Hashtag United Development - Forest Glade Sports Ground

Hashtag United Development FC 

Forest Glade Sports Ground

Barleylands Road

Billericay 

Essex

CM11 2UD

Official Website

Twitter

Hashtag Dev FAFT

Ground Number: 1427

Wednesday 7th May 2025

Hashtag United Dev 5-4 ACD United
Essex Olympian Premier

HASHTAG UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Hashtag United Football Club was formed in March 2016 by Spencer Carmichael-Brown, a football YouTuber better known as Spencer FC or Spencer Owen. Playing only friendlies at first, their exploits drew huge interest on social media. Hashtag United played various teams, including a Comedians XI whom they beat 19–1, Google, the GB Deaf Team, Barawa, and a Manchester City staff team, with opponents fielding former professional footballers such as Paul Dickov, Graeme Le Saux and Ray Parlour, and celebrities including Omid Djalili. In 2017, the club won the EE Wembley Cup, a competition that Spencer Owen had created in 2015. The team included Scott Pollock, winner of the Hashtag Academy competition in 2017, who went on to sign professional terms with Northampton Town. In early 2018, Chelsea captain and Spanish international César Azpilicueta invested in the club and became a co-owner.

Ahead of the 2018/19 season, they were allowed to enter the non-league system, despite having no previous league experience. The FA controversially dropped them in at step 6, rather than making them earn promotion from the regional league system. They were placed in the Eastern Counties League Division 1 South, winning the title in their first season. The next two seasons were curtailed due to the pandemic, but Hahtag United's results in the Essex Senior League were good enough for promotion to the Isthmian D1 North in 2021. After an 8th-place finish in their first season, they won the title in 2023. For the past two seasons, Hashtag United have played in the Isthmian Premier Division, finishing in mid-table. They've reached the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round three times and the 3rd Round of the FA Trophy this season. In 2024, they reached the Isthmian League Cup Final, losing 2-1 to Chatham Town at Aveley.

Various grounds have been shared to facilitate ground grading, These are: Harringey Borough (2018/19), Tilbury (2019/20), Bowers & Pitsea (2020-2024) and Aveley (2024-present). The club took over Forest Glade FC, acquiring their ground and renaming them to Hashtag United Development. They started in the Essex Olympian League Division 4, which is at step 11 of non-league. It has been a tale of four consecutive promotions, with them finishing as runners-up to Catholic United Reserves in 2021. They won Division 3 in 2022 and this was followed by two 3rd place finishes in Divisons 2 & 1. This has resulted in them being promoted to the Step 7 Premier Division for this season. In April 2020, the club announced that they would have a women's team, Hashtag United Women, from the start of the 2020–21 season as a result of a merger with AFC Basildon. They currently play in the third tier of women's football.

MY VISIT

With most leagues, including the recently much-visited Bedfordshire League, having finished for the season. Wanting to make the most of what was left, I had to cast my net further afield. A game that saw me go past fellow hopper Colin's flat was always going to win out over one that didn't, and for that reason, ACD United v Hashtag United Development won out over a game in the Hampshire League. Further investigation revealed that it wasn't at ACD United's usual venue; rather, it was at Hashtag United's usual home venue. They were a team that was a bit meh to me - I prefer sides that are linked to a geographical area or diaspora, such as FC Romania. However, there was no doubt that they had done a lot of good for non-league, introducing new fans and new interest into the game.

It was a decent drive home from our game in Cheltenham on Monday. I dropped Colin off at 10 and was home myself 15 minutes later. With no morning alarm for once, I spent a couple of hours typing my blogs, sorting photos and catching up. In the end, I got to sleep around half past midnight and, unusually, got a solid nine hours of sleep in. It still took me a while to get up and ready, though, and it wasn't until midday that I went out for my usual Tuesday walk. As I didn't need anything from the shops, I just did a 6.5-hour walk around my local area, getting back just after 2. I spent the afternoon researching the history of Hashtag United FC, plus potential backups should my chosen game not go ahead for any reason.

Due to waking late, it was also a late night, as I did not go to sleep until 11:30. Even though I had a 3:50 alarm, I felt fine, and it was a pleasant day at work, albeit a long one, with me finishing at 1. I was able to skive for a few minutes and order a ticket for Sunday's playoff game against Charlton Athletic. I am far from convinced we will win with the manager we have in charge, but I couldn't miss out. A seat was secured near the halfway line for a reasonable £24. Pre-match will be good, but getting back might be tricky with my usual lift not going and the buses stopping early on Sunday. I came home and started to look towards potential games for next week. I had time to draw up a shortlist before leaving at 4.30. I picked Colin up as scheduled at 4.45 and within two minutes he was fast asleep. He slept the whole journey until we pulled off at Laindon at 5.50. Tesco was useful for a meal deal and petrol, which was 7p a litre back home. From there, it was 10 minutes to the ground, where I got some pictures before meeting up with loads of hoppers who had come along for the game. The ground was far more impressive than I expected.

 

Hashtag United were 8th in the league, having won nine, drawn four and lost twelve of their games so far. They'd won five of their last seven but had gone down 4-2 to Runwell Sports in their last game. ACD United were in 12th and had won seven, drawn six and lost eleven of their games. They were in mixed form but had won 2-0 at Sungate in their last game. When the two sides met back on 21st December, Hashtag United won 4-3 thanks to two injury-time goals. The game started at 6.50 with Hashtag well on top. The hosts took the lead on 25 minutes, a low cross from the left was netted from close range. On 40 minutes, it was 1-1, some sloppy defending allowed #2 to capitalise from within the six-yard box. However, just before half-time, Hashtag went back ahead from the corner. On 49 minutes, it was 2-2, yet another close-range finish which was adjudged to have crossed the line despite an attempted clearance. ACD United took the lead for the first time on 55 minutes, netting a penalty awarded for handball. Eight minutes later, it was 3-3, a close-range finish from a left-sided corner. It was 4-3 to ACD United on 65 minutes, a scrappy finish from a corner. On 75 minutes, it was 4-4, a header from six yards following a corner. It was 5-4 to Hashtag United on 78 minutes, a player left unmarked to finish easily. It was great entertainment for the 31 present, which included many hoppers.

THE GROUND 

FOREST GLADE SPORTS CLUB or BARLEYLANDS is an excellent setup for the level. The pitch is almost fully railed and there is a club building which does basic snacks and hot food such as toasties, hot dogs and burgers. A bar is further afield, I believe. Parking is plentiful and everything is well organised and signposted.