History |
The original Cheshunt Football Club, based in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, was formed in or around 1880. They played at Cheshunt Cricket Club's Recreation Ground on Albury Ride and wore a black and white striped kit. Their main achievements include winning the Herts Senior Cup in 1924 and the Herts Charity Cup in 1900/01, 1903/04 and 1905/06. They reached the FA Amateur Cup semi-final in 1903/04 and joined the Athenian league after the Great War. After finishing bottom four seasons on the trot and heavily in debt, they disbanded in 1931 after the Cricket Club raised the rent on their ground. At the time they were the oldest amateur club in Hertfordshire.
East London side Hoxton Manor moved in as the Recreation Ground's new Football team, renaming themselves Crown and Manor after the second world war, but despite remaining until the 1980s, they were never well supported in the district. In the late 1930s, Roy Bailey started a junior side named Crossbrook Sports. They won the Herts Junior Cup in 1941/42 and played on Grundy Park, Cheshunt.
In July 1946, at a public meeting in the Co-op Hall in Waltham Cross, a group of local businessmen decided to resurrect the club, using Crossbrook Sports as the basis for the new team (retaining their Amber and Black colours) and with Roy Bailey as their Manager. Unlike other Clubs in similar situations, the 'new' Cheshunt did not see themselves as a continuation of the old Club and make claim to its long history and honours. They instead saw themselves as an entirely new body and immediately applied and were accepted into the London League, playing in division one for the 1946-47 season. They finished runners-up and won the League Cup and Herts Charity Shield. Initially home games were played at the Gothic sports ground, off Theobalds lane - east of the Great Cambridge Road, before moving to College Road the following season.
Cheshunt then won the division one title in 1947/48 but stayed put in the same division. They won it again in 1948/49 season and reached the Herts Senior Cup final for the first time (a feat the Ambers have equaled seven times since but have yet to taste victory). The 1949/50 season saw Cheshunt in the London League Premier division and playing at their newly opened Cheshunt stadium on Theobalds Lane. They won the championship - beating Tilbury on the last day of the season to clinch the title from them - and reached the 3rd round of the Amateur Cup, defeating holders Bromley in front of 5,000 spectators (still the ground record) along the way. Drainage problems forced the club to abandon Cheshunt Stadium before the season had even ended and move to a new ground on Brookfield Lane. They returned to 'The Stadium' (as it is often referred to) in 1952/53 but again left after a season, due to the poor playing surface, to return to Brookfield Lane though this time as the tenants of Tottenham Hotspur as Spurs were now also using it as their training ground. At the end of the 1957/58 season Cheshunt were asked to leave and so returned to Cheshunt Stadium where they have played to this present day. Brookfield Lane continued exclusively as Tottenham Hotspur's training ground until they sold it for housing in 1986. The side that won the London League in 1950 included many talented players including Arthur Ault, Fred Pointing and Dudley Sapsford but most notable were Ralph Wetton, who went onto play for Tottenham Hotspur, and George Ferguson who was selected to play for Scotland's Amateur side twice in 1950 - the only man to play in an international whilst a Cheshunt player.
Apart from moving grounds, Cheshunt moved around various leagues. They were members of the Delphian league from 1951/52 and 1954/55, rejoined the London League between 1955/56 and 1958/59 and then left to become founder members of the Aetolian league between 1959/60 and 1961/2... all without achieving any notable success. In 1957/58 they reached the FA Cup 4th Qualifying round for the first time - an achievement the club has matched three times since but never bettered.
Cheshunt joined the Spartan League for the 1962/63 season and won the title at the first attempt, in the following season they won the Spartan League Cup.
For the 1964/65 season Cheshunt joined the Athenian League, playing in division two where they finished runners-up the following season under the management of Terry Medwin, the former Spurs and Wales international. Cheshunt also lifted the Herts Charity Shield that season.
The division one title was won in 1967-68, beating Wembley in another head-to-head championship decider. They joined the Premier Division in the 1968-69 season and achieved respectable positions until winning the Athenian championship in the 1975-76 season guided by the club's most successful Manager, John Drabwell. It was during this period that Cheshunt saw Eddie Sedgwick chalk up the Club record for goals (148) and John Poole began his run of record appearances (512). Cheshunt also saw former Spurs player Mike Dillon appear for them in the mid 1970s.
Cheshunt’s time in the premier division saw the Clubs most successful period since the 40's. They won the Mithras Cup in 1969/70,the London Charity Cup in 1973/74, the Athenian League Cup and East Anglian Cup in 1974/75 and the Athenian League Cup again in 1975/76. They also reached four Herts Senior Cup finals, two Mithras Cup finals plus another East Anglian Cup and Herts Charity Cup finals during that time. However the early seventies saw Cheshunt struggle financially and a merger with the wealthy yet homeless 'Cheshunt Youth FC' was needed to keep them afloat. The downside was a gradual shift in emphasis towrds the youth set-up at the Club which would come to harm Cheshunt's ambitions in the years that followed.
After several failed attempts, the 1977/78 season saw Cheshunt finally join the expanding Isthmian League playing in division two They found little success until the 1981/82 season when they finished runners-up to Worthing and were promoted to division one. They also reached the last eight of the FA Vase, going out to Wearside Club Blue Star in the quarter-final, Cheshunts best performance in any national competition . Cheshunt were relegated from division one at the end of 1983/84 season. However a young Iain Dowie first appeared for the Ambers at this time before leaving to play for Luton, West Ham, Southampton and Northern Ireland and then manage Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic and Coventry City. Paul Fairclough, Barnet's current Manager, also played a few games for the Ambers in the early 80's. At the start of the 1986/87 season a mass walk out of Committee, management and players - due to budget cuts and demands to see a first team comprised of former youth team players - lead to Cheshunt finishing bottom of division two and relegation into the Spartan League.
The next frustrating six seasons were spent unable to achieve the consistency needed for promotion. They did however pick up the Herts Centenary Trophy in 1991/92 and finally finished in a top three place in 1992/93, along with the Spartan League Cup, which was good enough to go back up into the Isthmian League.
Cheshunt rejoined division three of the Isthmian League for the 1993/94 season and achieved promotion to division two at the first attempt. Another mass walk by the committee and management came in 1995/96 but the meltdown of the eighties was avoided. Cheshunt were relegated to division three in 1997/98 but bounced back immediately the following season. They consolidated with mid-table positions until being effectively relegated to the new division two at the end of the 2001/02 season due to League restructuring and ground improvements not meeting League deadlines.
In season 2002/03, Cheshunt won the division two title (their first league title for 27 years), reached three cup finals and also achieved the necessary ground-grading to play at a higher level. Success continued in the 2003/04 season finishing third in division one north and reaching the final of the Herts Charity cup. During this season, striker Darrell Cox was selected for Grenada's squad in their World Cup qualifying tie with Guyana. Sadly Cox spent the match on the substitutes bench and was not brought on. This is the nearest Cheshunt have come to producing a full international whilst still playing for the side. With the FA restructuring of the non-league pyramid taking effect for the following season, Cheshunt were promoted to the Isthmian Premier division for season 2004/05.
After much internal disruption midway through the season, Cheshunt found themselves relegated on the final day of the season by the narrowest of margins (identical points and goal difference with Wealdstone meant that they stayed above Cheshunt by having scored two more goals) only to then find themselves saved due to the disbandment of Hornchurch that summer. However, the Ambers then found themselves moved across into the Southern league where they spent a memorable 2005-6 season (finishing two places above the relegation zone) and lifting the Herts Charity Cup for the first time in the club's history. The 2006/07 again was largely spent in the drop zone but a late rally saw them finish one position higher than the previous campaign. During this season, Cheshunt signed Lloyd Opara from Redbridge. He was one of the best players in the Southern League and his efforts were recognised when Chelsea scouts recommended he has a trial. There were many rumors speculating about Opara. Many tabloids reported Opara was going to be snapped up for £1 million by Chelsea. Cheshunt then sold him to Peterborough United for an estimated £22,000. He went on to make 8 appearances in League Two and scored just 1 goal. Lloyd was later sold back to Cheshunt on a free transfer in the latter stages of the 2006/07 season. The Hertfordshire club re-signed striker Darrell Cox for a record transfer fee in the 2006/07 season.
And now.....
2007/08 saw the Club break plenty of records for all the wrong reasons. Five managers took up residence in the hotseat - Tom Loizou (sacked in November), Paul McGiven (resigned in December), Justin Moseley (Caretaker), Martin Grainger (resigned after 1 game in charge) and finally Gordon Boateng who remains with the club and continues to rebuild after the months of turmoil during which most of the senior players left for pastures greener. Relegation was all but assured by the time Boateng took charge of the team and the inevitable was duly made a certainty at Easter when a 1-2 defeat at Banbury Utd sealed our fate. There was some cheer for Ambers fans when local rivals Ware were beaten in the Herts Charity Cup Final by a Liam Farrell goal to put some silverware in the cabinet and give the club some hope for the future.
Since then it has been a process of rebuilding back in the Ryman League, competing in the Division 1 North alongside local rivals Enfield Town and Ware. The 2009/10 season brought with it a new squad and management team to Theobalds Lane. Bob Dearie took over the reigns in the summer after previously managing the Reserves and installed Club Captain Glen Parry as Assistant Manager and Barry Green as Coach. The team took time to gel but as the season progressed showed some good form and a comfortable mid-table position was secured whilst a number of the Club's youngsters were given their chance to impress.
2010-11 will be a season to build on the progress made in the previous year as the management look to develop and strengthen their already very promising young squad.