Chatham Town

Chatham Town FC is a non-league football club from the north Kent dockyard town of the same name, who were formed in 1884 as Chatham United FC following a merger of Rochester Invicta and the Royal Engineers Band football team.

The club initially played matches at Army grounds called ‘The Lines’, before moving to a new venue on Maidstone Road in 1889. The move came in the same season that ‘The Chats’ reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup.

In 1894-94, Chatham became a founder member of the Southern League as well as the Kent League. After five seasons, the club dropped out of the Southern League to concentrate on Kent League football, going on to become champions in 1903-04 and 1904-05 to add to their debut season title.

The club disappeared from competitive football for a period from 1905, perhaps not surprisingly in such a military town during turbulent times. Chatham returned in 1920 to play in the Southern League before withdrawing after just one season owing to travel costs.

Another attempt was made to establish themselves in the same league for the 1927-28 campaign, but this time their spell ended just two seasons later. A little while later, the Chats re-entered the Kent League. They remained in the Kent League until it was disbanded in 1959, with the club becoming a member of the Aetolian League. 

Chatham won the league title of 1963-64, from where the club moved to the Metropolitan League. The Kent League was resurrected for 1968-69 with Chatham becoming members once again. League titles were collected in 1971-72 and 1973-74, at which point the club changed its title to Medway FC.

In 1976-77 Medway were Kent League champions, before they reverted to their Chatham Town name in 1979 and lifted the league title once again. Town joined the Southern League Southern Division in 1983-84. They remained until the 1987-88 when they were relegated after finishing bottom of the table.

Back in the Kent League, the club continued to struggle on the pitch. Results began to improve in the early 90’s with the team finishing in the top four regularly, latterly under manager Carl Laraman. Another Kent League championship was collected in 2000-01 with player-manager Steve Hearn at the helm, and with it promotion to Southern League Division One East.

Hearn was replaced owing to ill health in 2001, to be replaced by his assistant Peter Coupland. Halfway through the 2003-4 campaign, the former Dover Athletic boss Clive Walker took over as manager. Following the re-organising of non-league football, Chatham were moved sideways and became members of the Isthmian League Division One South. 

Walker returned to Dover to be replaced by Steve Binks. The 2006-07 season saw Phil Miles take charge of the team before Binks returned. Chatham remained in Division One South until 2011-12, when they were shifted to Division One North, where they’d spent the 2008-09 campaign owing to the club’s geographical location.

The Isthmian League days were an annual struggle to retain their status. Back in Division One South from 2015-16, 2016-17 finally saw the club finish in the relegation zone and be demoted to the Southern Counties East Football League with Paul Piggott in charge of the team after Darren Anslow had been relieved of team manager duties.

Despite setbacks, the club owners carried out lots of ground improvements as crowds bought into their plan. James Collins was appointed as manager in September 2017, prior to Scott Lindsay succeeding him during the abandoned pandemic seasons. The runners-up place in the South East Counties League saw a return to the Isthmian League.

Kevin Hake became chairman and manager of the side as attendances continued to grow. The Chats became Division One South East champions in 2022-23 before finishing as runners-up of the Premier Division in 2023-24, defeating Horsham but then losing to Enfield Town in the playoff final.

The side reached the playoffs once again in 2025-26 as attendances continued to be at a high level, losing out in the semi-final away to Billericay Town.

Chatham Town FC will play in the Isthmian League Premier Division in the 2026-27 season.

My visit

Chatham Town 1 VCD Athletic 0 (Monday 12th September 2016) Alan Turvey Trophy Round One (att: 61)

The summer was coming to a close and I wanted to make the best of the last of the warm evenings. Fixtures as ever were a bit thin on the ground on a Monday but I spotted this League Cup tie at a previously unvisited venue. This match fitted the bill perfectly.

Even better was the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as I met my niece Sally for tea at the Shakespeare Head in Holborn. We had a lovely catch up before she headed off to do her own thing.

Time was on my side, so I walked to Cannon Street station, even having time for a quick half at the magnificent Knights Templar on Chancery Lane. My train was busy as it ran along towards Medway before I alighted at Chatham.

I had directions but they seemed strange? Off I went using what I thought was a shorter route up steep hills and up and down a steep valley. This area was certainly not flat. Eventually I got to Maidstone Road, carrying on up the slope and past the cemetery to the grounds entrance on Bournville Avenue.

Admission was £9, with the decent programme a further £2. It was immediately apparent that the club had printed far too many. My initial impression of the Maidstone Road Ground was very positive.

The entrance side had an open standing with a traditional old seated stand in the middle third. Opposite was a similarly sized, more modern structure. The near end goal had a fine modern structure with a clubhouse, tea bar and changing rooms behind some covered standing. The far end consisted of flat open standing.

Chatham went into the game occupying the relegation places, with the mood slightly downbeat after a home defeat a couple of days previously to East Grinstead Town. The match took place on a pitch with plenty of grass but also lots of bumps.

To be perfectly honest, the game wasn’t much to write home about. Chatham were cheered on by a small group of youngsters, and they responded, with Ross Morley their star player. He should have scored what would prove to be the only goal halfway through the first half.

The excellent tea bar furnished me with a refreshing cuppa at the break before I watched VCD’s best efforts in the second half to get back into the game. Chatham showed the resilience that their manager had no doubt asked for in the light of recent results.

The locals seemed happy at full-time. So was I after following the correct instructions that took me directly to the station, albeit from the other side of my departure. The walk was all downhill, which helped me get to Victoria just past 10 pm, enabling me to have a nightcap back home in Kingsbury.

Bedfont

Bedfont FC is a non-league club located in the western suburbs of London, near Heathrow Airport, which was formed in May 2012 following the merger of Bedfont FC and Feltham FC, whose lowdown can be read about here.

Bedfont Football & Social Club had been formed in 1900 and played in local football for many decades before becoming members of the Surrey Premier League for the 1983-84 season before progressing to the Combined Counties League for 1987-88.

 

The club soon found its footing and put in several top-six finishes to play in the inaugural Premier Division in 2003-04. For the following four seasons, the club finished towards the lower end of the table before withdrawing at the end of the 2009-10 campaign to return to Sunday football as a social side.

The merger saw the club placed in the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League, which had a heavy turnover as managers despite two fifth-place finishes and then a runners-up spot in 2015-16, which saw spells under Louis Carder-Walcott and John Cook.

 

The 2016-17 season was considered a disaster after such a promising campaign, as Cook was replaced by Joe Monks, who lasted just a month before former Hendon striker Aaron Morgan came in as player-manager.

His reign ended in April 2017 when the former Hayes & Yeading United boss, Gary Haylock, arrived at The Orchard. However, it proved too late to salvage the season as ‘The Yellows’ were relegated to Division One.

 

The 2017-18 campaign saw the team narrowly avert another relegation following the departure of Haylock prior to the appointment of Adam Bessent, whose side’s fifth-place restored order in 2018-19.

The following two seasons were abandoned owing to the Covid-19 pandemic before Tony Bersey arrived as manager for the start of the 2022-23 season, which saw the club revert to their previous title of Bedfont FC, after the re-emergence of Feltham FC.

 

In August 2022, a grass fire severely damaged the pitches at the Orchard, which was saved by firefighters. The team ended the season in eighth place, with Bersey moving to the role of director of football to be replaced by the duo of David McHugh and Gareth Price.

The pairing was replaced by Nemo Adams, who in turn was succeeded by joint bosses James Key and Charlie Lawrence in January 2025. In the 2025-26 campaign, Bedfont were promoted via the playoffs after beating Wembley and Brook House.

Bedfont FC will play in the Combined Counties League Premier Division North in the 2026-27 season

My visit

Bedfont & Feltham 3 CB Hounslow United 1(Tuesday 27th December 2016) Combined Counties League Premier Division (Att: Approx 120)

My visit to the edge of Heathrow for this 11.30 kick off was the perfect way to start a day after the heavy excesses of Christmas & Boxing Day. It was a stunningly bright but chilly morning as I arrived at The Orchard via bus and Piccadilly line from Alperton for the 11.30am kick off.

Once I’d received a friendly welcome after paying my £7 admission fee, which included the programme, I purchased a decent bacon roll and a tea for £3 and settled down in one of the two stands to take in the surroundings.

The Orchard had previously staged Southern League football for the home games of Bedfont Town, and it was easy to see how. Either side of the pitch had a decent little seated stand which offered reasonable views with tight leg room. 

There were a couple of small, covered shelters behind the far goal, while the rest of the ground was a mixture of open flat concrete and grass standing areas with a small scaffold cover at the entrance end.

I was looking forward to this local derby between landlords and tenants. CB Hounslow were awaiting the final changes to their new Green Lane home and were residing at The Orchard in the meantime. 

The hum of a continual stream of planes coming into land at Heathrow, ready to be greeted by the cold weather, was accompanied by a far more annoying din.

The Orchard was separated by a few yards and a fence from the Bedfont Sports Recreation Ground, home of neighbours, Bedfont Sports, who were playing in the same division.

Somehow, the league fixture secretary had decided to give both teams home fixtures on the same day. This was no issue traffic-wise, but it did lead to a ridiculous situation, especially when clubs need every penny of revenue from those attending.

Our game had an 11.30 kick-off, while Sports decided they’d start at midday. Again, no real issue, although both clubs may have used a bit of savvy and arranged kick-offs so that neither game overlapped to attract a few groundhoppers, of which there were several, to attend both games and give both clubs a share of extra revenue.

What made it annoying was that the gentleman in charge of the PA system over the fence cranked up the music and then had the mic on high volume while making his announcements. To add to it, he thought he was some kind of comedian, which was an opinion that was severely misplaced. 

A poor man's Graeme Swann would be a decent synopsis. I gathered that there was no love lost between the two neighbours, and this was another one of several petulant acts that benefited neither party.

By the time he'd belted up, CB were deservedly 1-0 up as Rashid Obaddi finished neatly after being put in. B&F gradually gathered confidence as new player boss Aaron Morgan rallied his troops. They levelled things up in thirty-five minutes when Shakeel Morris rammed the ball home after a teammate was foiled in a two-man breakaway.

I’d done my usual lap of the ground and got talking to some very pleasant fellow ‘hoppers who were attending a variety of 3pm kick-offs after our early entertainment. Out on the pitch, the referee was extremely sporadic in his decision-making.

There was one awful challenge that received a mere ticking off, whereas a little later someone kicked the ball away and was given a yellow card. He was assisted by an oriental looking gent on the line, which I think was a first for me at an English non-league game?

At the break, I relaxed back in the seats. I’d even used my common sense and set out with a plan, so the oxtail soup in my flask and the various Christmas cakes and goodies were most welcome, even though they were not particularly good for the waistline.

CB must have wondered how on earth they were not ahead at the break as they gathered in the dressing room, but worse was to follow.

Despite having plenty of the play, they became frustrated as Morgan began to control things. He put in Morris, who slotted home, before the big man was adjudged to have been brought down. 

The ref decided that the defender had to go, and although the free kick came to nothing, Morgan went on to seal all three points a couple of minutes later using his years of experience throughout the game.

The CB Hounslow keeper made a couple of marvellous saves to keep his side with any chance of salvaging anything, while his bench was pleasantly phlegmatic about the earlier red card and the game in general. It made a pleasant change from some of the profanities on offer at some matches.

It’d been an excellent end-to-end encounter, which both sides played their full part in, and a credit to the division. Nobody disagreed as several of us headed in different directions.

I departed and took the Piccadilly line once more to Alperton before jumping on the 83 bus, which took me to my afternoon’s entertainment, where I was to witness a thrilling 3-3 draw between Edgware Town and Wemble,y taking my tally of goals in four matches over Christmas to 27!

Wodson Park

Wodson Park FC was a non-league football club from the town of Ware in Hertfordshire that was formed in 1997 by John Murphy, moving into the arena at the newly built Wodson Park Sports Centre. The men's side finished competing shortly into the 2019-20 season.

The club became members of the Hertford & District League where they were place in Division Three. Park won the title at the first attempt and won a further two promotions, from where they were accepted into the Herts County League for the 2006-07 season.

Wodson Park were placed in Division One, where they finished runners-up in 2007-08. Instead of accepting promotion to the Premier Division, the club decided to apply to join the Spartan South Midlands League.

They were accepted and became members of Division Two in 2008-09. Around this time the club became tenants next door at Ware FC’s Wodson Park home. A fourth place finish in 2009-10 saw the team promoted to Division One.

The club played in the FA Cup for the first time in 2011-12 before moving back to their original home after the installation of a seated stand in 2013. The team finished towards the bottom of the table for their first four seasons in Division One before they made a marked improvement with a sixth-place finish at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.

This was followed up with a seventh-place finish in 2016-17. Fifth place followed twelve months later, prior to Park ending in fifteenth in 2018-19. The side started the 2019-20 season, but their record was expunged after they resigned, not having enough players to fulfil their fixtures. Various youth sides continued playing under the same title thereafter.

My visit

Wednesday 31st August 2016

My visit to the Wodson Park Sports Centre was to visit the home of Ware FC who were hosting the match between Hoddesdon Town and Edgware Town in the Premier Division of the Spartan South Midlands League, as Hoddesden’s Lowfield home was still in use by the cricket club.

As I arrived early I made use of my time and had a look next door and took some photos of the arena, which was in use by athletes doing their training. The venue had taken quite a bit of stick for its lack of facilities on various fans forums.

There was a single bit of cover by way of a modern seated stand beyond the athletics track on the sports centre side. It wasn’t any worse than some other venues I’d visited in the past at the same level of football. The near end had a grass bank behind the curve to offer a bit of enclosure with 4G pitches atop.

I would imagine that the football club would struggle to collect admission fees as spectators had a free view of the pitch from several vantage points.

Although I’d see Wodson Park in action in away games against Edgware and Harpenden Town I had still to see a game at their home ground, which I vowed to put right when the opportunity arose.

Wadham Lodge

Wadham Lodge FC was a non-league football club who were based at the Wadham Lodge sports ground in Walthamstow, northeast London, and ended its life in 2019 as Leyton Athletic FC when resigning from the Eastern Counties League.

In the summer of 2008, Waltham Forest FC, former tenants of the Wadham Lodge ground, departed to share Cricklefield Stadium with Ilford FC, so Martin Fitch, the former Forest assistant manager, decided to form the new club, Wadham Lodge FC.

Lodge began their life playing in the Essex Business Houses League, finishing in third place and progressing to the Essex Olympian League for the 2009-10 season, where they finished as Division Three champions.

The 2010-11 campaign saw the club win the Division Two title. The run continued after a year of consolidation, Wadham Lodge ended the 2012-13 season as Division One runners-up and won promotion.

After ending in fourth place in 2014-15, Wadham Lodge were promoted to the Essex Senior League, where they finished in a credible sixth place in their debut season under manager and chairman Neil Day.

The side ended 2016-17 in fifteenth, followed by nineteenth the following season, before new owners changed the club name to Leyton Athletic. The team finished bottom of the table in 2018-19 under manager Jason Ngandu.

A dispute with the owners at Wadham Lodge saw the club evicted from the ground as the team was relegated to the Step 6 Division One South of the Eastern Counties League. Furqon Nur Karim was listed as manager, but the club resigned before playing a game as they were unable to secure a suitable home ground.

My visits

Leyton Pennant 0 Uxbridge 1 (Saturday 22nd April 2000) Isthmian League Division One (att: 84)

Click here to explore my experience.

Wadham Lodge 2 Barkingside 0 (Wednesday 14th September 2016) Essex Senior League (att: 32)

As ever, matches were at a premium on a Wednesday night within the M25. It was a beautiful late summer evening, and I wanted to do something with it as I was off work the following morning. 

My tube ride started on a packed service to Wembley Park as Tottenham Hotspur were at home to Monaco in the Champions League at the National Stadium. Their presence made a difference to me over their time at Wembley as fans filled my local pub on matchdays.

It was great to see the excitement of young fans in the Spurs kits. It brought back memories of my youth when I fell in love with the game. However, I had what I considered more interesting fish to fry a few miles nearer Hotspur’s traditional home.

My tube ride eventually deposited me at Walthamstow Central, from where I boarded the 215 bus to the Brettenham Road stop, from where it was just a short walk up Brookscroft and then Kitchener Road to the entrance of Wadham Lodge.

The 3G pitches and 5-a-side courts were in good use as I passed them through the car park on the approach to the main ground, where I paid £8 admission, which included the match programme.

The ground was an impressive one, even if it had seen better days, with low covered terraces behind each goal, a covered seated stand on the near side, with open standing on either side. The far side of the pitch had a couple of steps of open terrace along with both benches. This is where I headed once I’d bought a cup of tea.

I was familiar with the verbal antics of ‘Side boss Gus Gulfer from a visit to Cricklefield the previous season. His counterpart, Neil Day, turned this into what I described in my scribbles of the time as “The Battle of the Whinging Benches”.

The nearside linesman was doing his very best to keep order as either bench looked to wind each other up and have a go at every decision the referee made. A lone bloke further along was muttering to himself, complimenting the scene perfectly.

In eighteen minutes, Lodge took the lead from what I considered a dubious penalty decision. Mr Gulfer definitely agreed with me! Andrea Mantovani stroked home the spot kick to make it 1-0. The pitch was grassy but hard and bobbly, not that it deterred Barkingside’s tricky pair of Jason Fontaine and Michael Ademiliyu, who impressed.

The game had been littered with stoppages for injuries, which didn’t help the continuity. It gave the respective benches plenty of scope for advice. Before half-time, the excellent ref Wally James decided he’d heard enough and gave both managers and assistants his version of events.

The midges decided that my chubby flesh constituted a tasty supper, so I moved back round to the main side before the interval for another warm drink and to read the programme in the seats.

After the break, Lodge put in a decent shift and doubled their lead nine minutes in as they broke away with Vladut Gabriel Sighiartau being put through to round keeper Sam Roach and roll the ball into the empty net.

The Lodge defence was never put under any real threat as the game continued, and they racked up their second home win of the season. I’d departed just before full-time to catch the 97 bus back into Walthamstow. I nearly jumped out to try beers in the attractive-looking Ye Olde Rose & Crown, but decided to leave it for another day.

Instead, I took the Overground service to Hackney Downs, from where I took the walkway to Hackney Central and a beer in The Cock Tavern on Mare Street before heading back to Kingsbury via West Hampstead to end an enjoyable evening looking at the glum faces of the Spurs fans in JJ Moons in Kingsbury.