Southall F.C.

Southall Football Club is a football club based in Southall in the London Borough of Ealing, England. The club is affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association[1] They are currently members of the Combined Counties League Premier Division.

Southall F.C.
Full nameSouthall Football Club
Founded1871
GroundRobert Parker Stadium, Stanwell
ChairmanSanjeev Sharma
ManagerMax Howell
LeagueCombined Counties League Premier Division
2019–20Combined Counties League Premier Division (season abandoned)
WebsiteClub website

History
Southall's ground

The club was founded in 1871, and two seasons later they entered the FA Cup.[2] After playing friendlies and cup competitions they joined the West London League as founder members in 1892, but only stayed for a single season.[2][3] Four seasons later the club joined Division Two of the Southern Football League in 1896.[4] The 1904–05 season saw the club attempt to go professional, but this left them with massive debts and they dropped out of the league at the end of the season, and also stopped playing in competitions the following season.[2][4] The club returning to amateur status merged with another club called Southall Athletic, and moved to a new ground called at Western Road.[2] In 1907 the club entered the Great Western Suburban League, where they remained until the first world war.[2][5]

After the first World War the club joined the Athenian League for the start of the 1919–20 season.[6] They stayed in The Athenian league until the 1972–73 season during which time they won the league once in the 1926–27 season, two season after reaching the FA Amateur Cup final.[7] The club also reached the Third Round Proper of the FA Cup in 1935-36 eventually losing to Watford.

They became founding members of the Isthmian League Second Division for the start of the 1973–74 campaign.[8] In their second season of the Isthmian league, they finished as runners up and gained promotion to the top division of the Isthmian league.[8] Promotion to the top division also saw the club change its name to Southall & Ealing Borough.[8] The club then spent three seasons in the top division before suffering two relegations in a row and finishing in the bottom division of the Isthmian league, this double relegation also saw the club change its name back to Southall.[8] The club stayed in the bottom division until the end of the 1984-85 season, during this time the club reached another FA final when they lost to Halesowen Town at Wembley Stadium.[7] When the league reorganised for the 1991–92 season the club was moved up to the new division two.[9] However they could only spend two seasons in the higher division before being relegated back to the bottom division of the league.[9] During which time the club lost its Western Road ground, and the club was now forced to start ground sharing with other teams.[2] They remained in the lowest division of the Isthmian league until the end of the 1999–00 season, when, finishing bottom, they were relegated to the Combined Counties Football League.[7]

They remained in the Combined Counties League until March 2006, when they were expelled and their records for the 2005–06 campaign expunged due to financial irregularities.[10] However, the club was able to clear its debts and continued to operate, restarting two levels lower, in the premier division of the Middlesex County Football League from the 2006–07 season.[11] However, after the division was cut from 15 to 11 teams Southall were put in Division one Central and East, where finishing as runners up they immediately jumped back up to the premier division.[12] At the end of the 2011–12 season, under manager Steve Embletton with the club finishing third in the Middlesex Premier Division, they were able to gain promotion to the Spartan South Midlands Football League Division one.[13]

The 2016–17 season brought success when the club reached the Quarter Finals of the F.A. Vase, with Paul Palmer new manager and in the 2017-18 season, the club were Champions of the Spartan South Midlands League Division One. For 2018-19, the club were members of the Combined Counties League Premier Division and, under the management of Max Howell, finished 4th.

Ground

Southall FC currently play their home games at Robert Parker Stadium, Stanwell, sharing with Ashford Town (Middlesex).

They previously played their home games at Hanwell Town.[14] Reynolds Field ground, Perivale Lane, Perivale, UB6 8TL.

In the Media

A successful Bollywood film, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, makes use of the name "Southall FC" for a fictional club integral to the storyline, although the club referred to in the movie has no connection at all to the actual Southall FC.[15]

The UK television series Minder episode "Last Orders at the Winchester" made by Euston Films in 1993 includes a charity football match filmed at the Western Road ground between a police team and a team of regulars from the Winchester drinking club.

Honours

League honours
  • Isthmian League Division Two[7]
  • Athenian League[7]
    • Champions (1): 1926–27
    • Runners up (1): 1954–55
  • Spartan South Midlands League Division One[16]
    • Champions (1): 2017–18
  • Great Western Suburban League
    • champions (1): 1912–13

Cup Honours
  • FA Cup[7]
    • 3rd Round Proper (1): 1935-36
    • 1st Round Proper (5): 1925-26, 1927-28, 1028-29, 1936-37, 1955-56
  • FA Vase[7]
    • Runners up (1): 1985–86
    • Quarter Finalists (1): 2016-17
  • FA Amateur Cup[7]
    • Runners up (1): 1924–25
    • Semi Finalists (2): 1926-27, 1952-53
    • Quarter Finalists (3): 1935-36, 1945-46, 1959-60
  • Middlesex Senior Cup
    • Winners (12): 1907–08, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1936–37, 1944–45, 1953–54, 1954–55
    • Runners up (4) : 1895-96, 1919–20, 1928–29, 1985-86
  • Middlesex Senior Charity Cup[17]
    • Winners (9): 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1922–23 (joint winners with Botwell Mission), 1927–28, 1936–37, 1951–52, 1968–69, 1983–84
    • Runners Up (1): 1998–99
  • London Senior Cup[18]
    • Runners up (1): 1997–98
  • Middlesex County Football League Premier Division Cup[19][20]
    • Runners up (1): 2006–07, 2011–12
  • West Middlesex Cup[2]
    • Winners (10): 1886–87, 1895-96, 1897-98, 1898-99, 1906-07, 1907-08, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1921-22

Records

Club Records
  • Highest League Position:[21] 14th in Isthmian League premier Division 1976–77
  • FA Cup best performance:[7] Third round 1935–36
  • FA Trophy best performance:[21] Second Qualifying round 1975–76, 1978–79
  • FA Vase best performance:[7] Finalists 1985–86
  • FA Amateur Cup best performance:[7] Finalists 1924–25
  • Highest Attendance:[22] 19094 vs Watford 1935–36
  • Largest win:[22] 12–0 vs Cranleigh
  • Largest Defeat:[22] 14–0 vs Grays United

Player Records
  • Record Appearances: Reg Short 450
  • Record Goalscorer: Ken Merry 117
  • Record Goals scored in a season Ron Graves 1935-36 and Pete Lavers 1968-69 45

Former players
  1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Players with full international caps.
  3. Players who have achieved success in the media or other professions.

Former coaches
  1. Managers/Coaches that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Managers/Coaches with full international caps.

References
  1. "News". MiddlesexFA. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  2. "Club History". Southall FC. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  3. "foundation". Friends Of Fulham. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  4. "Southern League 1894–1915". Nonleaguematters.net. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  5. "Great Western Suburban League". Royalsrecord.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  6. "Athenian League 1912–1952". Nonleaguematters.net. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  7. SOUTHALL at the Football Club History Database
  8. "Isthmian League 1955–1980". Nonleaguematters.net. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  9. "Isthmian League 1990–1997". Nonleaguematters.net. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  10. "Official CCFL Web Site". Combinedcountiesleague.co.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  11. "Cherry Red Books Middlesex County Football League: 2006-2007 Season | Premier Division : League Table". football.mitoo. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  12. "Cherry Red Books Middlesex County Football League: 2007-2008 Season | Division One (Central and East) : League Table". football.mitoo. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  13. "SSML Constitution 2012–13 :: Spartan South Midlands Football League News | Goalrun". Spartansouthmidlands.goalrun.com. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  14. "Football club looking to set up permanent home". Ealing Gazette. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  15. "Plot Summary for Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". IMDB. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  16. "Cherry Red Books Middlesex County Football League: 2007-2008 Season | Division One (Central and East) : League Table". football.mitoo. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  17. "Football Club History Database – Middlesex County Cups Summary". Fchd.info. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  18. "Football Club History Database - London County Cups Summary". Fchd.info. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  19. "Cherry Red Books Middlesex County Football League: 2006-2007 Season | The Alec Smith Premier Division Cup : Knock Out History". football.mitoo. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  20. "Cherry Red Books Middlesex County Football League: 2011-2012 Season | The Alec Smith Premier Division Cup : Knock Out History". football.mitoo. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  21. SOUTHALL & EALING BOROUGH at the Football Club History Database
  22. "Honours – Honours 3 – Southall FC". Pitchero.com. 29 November 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  23. "BBC SPORT | Fun and Games | Priest cannot save Southall". BBC News. 23 March 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

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