Alan Devonshire’s Maidenhead United farewell – The era of Devonshiring is almost over

Alan Devonshire’s second spell as manager of Maidenhead United will end on Saturday after the home fixture with Chippenham Town.

After 913 games over two spells, BELT* teams rest easy, the age of the Devonshiring is almost at an end

The long-serving boss has been in charge of the Magpies since 2015 and famously lead the club to the National League South title and an eight year run in the top-tier of non-league football.

Devonshire’s first spell ran from 1996 to 2003 and is documented in the Football in Berkshire podcast here. He was reappointed in 2015 after success at both 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 across what was then a 42-game season as Maidenhead reached Step 1 for the first time ever.

The term “You’ve been Devonshired” related to the managers knack for his unfashionable part-time side to regularly surprise and disappoint famous old Football League sides who dropped into the National League.

The most famous being to spoil new Wrexham owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney first visit to watch the Dragons in the UK – Maidenhead winning 3-2. The absolute gall of the man.

*BELT – Bitter Ex League Teams

The act of Devonshiring even produced a song, written by Chris Lambert of Burghfield Uncommon and performed live at the 2025 Berkshire Football Awards. You can listen to it below.

Alan Devonshire’s last game

On Saturday 29th November 2025, Alan Devonshire will take charge of his final game as manager of Maidenhead United in the home tie with Chippenham Town. Tickets for the match are on sale on the club website here.

Saturday’s fixture is also the clubs Grassroots Community Day, as part of this offer football clubs and schools in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead area are able to unlock a special ticketing offer whereby a child and a parent can buy discounted tickets. The school or grassroots community football club with the most attendees will win a visit from our first team players. Please email commercial@maidenheadunitedfc.org to book tickets.

As a tribute on the day, Maidenhead United Supporters Group is urging fans to Tip Their Hat to Dev by wearing flat cap or hat. David Simoes wrote on Facebook: “As an MUSG co-ordinated initiative it’d be great if we could get behind our ‘Tip your Cap’ day in respect of Alan Devonshire, our most successful manager.

“Let’s have a sea of hats, three points in the bag and a great send off for Dev!”