Whitton United FC
King George V Playing Field
Old Norwich Road
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP1 6LE
01473 464030
Ground Number: 1371
Saturday 9th November 2024
Whitton United 0-1 Whittlesey Athletic
Eastern Counties D1 North
WHITTON UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
Although a Whitton United existed in the late 19th century, the modern club was established in 1926 and initially played on a pitch behind the Whitton Crown pub. After two seasons they moved to another ground behind the Whitton Maypole pub, and later to the King George V Playing Fields. The club won the Senior Division of the Ipswich & District League in 1947 and with the league later changing its name to the Suffolk & Ipswich League, Whitton United would go on to win it six times. After struggling during the 1970s, they were relegated and dropped into Division Two of the Ipswich & District League. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the club won Division Two and Division One to return to the Senior Division. This proved to be a good time for the club and in 1995, took the step up to semi-pro football and the Eastern Counties League. Finishes were generally good and in 2008, Whitton United would finish 3rd behind Tiptree United and Ely City. However, in early January 2009 the club they would be unable to fulfil their first-team fixtures and would be withdrawing from the league. Despite their withdrawal, the club rejoined the league in Division One the following season and would remain there until 2014 when they were champions. Two seasons were spent here with a best-ever finish of 11th in the Premier Division in 2015. After being relegated the following year, the club would return to the Premier Division following another 3rd place finish in 2018. Their stay here would be longer this time and it was only two seasons back that they were relegated back to Division 1 after a bottom-place finish.
Whitton United have never been especially successful in the FA Cup, reaching the 2nd Qualifying Round a couple of times in the 1950s. In 2019 they beat West Essex and Hertford Town before a 1st Qualifying Round exit to Soham Town Rangers, The same can be said of the FA Vase, the best they could manage is the 2nd Round which they last reached in 2011 before losing at Southend Manor. Local cup wins include the Suffolk & Ipswich League Cup in 1994 and five Sussex Senior Cups. The record attendance of 528 came against Ipswich Town on 29th November 1995. Notable names to turn out for the team include former Plymouth Argyle player Ronnie Mauge. Whitton is an area of Ipswich and once a separate village. It is now a ward of Ipswich Borough Council in Suffolk,. The site of a Roman villa, the village is thought to have been a Saxon colony, possibly dating from the Saxon invasion of around 430 AD. It appears in the Domesday Book as Widituna, possibly meaning Hwita's farm or White's farm.
MY VISIT
Whitton United had been a long-term target for me. For a start, I needed the ground to complete the Eastern Counties Division 1 North. I had also started a blog, having attempted to visit a year ago, only to have the game against Haverhill Borough called off. I'd already purchased my train tickets at that point but thankfully Ransomes Sports saved the day as their game was on. I had a good day in Ipswich and it was a fairly decent fare too. The only negative was that a chunk of the route was on a bus replacement service which added time and inconvenience to the journey. This put me off another attempt for a while, but finally, it appeared as if the work had been completed. So with that in mind, I planned this game with no opportunity to go in midweek. The only negative was that the fare had gone up by a tenner. I briefly considered changing my game, but that was when I found out it was a Saturday or not at all if I wanted to go there. Plus, the other options were not inspiring.
The thing that swang it though was the opportunity to stop at Colchester en route. I still needed the Wetherspoons and there was the excellent Victoria Inn pub which I had enjoyed a few years ago when I went to Gas Recreation FC. They had stocked up on a load of ciders that I'd not had before and so I decided I was going to make the journey, increased fare or not. This was all decided on Wednesday afternoon. The night before, whilst I was at Uxbridge, something magical was happening up in Greater Manchester. I'd made ten visits to Edgeley Park in Stockport with absolutely no wins for Wycombe. This included a 6-0 thumping in 2007 and overall our record was three draws and nine defeats up there. So it was somewhat of a shock that Wycombe coasted to a thumping 5-0 win against one of the pre-season favourites to be in the promotion race. Seeing the goal notifications keep coming was quite surreal, but it was a great night for the couple of hundred who made the long midweek trip. Thursday evening saw me make my 27th visit to Holmer Green as their development side drew 2-2 with Taplow United.
From my revisit to Gosport which was cut short due to power failure, I made my way home and was in at 11.45. I intended to stay up for an hour and then get into bed, but not for the first time, I stayed up slightly longer. I awoke when my alarm went off after five and a half hours of sleep. It took me a while to get going and I was late leaving, no time for breakfast and I had to get a meal deal from Tesco en route. I could have chanced leaving later and taking the bus but they aren't the most reliable as I experienced earlier in the week. I was at the station 15 minutes before my train but after collecting my tickets and using the toilet, I had to sprint to my platform, only just making the 08:35 to Marylebone. The train was a couple of minutes late in and so after a walk to Baker Street, I had to wait six minutes for the next train to Liverpool Street. I was there well on time, having 15 minutes to spare. I took the time to work out the value I'd got on my tickets. Thanks to the bigotry of the railcard system, a lone adult could only get discount in a certain area, necessitating a split ticket unless I fancied paying the full fare of £63.30 (28p a mile). Instead, I used my Network Railcard to get to Manningtree for £31.60 (7p a mile) and £8.50 for the Manningtree to Ipswich return (an outrageous 42p a mile).
The ability to break my journey at Colchester on the cheaper half of the journey made it exceptional value, the other half a vastly overpriced necessity to get to my eventual destination. I arrived in Colchester at 10.45, it was then a 25 minute walk to the Playhouse Wetherspoons. An extremely impressive art deco building and the bag in box ciders I usually go for. I was however showing restraint for once and went for a lower strength Stowford Press for £1.99 along with a breakfast muffin and energy drink to take away for £3.99. I stuck at a single pint, knowing that the next pub was the main reason I was here. The walk to the Victoria Inn, back towards the station took 15 minutes with me arriving at 12.05. The place was epic, a large cider list meant that I was on the halves. Richard's Dry, Boomfa, Little Miracle and Yarlington were sampled. All were good and it was tricky to pick a favourite. But at a push, Richard's Dry by Dee Cider would be the one. It was then 15 minutes back to the station, I arrived in good time for my 13.17 train and was in a great mood. Colchester had been wonderful, a far cry from the 90s when they were Wycombe's bitter rivals and a visit here would have been akin to death. The two clubs had been silent on social media, most disappointing. But as it was dry, I had to assume all was good with the game. I stopped at Rodi Pizza and Grill en route to the ground, a Mexican burger aro £9. Still no communication from either club twenty minutes before kick off. It was a walk to the ground where there was a game. Entry was strange, go to the bar, get sidetracked by the excellent draught selection (Henry Weston Vintage), get a receipt and surrender that at the gate.
It was a lovely place though and a friendly springer spaniel amongst other things made me feel welcome. Whitton on top but there weren't any big chances early on. With Whitton United in 8th and and Whittlesey Athletic 18th, El Whittico should have been a gimme for the hosts. Whitton continued to dominate but on 66 minutes on the break, Whittlesey scored, an opportunistic strike into the top right but a good goal. Slowly but surely, Whittlesey nudged the match towards a favourable result for them, restricting the play. No further goals were scored, not the finest contest but I'd had a good day.
I left just before five. It was a great result as we won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic, where we have had little joy. There were good results for local sides Holmer Green, Penn & Tylers and Amersham Town too. I listened to the summary on our local station and was in a good mood. I was back at the station by 6 with ten minutes to spare for my train. It was six minutes late, but that was no biggie. The plan was to head back to London and possibly visit another Wetherspoons. The ultimate aim was either the 20:02 or 21:02 from London Marylebone which tallied up with the hourly bus service home. It was the usual Sunday slog at work tomorrow, followed by a Wycombe Wanderers Women's game at Burnham.
THE GROUND
KING GEORGE V PLAYING FIELDS is a decent venue to visit. It is just over two miles walk from Ipswich which has a wide range of places to eat and drink. The buses do not appear to save a huge amount of time on the hour or so walk from my experience. There is plenty of parking though. Entry is a strange one, you pay at the bar and get a receipt. This bar is excellent though, one of the best football ones I've been in. They have some interesting choices on draught, for cider drinkers Henry Weston Vintage which is better than most. The food is inside, not especially interesting but filling and good value. The ground is three sided with two areas of cover for fans. Behind the goal, a 100 seater stand, along the side 'The Shed' holds around 50 standers. Overall, a nice place worth a visit.
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