Chelmsford City F.C.

Chelmsford

Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of the Chelmsford Lawn Tennis and Croquet club in order to give them something to do in the winter. The club won the Essex Senior Cup in 1892–93 and again in 1901–02. In 1895 they were founder members of the North Essex League, but left in 1900 to join the South Essex League. In 1903–04 the club also entered a team into the South East Anglian League and in 1908–09 spent a season playing in the Eastern Division of the Spartan League.

In 1912 Chelmsford were amongst the founder members of the Athenian League, although they also continued to play in the South Essex League for another season. In 1922 the club failed to be re-elected and dropped into the Middlesex County League. In 1923–24 they also entered a team into the Essex & Suffolk Border League. That season saw the club win the Middlesex County League and finish second in the Border League, prompting them to step up to the Premier Division of the London League. In the following season, Chelmsford won the East Anglian Cup, a feat repeated in 1926–27 and 1928–29. The club won the London League Premier Division title in 1930–31, before becoming founder members of the Eastern Counties League in 1935. Two years later they left the ECL to become founder members of the Essex County League.

In 1938, it was decided to form a professional club in order to join the Southern League. Having seen how Colchester Town had fared so badly after the formation of the professional Colchester United, it was decided to close down the existing club and to reform as "Chelmsford City", despite the fact that Chelmsford itself would not be granted city status until 2012.

Chelmsford City

Chelmsford City was established in 1938 and took over Chelmsford's New Writtle Street ground. They joined the Southern League and made an immediate impact in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth round in its first season. After beating fellow non-League club Kidderminster Harriers 4–0 in the first round, they defeated Division Three North Darlington 3–1 in the second round and Second Division Southampton 4–1 in home matches with attendances in excess of 10,000. In the fourth round they lost 6–0 at Birmingham City. At the end of the season the club applied to join the Football League, but received only one vote. In the 1939–40 season the Southern League was split into Eastern and Western Divisions; City were Eastern Division champions and were declared joint overall champions after drawing a play-off with Lovells Athletic 3–3. The club were the Southern League's first champions when football resumed after World War II, also winning the league cup that season. They applied for Football League membership in 1947, 1948, 1950 and 1951 and 1956 but were unsuccessful on each occasion; their eight votes in 1950 put them second amongst the unsuccessful clubs, and marked their highest-ever vote total.

Chelmsford won the league cup again in 1959–60 and the league title in 1967–68 and 1971–72. They continued to apply to join the Football League, making bids in 1960, 1961, 1962, and every year between 1967 and 1971 and again from 1973 until 1976, but were unsuccessful. The club remained in the top division of the Southern League until 1976–77, when they were relegated to Division One South. In 1977, City were one of six clubs to represent England in the Anglo-Italian Cup. After the formation of the Alliance Premier League they regained their top division status in the Southern League. The club were relegated again in 1987–88 but made an immediate return to the Premier Division after winning Division One South the following season. Another relegation was experienced in 1996–97 and after an issue with the seating at the ground meant they were refused promotion in 1997–98, they did not return to the Premier Division until 2001.

In 2004, Chelmsford transferred to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League and were champions in 2007–08, earning promotion to the Conference South. They reached the play-offs in the following season but lost to Hampton & Richmond in the play-off semi-finals. The club qualified for the play-offs again in 2009–10 and 2010–11, but lost in the semi-finals on both occasions. They reached the second round of FA Cup in 2010–11, losing 3–1 at Wycombe Wanderers. In the following season Chelmsford reached the second round again, taking Macclesfield Town to a replay after drawing at home, however they lost 1–0 in the replay at Moss Rose. During the 2012–13 season, the club reached the second round for the third year in a row, defeating along the way Essex rivals Colchester United 3–1 at Melbourne Park. At the end of the season the club qualified for the play-offs for the fourth time in five years, but lost in the semi-finals to Salisbury City.

Reserve team

When Chelmsford City was formed in 1938 it entered a reserve team into the Eastern Counties League. After World War II, the team were champions in 1946–47, 1947–48 and 1948–49 (a season in which they also won the East Anglian Cup), going unbeaten in the first season. They also played in the London League between 1945 and 1948, winning the Premier Division in 1946–47 and 1947–48. Although the team's later years in the ECL were not as successful, they won the League Cup in 1960–61, before withdrawing in 1963 after losing the title to Lowestoft Town on goal average. They then joined the Metropolitan League, winning the league title and Professional Cup in 1967–68 before being disbanded in 1969 to reduce the club's running costs. However, the reserves were resurrected briefly in 1970–71 and then again in 1976 when the team joined the Essex Senior League, in which they played until 1990. The reserve team then joined the Essex & Herts Border Combination and was disbanded again in 1997. Resurrected again in 2004, the reserve team rejoined the Border Combination, before moving to the Capital League in 2007.

Ground

After their establishment, Chelmsford City played at the New Writtle Street ground, which the club purchased in 1939. During the early parts of World War II the ground was shared by Southend United, before it became a barrage balloon site in 1942. After the war, it briefly hosted greyhound racing. The record attendance of 16,807 was set for a local derby with Colchester United on 10 September 1949. Floodlights were installed in 1960 and several plans were made to increase facilities at the ground, including installing a swimming pool and building office blocks or a hotel, but none came to fruition.

In 1997, the site was sold to developers and the club had to move out of Chelmsford. They initially shared at Maldon Town's Wallace Binder Ground, before moving to Billericay Town's New Lodge. In January 2006, the club moved back to Chelmsford when they became a tenants at the Melbourne Athletics Stadium, also known as Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre. The first game back at Melbourne Park was against former landlords Billericay Town and was played in front of a then-record crowd of 2,998. The club has plans to upgrade the stadium to a 5,000 capacity capable of achieving the necessary 'A' ground grading. The record attendance at Melbourne Park is 3,201 for a game against AFC Wimbledon on 15 March 2008.

European record

In 1977, Chelmsford City were one of six clubs to represent England in the Anglo-Italian Cup. Former England international Jimmy Greaves described the 1977 Anglo-Italian Cup as the "highlight" of his time at Chelmsford City.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Records