Nickname(s) Ricay, The Blues Chairman Daniel Groves Founded 1880 Training ground New Lodge | Ground Capacity 3,500 (424 seated) Website Club home page Manager Craig Edwards | |
Full name Billericay Town Football Club 2015–16 Isthmian League Premier Division, 9th League Isthmian League Premier Division | ||
Billericay Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three occasions.
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History
Established as Billericay in 1880, the club joined the Romford & District League in 1890, where they played until World War I. They also started playing in the Mid-Essex League, winning Division Two in 1912–13. They remained in the Mid-Essex League until joining the Southern Essex Combination League in 1947. In 1946 they adopted their current name.
In 1966 the club were founder members of the Essex Olympian League. The 1969–70 season saw them win the league and League Cup double, a feat they repeated the following season. Following their back-to-back titles, the club became founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971, finishing as runners-up in its first season and winning the title in 1972–73.
After finishing as runners-up again, the club won back-to-back league titles in 1974–75 and 1975–76. The latter season also saw them reach the final of the FA Vase and beat Stamford 1–0 at Wembley, as well as a first Essex Senior Cup title when they beat Epping Town 3–2 in the final. Although they only finished third in 1976–77, they retained the FA Vase, beating Sheffield 2–1 in a replay at the City Ground in Nottingham after a 1–1 draw at Wembley.
In 1977 the club switched to the Athenian League, which they won at the first attempt. The 1978–79 season saw them retain their Athenian League title and win a third FA Vase in four seasons, beating Almondsbury Greenway 4–1 in the final, with Doug Young becoming the only player to score a hat-trick in an FA Vase final at the old Wembley. The following season saw them move up to Division Two of the Isthmian League, they also won at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. Their run of success continued in 1980–81 as they finished as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division, the first time back-to-back promotions had been achieved in the league by a new club.
Billericay remained in the Premier Division until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1985–86 season. This began a spell as a yo-yo club, as they were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1988–89 season. They were placed in Division Two in 1991 after league restructuring, before being promoted back to Division One in 1992–93 and then to the Premier Division in 1997–98 after finishing as Division One runners-up. The 1997–98 season also saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–2 at home to fellow non-League club Wisbech Town.
In 2004–05 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 1–0 at home to Stevenage Borough. They also finished as Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 2–0 at home by Leyton in the semi-finals. A fourth-place finish in 2006–07 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time beating local rivals Chelmsford City 5–3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, before losing 4–2 on penalties to Bromley in the final following another 1–1 draw. In 2007–08 they qualified for the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–1 at home to Swansea City.
In 2010–11 Billericay won the Essex Senior Cup for a second time, beating Aveley 2–0 in the final. The following season saw the club win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference South. However, they were relegated back to the Isthmian League the following season after finishing second-from-bottom of the Conference South.
Current squad
As of 13 February 2017Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
On loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Ground
Billericay Town played at Archer Hall on Laindon Road until moving to New Lodge in 1971. The ground had previously been use by Outwell Common, and Chelmsford City also played at New Lodge between 1998 and 2005. A small seated stand was erected in 1980, with the clubhouse on one side and the Cow Shed terracing on the other. In the 1990s seated stands were installed behind each goal having been obtained from the ground of Newbury Town after they folded. These were later both moved to the opposite side of the pitch to the 1980 stand and were joined together. An area of covered terracing was added alongside the seated stands. Plans to move to a new stadium at Gloucester Park in Basildon in the early 2000s fell through and instead the club redeveloped New Lodge.
The ground has a capacity of 3,500, of which 424 is seated and 2,000 is covered. The record attendance of 3,841 was set for a friendly match against West Ham United to mark the switching on of the new floodlights in 1977. The club had won the floodlights by winning the Philips Electrical Floodlight Competition, a six-a-side tournament played at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre played the day after the club won the 1977 FA Vase final against Sheffield.