Southall F.C.

Southall

Full name	Southall Football Club
Ground	Reynolds Field, Perivale
Chairman	Brian Wadlow
Manager	Ryan DeCosta
League	Middlesex County League Premier Division
2010–11	Middlesex County League Premier Division, 8th

Southall F.C. is a semi-professional football club based in Southall in the London Borough of Ealing, England. Football has been played in Southall from at least 1871.

History

Southall's ground

The club joined the Southern Football League in 1896 and also fielded sides in the Middlesex Football League and London Football League concurrently. However, despite the success in previous seasons Southall folded in the summer of 1905. A local team playing in the West Middlesex League, called Southall Athletic, moved into the defunct club's home and dropped the "Athletic" from their name in March 1906. They played in a variety of leagues around Greater London until settling in the Athenian League. They became founding members of the Isthmian League Second Division. Never reaching the top level, they were finally relegated out of the league entirely following a last place finish in the bottom division in 2000. They joined the Combined Counties League, but were expelled in March 2006 and their record expunged due to financial irregularities. However, the club was able to clear its debts and continued to operate, restarting two levels lower, in the Middlesex County Football League from the 2006–07 season.

Southall reached the 1st round of the FA Cup six times, and in the 1935–36 season, they reached the 3rd round, losing to Watford. The club also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup in 1924–25 and reached the semifinals on two other occasions. After the demise of the FA Amateur Cup, Southall also had success in the FA Vase, reaching the final in 1985–86. However, they have only won two out of 20 Vase matches since their cup run.

The club's most famous ex-player is the former Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Les Ferdinand, who originally started his career at Southall. Other notable former players include Jay DeMerit, Gordon Hill, Eric Young, Justin Fashanu, Colin Viljoen, Frederick Chapman and Roger Joseph.

A recent successful Bollywood film, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, makes use of the name "Southall FC" for a fictional club integral to the storyline, although the club referred to in the movie has no connection at all to the actual Southall FC.

The club currently ground-share with Hanwell Town, who play at Reynolds Field, Perivale. After the drop to the Middlesex County Football League they are now looking up with new investment and players to challenge and generate a revival. A soccer camp is being run by the club in the summer of 2011 to help promote football in the local area and bring young people together in the community.

Playing History

1892–1893 – West London League
1896–1905 – Southern Football League
1900–1901 – Middlesex Football League
1904–1905 – London Football League
1906–1907 – West Middlesex Football League
1907–1914 – Great Western Suburban Football League
1914–1915 – Metropolitan Football League
1918–1919 – United Senior Football League
1919–1973 – Athenian League
1939–1945 – Herts & Middlesex Football League
1973–2000 – Isthmian League
2000–2006 – Combined Counties Football League
2006–present – Middlesex County Football League

Main honours

• Athenian League champions 1926–27, runners up 1954–55
• Isthmian League Division 2 runners up 1974–75
• FA Amateur Cup runners up 1924–25, semi finalists 1925–26 and 1952–53
• FA Vase runners up 1985–86
• FA Cup third Round Proper 1935–36
• Middlesex Senior Cup winners 1907–08, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25, 1926–27, 1936–37, 1944–45, 1953–54 and 1954–55
• Middlesex Charity Cup winners 1910–11, 1911–12, 1913–14, 1922–23, 1927–28, 1936–37, 1951–52, 1968–69 and 1983–84, joint winners with Botwell Mission 1923–24
• London Senior Cup runners up 1997–98

External links

• Official site
• Southall at the Football Club History Database