Walton Casuals F.C.

1946-1969: Formation and early origins

The earliest roots of Walton Casuals Football Club lead back to World War II. Following the conclusion of the war, a group of ex-servicemen returned to their council homes in the Walton-on-Thames area. They soon decided to form an "illegal" Sunday football team, who would go on to play friendlies against other "illegal" teams throughout the 1946-47 and 1947-48 seasons. They adopted the name White City FC, due to the outside walls of their houses being painted that colour.

In 1948, they decided to become a legitimate Saturday club, and Walton Casuals as they are currently known were founded in July. They became affiliated to Surrey County Football Association and acquired the use of a pitch at Elm Grove Recreation Ground. The club started off in Division One of the Surrey Intermediate (Central) League, and gained promotion to the Premier Division in 1952–53. Walton Casuals would go on to finish as runners-up on 3 occasions: 1954–55, 1956–57 and 1964–65. The Surrey Intermediate (Central) League disbanded in 1965 and the club moved into the League’s Western Section for three seasons.

1969-1992: Various leagues

In 1969 Casuals joined the new Surrey Senior League and moved into its most notorious home at Franklyn Road Sports Field, later known as the Waterside Stadium. Two years later Casuals became founder members of the Suburban League, playing one season at Walton & Hersham’s Stompond Lane ground before moving to Addlestone's Liberty Lane ground for eight seasons. The club then returned to Franklyn Road, where the Reserves had continued playing in the Surrey Combination League. The 1982–83 season saw Casuals win their first major honour, becoming champions of the Suburban League Southern Section and setting a league record of going 23 games unbeaten under manager Kim Harris. The following year Casuals were runners-up behind Sutton United, and in the 1986–87 season reached the Surrey Premier Cup Final, only to lose to Croydon.

1992-2002: Entering the football pyramid

Subsequent years saw the club slip into a steady decline, regularly finishing in the bottom two of the Suburban League. After 21 years of competing in the Suburban League, the club decided to switch to the Surrey Premier League in June 1992 in order to join the pyramid system. A year of consolidation paved the way for major changes at Franklyn Road the following summer as Kim Harris was reappointed as manager after a successful spell at Hersham RBL and the club expanded into both Sunday and youth football. In 1993–94 Casuals won the Surrey Premier League Challenge Cup, defeating Holmesdale after a replay, and in 1994–95 the club finished runners-up to Chobham in the league. They were also were losing finalists to Vandyke in the Challenge Cup.

During the summer the club was promoted to the Combined Counties Football League, and the first four seasons of senior football proved a real struggle with Casuals finishing bottom of the table in 1996–97, but able to avoid relegation thanks to the Combined Counties League exercising its prerogative to maintain a minimum number of clubs in the Premier Division. With the help of Walton charities, the installation of floodlights at Franklyn Road was completed in February 1999, a major hurdle overcome as far as ground requirements were concerned. The appointment of Mick Sullivan and Garry Clark as joint managers in the summer of 1999 brought about a dramatic improvement in results. As well as a best-ever finish of 5th in the league, the club won the League Cup in 2000, beating Viking Greenford 4–2 in the final at Farnborough. The following season was also a relatively successful one, with a placing of 7th in the table and another appearance in the League Cup final, beaten on this occasion by double-winners Cove 3–0 at Woking.

2002-2005: The Tony Gale takeover

Although 2002–03 proved a disappointment as the club finished in a lowly 18th spot, the seeds of success had been sown with Spencer Collins taking over as first-team manager in November 2002. As a team capable of much better things slowly began to take shape, ex-West Ham United player Tony Gale installed as Director of Football. After more team-building in 2003–04, and a big jump up the table to finish in 7th spot, the club took the Combined Counties Football League by storm the year after, finishing 26 points clear at the top of the table. After initially failing an FA ground inspection, the club launched a successful appeal and achieved their dream of promotion to the Isthmian League Division One for 2005–06.

2005-2014: Starting life in the Isthmian League

The club finished 15th in their maiden season in the Isthmian League, while regularly finishing in the bottom half in subsequent seasons. In 2009–10 the club achieved its best run in the FA Cup reaching the Third Qualifying Round, before losing to Staines Town. The club appointed Neil Shipperley manager in the summer of 2010 and managed to finish in 12th place, their best finish in the league at the time.

During early 2011 the club opened a new clubhouse and new changing facilities, with Mick Sullivan returning to the helm in October, following the resignation of Shipperley. After being sacked a year later, Danny Carroll took over as manager. With a reprieve saving the Stags in the 2012–13 season, the club appointed ex-Kingstonian assistant manager Mark Hams as manager, along with his brother Neil as assistant. The duo rejuvenated the squad and impressed, leading Walton to their highest ever league finish of 9th. However, after nine league games led to nine defeats, Mark and Neil Hams left their positions at the club by mutual consent in September 2014.

2014-present: Established in the Isthmian League

Tony Gale and Anthony Gale were drafted in as caretaker managers, and immediately picked up the club's first win of the season, securing a 1–0 victory in a trip to Redhill. In November 2014, defender Liam Collins was appointed first team manager, with teammate Simon Huckle appointed assistant manager. Collins and Huckle were able to secure the club's safety with a comfortable 18th placed finish. At the end of the season, Collins announced his intentions to step down from his management position to focus on his last few seasons on the field, while Huckle parted ways with the club to join Redhill.

Anthony Gale was announced as first team manager shortly before the start of the club's pre-season campaign. He was joined on the touchline by Jack Johnson, the nephew of Gary Johnson and cousin of Lee Johnson. The duo bought in a number of youth prodigies recently released by professional clubs, and saw their methods result in a number of players signing professional deals elsewhere throughout the season.

Colours and badge

The team's original crest contained the motto "Suprr Omnis Superbia", which is an incorrectly-spelt Latin translation of the phrase "Pride above all". The phrase was removed when the club designed a new badge to celebrate promotion to the Isthmian League in 2005. Historically, the club have a orange, black and white colourway. The current home kit is an orange shirt with black stripes on the shoulders, orange shorts and orange socks. The current away kit is a blue shirt with a white diagonal stripe, blue shorts and blue socks.

Stadium

Walton Casuals currently play their home games at Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, CR3 0AR. The club are ground sharing with Isthmian League Division One South side Whyteleafe during the 2016–17 season, while developments are made at their own ground.

Traditionally, Walton Casuals play their home grounds at the Waterside Stadium, Waterside Drive, Walton on Thames, Surrey, KT12 2JP. Plans have been announced with the council to redevelop a Sports Hub at Waterside Drive, which will see a whole stadium built for Walton Casuals and Walton & Hersham, as well as the local athletics club with an eight-lane Olympic standard athletics track. Work officially begun on the new stadium in late March, and the football pitch is expected to be completed in time for the 2017-18 season.

The club first played at Elm Grove Recreation Ground until 1969, before moving into Franklyn Road - the former name of the Waterside Stadium. In 1972, they groundshared with Walton & Hersham for the season at Stompond Lane, before spending eight years at Addlestone's Liberty Lane. The Stags then returned to Franklyn Road, although the Reserves had remained in Walton-on-Thames during the time away.

Once progress began on the plans for the Waterside Drive Sports Hub, the club groundshared with Merstham at the Moatside Stadium for the 2015–16 season, and Whyteleafe at Church Road the following year.

Current squad

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

Dual registered

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

Most competitive appearances

The following table shows players who have made at least 100 competitive (league and cup) appearances for the club in descending order. Records begin in 1992 when the club joined the football pyramid.

Most competitive goals

The following table shows players who have scored at least 25 competitive (league and cup) goals for the club in descending order. Records begin in 1992 when the club joined the football pyramid.

Affiliations

Walton Casuals have an affiliation with Football League Championship club Fulham, which began through former England assistant manager Ray Lewington. With his son, Craig, playing for the club at the time, he organised an annual friendly for the two clubs, where he was assistant manager at the time.

The inaugural game saw Fulham emerge as 3–1 victors in June 2008. The Lilywhites inflicted a 5–0 defeat on Walton Casuals in 2009, with Erik Nevland providing two of the goals. Philippines international Neil Etheridge and Manchester United defender Chris Smalling both played at the Waterside Stadium. Walton Casuals picked up their first win of the affiliation in 2011, with Dan Burn, Alexander Kacaniklic and Cauley Woodrow all playing as the hosts secured a 2–1 victory. Burn also represented Fulham during a 1–1 draw in August 2012, which included Marcus Bettinelli as an unused substitute. The 2014 friendly saw the visitors record a 3–2 victory, with Fernando Amorebieta and Luis Boa Morte included in the squad.

The fixture was not played ahead of the 2015–16 season, with Walton Casuals deeming the friendly unsuitable given their ground share. Friendlies between the two clubs were not played ahead of the 2010–11 or 2013–14 seasons. The affiliation also sees Walton Casuals run an annual offer on Non-League Day for Fulham season ticket holders to gain free entry during the international break. Walton were also named as a Partner Club of Fulham in September 2012. The club have a number of links to Fulham, most notably through chairman Tony Gale - who made 277 appearances for the club over a seven-year period, while remaining to write a column for the website.

Honours

Walton Casuals' most successful season came in 2004–05, when they won the Combined Counties League Premier Division title. Recording 138 points and a goal difference of 99, the Stags suffered just four draws and four league defeats all season. In the same season, the club record their biggest ever victory - a 10–0 win over Chessington United. The club scored at least five times in a single match on six occasions.

The Casuals have also enjoyed success in the Mick Burgess Memorial Trophy, a pre-season fixture played annually with Molesey. The trophy competition was founded in 2008, following the death of former Walton Casuals and Molesey manager Mick Burgess in February 2008. Walton Casuals have dominated in the competition, winning five of the seven games played.

The 2015–16 season was the first year the fixture was not played since its creation, due to Molesey earning promotion to the Isthmian League Division One South, a trend that has continued while they play in the same league.

Records

Records for the club began when the club joined the football pyramid in 1992.

Appearances

Goals

Fixtures

Competitions

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.

Managerial statistics

These statistics incorporate results for league matches and results in cup competitions (including the Isthmian League Cup, Surrey Senior Cup and Southern Combination Challenge Cup) as well as results in the FA Trophy and the FA Cup.

Caretaker managers are shown in italics.

* Liam Collins took the role as a player-manager, but stepped down to focus on his playing career.
** Danny Carroll's statistics include two games as caretaker manager before his permanent appointment.
*** Spencer Collins' statistics include ten games as caretaker manager before his permanent appointment.