–20 seasons when they reached the 4th (and final) Qualifying Round. They currently play in the .
When Potters Bar built their turnstile block, to join the Southern League in 2005, their turnstiles came from the old
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...
.
The club are currently managed by Sammy Moore, and finished in 13th place in the Isthmian Premier Division in the 2021/22 season.
Club history
1960s
In 1960, Ken Barrett, who was a
PE Master at
Mount Grace School
Mount Grace School is a Mixed academy school based in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.
History
Mount Grace was originally a Manor House built by Roger Fenton
Roger Fenton (28 March 1819 – 8 August 1869) was a British photographer, noted as ...
at the time, formed a football club for former scholars. The club played in Division One of the Barnet & District League in their first season,
1960–61. In May 1965 the Barnet & District League and the Finchley & District League merged to form the North London Combination, in which the club then played, winning the Premier Division championship in
1967–68. The club joined Division Two of the Hertfordshire County League the following season and won the championship and promotion to Division One at the first attempt.
1970s
Mount Grace Old Scholars won the championship of Division One of the Hertfordshire County League and promotion to the Premier Division in the
1973–74 season. They finished bottom and were relegated back to Division One in the
1978–79 season.
1980s
Following two third-place finishes, the club won the Division One championship and renewed promotion to the Premier Division in the
1981–82 season. The club spent the rest of the 1980s in this division.
1990s
In the
1990–91
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
season, the club reached the third round of the
FA Vase, and won the Hertfordshire Senior County League, as it was by then called, Premier Division championship and the Aubrey Cup. The change of name to Potters Bar Town coincided with joining the
South Midlands League
The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midland ...
Premier Division. In the
1996–97 season, the club won the championship on goal difference. In the following season,
1997–98, the club were runners-up in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division North, and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Vase.
Recent history
Under Steve Smart and assistant Paul Surridge, the club won the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Cup, the Hertfordshire Charity Shield, the Potters Bar Charity Cup, and the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division Championship, thus winning promotion to Division One East of the Southern League, in the
2004–05 season. After one season, the club moved sidewards to the Isthmian League Division One North.
Andy Leese and assistant Jon Meakes joined Potters Bar Town in February 2006 and steered the club away from relegation and in the 2006–07 season they then guided Town to a modest 14th in the league. The Scholars also captured the Herts Charity Cup in 2007. However Leese and Jon Meakes resigned from The Scholars to take over the job at
Chesham United. Steve Browne, previously manager at
Aveley
Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom c ...
,
Boreham Wood
Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
,
Dover Athletic
Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...
and
Slough Town
Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...
left in December 2008 and the new manager is Adam Lee, formerly, manager of Wingate & Finchley.
The club was placed back in the Southern League (Division One Central) for the 2013/14 season.
Adam Lee resigned in October 2013 and was replaced by player /manager Jack Friend.
Friend departed himself in February 2015, and was replaced by ex
Hillingdon Borough and
North Greenford United boss Steve Ringrose.
Potters Bar got promoted from the Bostik League Division One North to the Bostik Premier League in the 2017–18 season by finishing second. They secured promotion with a 3–0 win against Barking.
In the 2019–20 season the club were drawn against
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
qualifying fourth round. The BBC selected the game to
live-stream
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but ...
on their services making this the first full live game in Potters Bar history. The game finished 1–1 with the Scholars scoring in the 101st minute of injury time to force a replay. However at
The Hive they lost 3–1.
The 2019/20 season was eventually halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Scholars sitting in midtable.
The 2020/21 season was also curtailed, with the last game being played in October, a 3-1 loss against Leatherhead. The season’s termination did not prevent Bar from continuing to make progress on and off the pitch however, as on the pitch they were able to enjoy 3-0 wins against both Cheshunt and Cray Wanderers, the latter ending their opponent’s 17 game unbeaten run.
Off the pitch, further improvements were made to the Lantern Stadium, as a state-of-the-art sprinkler system, a perimeter barrier around the pitch and a new draining system were all installed, whilst the main grandstand was changed to a maroon and white colour with new seats and a repaint in order to match the new club colours.
The 2021/22 season saw a return to playing football and a complete season played. Bar went out of the FA Cup in the first qualifying round away to Stowmarket Town but enjoyed our best run to date in the FA Trophy before losing 3-1 away to Braintree Town of the National League South in the second round proper. With an unprecedented wet winter, the club was hampered by having a number of home games postponed due to a continuing water logged pitch which left the club behind in league fixtures -a lot of mid season work was put into the pitch to aid its recovery.
Lee O’Leary resigned as manager but the club appointed the experienced Sammy Moore in January 2022, which saw a change in the team’s performances and the club achieved a final position of 13th with 53 points – their best yet at Step 3.
Ground
The club play at the Lantern Stadium, which was also used for many years by
Arsenal Ladies Reserves and by the first team for county cup ties. In 2006, in the space of just six weeks, a new perimeter fence was erected, major improvements were made to the stand and changing rooms, and turnstiles and an outside toilet block were added to the facilities to satisfy
the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...
's ground grading standards and allow the club to be promoted to the Southern League Division One East.
The ground can be found on Watkins Rise, which is a small road that is connected to The Walk. The Hertfordshire-based club have the postcode EN6 1QB.
Two new stands were built in the 2018–19 season with capacity for 100 seats and 100 people standing following promotion to Step 3.
The current record attendance for the ground is 2,011 set on 19 October 2019 in the FA Cup Preliminary Round Four against
Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
.
County affiliation
When the club was founded, the town of Potters Bar was within the county of
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
. It transferred to
Hertfordshire in 1965 following local government boundary changes. The club remains affiliated to both the
Middlesex County Football Association
The Middlesex Football Association is an organisation that regulates and promotes football, aiming to increase the quantity and quality of participation in the historic area of Middlesex.
History
The Middlesex F.A. was founded in 1883 by the Footb ...
and the
Hertfordshire County Football Association
The Hertfordshire County Football Association, also simply known as ''Hertfordshire FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The Hertfordshire FA was founded accidentally in 1885 after the existing teams (th ...
, and participates in the Hertfordshire Senior Cup and Charity Cup.
Records
*Best
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
performance: Fourth qualifying round, 2006–07, 2016–17, 2019–20
*Best
FA Trophy performance: Second qualifying round, 2011–12, 2017–18
[
*Best FA Vase performance: Sixth round, 1997–98][
*Record attendance: 2,011 vs ]Barnet
Barnet may refer to:
People
*Barnet (surname)
* Barnet (given name)
Places United Kingdom
*Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below.
*East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
, FA Cup fourth qualifying round, 19 October 2019["Potters Bar Town", '']When Saturday Comes
''When Saturday Comes'' (''WSC'') is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the ...
'', December 2019
Honours
*Spartan South Midlands League
The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...
**Premier Division champions 1996–97, 2004–05
**Premier Division League Cup winners 1997, 2005
**Floodlit Cup winners 1998, 2006
* Herts Senior County League
**Premier Division champions 1990–91
*Herts Charity Shield
**Winners 2003, 2005, 2007
*Potters Bar Charity Cup
**Winners 1996, 2004, 2005
*Aubrey Cup
**Winners 1991
*North London Combination
**Premier Division champions 1967–68
*Isthmian League Division One North
*Runners Up 2017-18
References
External links
*
*
*
Official website
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Football clubs in England
Isthmian League
Association football clubs established in 1960
Potters Bar
Southern Football League clubs
1960 establishments in England
Football clubs in Hertfordshire