THE RED AND WHITE STORY

The Club was started in 1972 by our then President the late Bill Dempsey.

The boys were talking about football and saying how much they wished they could play for a proper team. Bill made enquiries and found that there was no organised football in the Harrow or Wembley area’s for teams with players below the under fourteen age group and Bill’s son and his friends were all in the under eleven age group. Bill was sure that there was a demand for football for players younger than under fourteen feeling that other boys must feel the same as those he knew of. So Bill set about forming a team. There were more than enough lads interested although the standard was rather variable. Most of the boys were pupils at Belmont junior school so they took their name from this and Belmont United was born.

Other clubs were asked to play friendly matches and Belmont United started to become known. Most of the early games were against teams whose players were at least a couple of years older than our lads and we often came away the losers by large scores. These big defeats did not cause the lads to become downhearted and our playing standard improved rapidly.
As well as getting things moving on the playing side Bill had been working hard on the administration side of the Club. A parents meeting had been called and enough adults were interested in the new Club to be able to form the first Management Committee.

The Middlesex County Youth Football Association were approached for guidance together with a number of people who had expressed interest in football at this new younger age group. Some of these people were with clubs already involved with football at the older age groups but others were like Bill interested in forming new Clubs.

The Middlesex County Youth Football Association gave its blessing and in the second half of the 1972/73 season the Harrow and District Minor League was formed with Belmont as one of its six member clubs. The other founder clubs of the League were Roxeth and Harrow Church Lads Brigade, Wembley R.S, Pinner Albion,
Matthew Celtic and Northwood Rovers.
We now had a pitch in Byron Recreation ground provided by Harrow Council and had obtained indoor training facilities for the use during the winter months. For the early games the boys had provided their own kit and these matches had been played with the Belmont team in orange colours. For the start of our first league programme we had purchased a new kit and now for the first time we started to play in our present colours of red and white.

With the League programme underway we found that we now had enough players to start a second team. So with the first team playing league matches the second team or colts as they became known continued to play friendly matches
At the end of our first League programme we found ourselves to be unexpected Champions of the new league. The Club that had led the League for most of the campaign were defeated in their last match leaving us the League winners by one point. We completed our season in fine style when we defeated a league representative team in our final match. The Mayor of Harrow attended the game and presented our lads with the winner’s trophy and medals.

The Harrow Youth League had been taking an interest in the new League and during the close season talks took place between the officials of the two Leagues. As a result of these talks the Harrow and District Minor League became the Under Twelve section of the Harrow Youth League. Two divisions were run with Belmont having a team in each. The end of our first season in the new league found us just out of the medal positions with both teams finishing in third place in their respective divisions.

The Club continued to grow and for Season 1974/75 we were able to run four teams, two of these were again in Under Twelve’s but the other two teams were to play in the Under Fourteen division. The under Fourteen teams did not manage to win any honours but the under Twelve teams finished in the runners up positions in both Divisions One and Two. In addition our Under Twelve’s A team also managed to win the League Cup.
Season 1975/76 found us again breaking new ground with our first entries in other Leagues. The Harrow Youth League operated on a system of two-year age groups and we at Belmont felt it best if we could have our teams selected on a year age group basis. With the two-year age group league’s, a team selected on a one year age group system was likely to have alternate poor and good seasons for no other reason than the possible age difference between themselves and the opposition. Our Management Committee considered that this was undesirable and decided that entry in a league, which operated on one year age groups should be considered.

We therefore applied to enter teams in both the Borehamwood Youth League and in the Hayes and District Sunday Minor League. Our entry in the Borehamwood league was accepted for one team in the Under Fourteen age group but our application for the Hayes League was for several teams, only one of which was accepted. As the season progressed it became apparent that the football within the Hayes League was of a very high standard. Our entry in the Borehamwood League was to last for only the one season but out entry in the Hayes League was to increase over the years until we found all our teams playing within its competitions. Season end found us as winners in our section of the Borehamwood League. We also managed to take two sets of winners and two sets of runners up medals within the competitions of the Harrow Youth League.

During this season we had also joined the Middlesex Association of Boys Clubs and had entered without success their Under Fourteen football cup competition.

For the next season the Hayes League accepted three of our teams, one of which was our first team to play within the Under Ten age group. The club had continued to increase in size and the Management Committee now had to ensure that we had enough adults available to be coach and manage teams for all the players who now wished to play for us. Gradually the problem of obtaining suitable adult helpers was to become one of the major problems in running the club.

The seasons end found us with our first medals from both the Hayes League and the Middlesex Association of Boys Clubs. Our Under Thirteen team, were runners up in the Hayes League with our Under Fourteens reaching the same position in the five-a-side competition of the M.A.B.C. The team that had started the club by now in the under fifteen-age group were still going strong and won Division Two of the Harrow Youth League Under Sixteen section.

By now the club was becoming well known within the Middlesex Football world. We had grown to become one of the largest clubs in the county, and in 1977/78 were running eight teams. Most of these teams were by now playing within the competitions of the Hayes League. The exception being the under sixteen team who together with the under fourteen B team were still playing in the Harrow League. We continued to win a number of trophies each season but it was in 1979/80 the club had its most successful season so far, winning six competitions and coming in runners up in four others.

Although we were winning League and League competitions we had as yet failed in our quest in the County Cup competitions. However, we were making progress having reached a quarter final in 1976/77 we got a stage further in 1977/78 when we reach a semi final. In 1979/80 two of our teams reached the semi finals but the bid break came in season 1980/81 when we managed to reach the finals of three of the County Cups. Our Under Thirteen team were the first teams to play their final and they made club history when they defeated Forest United at Wealdstone F.C. Our Under Twelve and Under Fourteen teams were with others that had won through and they both won their finals to make Belmont the first club in Middlesex to win three County Cups in a season. Another outstanding performance this season was by our Under Fourteen team in the five-a-side competitions of the Middlesex and National Association of Boys Clubs. Having won the Middlesex competition our lads represented the county when the South East Counties competition was decided. Having again come out on top they had qualified to take part in the British finals, which were to be held in Bradford. After some very hard matches Belmont United became British Champions. On the way they had defeated the Champion Clubs from Scotland and Northern Ireland before beating the Welsh Champions in the final.

At the end of this great season we found that we had won a total of fourteen trophies. We had finished in first or second place in six out of seven age groups in the Hayes League having missed out on the Under Sixteen age group where we had no team.
Season 1980/81 had been the first season in which all our teams had competed in the Hayes League but 1981/82 found us tack in the Harrow Youth League. With not enough teams to make up an Under Sixteen Division in the Hayes League were forced to cancel this competition and it was with the Under Sixteen team who restarted our connection with the Harrow League. Having won three County Cups it was not expected that we would do so well in the next season. As it turned out we were to prove that we could do it again when our Under Sixteen, Under Fifteen and Under Fourteen teams all managed to win their County Cup competitions, in the case of the two younger teams this being for the second year running. In addition we were also defeated in the final of the Under Eleven competition.

Another milestone for the Club during 1981/82 was when Ronny Tully became the first of our players to be selected by the English Schools Football Association.

Since the formation of the Club the Management Committee had been active in trying to improve the facilities available to our players. Abortive attempts had been made to forge links with other Clubs together with unsuccessful efforts to obtain our own premises. Finally contact had been made with Officers of the Polytechnic of North London who agreed to allow us the use of their sports ground on a trial basis. As a result of that trial a contract was made between the Polytechnic and us and at last Belmont United had a place it could call home.
The 1982/83 season for most Clubs would have been a great one, for Belmont it was an ordinary one. Again we managed to win several Trophies but although we did manage to reach two County Cup Finals we were to finish second best in both matches.
And now the 1983/84 season has closed, another successful one we managed to win or share twelve Trophies including two County Cups. We also had two players selected for England at School level. Over the years we have had many of our players selected for representative teams. This includes teams representing the Hayes, Borehamwood and Harrow Leagues, the Middlesex Association of Boys Clubs and the Middlesex County Schools and Middlesex County Youth Football Association.

Players have in past seasons left us and gone on to the ranks of the professionals. During this year however we had two players leave us and within a matter of weeks be playing in the Football League, Tony Lynch left us to play for Brentford and Robert Rosario for Norwich Ci
As I write these notes it is possible to look back on the first twelve years of football by the boys in red and white. I have mentioned for the main part the competitions
we have either come first or second in, but there is more to Belmont United than just winning. In the past boys who have been recognised at their Schools as problems have entered the ranks of Belmont players, most of them have stayed with us for the life of their teams and have gained much from their time with us. The Clubs Management are proud that some lads who joined us on the verge of trouble have left us fine young men. The past twelve years have been one of success, that success is a tribute to the members who have put so much effort into running the Club.

Let us hope that the years to come can be as successful as those that have gone.

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THE CAHIL MAY ROBERTS TROPHY.

Some years ago the then Belmont United Club Committee were approached and asked if we were interested in playing against a Club from Ireland who visited the London area over the Easter Period.

Contact was made and it was agreed that we would be host to a party of Players and Officials from the St. Patrick’s Boys Club. Our Players and their Parents were asked to accommodate members of the St Patrick’s Club and the Committee set about making arrangements for the visit.

Other than the fact that the St Patrick’s Club came from Carlow we knew very little about them. We were uncertain about the age or playing standards of the St Patrick’s boys, which caused us problems when it came to arranging matches. Information came through slowly and we later learned that their players would be aged between eleven and thirteen. Still uncertain of their playing strength we arranged that matches would be played between the St Patrick’s Teams and both our U/11 and U/12 Teams and hoped that there would not be a large difference in the playing standards.

Time passed quickly and the date for the arrival of the St Patrick’s Club soon came around. The evening before Good Friday found a fair number of the Belmont Players and Officials on their way to Heathrow Airport to meet our visitors. The St Patrick’s party arrived and soon proved to be a very friendly group. The whole party was transported back to Bill Dempsey’s house in order that the lads could be allocated to the various families that were going to look after them.

The following day a large crowd gathered in Byron Recreation Ground for the first match between our two Clubs. Belmont managed to win this match and also the second, which followed on the Sunday with reasonable ease. It was clear that the St Patrick’s lads were short on experience but what they lacked in skill they made up for with their effort and work rate. Come the Tuesday morning and we were again on our way to the Airport to say goodbye to our new friend. In the short time that they had been with us some friendships had been made which were to last until the present time. We said goodbye but knew that we would be seeing more of the St Patrick’s Club for they had invited us to visit them the following Easter.

The next Easter a Belmont party consisting of our U/12 Team and five members of the Club Committee set out in two mini-buses for Carlow. We arrived in Ireland in the pouring rain, which continued, during our sixty-mile drive to Carlow. We were told that it had been raining for several days and were expecting a very muddy pitch for our first match the following morning. To our surprise the pitch turned out to be quite dry. The match was played on a ground situated behind the Carlow Cathedral. The Carlow players had improved a great deal since we had last played them and although we won again the match was much closer than either of the previous years games. At the end of the second match, which we also won, our Captain, was presented with the Cahill May Roberts Trophy. This Cup had been donated by a local Company as a perpetual Trophy for the competition between our two Clubs.

Since that time our two Clubs have competed together with one exception last Easter. The age of the players has varied between eleven and fifteen but in each case the Cahill May Roberts Trophy has been awarded to the winning Club with Belmont having so far won it five times to St Patrick’s twice.
Our Committee value our competition with St Patrick’s and hope that our two Clubs will continue the contest for many years to come.

Belmont United Youth FC

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