Eastern Counties Football League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Eastern Counties Football League is an English football league at Levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It contains teams from Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and is a feeder to the regional divisions of either the Isthmian League or the Southern League, depending on geographical considerations.

Contents 1 History 2 Champions 3 League Cup 4 Former clubs 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The league was founded in 1935, and ran as a single unit until a second division was created in 1988. The two division setup - the Premier Division and Division One - remains in place to this day. In 1976 the league changed its name to the Eastern League, followed two years later by another change to the Town and County League. The Eastern Counties League name was re-adopted in 1982.^[1]

A.F.C. Sudbury won the league five seasons in a row from 2001 to 2005, but had to settle for third place in the 2005-06 season behind Lowestoft Town who were winning the league for the eleventh time, but the first in 28 years.

Due to a sponsorship contract the league is currently known as the Ridgeons Football League. Prior to the 2004-05 season, again because of sponsorship, it was the Jewson Football League.

[edit] Champions

The champions of the league have been as follows:^[1]

Season	Premier Division	Division One
1935-36	Harwich & Parkeston/Lowestoft Town (joint)
1936-37	Crittall Athletic
1937-38	Lowestoft Town
1938-39	Colchester United reserves
1939-46	No competition due to World War II
1946-47	Chelmsford City reserves
1947-48	Chelmsford City reserves
1948-49	Chelmsford City reserves
1949-50	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1950-51	Gillingham reserves
1951-52	Gillingham reserves
1952-53	Gorleston
1953-54	King's Lynn
1954-55	Arsenal 'A'
1955-56	Peterborough United reserves
1956-57	Colchester United reserves
1957-58	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1958-59	Colchester United reserves
1959-60	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1960-61	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1961-62	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1962-63	Lowestoft Town
1963-64	Bury Town
1964-65	Lowestoft Town
1965-66	Lowestoft Town
1966-67	Lowestoft Town
1967-68	Lowestoft Town
1968-69	Great Yarmouth Town
1969-70	Lowestoft Town
1970-71	Lowestoft Town
1971-72	Wisbech Town
1972-73	Gorleston
1973-74	Sudbury Town
1974-75	Sudbury Town
1975-76	Sudbury Town
1976-77	Wisbech Town
1977-78	Lowestoft Town
1978-79	Haverhill Rovers
1979-80	Gorleston
1980-81	Gorleston
1981-82	Tiptree United
1982-83	Saffron Walden Town
1983-84	Braintree Town
1984-85	Braintree Town
1985-86	Sudbury Town
1986-87	Sudbury Town
1987-88	March Town United
1988-89	Sudbury Town	Wroxham
1989-90	Sudbury Town	Cornard United
1990-91	Wisbech Town	Norwich United
1991-92	Wroxham	Diss Town
1992-93	Wroxham	Sudbury Wanderers
1993-94	Wroxham	Hadleigh United
1994-95	Halstead Town	Clacton Town
1995-96	Halstead Town	Gorleston
1996-97	Wroxham	Ely City
1997-98	Wroxham	Ipswich Wanderers
1998-99	Wroxham	Clacton Town
1999-00	Histon	Tiptree United
2000-01	A.F.C. Sudbury	Swaffham Town
2001-02	A.F.C. Sudbury	Norwich United
2002-03	A.F.C. Sudbury	Halstead Town
2003-04	A.F.C. Sudbury	Cambridge City reserves
2004-05	A.F.C. Sudbury	Ipswich Wanderers
2005-06	Lowestoft Town	Stanway Rovers
2006-07	Wroxham	Walsham-le-Willows
2007-08	Soham Town Rangers	Tiptree United

[edit] League Cup

Season	Winner	Runner-Up
1935-36	Harwich & Parkeston	Crittall Athletic
1936-37	Harwich & Parkeston	Lowestoft Town
1937-38	Great Yarmouth Town	Newmarket Town
1938-39	Lowestoft Town	Colchester United Reserves
1939-46	No competition due to World War II
1946-47	Colchester United Reserves	Harwich & Parkeston
1947-48	Colchester United Reserves	Clacton Town
1948-49	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'	Chelsea 'A'
1949-50	Chelsea 'A'	Gillingham Reserves
1950-51	Wisbech Town	Chelmsford City Reserves
1951-52	Gillingham Reserves	Harwich & Parkeston
1952-53	Colchester United Reserves	Gorleston
1953-54	King's Lynn	Lowestoft Town
1954-55	Lowestoft Town	Peterborough United Reserves
1955-56	Gorleston	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1956-57	Peterborough United Reserves	Spalding United
1957-58	Colchester United Reserves	Cambridge United
1958-59	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'	Peterborough United Reserves
1959-60	Chelmsford City Reserves	Peterborough United Reserves
1960-61	March Town United	Tottenham Hotspur 'A'
1961-62	Bury Town	Romford Reserves
1962-63	Competition abandoned due to severe weather
1963-64	Bury Town	Lowestoft Town/King's Lynn (Three team pool final)
1964-65	Haverhill Rovers	Stowmarket Town
1965-66	Lowestoft Town	Haverhill Rovers
1966-67	Lowestoft Town	Great Yarmouth Town
1967-68	Chatteris Town	Newmarket Town
1968-69	Lowestoft Town	Clacton Town
1969-70	Sudbury Town	St Neots Town
1970-71	Wisbech Town	Ely City
1971-72	Wisbech Town	Lowestoft Town
1972-73	Hertford Town	Great Yarmouth Town
1973-74	Clacton Town	Wisbech Town
1974-75	Great Yarmouth Town	Braintree & Crittall Athletic F.C.
1975-76	Lowestoft Town	Sudbury Town
1976-77	Sudbury Town	Wisbech Town
1977-78	Lowestoft Town	Bury Town
1978-79	Cambridge City Reserves	Gorleston
1979-80	Ely City	Lowestoft Town
1980-81	Great Yarmouth Town	Clacton Town
1981-82	Tiptree United	Gorleston
1982-83	Sudbury Town	Colchester United Reserves
1983-84	Lowestoft Town	Great Yarmouth Town
1984-85	Tiptree United	Histon
1985-86	Tiptree United	March Town United
1986-87	Sudbury Town	Wisbech Town
1987-88	Braintree Town	Haverhill Rovers
1988-89	Sudbury Town	Halstead Town
1989-90	Sudbury Town	Great Yarmouth Town
1990-91	Histon	Wroxham
1991-92	Norwich United	Gorleston
1992-93	Wroxham	Cornard United
1993-94	Woodbridge Town	Chatteris Town
1994-95	Wisbech Town	Newmarket Town
1995-96	Halstead Town	Fakenham Town
1996-97	Harwich & Parkeston	Haverhill Rovers
1997-98	Woodbridge Town	Warboys Town
1998-99	Sudbury Wanderers	Felixstowe Town
1999-00	Wroxham	Diss Town
2000-01	Lowestoft Town	Fakenham Town
2001-02	Clacton Town	Dereham Town
2002-03	Wroxham	Clacton Town
2003-04	Maldon Town	Soham Town Rangers
2004-05	Halstead Town	Histon Reserves
2005-06	A.F.C. Sudbury	Lowestoft Town
2006-07	Lowestoft Town	Ipswich Wanderers
2007-08	Needham Market	Gorleston

[edit] Former clubs

Fifty-two clubs have previously played in the Eastern Counties League, including several reserve and 'A' teams. The league's geographical span has previously stretched from Gillingham in Kent to Boston in Lincolnshire, and in the 1950s contained up to four (reserve) teams from London.

A.F.C. Sudbury (2006)¹ Arsenal 'A' (1955)² Biggleswade Town (1963)² Boston Town (1968)³ Braintree Town (1991)¹ Brightlingsea United (2002)² Bungay Town (1964)² Bury Town (2006)¹ Bury Town Reserves (1996)4 Cambridge City Reserves (2006)² Cambridge United (1958)¹ Cambridge United Reserves (1979)² Chatteris Town (2001)² Chelmsford (1937)² Chelmsford City Reserves (1963)² Chelsea Reserves (1953)² Colchester Town (1937) Colchester United Reserves (1988)²

Cromer (1939)5 Eynesbury Rovers (1963)² Felixstowe Port & Town (2000)5 Fulbourn Institute (2006)² Gillingham Reserves (1954)² Gothic (1978)² Hertford Town (1973)¹ Histon (2000)¹ Holbeach United (1962)³ Huntingdon United (1992)² Ipswich Town (1936)¹ Ipswich Town Reserves (1938)¹ Ipswich Town 'A' (1951)² King's Lynn (1954)³ Long Sutton Athletic (1995)² Maldon Town (2004)¹ Norwich CEYMS (1939)6

Norwich City Reserves (1948)² Norwich City 'A' (1958)² Peterborough United Reserves (1973)² Romford Reserves (1963)² Soham Town Rangers (2008)¹ Somersham Town (2004)² Southend United 'A' (1962)² Spalding United (1960)² St Neots Town (1973)³ Sudbury Town (1999)5 Sudbury Town Reserves (1997)4 Sudbury Wanderers (1999)5 Tottenham Hotspur 'A' (1963)² Warboys Town (2004)² Watton United (2000)² West Ham United 'A' (1956)² Yaxley (1992)²

¹ Moved up to Isthmian/Southern League

² Resigned

³ Moved to different league at the same level

⁴ Replaced by first team

⁵ Merged to form a new club

⁶ Did not return to league after World War II

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website

Eastern Counties Football League Premier Division 2007/08 v • d • e
Cambridge Regional College | Dereham Town | Felixstowe & Walton United | Harwich & Parkeston | Haverhill Rovers | Histon Reserves | Ipswich Wanderers | King's Lynn Reserves | Kirkley & Pakefield | Leiston | Lowestoft Town | Mildenhall Town | Needham Market | Newmarket Town | Norwich United | Soham Town Rangers | Stanway Rovers | Swaffham Town | Walsham-le-Willows | Wisbech Town | Woodbridge Town | Wroxham
Eastern Counties Football League First Division 2007/08 v • d • e
Cornard United | Debenham LC | Diss Town | Downham Town | Ely City | Fakenham Town | FC Clacton | Godmanchester Rovers | Gorleston | Great Yarmouth Town | Hadleigh United | Halstead Town | Long Melford | March Town United | Saffron Walden Town | Stowmarket Town | Thetford Town | Tiptree United | Whitton United
English football league system – Level 9 & 10
Promotion to: Isthmian League Division One North Relegation to: Suffolk and Ipswich League, Anglian Combination, Essex and Suffolk Border League, Cambridgeshire League
Football in England v • d • e
League competitions The FA Cup competitions Premier League England (B) (C) FA Cup The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) (U-21) (U-20) (U-19) Football League Cup Football Conference (Nat, N, S) (U-18) (U-17) (U-16) FA Community Shield Northern Premier (Prem, 1N, 1S) List of clubs Football League Trophy Southern League (Prem, 1Mid, 1S&W) List of venues FA Trophy Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S) (by capacity) Conference League Cup English football league system List of leagues FA Vase Records FA NLS Cup Foreign players