Season
2001/02
Fed up with playing
for poorly run Clubs, Jason Graves and ‘Coppell’
decided to start up their own team to enter the North Bucks
League.
Sponsorship from
the Three Trees Pub was sealed and players were recruited.
Despite playing in the lowly North Bucks Div 2, the Club recruited
several top players who could easily have graced Leagues of
a better standard so expectations were high.
For the first season
the home ground was Rickley Park and the original kit was
actually the Red and White home Nottingham Forest kit.The
team nearly got kicked out of the League after 1 game after
a heated match against rivals Hays Reserves which ended in
2 Trees players being sent off. Having 2 managers led to differences
of opinion over team selection, which ended in Coppell quitting
to leave Jason in sole charge of team and club affairs.
The Trees recovered
from 2 defeats in their opening 3 games to mount a challenge
to Hays Reserves in top spot with some high scoring victories
as the team started to gel.
There were mixed
fortunes in the Cups with some success in the County Cup with
impressive victories over eventual Div 1 Champs Kingfisher
Titans who were unbeaten at the time and Mursley Reserves
before going out to Woughton.
In the Divisional
Cup we were drawn with title rivals Hays Res and Trees were
forced to field a much weakened team with several key players
missing and unsurprisingly lost 3v0.
2 Mid season defeats
threatened to derail the Trees title hopes but Trees stayed
in contention after Hays Res were docked several points due
to playing ineligible players. 6 straight victories in the
League meant that 2 wins from the final 2 games would be enough
to win the League. Steeple Claydon Res were not expected to
give us a tough test but it was an unexpectedly tough match
and a late winner kept our hopes alive in a 4v3 win.
This set up a titanic
end of season clash with Castlethorpe with victory enough
to win us the Div 2 Title. Trees came from behind to win 2v1
and secure a trophy in their inaugural season.
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The
Team celebrate in the dark at Castlethorpe |
The
Gaffer celebrates a Title in our first season |
The
lads celebrate back at the 3 Trees Pub |
Season
2002/03
The following season
saw many changes, Rickley Park was ditched in favour of the
lush surface at Woughton-on-the-Green, the Club adopted it’s
now traditional colours of Blue and White Stripes and the
Club started a Reserve Team.
The 1st team got
off to a flying start and topped the Div 1 Table for virtually
the entire 1st half of the season, again there was a tremendous
County Cup scalp, beating Bletchley Utd who would comfortably
go on to win the Intermediate Division, before an exit in
the next round to Fenny Town.
The Trees started
off the season where they left off and led the Division all
the way up to March, remaining unbeaten in the process, but
had started to drop points with a couple of draws which let
Castlethorpe back in the hunt.
The Trees form
dipped further and the unbeaten run came to an end with defeats
against Twyford Utd and Castlethorpe which cost us top spot
and 2 embarrassing end of season defeats meant the Trees slipped
further down into 3rd spot.
The Divisional
Trophy offered a chance of silverware with an extra time win
over Deanshanger Res in the semi-final giving us the opportunity
of revenge over Castlethorpe, but despite dominating for long
periods in the final we were cruelly beaten on penalties.
The Reserve Team
who were led by Aaron Jenkins were made up of mostly former
Merchants players, the Reserves had a mixed start, which led
to Daniel Worby replacing Aaron as manager. Results improved
slightly which included a (still) Club Record 13v0 victory,
but at the end of season the Reserves finished mid-table,
which due to various teams dropping out of higher Divisions
was amazingly was enough to win them promotion to Div 1.
Season
2003/04
In the Intermediate
Division the Trees were given an early example of what was
required to win the League when they were well beaten by a
strong Woughton Res side, but undeterred the Trees won their
next 7 games to move top of the Division, only for 2 defeats
over the winter period to deal a severe blow to any title
hopes.
In the League the
form picked up which included an impressive 4v1 win over Castlethorpe,
but any run of wins was always ended by a disappointing defeat.
When the dust settled the Trees had to settle for 3rd place,
consolation came in the shape of a 3rd straight promotion.
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Gus
scores as Trees gain revenge on Castlethorpe, while
Wigsey refuses to stop running even when the ball is
not in play |
Again, the Trees
best hope of silverware was in the form of the Divisional
Trophy, where 3 successive clean sheets sent Trees to a 2nd
consecutive final. The opponents looked to be Castlethorpe
again, but after being found to have played an ineligible
player in the semi final win over Woughton Res, the Champions
took their place. Despite a 1v0 lead at half time, Woughton
Res showed their class and went on to win.
The Reserves unexpected
promotion to Div 1 didn’t look to have made much difference
as they were only beaten twice in their opening 6 matches
which including a 14v2 win. But this proved to be a false
dawn as a run of poor results followed sending the Reserves
into mid table.
Another change
of management came about with Scott Tomsett replacing Daniel
Worby.
The Divisional
Cup brought better news as the Ressies came within one step
of the final but were soundly thrashed 8v1 in the semi. With
several teams below them in the League having games in hand
the Reserves looked in danger of being pulled further down
but with a set of positive results towards the end of the
season, mid table respectability was achieved.
For the second
season running there was an additional team added to the Club
for the new season with the creation of a Sunday Side, managed
by Dave Lee who would compete in the MK Sunday League Div
1.
The squad comprised
of a mixture of 1st team / Reserves with along with a few
new faces to the Club. The Sunday Side led Div 2 from the
start with a key 2v0 win over rivals Park Rangers Utd crucial
to the good start.
The successful
run also encompassed the County Cup as clashes with fellow
Divisional rivals ended in 3 victories which took the Trees
to the 5th Round.
A 4v0 win over
Park Rangers in the League looked to have given the Trees
a significant lead, but an unexpected defeat in January ended
the unbeaten run and brought Kincaid Res within a point of
the Trees.
The County Cup
run continued with a win over The Heavyweights who played
in the Division above and the Trees reached the semi-final
with an epic extra time win over Aylesbury Horse & Jockey
top of the equivalent Division in Aylesbury, with the winner
coming in the last minute of extra time.
In the League Kincaid
Res were faltering which left Trees with a 4 point cushion
with a game in hand.
Another tight County
Cup game saw the Trees progress to the final with a 2v1 win
over a High Wycombe side, while back in the League the Trees
wrapped up the title, although in the end only by a 1 point
margin. The real highlight of the season was the County Cup
Final where an on fire Trees side destroyed High Wycombe side
Lacey Green 5v1 to lift the County Cup
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Wigsey
in an aerial tussle with a Lacey Green player in the
County Cup Final |
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The
Trees celebrate after demolitioning their High Wycombe
opponents in the County Cup Final |
Season
04/05
Relations in the
previous season with the Three Trees Pub became so strained
that during this season there was officially no sponsorship
from the Pub as the team severed ties with their original
sponsor.
Pre-Season almost
brought the Trees a prestigious trophy as one of the Clubs
teams made the final of the Mursley Tournament, only to lose
out to a last minute goal in the final.
When the regular
season began the 1st team were boosted with the inclusion
of a number of ex Woughton Res players who won the double
in the Intermediate Division, but Trees found the Premier
Division a much tougher hurdle than the previous divisions.
Some poor defensive displays meant that early results were
disappointing, indeed it took the Trees till January to find
any sign of consistency. Trees yet again had a decent Divisional
Trophy run but after tough wins over Woughton and Castlethorpe,
dreams of a third successive final were ended with a surprise
defeat against strugglers Stewkley.
Nevertheless Trees
form had improved noticeably and a respectable end of season
place of 6th was achieved.
A stronger Reserve
Team started their Div 1 campaign well with 5 wins from their
opening 6 matches, but a run of disappointing matches soon
took the out of contention of the title. There was hope of
success in the Divisional Trophy but like the 1st team the
run ended at the semi-final stage, which left the Club without
a Cup Final for the first time in 3 campaigns.
In the League the
Reserves failed to regain their early season consistency and
in a strong division ended up outside of the promotion places
once more.
The Sunday team
took on a very different look to the all conquering side of
the previous season, gone was Manager Dave Lee, replaced by
Jason Drake and several players left, with the team now consisting
of predominantly Reserve team members. That combined with
the step up to a much tougher Division saw the Sunday Side
struggle during the early part of the campaign. Indeed relegation
looked a possibility as the new look Sunday Side lost 5 out
of their opening 6 matches. There was progress in the County
Cup however with 2 victories over Aylesbury League sides before
a loss on penalties ended the run.
Results did improve
towards the end of 2004 which took Trees clear of the drop
zone and some impressive end of season victories including
a 5v1 win over title hopefuls Fenny Lock lifted the side into
mid-table, which due to a League restructure amazingly ended
in promotion to the Premier Division.
Season
05/06
After 4 seasons
in charge Jason Graves relinquished control of 1st team affairs
to Kit, former Woughton Res manager while Jason restarted
his playing with the Reserves.
Again the Trees
started slowly, failing to win any of the first 3 matches,
but form soon picked up with 8 wins from the next 9, putting
Trees in reach of a crack at the Title.
A defeat against
eventual Champions Pottersbury ended the unbeaten run, although
apart from a County Cup defeat the Trees remained unbeaten
for the next 7. Some poor end of season results put an end
to any Trees title challenge and again there was an exit at
the semi-final stage of the Divisional Cup. Trees ended on
a high with 3 wins but the final position of 7th was disappointing
after a season which showed promise at times.
The Reserve Team
strengthened themselves again for the 05/06 season and found
their way out of Div 1 at the 3rd time of asking. Once again
there was a change in Manager as Jason Drake stepped up from
the Sunday Side to take control of the Reserves. 5 wins out
of 5 put the Trees off to a great start, only to be pegged
back with 2 successive defeats.
The Reserves first
ever County Cup campaign was relatively successful with 2
wins before a narrow 1v0 defeat v holders and eventual finalists
PB(MK). The League form was continuing to be a concern with
another 3 matches without a win which took them well out of
reach of runaway leaders AFC Rangers.
The Ressies fortunes
dramatically changes and went on a massive unbeaten run which
included a win over AFC Rangers, their first defeat in the
League that season.
Their good form
continued and cumulated in Runners Up spot in the League and
an appearance in the Div 1 Cup Final against Champions AFC
Rangers.
Despite a decent
performance Rangers were too strong, leaving the Trees with
disappointment in another Divisional Cup Final.
The Sunday Team
Manager vacancy was filled by Scott Tomsett who had the unenviable
task of competing in the Premier Division of the MK Sunday
League with a team that at the start of the previous season
looked like being relegated from the Division below. After
a change in ownership of the Three Trees Pub the Sunday Side
went back to the Three Trees Pub and also returned to Rickley
Park as the Home Ground.
The Sunday Team
started with 5 straight defeats, including a Club Record 1v10
loss, although they advanced in the County Cup with a win
against the League Leaders at the time. There would be another
victory in the Cup before Trees were kicked out of the Cup
due to non payment of fines in a Club Administration mix up.
But the League
form was still poor and it was January before the side recorded
their first win of the season and by then relegation was inevitable.
The end of season
form picked up and the Sunday side picked up a number of points
but fell 3 points short of avoiding last place, which meant
relegation.
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