Hillingdon Borough

The current Hillingdon Borough FC, from the borough to the northwest of London were formed in 1990, but their connected history can be traced all the way back to 1872 which is when Yiewsley was formed playing home matches at many different venues around the town.

After years of local league football, they became members of the newly formed Delphian League in 1951, before being promoted to the Corinthian League in 1954 around the same time as the club moved into the Leas Stadium on Falling Lane. In 1958 the club became semi-professional and joined the Southern League.

Newcastle United legend Jackie Milburn had a brief spell with Yiewsley before he retired. In 1964 London was divided into local government and the Borough of Hillingdon was created. In line with this the club renamed itself as Hillingdon Borough FC. This led to an improvement on the pitch and by 1966 the club were competing in the Southern League Premier Division.

In 1968-69 they were runners up to Cambridge United, who were promoted to the Football League. In 1969-770 they reached the third round of the FA Cup after defeating Wimbledon and Luton Town, before going down 4-1 to Sutton United.

The following season Boro reached Wembley in the final of the FA Trophy as they went down 3-2 to Telford United after being two goals up at the interval. Former Fulham and England full back Jimmy Langley was manager of the team.

 

In 1973-74 Hillingdon were relegated to the Southern League Division One South, before regaining their Premier Division spot at the first attempt. In 1980 the club were placed in the Southern Division of the league after it was re-organised.

A spell of dwindling crowds and poor management troubled the club. They changed their name to Hillingdon FC in 1984 and sold their Falling Lane Stadium around the same time. The following year they merged with Burnham FC, who were based around ten miles westerly to form Burnham & Hillingdon FC.

This arrangement lasted for just two years before the club became Burnham FC and Hillingdon disappeared temporarily from football. A club called Bromley Park Rangers FC had taken over at a ground called Middlesex Stadium on Breakspear Road in Ruislip.

 

Ruislip FC were the previous occupants before they disappeared after a spell in the Southern League. After a short spell as Ruislip Rangers, Bromley Park changed their name to Hillingdon Borough in 1990.

The club became members of the Spartan South Midlands League and progressed steadily. In 2005-06 Boro reached the FA Vase Final losing 3-1 to Nantwich Town at St Andrews, Birmingham under manager Steve Ringrose.

Owing to the restructuring of non-league football the club were placed in the Southern League Division One South & West before being transferred into Division One North in for the 2008-09 season where they struggled and were relegated back to the Spartan South Midlands League.

 

A period of instability ensued as club chairman Gamdoor Dhaliwal resigned which pushed the club to the brink of liquidation. Local businessman Mick Harris stepped in to save the club, while managers Gary Meakin, Jesse Smith and then Sam Hurrell struggled to cope with a difficult situation.

Boro were relegated to Division One at the conclusion of the 2014-15 campaign, with former Harefield United boss Ian Crane being appointed to try and put things right in June 2015 and staying in the position until being replaced by Roy Coleman in November 2017.

This was after the club made a statement in January of the same year that they were going to pull out of the Combined counties League owing to financial issues. Former player Yannick Bolasie with the help of his club Everton contributed financially so that Borough continued as members of the league.

 

Kurt Herbert was the next incumbent of the managers position for a year before the arrival of Ciprian Pintilie who took charge from July 2019 to June 2021. He was succeeded by Anthony Obeng as the club was transferred to Division One of the Combined Counties League.

Obeng lasted until February 2022, when Carlan Edgar was appointed, as Hillingdon narrowly avoided relegation. Ali Abdulkadir took over as team boss in July 2023. The team looked certainties to go down prior to the arrival of Pedro Pesqueira the following February.

The new boss carried his experience as an academy coach and introduced new players as Boro put together an amazing run to finish in nineteenth spot.

Hillingdon Borough FC will compete in the Combined Counties League Division One for the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Wednesday 6th April 2005

I was out and about in North West London and Middlesex on a days groundhop and caught a bus to the Middlesex Stadium. It was a ground still in transition.

The Main Stand was unusually perched on top of several rows of terracing behind a goal. Further investigation revealed that it was once on the half way line, but the ground had been turned ninety degrees since. A clubhouse and changing rooms stood on top of a shallow grass bank in the corner near the entrance. Apart from hard standing around the pitch there was nothing but open grassed areas.

Autumn 2007

I was passing the area once again with my new digital camera and wanted some better snaps of the ground so I popped in once again. It had signs of development. The area in front of the buildings was being prepared with a few wide steps of terracing and barriers. A new artificial pitch was behind the far goal to increase revenue streams as well as offering training facilities. A cover had also been erected at this end of the ground behind the goal.

It certainly had potential should the club ever need a better venue and they progressed on the pitch.

Hillingdon Borough 3 Biggleswade United 1 (Saturday 27th August 2011) Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division (att: 32)

I was on early shift and my colleague Rob Burton kindly took me off forty minutes early so I could get a game in. After much deliberation I opted for the clash at Middlesex Stadium owing to its relatively easy location. 

I was ready for some live action after being treated to some inadvertent and unintentional hilarity by the rugby league fans trying to fathom out how to use the electronic ticket barriers at my station. It's a Knockout had nothing on some of their capers.

After changing trains at a packed Wembley Park, which was full of imbibed northerners arriving for the rugby between Wigan and Leeds, I caught a Metropolitan line train to Ruislip. My timing was spot on as the bus 331 was ready to depart within a few minutes. This dropped me right outside the ground.

I paid my £6 admission plus £1 for a decent programme, and was told to make myself known to a man on the decking who was watching out for non payers coming through the clubhouse and into the ground. I entered into an extremely noisy and bright sports bar. It was one of those rooms that made any voice seem loud.  

It was full of testosterone filled young blokes who's just finished their game on the 3G pitch, and as a consequence I could hardly hear myself think. It was obviously designed to bring in extra revenue throughout the week for bookings. 

It had plenty of football memorabilia on the walls, but absolutely nothing to signify that either Boro or Broadfields United of the Middlesex League played their home games there. I went outside to find it hammering it down, not for the first time during the afternoon. It soon abated, so I went for a walk around as the teams came out.

The stadium certainly had real potential. Some old goalposts had been utilised as crush barriers on the terracing leading down from the covered decking in front of the clubhouse. The cover at the far end had all kinds of odds and ends stored at the back. Much of the hard standing had moss growing on it. It looked a little untidy if truth be told, which was a shame. 

I appreciate that the attendances probably don't justify major investment (although the official crowd was 32, I made it nearer 20), but a tidy up would do the place a power of good, and maybe even encourage one or two new fans - as would some kind of acknowledgement in the bar.

The pitch was lush and very large, with plenty of more turf between the touchlines and the fence. Both sides tried to use the full width of the playing area, and produced some skilful stuff. I walked around and had a listen to the two benches, which always offers some entertainment. 

The United boss was giving his charges some fierce feedback for allowing someone to make a thirty yard run unchallenged! I settled in the seats at the Crematorium End and listened in to other scores coming in from around the country as another shower came down.

Biggleswade went ahead when a free kick put into the danger area deceived everyone and sneaked into the corner. Boro had at least three players who filled their shirts to the limit, with the number nine being a bit slow, but extremely skllful. He was at the hub of a move that created the equaliser as a cross was headed into his own net by a visiting defender.

I retreated to the bar at half time, where a lady served teas at the far end of the counter. The lads were still inside, but much of their noise had abated as they watched a feed of the Chelsea v Norwich game and a half time round up in Italian hosted by a young lady who certainly brightened up my day!

I returned to my seat suitably refreshed and before long a storm of biblical proportions hit the ground. Play continued but it looked extremely hard work. It continued for about fifteen minutes and left some standing water on the pitch, which naturally led to errors. Ideal stuff for a neutral, but a nightmare for the committed. 

Sure enough the United keeper tried to throw the ball to a teammate, only for it not to reach its target and a grateful Boro player slot home. United tried their utmost to get back into the match, but Boro had worn them down, despite kicking up the slope in the second period. A long range shot from the 'big' man up front ended the scoring with the ref blowing for full time a few minutes later.

I had to wait five minutes for the bus back to Ruislip from outside The Woodman. The journey to the station took less than ten minutes. I was on my way back into London and I received the miraculous news that all three of my cricket clubs sides had completed their games with excellent results, while all our rivals were rained off. 

A good night ensued, while my mates shook their heads as I told them of my afternoon's adventures. They didn't know what they were missing!