Romford F.C.

Romford
Full name Romford Football Club
Nickname(s) The Boro
Founded 1876 (original club)
1929 (second incarnation)
1992 (current club)
Ground Mill Field, Aveley
(Capacity: 1,100)
Chairman Steve Gardener
Manager Paul Martin
League Isthmian League Division One North
2010–11 Isthmian League Division One North, 12th
Home colours

Romford F.C. is an English football club based in Romford, Greater London. The club are currently members of Division One North of the Isthmian League, and play at Mill Field in Aveley.

Contents

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. They joined the Southern League in 1909, but played only a single season before leaving.[1]

Following internal disputes, some members broke away to form a new club, whilst the original club was renamed Romford Town. They joined the Athenian League. After finishing bottom in their first season, they left at the end of their second,[2] before folding during World War I.

In 1929 the club was re-established. Based at 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 1959 they switched to Division One of the Southern League in 1959. 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 large debts from their attempts to enter the Football League and sold their Brooklands ground in an effort to repay it.[3] In 1978 they resigned from the League before the start of the season,[1] and folded.

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 were relegated 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]

Stadium

The club has led a largely nomadic existence, playing at seventeen home grounds during its history. 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 absorbed the club during the summer. In December 2001 they left Sungate 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 the 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]

Records

References

  1. ^ a b c Romford at the Football Club History Database
  2. ^ Romford Town at the Football Club History Database
  3. ^ a b History Romford FC
  4. ^ Collier Row & Romford at the Football Club History Database
  5. ^ Blakeman, M (2010) The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935-2010, Volume II ISBN 9781908037022
  6. ^ Romford Reserves at the Football Club History Database
  7. ^ Council gives go ahead to new home for Romford Football Club Havering Borough Council

External links

Premier Division
Division One North
Division One South
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