Click Here for the latest results and fixtures for Old Northamptonians Chenecks FC
If you are interested in playing Senior Football please contact Eddie Slinn at edwin-ons@sky.com
If you are interested in Junior football please contact 2019chenecksyouthsecretary@gmail.com
The club was founded as Chenecks FC in 1946 under the guidance of George Lloyd, well known Coroner Sergeant of the Borough Police. The formation of the club was to enable boys at the rugby-playing Northampton Grammar School to play football. The club’s unusual name is derived from the School Houses, Chipseys, Spencer, Beckett and St Crispins.
In 1960 the Old Northamptonians Association invited the club to become one of their sports sections, thus Chenecks became ON Chenecks and relocated to the Billing Road sports ground.
In 1969 Chenecks joined the UCL, winning promotion to Division One in 1973, finishing runners up to Belsize despite losing only one match all season! Success continued higher up, as Chenecks won Division One by 14 points in 1978. They had to settle for second place twelve months later, but regained the title in 1980. A lack of suitable facilities at Billing Road denied Chenecks a place in the Premier and fortunes soon declined. Chenecks beat Tam O’Shanter from Coventry to win the 1985 Daventry Charity Cup final and in 1994 they were Northants Junior Cup runners-up, losing 1-0 to Vanaid.
In the 2009–10 season the club won its first major honour since the Daventry Charity Cup, under the guidance of Andy Marks when they picked up the Junior Cup with a 1 – 0 victory over local rivals Silbey F.C. at Nene Park. The 2010–11 season started with a change at the helm when rookie manager Graham Cottle accepted the vacant manager’s position, and he remains very much at the helm of the club today, having steered the club to a further Junior Cup success in 2013/2014,and again in 2014/2015.
The club’s youth ranks have produced a number of professional players including Jim Hall (Northampton and Peterborough), Ricky Walker (Coventry and Northampton) and Peter Cooke (Northampton).
Founder member Corbett Cresswell played in FA Amateur Cup finals with Bishop Auckland, while the club’s longest serving player is Claude Hasdell who started in 1953 with the minors and played until 1991, with brief spells at Northampton and Wellingborough. Former players also include Premiership referee Pete Walton.
The club fielded their first Girl’s team in 2011/2012.
The 2013/2014 season saw some big changes to the club with the addition of the new FA -funded flood lights and ground improvements which have taken place at Billing Road. The changes were largely due to the hard work and perseverance of the Chairman Eddie Slinn. The changes bring the club in line with FA regulations and marked a turning point in the club’s history.
Success followed on the pitch too in the 13/14 season with the club finishing 6th in the division and lifting the Junior cup at Sixfield’s after beating Brixworth 3-0 in the final. This Success was again repeated at the end of 2014/2015 with the club copying the feat from the previous season by finishing 6th place in the league and retaining the Junior Cup by beating local rivals Northampton spencer at Sixfields 1-0.
The 2015/2016 season saw the club enter the FA Vase for the 1st time.
After further ground improvements including the addition of a seated stand, ON Chenecks 1st Xl were successfully promoted to the UCL Premier division after finishing runners-up in Division 1 at the end of season 2015/2016. The club are set to enter the FA Cup for the first time in 2016/2017. The Reserves finished the season in 4th place.
The U18s won the 2015/2016 NSYL Cup when they defeated Kettering 1-0 in the final at Raunds. A fine performance, capping a good season in this league, where they also managed a credible 4th place. All the boys were effectively under 17 so will be available again next season. As a footnote nearly all of the boys have played for the men’s reserve team this season.
ON Chenecks FC now field youth teams in U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 age groups. We also field a Girls u14 side. The newly formed u10 team will field their first squad in the 2015/2016 season. U 12s Navy team are the Sixfields Plate holders after winning their final at the end of 2014/2015. The u16’s Sunday side won the NDYAL league title in 2014/2015 and were runners up in the cup, as well as taking home a trophy from the Moretonville Tournament during the same year.
This capped off a successful period for the team playing in the NDYAL (John Henry League) which featured another league title and a cup success. The team has also enjoyed tours to Holland & France, where they have been successful in competitions against teams from all over Europe. The U16’s Saturday side have decided to go out on a high after a successful 2 years that has seen a number of the players progress through to the reserves. This team was also successful in winning the Midlands Cup.
With the u16s moving up to become the new U18 squad for the coming season playing in the midweek Northants Senior Youth League, it is hoped many young players will continue to progress through the youth system and be introduced into the senior reserve side. Many of our current 1st team players have also been at the club since they were young, reinforcing the need to promote and nourish our youth coaching system in order for us to later develop our senior sport.
Since their formation in August 2012 ON Chenecks girls have been taking to football pitches in their iconic ‘Angels & Devils’ socks.
The team was an outcome of ON Chenecks commitment to the Football Associations ‘Grow the Game’ project, which we delivered on our promise to offer both boys and girls the opportunity to participate in football activities at our club.
In 2013 the team entered in the Northampton Womens & Girls Football League, the girls displayed an unrivalled team spirit, demonstrated by the work, support and encouragement they gave each other. In their first full season they finished in a respectable mid table position. The players certainly enjoyed the challenge of matches and as the season progressed and players shared their enthusiasm with friends outside of the game, team numbers grew from 7 players to 15, with everyone associated with the team players, parents and coaches going out of their way to ensure the new players and their families were warmly welcomed.
For the 2015/2016 the girls will be playing in the U14 age group, and play their matches on Sunday afternoons.
As well as demonstrating a great team spirit on the pitch Chenecks girls can boast great team spirit off it, players and parents all chip in when supporting social and fundraising events, all going towards building a great atmosphere and one that is conducive to player development and enjoyment of a sport that we are all so fond of here at ON Chenecks FC.