Alan Devonshire’s farewell to Maidenhead United

Alan Devonshire’s second spell as Maidenhead United manager comes to an end on Saturday after a home game against Chippenham Town.

After 913 matches in two periods, the BELT* team rests in peace, the Devonshirering era is almost over

The long-serving boss has been in charge of the Magpies since 2015 and famously led the club to the National League South title and eight consecutive years in non-league football’s top division.

Devonshire’s first spell lasted from 1996 to 2003 and was documented in the Football in Berkshire podcast here. He was reappointed in 2015 after success at Hampton & Richmond Borough and Braintree Town and won the National League South the following season with an incredible 98 points, averaging 2.3 points per game in what was then a 42-game season as Maidenhead reached Step 1 for the first time.

The term “You’ve been Devonshired” relates to the manager’s flair for his part-time out-of-date team to regularly shock and upset the illustrious old Football League teams that dropped down to the National League.

Most notably treating new Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to a first visit to watch the Dragons in England – Maidenhead won 3-2. The absolute gall of the man.

*BELT – Bittersweet Former League Team

The Devonshiring stunt even resulted in a song written by Burghfield Uncommon’s Chris Lambert and performed live at the 2025 Berkshire Football Awards. You can listen to it below.

Alan Devonshire’s last match

On Saturday 29 November 2025, Alan Devonshire will take charge of his final game as Maidenhead United manager in a home game against Chippenham Town. Match tickets are on sale on the club’s website here.

Saturday’s match is also the club’s Grassroots Community Day, as part of this offer, football clubs and schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead area can open a special ticket offer where children and parents can purchase tickets at a reduced price. The school or community grassroots football club with the most participants will receive a visit from our first team players. Please email [email protected] to order tickets.

In honor of the day, the Maidenhead United Supporters Group is appealing to fans to tip their hats to Dev by wearing a cap or flat cap. David Simoes wrote on Facebook: “As an initiative coordinated by MUSG, it would be great if we could support a ‘Tip your Cap’ day in honor of Alan Devonshire, our most successful manager.

“Let’s get lots of hats, three points and a great farewell to Dev!”