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The newest club in senior non-league football,
Hinckley United, was formed as recently as Wednesday 18th
June 1997. A meeting on that date saw shareholders of
Hinckley Athletic (Interlink Express Midland Alliance)
approve a merger with neighbours Hinckley Town (Dr Marten's
Southern League Midland Division).
The
Merger was finally made at the end of the 1999/00 season
when Athletic narrowly missed out on promotion to the
Dr Marten's League for the third consecutive campaign,
following finishes of second, third and second again.
A meeting of the respective chairmen, Mick Voce (Athletic)
and Kevin Downes (Town), established there was some common
ground, with each club having something positive to offer.
Formed
in 1889, Athletic had the traditional support of the Hinckley
people, averaging 250 and a Dr Marten's League approved
ground at Middlefield Lane with good and ever improving
facilities as well as exciting development plans in hand.
Town were formed in 1958 and made rapid strides from local
football to the Dr Marten's League, with the 1980s being
a successful decade. Consequently, the new club were to
play at Middlefield Lane with Town's Leicester Road set
up being used as a training ground and, once the FA and
Southern League had approved the merger, United would
inherit Town's Dr Marten's League spot.
The
new club acted quickly in appointing their managerial
team as Dean Thomas had been released from his contract
with Bedworth United and he became team manager, with
former Athletic boss John Hanna being appointed general
manager. However, Hanna relinquished his position in the
new year, leaving the former Notts County player in sole
charge.
The
club quickly established themselves, with an excellent
run in the FA Cup, the highlight being a win at GM Vauxhall
Conference side Kettering Town, before Colwyn Bay ended
dreams of a lucrative First Round tie with a 2-1 victory
in the final qualifying round. The 2000/01 season saw
United clinch promotion to the Dr Martens Premier in the
form of the Western Division championship. The Knitters
totted up an impressive 98 points, scoring over 100 goals.
The
Knitters were quick to find their feet in the Premier
Division and finished a respectable twelfth in their first
season (2001/02) and also made an appearance in the FA
Cup Second Round proper, where they lost 2-0 to Third
Division Cheltenham Town, who then went on to knock out
Burnley in Round Four. They went on to finish 13th in
2003. The club took a big step forward the following year
as their sixth placed finish saw them claim a place in
the new Conference North.
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