Barkingside F.C.

Barkingside
Full name Barkingside Football Club
Nickname(s) The 'Side, The Sky Blues
Founded 1898
Ground Cricklefield Stadium, Ilford
Capacity 3,500 (216 covered seating)
Chairman Jimmy Flanagan
Manager Matt Frew (Player/Manager)
League Isthmian League
Division One North
2014–15 Isthmian League Division One North, 22nd

Barkingside Football Club is an English football club from Barkingside, Greater London. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League and play at Cricklefield Stadium in Ilford, home of Ilford F.C..

History

The club was formed by a small group of enthusiasts in 1898, playing in the Ilford League, on a ground opposite the State Cinema in Barkingside High Road. They gained their first honour after World War I sharing the Championship of the Ilford League. The club then disbanded in 1922–23 due to lack of support but resumed in 1925 as Barkingside Boys Guild in the Ilford Minor League. The name was then changed to Barkingside Old Boys and then the "old boys" prefix was dropped in the 1930s.

The club gained the use of a pitch at Barkingside Recreation Ground, where they played for 25 years before moving to their present ground in Station Road. The club then became very successful in local football, winning the Ilford and District League on several occasions prior to World War II.

The club resumed immediately after the Second World War and after a few seasons in the Ilford League they entered the South Essex League, finishing runners-up in their first season. The next season the club joined the Walthamstow League and also obtained membership of the Amateur Football Alliance.

The club then entered the London League in 1950 and finished runners-up in their first season. They won the League Cup in 1956 and were beaten finalists in 1953 and 1963. They also won the Ilford Festival Cup and the Romford Charity Cup in 1952.

Barkingside first entered the London Senior Cup in 1957–58. The club then joined the newly formed Greater London League in 1964–65 and won promotion to the Premier Division in 1965–66, but were relegated after only one season.

A fire in the early 1970s forced the club to play its home fixtures at Woodford Avenue until the clubhouse was rebuilt. Barkingside entered the newly formed London Spartan League in 1976–77 and finished fourth, which earned them promotion to the Premier Division. This promotion was short-lived and they were relegated the following season.

The Harry Sunderland Shield was won in 1984 and they were runners-up in the same competition in 1985. They also attained a creditable 5th-place finish in the League in 1985–86 which earned them a return to the Premier Division, where they remained until joining the Spartan South Midlands League, which was born by the merger of the London Spartan League and the South Midlands League in 1996–97. The league championship and the London Senior Cup were won in a memorable first season.

Prior to the start of season 1998–99 the club came under the control of new owners and work then commenced on the ground, which was christened Oakside Stadium, to bring it up to Isthmian League standard. In 1998–99 they won the Premier Division again but were denied promotion to the Isthmian League. After this setback the club wishing to move to the Essex Senior League, but this request was denied due to an FA ruling that did not allow sideways moves within the soccer pyramid. To make moving possible the club withdrew from senior football for one season and entered the Essex Senior League in 2000–01; a successful first season saw them finish third in the league and winners of the Gordon Brastead Memorial Cup.

In the following season there were massive changes at the club: the senior management team and committee moved on en-bloc to an Isthmian League club and the lease at Oakside was sold on to Ford United (now Redbridge) who needed to find a permanent home to allow their progression up the football pyramid. Barkingside derived considerable benefits from this. Investment by Jimmy Chapman, the Ford–Redbridge Chairman, has seen Oakside developed to a grade 1 ground and Barkingside have a permanent ground-share agreement; to demonstrate the intention that Barkingside would continue Jimmy Chapman became their president in a gesture of support.

Seasons 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04 saw the club finish in fairly moderate mid-table positions as the new committee worked to consolidate the long-term future. The club continued to compete for the Essex Senior League title and reached two finals in the Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy only to lose them to Hornchurch and Brentwood Town. In the 2007–08 season the club finished 3rd in the Essex Senior League finishing behind Enfield 1893 and champions Concord Rangers in the table. However they had led the division for some time but fell away towards the end losing three of their last four games. The end of the season saw the club enter a new era after the Taylor family left the club after 8 years at the helm of the club.

The team led by Tony Fenn moved forward and secured a 5th place finish in the Essex Senior League. Silverware was also added as the squad secured a fine win over Burnham Ramblers, in the Essex Senior League Cup Final. It was a fitting end for the club after a hard season in which everyone involved at the club played their part.

The 2009–10 season saw the squad finish 9th in the table, as injuries and a fixture pile up disrupted the side. The clubhouse has also recently been totally refurbished and the club will be looking to involve themselves with the local community to increase attendances. In realising the importance of the local community, the club and are looking at a number of ways to encourage local schools and their pupils to follow the team as well as a number of schemes aimed at raising the club's profile. The club celebrated two anniversaries this coming season 55th consecutive season at Oarkside and 115 years since their formation an new one season crest has been created to commemorate this achievement.

They were promoted to the Isthmian League for the first time in 2012–13 after finishing 2nd in the Essex Senior League. They also won the Essex Senior League Cup for the second time, achieving a record 9–1 win over Bowers & Pitsea in the final. In the 2013/14 season, the club maintained their Ryman League status with a game to go as Matt Frew’s side finished 20th. At the end of the season, it was announced that after 56 years of playing at the Oakside, that the club would be ground-sharing at Cricklefield Stadium, home of Ilford F.C..

Club honours

Records

Former players

Barkingside players that played in the Football League or won international caps include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ BARKINGSIDE: The football historian on a mission to find Festival of Britain heroes Guardian
  2. ↑ Barkingside at the Football Club History Database
  3. ↑ Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p656 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0

External links