| Full name | Harrow Borough Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Boro, The Reds | ||
| Founded | 1933 (as Roxonian) | ||
| Ground | Earlsmead Stadium, South Harrow (Capacity: 3,070) |
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| Chairman | Peter Rogers | ||
| Manager | Dave Anderson | ||
| League | Isthmian League Premier Division | ||
| 2010–11 | Isthmian League Premier Division, 5th | ||
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Harrow Borough Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in the London Borough of Harrow. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at Earlsmead Stadium.
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The club was originally formed in 1933 under the name Roxonian F.C. and played their first season in the Harrow and District League finishing runners up. The next season saw the club move into a new ground, Earlsmead Stadium, and a new league.
They started in the Spartan League Division Two West and in 1938 they would finish second. As only the Champions were promoted they would have to wait till the following season when they finished top under their new name of Harrow Town F.C. to progress.
The war years saw Harrow Town compete in the West Middlesex Combination and then the Middlesex Senior League. With the war over in Europe, Harrow Town finally joined the top level of the Spartan League having been promoted six years early.
They remained in the Spartan League until finishing runners up in 1958 and being promoted to the Delphian League. When this league disbanded in 1964 they were accepted into the Athenian League, where they were promoted to Division One at the first attempt having finished runners up and only missing out on the top spot on goal difference.
In 1967 the club changed its name once again to Harrow Borough F.C. but in the same year were relegated to Athenian League Division Two. This period would see the club facing extinction but the eventual sale of their second pitch to the local council enabled the club to redevelop the ground.
Having survived off the pitch they started to make progress on it when in 1975 when they were elected to the Isthmian League, initially in Division Two.
In 1979 they were promoted, having finished second, to what was now called the Premier Division where they have played ever since.
Their first few seasons in the Premier Division saw steady progress. In 1982-83 the club finished third in the league and won the Middlesex Senior Cup. Harrow also had its furthest ever run in the FA Trophy reaching the semi finals only to lose in the second leg to the eventual winners Telford United.
In 1983-84 the club won the Isthmian League championship by seventeen points. The same year saw Harrow have its greatest ever FA Cup run reaching the 2nd round proper to play Newport County who were then in Division Three (now League One).
During this period the importance of ensuring the long term security of the club led to Harrow turning down the financially risky promotion to the Football Conference twice. 1985 saw manager Micky Tomkys retire and a steady decline in the club's fortunes followed, having finished fifth and sixth in the following seasons.
Under manager Harry Manoe 1993 would see Harrow do the double winning both the Middlesex Senior and Charity Cup beating Chelsea 4-1 in the semi finals of the latter. The early Nineties also saw an improvement in the league after the several disappointing seasons previously.
Since then the club have failed to match earlier league successes, finding themselves often drawn into a relegation struggle. In 2000 they avoided relegation by one goal, earning them the nickname "Houdini Boro".
In 2003 David Howell was appointed as the new boss and in 2004 Borough missed out on the opportunity to join the newly formed Conference South, losing on penalties in a play-off.
Having missed out in the finals of the Middlesex Senior Cup in 2001, Harrow would finally bring home silverware in the form of the Middlesex Charity Cup in 2006, beating Enfield 2-0 in the final. Harrow retained this cup in 2007 beating Brook House in the final on penalties.
Having won the competition in 2006 and 2007, Boro were entered in the Middlesex Super Cup, a cup which faces off the winners of the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup and the Middlesex Senior Cup. It is formally known as the George Ruffell Memorial Shield. Boro lost 2-0 in 2006 to Hampton & Richmond but won the cup the following year in 2007 beating Northwood 3-0.
In the 2008-09 season, Boro managed to reach the final of the Isthmian League Cup. Boro beat Hendon, Godalming Town, Harlow, Horsham and Ashford Town (Middx) to reach the final before losing to Ryman League Division One side Tilbury.
The 2009/10 season saw the introduction of the Harrow Borough youth team, playing their football in the Isthmian Youth League West Division. Their first season youth football led them to finishing in 6th place.
Harrow Borough finished the 2009–10 season in 14th place in the Isthmian League Premier Division. In the summer and pre-season following, Borough managed to reduce debts. After starting the season slowly, the 2010–11 season saw the club qualify for the first round of the FA Cup for only the third time in their history.[1] Borough bowed out to eventual League Two champions Chesterfield 2–0 at Earlsmead.
After being knocked out of the FA Cup in November, Harrow Borough sparked an unbeaten run into January before losing to Folkestone Invicta.[2] Following this, Borough sold young striker Troy Hewitt to Queens Park Rangers.[3] Borough managed to end the 2010–11 season strongly despite losing Troy Hewitt and finished on a good run of form. A 1–1 draw on the final day of the season against Cray Wanderers was enough to secure a play-off spot away to Tonbridge Angels. Harrow Borough lost 3-2 after extra time in the semi-finals to Tonbridge. After going 2-0 down early on, veteran striker Rocky Baptiste scored two goals to force extra time, but Tonbridge scored a late winner. In June 2011, long serving manager David Howell left Boro to join St Albans.
In June 2011, David Howells successor was announced. Dave Anderson was chosen as the man to lead Boro into the 2011-12 season and help to continue with the clubs non league plan.[4]
Earlsmead Stadium has been home to Harrow Borough since 1934, a year after they formed. It has a capacity of 3070 including seating for 350 and is situated in South Harrow.
The club crest is the coat of arms of Harrow London Borough Council. The motto reads as "Salus Populi Suprema Lex" which translates from Latin as "The well-being of the people is the highest law."
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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