Walton & Hersham F.C.

Walton & Hersham

Full name	Walton & Hersham Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Sham The Swans The Waltz
Founded	1945
Ground	The Sports Ground, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey (Capacity: 2,000 (444 seats)[1])
Chairman	Alan Smith
Manager	Chuck Martini
League	Isthmian League Division One South
2010–11	Isthmian League Division One South, 6th
Home colours Away colours

Walton & Hersham F.C. is an English football club located in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, currently playing in the Isthmian League Division One South. They play in a red and white home kit at Stompond Lane.

Walton & Hersham was founded in 1945. At first, they played in the Corinthian League, winning it three consecutive times from 1947 to 1949 (a league record). After the dissolution of the Corinthian League, they joined the Athenian League, winning its Premier Division in 1969. Their biggest highlight is winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1973.

Contents 1 History 1.1 1945–1963 1.2 1963–1994 1.3 1994–present 2 Stadium 3 Players and staff 3.1 Current squad 3.2 Current coaching staff 3.3 Notable former players and staff 3.3.1 Former players 3.3.2 Former staff 4 Achievements 5 Trivia 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

History

For a detailed list of season standings, see List of Walton & Hersham F.C. seasons.

1945–1963

In 1945, after World War II, Walton F.C. amalgamated with Hersham F.C. to form Walton & Hersham. The club joined the Corinthian League, winning it first in the 1946–47 season and then again the following two seasons.^[2] They won the Surrey Senior Cup in the 1947–48 season.^[3] They were elected to the Athenian League for the 1950–51 season and won the Surrey Senior Cup again.^[3]

Walton & Hersham reached the FA Amateur Cup semi-finals in 1951–52^[4] and in 1952–53.^[5] They achieved their all-time record crowd when ten thousand spectators turned up to watch an FA Amateur Cup tie with Crook Town. The team included defender C. R. "Jack" Neale who represented Great Britain at the Olympics^[6] and the club's record goal-scorer Reg Sentance.

Walton & Hersham reached the FA Cup first round proper for the first time in 1957–58.^[7] They won the Surrey Senior Cup for a third time in 1960–61^[3] and retained the trophy the following season.^[3]

1963–1994

The Athenian League expanded in 1963 and Walton & Hersham were placed in the Premier Division. A period of mid-table football followed until the 1967 appointment of Allen Batsford as manager heralded a new era of success. In 1968–69 he won the Athenian League.^[2] This was followed by two successive visits to the FA Cup first round proper (in 1969–70 and 1970–71)^[7] and the Surrey Senior Cup was won again in 1970–71.^[3]

Walton & Hersham were elected to the Isthmian League in 1971. The 1972–73 season is statistically their greatest ever. They won the Surrey Senior Cup,^[3] came runners-up in the league,^[2] reached the FA Cup second round proper for the first time^[7] and, most prestigiously, won the FA Amateur Cup,^[8] defeating Slough Town at Wembley Stadium. They set a unique record by winning the competition without conceding a goal. Players including Dave Bassett, Willie Smith and Roger Connell became regulars in the England amateur international team. In 1973–74, the club reached the FA Cup second round proper again, having beaten Brian Clough's Brighton & Hove Albion at Goldstone Ground 4–0.^[7] Following the defeat Clough almost got into a fight with comedian Eric Sykes, who was associated with Brighton & Hove Albion at the time and was laughing about the result to a friend during a phone call.^[9]

In 1974, Batsford left to manage Wimbledon and took players with him. Walton & Hersham were relegated in 1975 and, although they reached the FA Cup first round proper again in the 1975–76 season,^[7] they went close to extinction in the late 70s. They inspired the name of punk band Sham 69 (who formed in 1976), as they derived it from a piece of graffiti which read 'Walton & Hersham 69'.^[10] Despite briefly having Sir Stanley Matthews as President, the club endured a lean period throughout the 1980s.

1994–present

Walton & Hersham were promoted to the Isthmian top flight in 1994 (and reached the FA Cup first round proper that season^[7]), although relegation followed in 1996.^[2] They were promoted again the following year but relegation followed again in 2000.^[2] After a spell in the Isthmian League First Division, they appointed long-serving player Alan Dowson as manager and he led them to a successful 2004–05 season, with promotion secured as runners-up.^[2]

After the resignation of Alan Dowson in October 2006, former Gillingham first-team coach Bobby Paterson took over after a long search for a new manager. Walton & Hersham were relegated that season and Paterson's contract was terminated. The assistant manager Les Cleevely—the former Carshalton Athletic player/assistant manager for whom he made over 500 appearances—took over. Former Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis became a member of Walton & Hersham's board of directors. After a mid-table finish to the 2007–08 season, Les Cleevely became the academy coach while Jimmy Bolton took over to become the manager. At the beginning of March 2009, Jimmy Bolton was replaced for the rest of the season by Matt Elverson as caretaker manager.^[11] During the 2009 off-season, John Crumplin was appointed manager^[12] although his reign only lasted until September 2010.^[13] Chuck Martini was appointed soon after.^[14]

Stadium

Players and staff

Current squad

As of August 2011.^[15]

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

No. Position Player GK Sheikh Ceesay GK Gareth Williams DF Shaun Elliott DF Damian Matthews DF Jonathan Munday DF James Nicholls DF Ashlee Quashie DF Richard Taylor DF Chris Wales MF Steven Betancourt

No. Position Player MF Sean Bradley MF Victor Kiri MF Russell Pym MF Josh Webb MF Tommy Williams FW Chamal Fenelon FW Kenny Ojukwu FW Graeme Purdy FW Reis Stanislaus FW Phil Williams

Current coaching staff

As of August 2011.^[16]

Position	Name
First team manager	Chuck Martini
Assistant manager	Steven Darlington
Reserves manager	Adam Bessent
Under–18s manager	Stephen Blakebrough
Under–17s manager	Clive Hayden

Notable former players and staff

Former players

Doug Allder Ed Asafu-Adjaye Dave Bassett Tim Clancy Jack Cock Nathan Ellington

Alan Gane Stuart Massey Andy McCulloch Mark Nwokeji Bas Savage

Paul Smith Steve Terry Bobby Traynor Graham Westley Tom Williams

Former staff

• David Preece (assistant manager)
• Stanley Matthews (president)

Achievements

• Corinthian League:

Winners (3): 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49

Runners-up (1): 1949–50

• Athenian League Premier Division:

Winners (1): 1968–69

Runners-up (3): 1950–51, 1969–70, 1970–71

• FA Amateur Cup:

Winners (1): 1972–73

• Surrey Senior Cup:

Winners (6): 1947–48, 1950–51, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1970–71, 1972–73

Trivia

Punk rock band Sham 69 allegedly derived their name from a piece of graffiti that founder Jimmy Pursey saw on a wall. It originally said "Walton and Hersham '69" but had partly faded away, and made reference to when Walton & Hersham secured the Athenian League title in 1969.

See also

• List of Walton & Hersham F.C. seasons

References

External links

• Official website

Isthmian League Premier Division AFC Hornchurch Aveley Billericay Town Bury Town Canvey Island Carshalton Athletic Concord Rangers Cray Wanderers East Thurrock United Harrow Borough Hastings United Hendon Horsham Kingstonian Leatherhead Lewes Lowestoft Town Margate Metropolitan Police Tooting & Mitcham United Wealdstone Wingate & Finchley Division One North AFC Sudbury Brentwood Town Chatham Town Cheshunt Enfield Town Grays Athletic Great Wakering Rovers Harlow Town Heybridge Swifts Ilford Leiston Maldon & Tiptree Needham Market Potters Bar Town Redbridge Romford Soham Town Rangers Thamesmead Town Tilbury Waltham Abbey Waltham Forest Ware Division One South Bognor Regis Town Burgess Hill Town Chipstead Corinthian-Casuals Crawley Down Croydon Athletic Dulwich Hamlet Eastbourne Town Faversham Town Folkestone Invicta Godalming Town Hythe Town Maidstone United Merstham Ramsgate Sittingbourne Walton & Hersham Walton Casuals Whitehawk Whitstable Town Whyteleafe Worthing 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