Welling United

Welling United FC 

Ground: Park View Road

Capacity: 4,000

Club Founded: 1963

League: Isthmian League Premier Division - Step 3/7th Tier (current level)

Southeast London's Welling United have spent many seasons at the top level of non-league football with some memorable FA Cup ties thrown in for good measure, while continuing to improve their traditional home ground.

Club History

Early Years

The club, nicknamed 'The Wings', was formed in 1963 by Sydney Hobbins, a former goalkeeper for Charlton Athletic, for his sons, Barrie and Graham. They started life as a youth side playing on a community sports ground at Butterfly Lane in Eltham. Gradually they progressed to Saturday football, joining the Metropolitan-London League. 

After a season in the reserve division, Welling were granted senior status and membership of the full London Spartan League, from where they were promoted to the Premier Division after just one season. In 1977, Welling moved into Park View Road, which was formerly home to the defunct Bexley United.

 

Continued Progress

In 1978, Welling joined the Athenian League, and within four years, they moved up to the Southern Division of the Southern League, then another leap forward to its Premier Division. In 1985-86, United lifted the title and were promoted to the Football Conference. 

Although they struggled in the league, they reached the FA Cup first round for six consecutive seasons, with Blackburn Rovers visiting Park View Road to win 1-0 in the third round in 1988-89. Kevin Hales arrived as manager in 1995, as his side battled against the odds and bigger budgets at other clubs to stay in non-leagues elite division.

Step 2 Era

The Wings were eventually relegated at the end of the 1999-00 season. In 1999, neighbours Erith & Belvedere moved into Park View Road as permanent tenants. The club was awarded a place in the newly formed Conference South in 2004 under the management of former England star Paul Parker, who was replaced by Adrian Pennock in January 2005.

The floodlights at Park View Road were badly damaged by storms, leading to early kick-off times and large expenditure to replace them. Neil Smith and then Andy Ford had spells in the managerial hot seat between May 2007 and October 2009, before Jamie Day's appointment as player-manager.

My drawings of Park View Road and some former Welling team kits.
Click on the image to enlarge it

Strength Through Adversity

In 2010, the club were issued with a winding-up order from HMRC, but continued thanks to the remarkable efforts of their supporters who raised the £60,000 arrears. Welling United competed in the Conference South playoffs in the 2011-12 season, losing the final to local rivals Dartford. 

However, The Wings bounced back the following season and lifted the league title, winning promotion back to the elite level of non-league. The competition changed its name to the National League in 2015, around the time that the club went through several managers after Day departed in December 2014. 

The Wings were relegated in 2014-15 before Day returned in November 2016. He departed once more, with Steve King taking the team to the playoffs in 2018-19, which ended in a final defeat against Woking. Managers continued to come and go, with Peter Taylor, formerly of England, next in charge from September 2021.

The appointment of Northern Ireland forward Warren Feeney followed in March 2022. Around this time, the club owners announced plans to redevelop Park View Road. Former Eastbourne Borough manager Danny Bloor took over team affairs in June 2023. 

He was replaced by Rod Stringer before Lee Martin became manager in May 2025 after the side had been relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. Ryan Maxwell was appointed in the role a few months later.

My visits

Thursday in April 1984

I was in the last few weeks of my time studying Land Surveying and Cartography in Borehamwood, but I'd just about had enough. I decided to have a day away from the unintelligible maths and calculations and go groundhopping. I had been to several grounds in the area before arriving at Park View Road.

The gates were open, and I found a decent enough ground for the standard the club were competing at. The Park View Road End had open terracing, as did the far end, which was raised slightly behind the goal. The terracing continued down the Cricket Ground Side, which had a rickety roof over the halfway line. 

Crush barriers were jotted around the terraces. The Main Stand had a section of terracing at each end, with old seating in the central sections. It had an undulating roof and many thin pillars along the front. I continued on my way further south, down to Sutton United and Carshalton Athletic.

Welling United 2 Scarborough 1 

Football Conference - Saturday 4th December 1999

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 540 

By now, I was living in London and working at Lord's Cricket Ground. I'd had a good drink after work the previous evening and found myself taking the train from London Bridge on a cold, damp day in a rather fragile condition. I walked from Welling station and continued past a couple of pubs before entering the Guy, Earl of Warwick, next door to the ground. 

I got chatting to some friendly home fans and soon got back to form. I decided to go to the ground and use the social club, even after my new pals advised me not to, as they said the beer was awful. However, I knew there'd be a few Seadogs in there whom I could catch up with.

I was shocked when I entered the club as the barman looked like Alain, my Lord's colleague. Thank goodness he wasn't as thirsty as him! The lads were right. The beer was rubbish, which was rather apt for what I was about to see from Boro.

We had a decent team, but were outbattled and outthought by The Wings on a very wet afternoon. The ground hadn't changed as far as I could remember. I huddled in a seat in the Main Stand and did my best to keep warm and keep my spirits up. At full time, I returned to the pub to drown my sorrows, and what a good decision that was.

The home fans were naturally jubilant and in the mood to celebrate. I joined in with them as we chatted about football and generally had a good laugh. Around 7pm, a bus eventually turned up to take us to Lewisham, from where we caught the DLR to Cutty Sark to try a few pubs out in Greenwich.

I left around 10pm as I was full and still had a long journey home to Willesden Green. After changing onto the Jubilee line at Canary Wharf, I nodded off and woke at Kingsbury. Fortunately for me, there was still a train in service to take me back down to my home station.
The game was rubbish as a Boro fan, but the day out was excellent. How many times have I said that!

Wednesday 4th October 2006

I was out and about around South East London and Kent on a groundhop exhibition. After visiting VCD Athletic in Crayford, I took the bus up the A207, which dropped me outside the stadium on Park View Road.

By now, the scene had changed as Erith & Belvedere had moved in and transformed the Cricket Ground Side. Their own turnstiles led to a smart new seated stand to replace the old cover. Underneath it was a new clubhouse and club rooms with a roof designed so that the stand could be extended later if and when required.

It gave the ground a new, badly needed dimension, which I would enjoy when I went to see Erith & Belvedere in action in November 2010. The Main Stand had also been smartened up with extra seating installed. I continued on to my next venue, the home of Greenwich Borough.