History
In 1973 Coney Hall Football Club was formed with two junior teams competing in the Shirley and District League and two senior teams competing in the Croydon Sunday League and the club was formed by Jeff Fowler and two or three of his friends and the club continued to expand when Brian Downs joined as the under 11 manager in 1978, having previously run the successful Hawsdown School team.
Within a short space of time Brian became the treasurer of the club and in 1980 was appointed chairman in succession to Doug Morris.
In 1981 negotiations were entered into with the London Borough of Bromley for a lease to be granted at Tiepigs Lane and for some form of clubhouse to be constructed on the site with the facilities of a licensed bar.
After a lot of hard work the lease was granted and planning permission was also granted for the clubhouse to be built in roughly the form that it is in today, but it was a long hard battle.
The building commenced in July 1983 and the main players of the construction team, along with Brian Downs, were Brian O’Leary, Mike Welch, Bill Whistler, Tony Rowbotham, John Walker, Graham Reading and Tony Smith and bearing in mind work was only carried out at evenings and weekends, the club was ready for opening on 24th January 1984.
Shortly after the opening of the club, approximately 18 months, an approach was made by Fairchilds Old Boys to bring along their Saturday side and with them joining the club a new era opened for Coney Hall Football Club, as Fairchilds brought along two Saturday sides competing in one of the local leagues and with a number of people playing prominent roles such as Eddie Mark and Peter Fieldwick and Michael Bedford.
Peter Fieldwick went on to become the Saturday secretary and Eddie Mark went on to become the first team manager and then the chairman in succession to Brian Downs.
Round about 1983 Brian formed a link with a German club Eltville FC in Wiesbaden near Frankfurt and many successful exchange trips took place over the ensuing years.
Brian Downs role at the club still continues after 31 years as the president of the club and also the chairman of the disciplinary committee, but from 1988 onwards he held the position of chairman, treasurer, secretary and bar secretary all at the same time as well as running a successful Sunday side and together with being the chairman and treasurer of the Shirley and District League and upon his retirement Eddie Mark succeeded him as chairman..
With success on the field continuing, by the early 1990’s the club was cemented in the Surrey South Combination Premier League. Coney Hall began to realise its potential as a club and successful Saturday football was the springboard for a Junior set up, that by 1995 was one of the largest in Surrey.
The club continued their effort’s in the Surrey Premier League finishing 3rd in their second season, only for internal politics to interfere, that resulted in successful manager Bill Lennox walking away.
This started a downward spiral both on and off the field and the club suffered, and were ultimately relegated into Division 2 of the Surrey South Eastern Combination League again.
A new club Chairman and a club committee were formed, with ex-manager Billy Lennox once again asked to take the reins. By the 2000/01 Season Coney Hall had gained promotion to Division 1, and had secured its first Surrey Intermediate Cup. Billy decided to step down from the Managers position, and was replaced by Paul Courtman, however, he also stepped down after 5 games of the 2001/02 Season. Chris Tucker who was then Club Captain was asked to take temporary charge of team affairs, and to bring stability to the side and Paul Courtman was asked to carry on in his playing role. Temporary charge turned to full time and in his first season Coney Hall had retained the Surrey Intermediate Cup, and finished 3rd in the Surrey Combination Division 1, much to the joy of the young manager. In 2002/03 Coney Hall had an excellent season winning the Senior League Cup, and having finished runners-up in the league, were successful in promotion to the new Combined Counties League Division1.
The return to the Senior football in 2003/04 saw further improvements on the pitch. A successful league campaign resulted in the 1st team finishing in 4th position, and a fantastic series of cup competition gave the club the knowledge that its players could compete at an even higher level. and our 1st team achieved national television coverage in 2004 as a result of their cup exploits when a crowd in excess of 2000 saw them play AFC Wimbledon at Bromley FC. In the 2004/2005 season we won the 1st Division Championship, but were unable to be promoted due to ground grading requirements.
The return to the Senior football in 2003/04 saw further improvements on the pitch. A successful league campaign resulted in the 1st team finishing in 4th position, and a fantastic series of cup competition gave the club the knowledge that its players could compete at an even higher level. and our 1st team achieved national television coverage in 2004 as a result of their cup exploits when a crowd in excess of 2000 saw them play AFC Wimbledon at Bromley FC. In the 2004/2005 season we won the 1st Division Championship, but were unable to be promoted due to ground grading requirements.
Since 2007/2008 our Saturday teams now compete in the Vandanel Kent County League. The 1st team finished a creditable 4th in their 1st season in the new league. Their second campaign ended in a disappointing mid table finish. Our former Manager, Ryan Musgrove built a side for the coming campaign that is expected, by John Fowler who succeeds him, to challenge for the title, having embedded the recent signings and added two or three in key positions.
The club also has a successful Sunday team who last year consolidated their position O&BFL in the Premier Division.
We are a progressive club offering football for players from ages 7 to adult and now have 15 junior teams playing at all levels. The club has obtained charter standard status from the FA for its junior section, is working toward the Development Club award and is hoping to undertake ground improvements that we hope will equip us to progress in the coming years.
Within a short space of time Brian became the treasurer of the club and in 1980 was appointed chairman in succession to Doug Morris.
In 1981 negotiations were entered into with the London Borough of Bromley for a lease to be granted at Tiepigs Lane and for some form of clubhouse to be constructed on the site with the facilities of a licensed bar.
After a lot of hard work the lease was granted and planning permission was also granted for the clubhouse to be built in roughly the form that it is in today, but it was a long hard battle.
The building commenced in July 1983 and the main players of the construction team, along with Brian Downs, were Brian O’Leary, Mike Welch, Bill Whistler, Tony Rowbotham, John Walker, Graham Reading and Tony Smith and bearing in mind work was only carried out at evenings and weekends, the club was ready for opening on 24th January 1984.
Shortly after the opening of the club, approximately 18 months, an approach was made by Fairchilds Old Boys to bring along their Saturday side and with them joining the club a new era opened for Coney Hall Football Club, as Fairchilds brought along two Saturday sides competing in one of the local leagues and with a number of people playing prominent roles such as Eddie Mark and Peter Fieldwick and Michael Bedford.
Peter Fieldwick went on to become the Saturday secretary and Eddie Mark went on to become the first team manager and then the chairman in succession to Brian Downs.
Round about 1983 Brian formed a link with a German club Eltville FC in Wiesbaden near Frankfurt and many successful exchange trips took place over the ensuing years.
Brian Downs role at the club still continues after 31 years as the president of the club and also the chairman of the disciplinary committee, but from 1988 onwards he held the position of chairman, treasurer, secretary and bar secretary all at the same time as well as running a successful Sunday side and together with being the chairman and treasurer of the Shirley and District League and upon his retirement Eddie Mark succeeded him as chairman..
With success on the field continuing, by the early 1990’s the club was cemented in the Surrey South Combination Premier League. Coney Hall began to realise its potential as a club and successful Saturday football was the springboard for a Junior set up, that by 1995 was one of the largest in Surrey.
The club continued their effort’s in the Surrey Premier League finishing 3rd in their second season, only for internal politics to interfere, that resulted in successful manager Bill Lennox walking away.
This started a downward spiral both on and off the field and the club suffered, and were ultimately relegated into Division 2 of the Surrey South Eastern Combination League again.
A new club Chairman and a club committee were formed, with ex-manager Billy Lennox once again asked to take the reins. By the 2000/01 Season Coney Hall had gained promotion to Division 1, and had secured its first Surrey Intermediate Cup. Billy decided to step down from the Managers position, and was replaced by Paul Courtman, however, he also stepped down after 5 games of the 2001/02 Season. Chris Tucker who was then Club Captain was asked to take temporary charge of team affairs, and to bring stability to the side and Paul Courtman was asked to carry on in his playing role. Temporary charge turned to full time and in his first season Coney Hall had retained the Surrey Intermediate Cup, and finished 3rd in the Surrey Combination Division 1, much to the joy of the young manager. In 2002/03 Coney Hall had an excellent season winning the Senior League Cup, and having finished runners-up in the league, were successful in promotion to the new Combined Counties League Division1.
The return to the Senior football in 2003/04 saw further improvements on the pitch. A successful league campaign resulted in the 1st team finishing in 4th position, and a fantastic series of cup competition gave the club the knowledge that its players could compete at an even higher level. and our 1st team achieved national television coverage in 2004 as a result of their cup exploits when a crowd in excess of 2000 saw them play AFC Wimbledon at Bromley FC. In the 2004/2005 season we won the 1st Division Championship, but were unable to be promoted due to ground grading requirements.
The return to the Senior football in 2003/04 saw further improvements on the pitch. A successful league campaign resulted in the 1st team finishing in 4th position, and a fantastic series of cup competition gave the club the knowledge that its players could compete at an even higher level. and our 1st team achieved national television coverage in 2004 as a result of their cup exploits when a crowd in excess of 2000 saw them play AFC Wimbledon at Bromley FC. In the 2004/2005 season we won the 1st Division Championship, but were unable to be promoted due to ground grading requirements.
Since 2007/2008 our Saturday teams now compete in the Vandanel Kent County League. The 1st team finished a creditable 4th in their 1st season in the new league. Their second campaign ended in a disappointing mid table finish. Our former Manager, Ryan Musgrove built a side for the coming campaign that is expected, by John Fowler who succeeds him, to challenge for the title, having embedded the recent signings and added two or three in key positions.
The club also has a successful Sunday team who last year consolidated their position O&BFL in the Premier Division.
We are a progressive club offering football for players from ages 7 to adult and now have 15 junior teams playing at all levels. The club has obtained charter standard status from the FA for its junior section, is working toward the Development Club award and is hoping to undertake ground improvements that we hope will equip us to progress in the coming years.
RSS Feeds