We are the Hawks

A brief history of Havant and Waterlooville FC

Revised July 2008

The Past

Hawks support at Dagenham and Redbridge in the first round of the FA Cup. (November 2002)

June 2008 saw the Hawks celebrate the tenth anniversary of the union of south coast rivals Havant Town and Waterlooville, capping an accomplished short history that has witnessed two promotions; semi-final matches in the FA Trophy and Conference Play-Offs; and no less than four FA Cup First Round appearances - the most recent against York City eventually leading to a once in a lifetime trip to play Liverpool at Anfield in the Fourth Round last season. But of course the story doesn’t start with the June 1998 merger; the origins of the club’s predecessors date back over 100 years.

Local football in the borough started back in 1883 with the formation of Havant FC. The team plied their trade in the Portsmouth Football League and in the 1950s produced Chelsea and England forward Bobby Tambling. In 1969 the club merged with Leigh Park FC, Sunday League upstarts from a Havant suburb formed in 1958 who that season had won the FA Sunday Cup.

Havant and Leigh Park FC topped the Portsmouth League at their first attempt, and moved into the fourth division of the Hampshire League in 1970. Rapid promotions continued, and in 1977 the team reached the First Division. A spartan home at their Front Lawn pitch inhibited further progress, and the club acquired the site for Westleigh Park in 1980. It took two years for the ground to be levelled, drained, enclosed, and a clubhouse built, but eventually in August 1982 the renamed Havant Town FC moved into their new home.

Hawks legend Paul Wood takes on Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy Quarter Final. (March 2003)

The team became founder members of the Wessex League in 1986, and were runners up three times before finally clinching the title and promotion to the Southern League in 1991. It was during this spell in the Wessex League that the club attained a record setting attendance of 3,500 against Wisbech Town in the Quarter Final of the FA Vase; a figure that wouldn’t be broken for another 22 years.

Waterlooville FC meanwhile came into existence in 1905, and progressed through the Waterlooville District, Portsmouth and Hampshire Leagues to take up residence in the Southern League twenty years before Havant in 1971. The league reorganised itself in the late 70s after the formation of the Football Conference, and Waterlooville narrowly missed winning the Southern Division in 1981, despite putting together a 31 match unbeaten run.

Waterlooville yo-yoed back and forth between the Southern and Premier Divisions through the 1980s and in 1987 won the league cup with a 2-1 victory over Hednesford Town. In 1993 the team finished in 11th place in the Premier, their highest ever position, but in the following years relegation and money problems made further title bids impossible. It was these financial woes that led Waterlooville into considering a merger with rivals Havant Town, who were trying to overcome problems of their own in 1997 after the unexpected departure of Manager Tony Mount to Newport Isle of Wight with many of the team’s key players.

Joining Forces

Alec Masson (gold) fends off Mark Hallam in the First Leg of the 2002/03 FA Trophy Semi Final. (April 2003)

The union was an obvious one, and after a successful first season the combined team topped the Southern League’s Southern Division and gained promotion to the Premier, from where they challenged for an escape to the Football Conference in 2001/02. On that occasion they ultimately finished third in the table, but the season almost doubled attendance figures as local interest drew in new fans to witness the highest finishing position the club had achieved. Giddy concerns over promotion early that season brought about the rapid conclusion of a £500,000 improvement to Westleigh Park, taking it from its humble Hampshire League origins to Conference National standard; a grading the ground has retained since with the further addition of new player facilities and covering on all sides of the ground.

Shrewd player purchasing meant the 2002/03 season saw the most impressive side the club had fielded to that date, and one that gained exposure though two excellent cup runs. In the FA Cup the Hawks overcame Ryman Premier sides Harrow Borough and Billericay Town, and enjoyed a tremendous day out at Dagenham and Redbridge where they made their second first round proper appearance in three years. Fate put them against Billericay again in the FA Trophy, who made more of the second encounter and forced the only replay a run that took the Hawks past Sutton United, Colwyn Bay and Hayes before the game of the season at Forest Green Rovers.

Tim Hambley (left) and James Taylor (right) line up for England National XI duty (April 2002) (Picture Simon Lynch)

To be in the quarter final of the FA Trophy was something no Hawks fan would have dared dream about; the side having only previously made it as far as the third round. Rovers took an early lead, but with an astonishing second half performance the Hawks made a superb comeback to win 2-1 and go on to bow out to league leaders Tamworth in the semi-final.

Leworthy’s Rescue Mission

The 2003/04 season started with a high degree of optimism, and while initial league results were encouraging, the side rapidly began to lose their way. Enthusiasm and passion in the players vanished, and eventually the management partnership of Mick Jenkins and Liam Daish, in the role together since May 2000, came to an end when both were dismissed in January 2004.

At the time the Hawks were fighting for a top thirteen finish, and an automatic place in the new three division Conference. With so much at stake, competition in the Southern League was particularly fierce, and the Hawks appointed highly successful reserve team manager David Leworthy, 18 games into an unbeaten run at the time, to take the side forward. His enthusiasm and desire reformed a dying side and lifted them from certain relegation to a place in the new Conference with a dramatic win on the penultimate day of the season.

Leworthy’s start was slow, but some tremendous signings including Premiership striker Dean Holdsworth once again made the Hawks seem a formidable side on paper. But the spirit that evaporated through the previous season failed to return, and after another early FA Cup exit Leworthy was suddenly axed from his job in November 2004. Club director Ian Baird was installed within a week as his replacement, the ex-Southampton, Portsmouth and Leeds striker having been a candidate when the position became vacant eleven months earlier.

Baird’s Regime

Brett Poate congratulates Rocky Baptiste on his debut goal, the first of 85 in three seasons (August 2005)

Uncertainty remained in the side as Baird began to make changes, and the Hawks continued to drop down the table to find a new first in February 2005 when they found themselves propping up the bottom of the league. A fractious game against play-off candidates Lewes left players and fans both resigned to relegation, but the game proved to be the turning point for a side that has since risen to new heights. New faces were persuaded into the side and an impossible run of games followed, with just two defeats in twelve games taking the Hawks out of the relegation battle and into a mid-table finish.

Baird approached the 2005/06 season as a fresh start, with a constant re-shaping of the side that saw 35 different players pull on a Hawks shirt that season. By May the Hawks could boast a committed and enthusiastic side that had suffered only 11 defeats, and proved with victories over many of the league’s most dominant sides that they were promotion material. Ultimately though, the Hawks finished one point outside the playoff bracket in sixth place.

Missing the playoffs though did little to dampen the spirits of a club again in the ascendancy. Prior to the 2006/07 season the club announced a three-year six-figure sponsorship deal with brewing giants Carlsberg, backed by a total rejuvenation of the clubhouse at Westleigh Park, which has now taken its place in the local community as a fully functional public house.

Richard Pacquette during the playoff semi-final defeat at Braintree (May 2007)

On the pitch, the introduction of further impressive Conference National experienced players launched the club into a new assault on the league’s top spot, and during the first four months of the season the Hawks lost only five games, putting them at one point at the very top of the table. But a bumpier run through the winter months saw Histon’s championship position become unassailable, and the focus switched to securing a playoff spot, which the club finally managed on the last day of the season. A two legged semi-final against Braintree followed, in which the Iron eventually triumphed on penalties in front of their home crowd.

Gale’s Wind of Change

The reasons behind Baird’s abrupt departure to Conference rivals Eastleigh just ten games into the 2007/08 season remain shrouded in mystery, but having astutely added to the Hawks squad through the summer, disruption ensued as the outgoing manager attempted to take his preferred players with him. Most stayed, but the damage had been done, and having started as early favourites with the bookmakers to win the league, the Hawks faced an uphill struggle to get back on track. However what happened next has already become the stuff of football legend.

Two days after Baird’s departure, long term assistant manager and former defender Shaun Gale was installed as a very enthusiastic new boss. Citing the appointment as the achievement of a long term goal, Gale also launched the club’s new Community programme in February.

The Hawks take the lead at Anfield, John Hardacre (January 2008)

His first real task in the job was to overcome Fleet Town in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup as the Hawks looked for a second consecutive first round appearance, having lost 2-1 to Millwall at Fratton Park the season preceding. With mission accomplished, the astonishing FA Cup run went on and on past Leighton Town, York City and Notts County until the Hawks began to gain national prominence with a Third Round tie against League One leaders Swansea City. A two legged affair followed, with Rocky Baptiste’s equaliser at the Liberty Stadium setting up a replay at Westleigh Park watched by 4,400 fans in which the Swans were outplayed and sent back to Wales with a 4-2 defeat, much to the delight of the media.

Cup fever gripped the town when the Fourth Round draw handed the Hawks a trip to face European giants Liverpool, and 21 coaches helped move 6,000 Hawks fans to Anfield on January 26th 2008. An attendance of 42,566 watched as the non-league minnows shook the Kop and took the lead twice against the Reds before the inevitable defeat that seemed almost irrelevant after the magical journey the cup run had created.

Back in the league a playoff place remained an outside chance, but with so much ground to make up the Hawks ultimately missed out by three points, allowing Gale to take stock of his side and rebuild for the new season. Six major signings followed through the summer, four from Lewes’s 2007/08 title winning side, and with rumours of half a million pounds in cup money to support the club, the Hawks have once again been handed the position of favourites at the bookmakers to win the league.