Ossett United F.C.

The Formation of Ossett United

Ossett United was created on 1 June 2018 following the merger of Ossett Town AFC (est. 1936) and Ossett Albion AFC (est. 1944). Both Ossett Town and Ossett Albion had managed to gain Northern Premier League status and maintain that level of football for a remarkable period of time. The two clubs merged under the leadership of a new board brought together from the two previous clubs. The Club made its new home Ingfield, the previous home of Ossett Town, and used Dimple Wells, the previous home of Ossett Albion, as its Ladies and Academy Team base.

The Club

Despite a successful first season on the pitch, off field things were not as successful with a number of board resignations and some challenging financial issues to deal with following the merger. By the end of the 2018/19 season, Phil Smith had taken on the mantle of club chairman with Stuart Garside, Steve Hanks, Paul Billing, Neil Spofforth and Joe Hanks joining the board.

There were more troubles for Ossett United in November 2019 as a significant and unprecedented court case, dating back to a tackle in 2015 when Ossett Town were playing Radcliffe Borough, was lost with United facing legal and damages costs amounting to £135,000. Fortunately, the club received a generous loan from two of its closest supporters to avoid the club going into liquidation (at worst) or selling the Ingfield ground (at best).

James Rogers and Phil Smith swapped roles due to Smith's work commitments with Rogers taking on the role as Chairman, a role he had previously held at Ossett Town. 2020 also saw the club declare Dimple Wells as surplus to requirements and made arrangements to surrender the lease making Ingfield the single home of the united club.

With the off-field rollercoaster settling down the Board progressed numerous ground improvements at Ingfield with the replacement of the pitch side barrier and installation of LED floodlights being completed in 2021 before attention turned to improving the changing room facilities which took shape in the summer of 2023 thanks to further grants from the Football Foundation.

The extension includes an additional match official room, two offices and a medical room as well as a larger, modern changing room that will become fully operational by the summer of 2024. The Boardroom has also been strengthened in the summer of 2023 with Dawn Rogers and Kate Hennighan taking their place alongside the eight members already in place.

On The Pitch

The first year (2018/19) was a remarkable success with attendances significantly increased from what either club had experienced previously, coupled with success on the pitch reaching the play-off semi-final and winning the County Cup, under the guidance of manager Andy Welsh.

Following the departure of Andy Welsh a couple of months in to the 2019/20 season Wayne Benn, assisted by Chick Hayward, oversaw two covid hit seasons. Hopes were high after a positive pre-season in 2021/22 with Benn reshaping the squad. The season started well with Ossett United in the top half of the table but a run of only one win in three months saw a change in the dugout at Christmas with Jas Collvier and Mark Ward taking a joint managerial role.

The season ended well with the pair unbeaten at Ingfield with seven wins and two draws but away from home inconsistent performances and results saw a ninth placed finish in only the clubs second completed season.

Colliver and Ward strengthened the squad throughout pre-season, and despite on paper the squad looking as strong as it ever had, results did not match expectations. Mark Ward resigned in September with Colliver taking sole charge before leaving the club by mutual consent the following month.

Grant Black became the clubs fourth permanent manager in October 2022, winning his first game in charge, 2-0 at the eventual play-off champions Long Eaton United and only tasting defeat twice in his first 16 games.

Results tailed off as the season ended with the club finishing in 15th place but the management team had a clear plan in place for the type of player they wanted to bring in ahead of the 2023/24 season with their and the clubs ambition being a much higher finish than recently experienced.

• West Riding County Cup: Winners, 2018-19

As of August 2023[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  GHA Desmond Amponsah — DF  ENG Fabian Bailey — FW  ENG David Brown — DF  ENG Jimmy Burke — DF  ENG Harry Coates — FW  POR Rafa Ferreira — GK  ENG Joe Green — MF  ENG Corey Gregory — MF  ENG TJ Ibrahim — DF  ENG Jayden John — FW  ENG Sam Kelly — MF  ENG Josh Lindley

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Janni Lipka — DF  ENG Jacob McLoughlin — DF  ENG Paddy Miller — FW  ENG Darnell Mintus — DF  ITA Essa Ndow — DF  EIR Shad Onwubiko — MF  ENG Dec O'Hare — FW  ENG Alex Peterson — MF  ENG Charlie Reaney — MF  ENG Derry Robson — FW  ENG Zeph Thomas — DF  ENG Josh Woodcock

• Best League Position: 5th in Northern Premier League Division One East, 2018-19
• Best FA Cup Performance: Second qualifying round, 2019-20
• Best FA Trophy Performance: Second qualifying round, 2018–19
• Record League Attendance: 1005 vs Liversedge, 15 October 2021
• Record Cup Attendance: 1,118 vs AFC Guiseley, West Riding County Cup Final, 9 April 2019

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