Thurrock

Thurrock FC was a non-league football club based on the north Thames Estuary a few miles to the east of London. The club was formed in 1985 as Purfleet FC by a gentleman called Tommy South who remained as owner until its closure in May 2018.

Purfleet started out life in the grounds of Thurrock Hotel which had two pitches in the Essex Senior League Reserve Division. At the end of the season they got rid of one pitch and turned the other ninety degrees and constructed dressing rooms so that they could join the senior division.

An Essex Senior League championship and cup double secured promotion into the Isthmian League in 1987-88. 'The Fleet' continued their progression as they were promoted at the first attempt into Division One.

Work carried on off the pitch as Ship Lane was turned into a fine venue. Following Isthmian League reorganisation Purfleet were placed in Division Two, of which they were crowned champions in 1991-92.

A runners-up place in Division One in the 1993-94 season led to promotion to the Premier Division. The club found themselves in a position to join the Conference South as founder members in 2004-05.

A year earlier the club had changed its name to Thurrock FC to try and attract more support from fans and local businesses, with the Lakeside Shopping Centre being a few hundred yards away.

The club had been introduced to a wider audience by reaching the first round of the FA Cup on a couple of occasions against Luton Town and Oldham Athletic with both games being televised live.

The Fleet had several struggles with relegation over the seasons and should have been demoted from Conference South  at the end of the 2010-11 season. However, they were reprieved following the financial crisis at Rushden & Diamonds.

Their fortune ran out the following year as they finished bottom of the table and were relegated to the Isthmian League as new boss Mark Stimson took over the managerial reigns from Robbie Garvey.

Stimson's first season in charge ended in relegation to Division One North, but in very controversial circumstances after the team ended the season two places above the drop.

However, it was found that Thurrock had fielded an ineligible player the previous August so three points were deducted, leaving them bottom of the table. A long legal dispute followed but the decision stood.

Stimson's side just missed out on a play off place in 2013-14, as they finished in sixth place. They went one place better in 2014-15 to reach the play-offs. However, after defeating Harlow Town, Fleet went down to Brentwood Town in the final.

A second place finish in 2015-16 meant a home tie in the play-off semi-final where AFC Hornchurch proved too strong. Another play-off campaign followed in 2016-17. This time Thurrock made no mistake; defeating AFC Hornchurch and then Maldon & Tiptree to regain their Premier Division place.

However the 2017-18 campaign would prove to be the last for the club. An ageing Tommy South put the club up for sale owing to health issues but there were no takers. Thurrock put in their letter of resignation to the Isthmian League and finished the season in fifteenth position.

My visits

January 2001

At the time Dartford FC were homeless and groundshared at Purfleet. I set out one Sunday morning and went for a look at the Rush Green Road ground which was home to Ford United; later Redbridge, at the time. I then caught a bus from Elm Park down to Ship Lane ready to watch the Darts in action after having a pint in a very strange place near the station.

I arrived to find the place deserted as the game had been postponed! I still manged to get a peep inside.

The ground was dominated by the South Stand (named after the club's Chairman and not because it's on the south side) which was a good seated stand built into a grass bank with the Thurrock Hotel behind it and flat standing either side. 

The near Ship Lane End was a small covered terrace. There was another small cover at the M25 end with the changing room blocks next to it. The fourth side consisted of open flat standing.

I have to say I was quite impressed, especially as it was a relatively newly constructed ground. The clubhouse wasn't open for a beer and the buses were hourly so I set off for Lakeside and got a bite to eat before taking a bus to Hornchurch and the train home.

Thurrock 0 Oldham Athletic 1 (Sunday 14th November 2004) FA Cup Round One

By now I had got a new job with London Underground so I grabbed opportunities to get to games on a day off with open hands. Again I headed to Elm Park where I didn't wait long for my bus. The clubhouse at the ground was busy with a lot of Latics fans enjoying the southern hospitality.

I went inside and found that the away fans were given the segregated open side terrace. It wasn't segregated too well as it was easy to go through and use the catering fan. 

The facilities in the home areas had huge queues from kids eager for their burger and hot dog boost after being dragged along for the chance to be on TV by parents many of whom appeared to be off duty West Ham fans.

The game was tight on a blustery day which didn't assist the entertainment. The Latics came close as Chris Killen headed over with Fleet keeper Billy McMahon being forced to tip over a Lee Croft shot.

Oldham went through courtesy of a contentious penalty in the second half. Killen tucked away the spot kick after referee Kevin Friend adjudged that Lee Hodges had brought down Croft in the area.

Cliff Akurang spurned a couple of opportunities for Thurrock before Kris Lee saw his shot saved by Oldham keeper Les Pogliacomi. at full time I wended my way back to Elm Park to head to meet my brother Paul in Brixton for Sunday dinner.

Wednesday 27th September 2007

I was out for the day around Essex and North East London with camera in hand eager to see as many grounds as I could in a day.

I had been given a warm and helpful welcome at Dagenham & Redbridge before my next journey required a tube ride to Elm Park where I needed to catch a bus to my furthest point for the day at Thurrock FC. The route only has two buses an hour. It was obviously my day as one arrived within two minutes.

It dropped me off outside the Thurrock Hotel ground (as it was called at the time) and I had fifteen minutes before the bus would take me back. A gate was open and once inside I started snapping away while been watched by a man cutting the grass in his motorised mower with his trusty Labrador by his side. 

When he came back down the pitch to where I was, he pulled up for a chat. He turned out to be Tommy South, the owner and founder of the club. By now the ground had cover on its fourth side with seats and terrace. Tommy was a real gentleman whose eyes lit up when I mentioned my support of Scarborough Athletic FC. 

Through a former editor of the Scarborough Evening News and a relation, he had organised some training kit to be sent to Boro when they started out in July 2007.

If only all football club owners were of the same spirit as Mr South.