The Clarets, along with Lawrie Dudfield’s former club, have been rejected a massive 18 times, one occasion coming on the brink of the outbreak of the Second World War, when the mid-Essex side and fellow Essex non-Leaguers Colchester United both received just one vote for promotion to the Third Division (South). Bristol Rovers (with 45) and Walsall (36), who had finished in the bottom two spots, were reinstated.
In April, the Essex County Football Association’s media guru Matt Phillips linked up with some prominent City names to discuss the club’s impending move back to the town. The club will soon move into Melbourne Park, with the first bricks laid recently on a 1200-capacity all-seater stand. TLG have been granted permission to use the article as a basis and reproduce sections for a look at Saturday’s first friendly opposition.
City were booted out of New Writtle Street in 1997, a venue that had always been their home. 20th August 1997 was a sad day for the Clarets, despite a 2-0 victory over Clevedon as it marked the final match to be played at the historic venue. It is worth remembering that Southend United used the stadium, which is now the Esporta fitness centre behind the Pavilion at Essex County Cricket Club’s Ford County Ground, for two years during the Second World War.
Receivers seized their opportunity soon after the match and, looking to pay off massive debts, closed the ground and locked the doors forever. Speaking to ECFA Magazine, Supporters Club chairman Gary Mixture revealed, “I just kept thinking that this isn’t happening. It only really hit home when I saw the bulldozers moving in to demolish our beloved ground.”
Long before that August day, the words, “Frank Peterson is Magic [was] scrawled along the back of the Wolseley End in large letters. It was only written in chalk, but it was there for years and still there on the day we left.” Indeed, part of the ‘inscription’ may remain, as the very end of that terrace remains in the garden of a plush suburban housing estate to this very day. It is just about all that is left.
The last day was a regular occurrence for some, perhaps helping to create that empty feeling. “My brother and I were ball boys at the ground and it’s where my father took me to see my first games,” revealed ECFA programme editor Chris Evans, who is also the webmaster of the official Chelmsford City website, www.chelmsfordcityfc.com. “There were so many last matches at the stadium that when we did leave, it was more like a routine than an occasion.”
The Clarets also won their first match away from New Writtle Street, well outside the confines of the town’s cathedral at Maldon Town’s Wallace Binder Ground. They defeated Fisher Athletic 2-0, but the quaint little ground was inadequate for a club of Chelmsford’s size, and they moved to Billericay Town’s New Lodge in 1998. Little did they know that it would be their home for the next eight seasons.
Having survived total obliteration with a 6-0 defeat of Erith & Belvedere, City were denied their rightful promotion on a seating technicality. Unbelievably, over in the Ryman League, Billericay Town were waved straight up. Chelmsford performed for many seasons in the Doctor Martens (Southern) League, rather than it’s Isthmian counterpart, which meant treacherous trips to the likes of Merthyr Tydfil and Newport County rather than short jaunts to Billericay, Grays Athletic or Braintree Town.
Joint club chairman Paul Hopkins, whose father managed the club back in the 1960s and whose son, Liam, now plies his trade at left-back, paid homage to those supporters who have continued to make the short but meaningful journey to New Lodge every other week.
“It’s really been manic since City left the county town and it’s all down to the individuals who have given an amazing amount of time, effort and money. People like Peter Stroud and Trevor and Mick Wright. It’s phenomenal what they’ve done for this club,” Hopkins said.
Chelmsford have lost thousands of pounds during their stay at New Lodge, with all the takings from the bar going to Billericay rather than their lodgers. The money received there has gone up ten-fold since Justin Edinburgh’s side invested heavily in an expansion of the current faculties, the bar at the ground now housing twice as many people as it once did and serving an even wider range of drinks.
But somehow, City have managed to keep things together on the field. Despite staring relegation in the face at Christmas, the appointment of former Southend youth coach Craig Edwards has galvanised the Ryman Premier side, and a late surge carried them to the verge of the play-offs and to the semi-finals of the Bryco (Ryman League) Cup.
“We’ve always had a good budget for the playing squad so, to some extent, you could say we’ve been underachieving,” Hopkins continued. “Yeading’s budget doesn’t come anywhere near ours.” The west London outfit were promoted as champions as well as reaching a money-spinning Loftus Road FA third round tie with Premiership giants Newcastle United in 2004/5.
In 2000, City attempted an ambitious move to Beaulieu Park, the leafy new home initiative on the edge of the town, visible from the One Great Eastern railway line. That fell through when Labour Home Secretary (and now Deputy Prime Minister) John Prescott called the project in, much like he has done with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Falmer move.
With almost the last throw of the dice, Essex County Council arranged a move to Melbourne Athletics Stadium. The initial capacity is likely to be 3,000, with an option to increase that to 4,000 should the side move up the non-League pyramid as everyone hopes they will. Although City have been well-supported in Billericay, there is great anticipation that more old fans in the town will return to the terraces in Chelmsford.
Chelmsford City Press Officer Steve Dorrington explained, “So many people have said that they will return when we are back in Chelmsford and some have seen it as a chore, going over to Billericay for ‘home’ games. I think it is a fantastic achievement that the club has sustained a decent position in the football pyramid, given the many years it has been in exile.”
The final word should be with Paul Hopkins. “We’ve got a brilliant fan base at City. There are 350 regulars and that could easily double when we move. They travel home and away and have just been brilliant. We have a five-year plan in place and we’re aiming for the Nationwide Conference. We want to be a strong side in that division and who knows what may happen next, Maybe we’ll be knocking on the door of the Football League sometime soon!”
Wouldn’t it be brilliant if Essex could finally boast three true county sides amongst the elite of English football? We at TLG certainly wish Chelmsford City all the best for the upcoming season.
Robert Craven
(With special thanks to Matt Phillips and Chris Evans)
**There are still some copies of the Summer 2005 edition of ECFA Magazine available from the County Offices at 31 Mildmay Road, Chelmsford, Essex. CM2 0DN. ECFA Magazine is free to all readers**