Your team A-Z

By Richard Lambert

The plight of Epsom & Ewell F.C.

Cast your mind back to May 1993.

John Major was the Prime Minister, and Swedish band Ace of Base were number one with “All That She Wants”. Sounds a long time ago, doesn’t it? Fifteen years have now passed, and all that Epsom & Ewell F.C. want is another ground.

The club has been without a base for that entire period, sharing at Merland Rise, the home of Banstead Athletic, in what.is believed to be the longest continual ground share in English football history.

It is a very sad tale, touched as always seems to be the case, by the spectre of financial mismanagement within the club, and not helped by one of the most apathetic Borough Councils in the Country.  

As a long-serving supporter I'm one of those who are trying to make a difference. With twenty-seven years service travelling home and away my last six years have also been spent carrying out research and tracing the history of the club and its predecessors in the Borough. The result? A book Two Legs Not Four charts the rise, and regrettably, the fall of a club that used to be a focal part of the local scene until it was exiled to the cold confines of Epsom Downs.

And it is a great story too. Football in the Borough is covered from its start in 1884, up to the present club, which was formed way back in 1918 by a group of young school leavers who had to grow up quickly in the shadow of World War One. The club progressed rapidly into Senior football, and in 1924 entered the Surrey Senior League. Three seasons later, and the two-time League Champions progressed to the London League, which they also won at their first attempt. The Thirties were a very successful decade, and also saw the club reach the First Round Proper of the F.A.Cup for the only time in their history, narrowly losing 4-2 to Clapton Orient in front of just below 10,000 at the Lea Bridge Speedway Stadium.

The club were one of the few that played throughout World War Two, but the club struggled in the post war era until they reached the Surrey Senior Cup Final in 1954, losing 2-0 to Corinthian Casuals at Selhurst Park in front of 6,159. The Blues had by now moved into the Corinthian League, and won the League Cup (Memorial Shield) in 1960, defeating Maidenhead United 2-0 at Wembley F.C. However, the rest of the Sixties were a depressing time at West Street, and when the Athenian League threw them out in 1973 it was no real surprise.

The irony was that the club had just cleared its debts, thanks to a local businessman Ray Bloye, who was also Chairman of Crystal Palace. Also appointed at that time was a new manager, the former Fulham professional player Pat O’Connell. Under his astute direction, the club bounced back from the depths of the Surrey Senior League, and also reached Wembley Stadium in the first ever F.A.Vase, where they narrowly missed out to Hoddesdon Town by two goals to one in 1975 with 9,500 present in the old stadium. 

Although O’Connell departed in 1982, the club continued their rise under manager Adrian Hill, reaching the heights of the Isthmian League Premier Division, but after he departed to Croydon in 1985 two relegations followed and by 1991 they had dropped into the newly formed Division Three.

The loss of the ground in 1993 was a massive blow from which the club has never recovered. As they reside in the Combined Counties League, where they were placed after F.A. reorganisation, they plot their revival under current management team Lyndon Buckwell and Tony Coombe, both former players at the club, and this season looks like being the most promising for many years.

Off the field, current Chairman Tony Jeffcoate and Vice-Chairman Alb Bullen are also striving hard to recapture a place in the Borough for the club, and these two are joined on the Committee by Treasurer Rob Oakes, Secretary Maryse Oakes, and Press and Public Relations men George Holland and Pete Beddoe, all under the eye of long-serving Club President Stella Lamont. I'm also responsible for the informative website www.eefc.net

In recent years the club has formed a Colts section, which is thriving, and it is fair to say that the club is now one that is representative of the community. It is unfortunate that the Council do not see things the same way. The Blues have the potential to become a strong non-league side again, and they even have the finance to build a new ground. All they require is a viable site and some help. The search continues…

For anyone who is interested in purchasing a book, please contact Richard by email on Richard.c.lambert@virgin.net The cost is £19.95 and if postage is required, it is an additional £4.95.