Deptford United Football Club

Deptford United Football Club is a football club within OurCity that was founded in 1912. The club is one of the most popular in the Deptford area with people calling it "The oranges". The club is currently playing within the best league in OurCity, League OurCity. They are also often a top 3 club within the league having won the title multiple times. It is marked as on of the most successful clubs within OurCity having also went to a Europa League Final against English Champions Chelsea. They lost 6-3. The club has also been to a final of the FA cup having lost that on penalties with Junior Cristóbal missing a penalty.

## The early years of the club

The club having being founded in 1912 was a very popular football club as football was just rising in popularity as such Deptford was one of the first to play in OurCity although it started as just a semi-pro club. Not much is known about the club at this time.

## 1970s

More is known about the club in these times as this was the year they won their first title, they had won a regional cup within OurCity (That cup is still shown proudly within their stadium) It showed that the club should be taken as a threat and not just as some Semi-Pro club.

Billy Brian became a legend during this time having scored 327 goals in 600 games for The Oranges, He has a statue outside the stadium, He holds most goals by a player, but not most game time. Brian's best night was against Northpool when he scored 4 goals in a 7-2 win against them.

## 1990s

This is when the club really started to kick off, They had actually been allowed to compete within the newly formed Premier League. They started off strong in the 92/93 season although as November rolled on, The quality of their play slowly but surely died down. The worst defeat of the season happened at this time when Deptford was hosting Blackburn Rovers at home, they suffered a 7-1 loss marking a more rapid decline. In this period the old manager was sacked and a new one filled his place, The effect was almost instant as they won the next 5 including a game against title contenders Aston Villa. The club finished 14th in that season having lost most of their games towards the end.

In the 93/94 season, Things where looking up as they started with a solid 4-1 win against Coventry City however later in the season things started to go wrong with the club being relegated in this season in 21st position. They had won 10 games this season however it was not enough.

The club was in the first division for most of the 90s however they did enjoy another 2 seasons in the Premier League (96/97 and 98/99 season) In the 96/97 season they finished 17th and in the 98/99 season they finished 20th.

The club had changed managers a lot during this time as the ownership also changed. The fans where largely not happy with the direction the club was going as they almost dropped another league. Players of this time where also not as good quality as expected. The club lost a lot of money during this time too.

## 2000s

Things once again started to look up for the club as they where in the play-offs of the First Division 02/03 season however they lost much to the disappointment to the fans and players. The club lost 3-5 to Reading who eventually got knocked out themselves.

The fans felt a return to the now 'Barclays Premier League' was on the horizon however the manager left halfway into the season and a replacement wasn't sourced until the next season, The club stayed in the First Division and finished 8th for the 03/04 season.

For the 04/05 season, the First Division was renamed to the Championship but the fans still wanted a return to the premier league, They where really pushing for it with them going undefeated until January when they got defeated 2-0 by Stoke City, The form was sour after this loss and they then fell to 7th, Just outside the play-offs to the disappointment of the fans.

The 07/08 season was a turning point with players really starting to step up their game and try and get that return to the Barclays Premier League, This season they finished 5th so was in the play-offs. They got beat by eventual winners Hull City although the fans liked the direction the club was going, Notable moments where a 3-0 win over Birmingham City who eventually got promoted and a 6-2 thrashing of Sheffield United.

Not much happened until the 08/09 season when after many failed attempts to reach the Barclays Premier League, They reached it after finishing 2nd in the Championship. There was mass party's in the streets and a bus tour with the then squad was on the road, During that season they lost just 4 games.

In the 09/10 season they started off that Barclays Premier League season very strongly as they had Manchester United away and they managed to win 2-0, Then followed by a home win against Liverpool that ended 1-0. Another notable win was up against Birmingham City when they won 6-1, one of their biggest wins for a while. The club ended up finishing 11th that season.

## 2010s

Not much happened in the 10/11 season however a notable win against Manchester City was recorded at 1-0 which pleased the fans. The club finished 10th.

A huge loss to the club was the fact they where no longer allowed to compete in the Barclays Premier League as told by the FA, The club joined the newly formed OurCity league and still competes in it to this day with them lifting the trophy 2 times. The club is still allowed to compete in the FA cup, Europa League and EFL cup.

At the beginning of the 16/17 season, Deptford United played a friendly against AFC Bournemouth, Which Deptford won 4-2, Further friendly's that season also included a trip to Middlesbrough which Deptford lost 2-0 and a friendly against Rangers in Scotland, which Deptford lost 3-1. The game against Rangers would mark the first time Deptford has ever played in the country of Scotland against a Scottish opponent.

Back in League Ourcity, the 16/17 season was mostly good with notable wins coming against Westbourne who is their title rivals and both often are in for a chance at winning the title.

In the 18/19 season they went on what is to date their best performances in Europe, Having come second in League Ourcity, They where allowed to qualify into the Europa League Group stages, The club was put into group E and started off incredibly well having beat Arsenal 4-2. They only lost 1 game in this group and qualified in first place for the first time in the clubs history. They faced a tough round of 16 against Napoli however they won 5-3 on Arragate. Another piece of history was upon the squad as they bravely reached the Quarter finals and managed to beat Villarreal 3-1. The club had reached the semi-finals of the Europa League having been drawn with Frankfurt and to everyone's shock they won. They had reached the finals of the Europa league however tough opposition awaited... Chelsea had also reached the finals, Despite Deptford's best effort they couldn't overcome Chelsea and were beat 6-3. Despite not winning, It united Deptfords fans together who where following their team everywhere they went. Many fans followed them around all the games proudly displaying their flags, shirts and more. Many fans still have their shirts from this time and still wear them daily, The club even sold a special edition "Finals Baku" Shirt which was very popular and many fans took it to the final.

## 2020's

To present days, The club started its first season in 2020 (The 20/21 season) very strongly after a friendly win against Sunderland, During the 20/21 season, most matches where played under closed doors due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Fans where allowed back into the stadium on the final day of the season up against Northwich City which Deptford won 6-1 with Sergio Atal scoring 3 to claim the match ball. Deptford's biggest win was 9-0 against Aston Park, this being the biggest defeat to a club in League Ourcity history, The previous record was held by Westbourne scoring 7 past West Sighthill United (Who got relegated in the same season finishing with 36 points and 12 from safety)

The 21/22 season has largely been a success with the club going unbeaten in 23 matches, They where top of the table on Goal Difference after 26 matches, although they didn't win the title this season instead that going to Shawford Lakes for the first time in their history. The Oranges finished 3rd in the table and qualified for the Europa Conference League.

They had more success in the FA cup reaching the Quarter-Finals against Manchester City. They lost 4-2 with Raheem Sterling scoring 3 for Manchester City. Both of Deptford's goals where from leading goal scorer Sergio Atal. This is the first time since 2011 Deptford and Manchester City have met in which Deptford won 1-0 thanks to a Edward Eriksson header from a set-piece.

The 21/22 season is also the season that long-time player Rick Tomkins reached 550 games, having being against Warhampton Wanderers where The Oranges won 5-2 with Tomkins scoring a long-range effort which beat the Warhampton goalkeeper. Tomkins is also the captain of the club.

The 22/23 started off rather well, with The Oranges beating Northwich City 3-1, however since game week 6, results haven't gone the way of Deptford with them getting beaten 1-0 by Aston Park, This is a bad result as Aston Park is actually in the relegation zone. Deptford sit 7th in the table 5 points away from the top. Form is expected to pick up with the board having a meeting with the manager to discuss his future at the club and some of the players.