Romford F.C.

Romford

Full name

Romford Football Club

Nickname(s)

The Boro'

Founded

1876 (original club)
1929 (second incarnation)
1992 (current club)

Ground

Ship Lane, (groundshare with Thurrock F.C.)

Capacity

3,500 (524 seated)

Chairman

Steve Gardener

Manager

Paul Martin

League

Isthmian League Division One North

2015–16

Isthmian League Division One North, 16th

Home colours

Away colours

Romford Football Club is an English football club based in Romford, East London. The club are currently members of Division One North of the Isthmian League, and play at Ship Lane in Thurrock.

History

The original Romford was established in 1876. They reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1880–81, but lost 15–0 at Darwen. There was no league football for them to play until they joined the South Essex League in 1896. An internal dispute saw several committee and players leave to form a new club in 1909, called Romford United and competing directly against Romford in the South Essex League at a ground literally across the road. The original club continued under new management and joined the Southern League while still playing in the South Essex League, but played only a single season before leaving.^[1]

The new regime at the original club proved disastrous, being expelled from the South Essex League during the 1910–11 season and subsequently folding, leaving Romford United as the only club with the town's name. They changed to Romford Town and joined the Athenian League, but finished bottom in their first season and left at the end of their second,^[2] before closing down during World War I. Romford Town had remained members of the South Essex League and returned to action after the war, but lack of support saw them withdraw in December 1920 and fold. For the rest of the 1920s the only club under the Romford name was Romford Town Thursday, playing on Thursday afternoons at Brooklands, a ground previously used by Romford's reserve team.

In 1929 the club was re-established. Taking over the use of the Brooklands stadium, they joined the London League.^[3] In 1931 they moved to the Athenian League, which they won in 1935–36 and 1936–37.^[1] Following World War II the club transferred to the Isthmian League. In 1948–49 they reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup, but lost 1–0 to Bromley in front of 100 000 spectators in the first final to be held at Wembley. In 1959 they switched to Division One of the Southern League. They were promoted to the Premier Division in their first season after finishing second, and won the Premier Division in 1966–67. The club made several applications to join the Football League, but were never successful in the elections. In 1974–75 they finished second bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. By this time the club had developed Brooklands considerably in anticipation of eventually being elected to the Football League and had large debts to show for it, and had to sell Brooklands in 1975 but remained until 1977.^[3] After a season of borrowing grounds to play home matches they resigned from the Southern League ^[1] and folded in 1978, with the building work on a new ground barely started and hardly any money left.

In 1992 the club was resurrected for a second time and joined the Essex Senior League. They won the league in 1995–96, and in the summer merged with Collier Row (with whom they had been groundsharing since April) to form Collier Row & Romford. The new club took Collier Row's place in Division Two of the Isthmian League, which they won in their first season.^[4] In the summer of 1997 they were renamed Romford.

In 2000–01 they finished second bottom of Division One and were relegated to Division Two. After finishing bottom the following season they resigned to go back to the Essex Senior League. They returned to the Isthmian League after winning the Senior League in 2008–09.

Reserve team

After being reformed in 1929, Romford entered a reserve team into Division One of the London League. During their time in the Athenian and Isthmian leagues the reserves played in the reserves sections of the leagues. When the club turned professional in 1959 they entered the reserves into the Eastern Counties League, where they spent four seasons before joining the Metropolitan League in 1963.^[5] They went on to play in the Eastern Professional Football League, which they won in 1967–68, and the Essex Senior League, where they had a single season in 1974–75.^[6]

The reformed club ran a side called Rom Valley Rangers in the Essex Business Houses League in 1992–93 but there was no reserve side after that until 1996, when a team was entered the Essex & Herts Border Combination, finishing runners-up in the Western Division in each of its first three seasons. Romford remained in that league until 2008.

In season 2009–10 we ran our own team in the Essex Olympian League Division 2 which we won.

In season 2012/13 the team finished 2nd in the Essex Senior League Reserve Division West repeating the feat the following season.

At the clubs Player Presentation Evening on 10 May it was announced that due to financial restraints, the Reserve and Under-18 side would not be run for the 2014/15 season.

On 8 September 2015 it was announced that the club had teamed up with Belgian 4th Division side SK Berlare with a view to working with them in the future.

Stadium

The Club has led a largely nomadic existence, playing at seventeen home grounds during its history although most of these have been emergency arrangements when their established home ground was unavailable for various reasons. When the Club reformed in 1992 it began playing at the Hornchurch Stadium, before moving to Ford United's Rush Green ground in 1995. In April 1996 they moved to Collier Row's Sungate ground, and the clubs merged during the summer. The spell at Sungate was fraught with problems and there were frequent and protracted periods when Romford had to borrow other grounds to play home matches owing to problems with the facilities at Sungate. In December 2001 they left Sungate for good and played at several different stadiums in order to complete the season. They returned to Rush Green in 2002 (as Ford United had left to groundshare with Barkingside). They remained there until 2008, when they moved to Aveley's Mill Field ground.

In 2009 it was announced that the club had been given permission to build a new stadium on the Westlands Playing Fields on London Road,^[7] however building work has yet to commence.

Since 2012–13, Romford have been sharing with Thurrock F.C. at Ship Lane.

Players and staff

Current staff

Position	Name
Manager	Paul Martin
Assistant Manager	Mark Lord
Assistant Manager	Alex Goldstone
Physiotherapist	Kate Thwaites

Current squad

Updated 21 August 2016.

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

No.		Position	Player
		GK	Callum Chafer
		GK	Stephen Reynolds
		GK	Richard Wray

		DF	Ryan Boswell
		DF	Sam Burton
		DF	James Ishmail
		DF	Tom Potter
		DF	Paul Preston
		DF	Matt Toms

		MF	Jonathan Adebayo
		MF	Ashley Bankole
		MF	Chris Barry
		MF	Dan Cossington
		MF	Jamie Dicks
		MF	Connor Goldstone
		MF	Will Green
		MF	Elliot Long

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Ryan Mallett
		MF	Max Mitchell
		MF	Hayes Thomas
		MF	George Tubey

		FW	Sam Coe
		FW	Chinedu McKenzie
		FW	Charlie Portway
		FW	Nick Reynolds
		FW	Joe Scott
		FW	Chris Taylor

Former managers

Honours

FA Cup

Quarter-finalists 1880–81

Essex Senior Cup

Winners 1911–12, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1937–38, 1946–47
Finalists 1889–90, 1892–93, 1897–98, 1912–13, 1945–46, 1951–52, 1958–59, 1976–77

Southern League Premier Division

Champions 1966–67

Southern League Division One

Runners up 1959–60

Southern League Cup

Finalists 1969–70

FA Amateur Cup

Finalists 1948–49
Semi-finalists 1935–36, 1937–38

Athenian League

Champions 1935–36, 1936–37
Runners up 1933–34,1938–39

Essex Professional Cup

Winners 1968–69
Finalists 1965–66

Eastern Floodlight League

Champions 1967–68

East Anglian Cup

Winners 1934–35, 1936–37, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1997–98

Isthmian League Division Two

Champions 1996–97

Essex Senior League

Champions 1995–96, 2008–09

Essex Senior League Cup

Winners 1995–96

Essex Thameside Trophy

Runners-up 2004–5

Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy

Winners 2003-4

Records

Attendance: 18,237 vs Southall, FA Amateur Cup 4th Round (replay), 28 February 1953
Biggest victory: 9–0 vs Hullbridge Sports, Essex Senior League, 21 October 1995
Biggest defeat: 0–15 vs Darwen, FA Cup, 5 March 1885

Player records

Most appearances: Paul Clayton, 396, 2006–2015
Most goals: Tom Barnett, 111, 1962–1970
Fastest goal: Danny Benstock 11 seconds vs Great Wakering Rovers, Essex Senior League, 28 August 1995
Most goals in one season: Vinny John 45 (3 pens), 1997/98
Most consecutive appearances: Roy Drake 66, 22 August 1992 – 29 January 1994
Youngest player: Perry Burns (15 yrs 266 days, 29 April 06)
Oldest player: Mark Lord (48 yrs 90 days, 3 March 15)
Youngest goalscorer: Reagan Panzu (17 yrs 67 days, 22 February 03)

References

1 2 3 Romford at the Football Club History Database
↑ Romford Town at the Football Club History Database
1 2 History Romford FC
↑ Collier Row & Romford at the Football Club History Database
↑ Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2
↑ Romford Reserves at the Football Club History Database
↑ Council gives go ahead to new home for Romford Football Club Havering Borough Council

External links

Isthmian League

Premier Division	AFC Sudbury Billericay Town Bognor Regis Town Burgess Hill Town Canvey Island Dulwich Hamlet Enfield Town Folkestone Invicta Grays Athletic Harlow Town Harrow Borough Havant & Waterlooville Hendon Kingstonian Leatherhead Leiston Lowestoft Town Merstham Metropolitan Police Needham Market Staines Town Tonbridge Angels Wingate & Finchley Worthing

Division One North	AFC Hornchurch Aveley Bowers & Pitsea Brentwood Town Brightlingsea Regent Bury Town Cheshunt Dereham Town Great Wakering Rovers Haringey Borough Heybridge Swifts Maldon & Tiptree Norwich United Phoenix Sports Romford Soham Town Rangers Thamesmead Town Thurrock Tilbury VCD Athletic Waltham Abbey Ware Witham Town Wroxham

Division One South	Carshalton Athletic Chatham Town Chipstead Corinthian-Casuals Cray Wanderers Dorking Wanderers East Grinstead Town Faversham Town Godalming Town Greenwich Borough Guernsey Hastings United Herne Bay Horsham Hythe Town Lewes Molesey Ramsgate Sittingbourne South Park Three Bridges Tooting & Mitcham United Walton Casuals Whyteleafe

Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1919 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Coordinates: 51°29′22.00″N 0°15′53.67″E / 51.4894444°N 0.2649083°E / 51.4894444; 0.2649083

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