Alton Wanderers was formed on the back of the collapse of The Dukes Head FC in the summer of 2005 by Mike Thorne and Neil Bennett.

The Dukes Head Era.

Formed in 2003, the first team to play out of the Dukes Head in Alton for longer than anyone cares to remember enetered the Farnham Sunday League under the management of Dan Heritage.
In their first season, the club finished bottom of the 2nd division in a tough campaign.
A league restructure saw just one division in the following year. There was also some changes at the club, with several players having left so a new squad was formed to take the club forward. In the summer, the collapse of Holybourne FC saw several of their players join up, several of whom now make up the succesful Weybridge FC first team.
Unfortunately that success was not present in the early years, as another bottom placed finish followed with the club only managing one win in their 16 league games.

In the summer of 2005, many of the squad departed to form Alton Towers FC (you could say this was the predecessor of the Weybridge FC) leaving the team with just a handful of players.
One of the players, (Neil) was not about to let things go belly up though and convinced his old friend (Mike) that sponsoring a team with no players was a good idea!
In what could be perceived as a very bold move, Neil & Mike decided to fold the old club and start afresh.

A New Era Begins 2005...

In May 2005, Neil and Mike decided that if the club was to succeed it needed to move to a league with more divisions, thus enabling them to play more teams of the same standard. Initially, the club applied for entry into the Basingstoke Sunday League and then began the process of rebuilding the squad.
With several of the old Dukes Head side still around we had the basis of a team.
Still more were needed though and the players frantically began asking friends and family if anyone was interested. It wasn't looking promising though, as the club still didn't have enough players to enter the league. Then, the fates combined to help us out. Another new team which had formed that summer suddenly collapsed, but several of their players still wanted to play football. Many phone calls and text messages later, a total of 17 players turned up at the next training session and the club was back in business.
After discussions with the players, it was decided that entry into the Aldershot Sunday League was a better option and, despite a late application, the club was accepted and so the newly formed Alton Sunday FC began a new path.

2005-06

Entered into Division 5, the club began, as many new teams do, with hope and expectation. After a close openeing day defeat it took the club 5 games and couple of heavy defeats to register its first point of the season. It was to prove a season of struggle however and the club finished second from bottom in their first season.
The end of the season also saw co-founder Mike leave to concentrate on his young family.

2006-07
Once again, the club lost a lot of players in the summer but signed a couple of new players as they tried to build on the previous season. Under a new manager, the club did fare better but once again could only muster a second from bottom finish in the second season. First round exits in all cup competitions also compounded a frustrating season.
During the summer, the club changed its name to the current Alton Wanderers FC.

2008-09

The third season saw the club retain virtually all of players for the first time. Relegation to a lower division also increased morale as the players felt they were playing teams more at their level.
A slow start was endured but as the season went on, the team became stronger and managed to finish in mid-table, breaking several club records on the way, including biggest win, most goals scored, least conceded and best ever goal difference.
The club also made it to the 3rd round of the Hampshire Cup for the first time.

The Future

Looking very rosy! Once again we have maintained the squad and the outlook is promising for Alton Wanderers.