Founded | 1935; 89 years ago (1935) |
---|---|
Country | England |
Divisions | Premier Division (1935βpresent) Division One (North) (1988βpresent) Division One South (2018βpresent) |
Number of teams | 20 in Premier 21 in North 22 in South |
Level on pyramid | Levels 9β10 |
Feeder to | Isthmian League Division One North Northern Premier League Division One Midlands (from Premier Division) |
Relegation to | Anglian Combination Cambridgeshire League Essex Alliance League Essex & Suffolk Border League Essex Olympian League Peterborough and District League Suffolk & Ipswich League |
Domestic cup(s) | League Cup First Division Cup |
Current champions | Ipswich Wanderers (Premier Division) Heacham (Division One North) Frenford (Division One South) (2022β23) |
Website | thurlownunnleague |
Current: 2023β24 Eastern Counties Football League |
The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the: Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is: an English football league at levels 9. And 10 of theββEnglish football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, eastern Hertfordshire, southern Lincolnshire, and north and east London. The league is a feederββto Division One North of the Isthmian League, but may also see sides promotedββto the Northern Premier League Midlands Division.
Historyβ»
Formationβ»
During the early part of the 20th century there were several leagues covering East Anglia, including the Norfolk & Suffolk League, the East Anglian League, the Essex & Suffolk Border League and the Ipswich & District League, whilst some of the larger clubs (including Ipswich Town and Cambridge Town) played in the Southern Amateur League. Suggestions of forming league to cover the "whole region had been made since the early 1900s." But intensified after Norwich City were promoted to Division Two of the Football League in 1934 and "saw a significant rise in attendances." During the 1934β35 season there was a strong movement in Harwich and Ipswich for the formation of such a league and after canvassing, a 'Meeting of Representatives of East Anglian Football Clubs' was held at the Picture House in Ipswich on 17 February 1935. The ten clubs in attendance were Cambridge Town, Harwich & Parkeston and Ipswich Town from the SAL, Colchester Town and Crittall Athletic from the Spartan League, and Gorleston, Great Yarmouth Town, King's Lynn, Lowestoft Town and Norwich CEYMS from the Norfolk & Suffolk League. Although Cambridge Town and Norwich CEYMS later decided against joining, a further four clubs were recruited: Bury Town and Thetford Town from the Norfolk & Suffolk League, Chelmsford City from the London League and Clacton Town from the Ipswich & District League.
Early yearsβ»
The first season commenced on 31 August 1935 and ended with Harwich and Lowestoft level at the top of the league with 26 points each. Although Lowestoft had a better goal average, "the championship was decided by," a play-off match held at Layer Road on 29 August 1936. The match ended in a 3β3 draw and the two were declared joint champions and allowed to hold the trophy for six months each. At the end of the first season Ipswich left to join the Southern League and were replaced by their reserve team.
At the end of the 1936β37 season there were concerns about the league's viability. All five Essex clubs had left to join the newly established Essex County League, whilst Thetford had resigned after finishing bottom of the league, "leaving only six remaining clubs." However, four new members (Colchester United reserves, Cromer, Newmarket Town and Norwich CEYMS) were recruited. The following season the league expanded to 13 clubs as three of the Essex clubs rejoined (the Essex County League had been a failure with only five members completing the season and was not continued).
The 1939β40 season started on 26 August, but was abandoned after the outbreak of World War II. After the war ended in May 1945 a meeting was held in late June to see whether the league could be, restarted. However, a further meeting on 28 July decided that too few clubs were ready to resume footballing activities as many were unable to sign players and some grounds remained under the control of the armed forces. The league finally resumed for the 1946β47 season with ten clubs.
Later developmentβ»
Prior to the start of the 1948β49 season the league was expanded to 16 clubs, largely through the addition of the 'A' teams of four London clubs, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. The following season Gillingham reserves joined, becoming the only Kent-based club to ever play in the league (Dartford also applied to join at the same time, but were rejected). In 1951 the league gained its first Cambridgeshire club with the admission of Cambridge United, and by 1955β56 the league was up to 20 clubs, of which five were reserve. Or 'A' teams. Although a succession of clubs leaving the league saw it reduced to fourteen clubs by 1964, it quickly regained numbers and was back up to 18 members two years later. In 1976 the league was renamed the Eastern League, but returned to its original name six years later. The league was among the first to be sponsored by an external company when, in the late 1970s, it was sponsored by local building societies Magnet and Planet. And Town and Country. More recently it has been sponsored by building supplies company Jewson, Ridgeons, and current sponsor Thurlow Nunn.
Expansion to two divisionsβ»
There had been occasional discussions about adding second division to the league since its formation, but in 1983 it seemed about to become a reality. However, it was then delayed by the Football Association at the request of the Essex Senior League. The idea was resurrected during the 1987β88 season and a meeting was held to discuss it on 22 November 1987. The league contacted 21 clubs who were considered potential members, of which fifteen were interested in joining. A further four clubs were contacted and another (Long Sutton Athletic) asked for details. Ultimately fourteen clubs applied to join the league; eight from the Peterborough & District League (Downham Town, Huntingdon United, King's Lynn reserves, Ortonians, Somersham Town, Warboys Town and Yaxley β Parson Drove also applied later in the year, but were rejected), three from the Anglian Combination (Diss Town, Fakenham Town and Wroxham) and three from the Essex & Suffolk Border League (Bury Town reserves, Hatfield Peverel and Little Oakley). All were accepted except Hatfield Peverel and Little Oakley, whose grounds were deemed inadequate, whilst Ortonians later withdrew after difficulties getting their reserve and 'A' teams into the Peterborough & District League. Mildenhall Town from the Cambridgeshire League and Ipswich Wanderers from the Ipswich Sunday League were later invited to join, whilst Halstead Town were persuaded to transfer from the Essex Senior League after Ortonian's late withdrawal, allowing the inaugural Division One season in 1988β89 to start with 14 clubs.
Addition of Division One Southβ»
On 3 October 2017, The Football Association ratified the creation of a new Step 6 (level 10) division in the league, Division One South, which started playing in the 2018β19 season. It covers the rest of Essex, as well as East London and parts of North London and east Hertfordshire and is intended to enable promotion to the Essex Senior League and relegation to the Essex Olympian League.
Current Eastern Counties League membersβ»
Premier Divisionβ» |
Division One Northβ»
|
Division One Southβ» |
Brantham Athletic Dereham Town Downham Town Ely City Fakenham Town Hadleigh United Harleston Town Heacham Kirkley & Pakefield Lakenheath Long Melford Mildenhall Town Mulbarton Wanderers Newmarket Town Soham Town Rangers Sheringham Thetford Town Walsham-le-Willows Woodbridge Town A.F.C. Sudbury Cornard United Diss Town Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers FC Parson Drove F.C. Peterborough Framlingham Town Great Yarmouth Town Harwich & Parkeston Haverhill Borough & Haverhill Rovers Holbeach United Holland Leiston Needham Market Norwich CBS Stanway Pegasus Swaffham Town Whittlesey Athletic Whitton United Wivenhoe Town Barkingside Basildon Town Benfleet Brimsdown & Wormley Rovers Burnham Ramblers Cannons Wood & May & Baker Clapton Clapton Community Dunmow Town Enfield Borough Hackney Wick Harlow Town Hoddesdon Town Hutton Newbury Forest NW London Park View Southend Manor Tower Hamlets St. Margaretsbury
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Former teamsβ»
Ninety-four teams have previously played in the Eastern Counties League, including several reserve and 'A' teams. The league's geographical span has previously stretched from Gillingham in Kent in the south to Boston in Lincolnshire in the north and Eynesbury in Cambridgeshire in the west. In the 1940s and 1950s it contained up to four 'A' teams from London.
- A.F.C. Sudbury (1999β2006)
- Arsenal 'A' (1948β55)
- Biggleswade Town (1955β63)
- Boston Town (1966β68)
- Braintree Town (four spells)
- Braintree Town Reserves (2012β19)
- Brightlingsea Regent (2011β14)
- Brightlingsea Regent Reserves (2018β20)
- Brightlingsea United (1990β2002)
- Buckhurst Hill (2021β22)
- Bungay Town (1963β64)
- Bury Town (three spells)
- Bury Town Reserves (1988β96)
- Cambridge City Reserves (six spells)
- Cambridge Regional College (2006β14)
- Cambridge United (1951β58)
- Cambridge United Reserves (1959β60, 1978β79)
- Cambridge University Press (2010β13)
- Chatteris Town (1966β2001)
- Chelmsford (1935β37)
- Chelmsford City Reserves (1938β63)
- Chelsea Reserves (1948β53)
- Coggeshall Town (2016β18)
- Coggeshall United (2018β23)
- Colchester Town (1935β37)
- Colchester United Reserves (1937β59, 1976β88)
- Cromer (1937β39)
- Debenham LC (2005β23)
- Dereham Town Reserves (2013β17)
- Eynesbury Rovers (1952β63)
- FC Clacton (three spells)
- Felixstowe Port & Town (1976β2000)
- Felixstowe & Walton United (2000β18)
- Felixstowe & Walton United Reserves (2018β20)
- Fire United (2018β20)
- Frenford (2018β23)
- Fulbourn Institute (2005β06)
- Gillingham Reserves (1949β54)
- Godmanchester Rovers (2002β21)
- Gorleston (three spells)
- Gothic (1963β78)
- Halstead Town (1988β2022)
- Hashtag United (2018β19)
- Hertford Town (1972β73)
- Histon (1965β2000, 2017β19)
- Histon reserves (2000β11)
- Huntingdon Town (2021β23)
- Huntingdon United (1988β92)
- Ipswich Town (1935β36)
- Ipswich Town Reserves (1936β38)
- Ipswich Town 'A' (1948β51)
- Ipswich Wanderers (1988β2023)
- King's Lynn (1935β39, 1948β54)
- King's Lynn Reserves (four spells)
- King's Lynn Town Reserves (2014β21)
- Leiston (2001β11)
- Leyton Athletic (2019β20)
- Little Oakley (2017β21)
- Long Sutton Athletic (1988β95)
- Athletic Newham (2018β21)
- Lowestoft Town (1935β2009)
- Maldon Town (1966β72, 1996β2004)
- March Town United (1954β2022)
- Needham Market (1996β2010)
- Norwich CEYMS (1937β39)
- Norwich City Reserves (1946β48)
- Norwich City 'A' (1949β58, 1963β75)
- Norwich United (1989β2016, 2018β23)
- Norwich United Reserves (2017β18)
- Peterborough North End Sports (2021β22)
- Peterborough United Reserves (1954β60, 1972β73)
- Romford Reserves (1959β63)
- Saffron Walden Town (three spells)
- Somersham Town (1988β2004)
- Southend United 'A' (1961β62)
- Spalding United (1955β60)
- Sporting Bengal United (2022β23)
- St Neots Town (1969β73)
- Stanway Rovers (1992β2018, 2019β21)
- Stowmarket Town (1952β2021)
- Sudbury Town (1955β90, 1997β99)
- Sudbury Town Reserves (1990β97)
- Sudbury Wanderers (1991β99)
- Team Bury (2009β18)
- Tiptree United (1979β2009)
- Tottenham Hotspur 'A' (1948β63)
- University of East Anglia (2021β22)
- Warboys Town (1988β2004)
- Watton United (1986β2000)
- West Ham United 'A' (1948β56)
- White Ensign (2018β21)
- Wisbech St Mary (2016β22)
- Wisbech Town (three spells)
- Wroxham (1989β2012, 2017β22)
- Yaxley (1988β92)
Notes
- ^ Moved up to the Isthmian/Southern League.
- ^ Resigned or relegated from the league.
- ^ Transferred to a different league at the same level.
- ^ Moved up to the Essex Senior League.
- ^ Replaced by relegated first team.
- ^ Did not return to the league after World War II.
- ^ Merged to form a new club.
Membership rejectedβ»
Between its inception in 1935 and the formalisation of promotion and relegation between the ECL and its feeder leagues in 1983, several clubs applied to join the Eastern Counties League. But were rejected. Or were approached by the league but turned the offer of admission down. These included:
Applied to the league but were rejected
|
Approached by the league but declined
|
Championsβ»
The champions of the league have been as follows:
Season | Town & Country League | League Cup |
---|---|---|
1978β79 | Haverhill Rovers | Cambridge United reserves |
1979β80 | Gorleston | Ely City |
1980β81 | Gorleston | Great Yarmouth Town |
1981β82 | Tiptree United | Tiptree United |
Season | Eastern Counties League | League Cup |
---|---|---|
1982β83 | Saffron Walden Town | Sudbury Town |
1983β84 | Braintree Town | Lowestoft Town |
1984β85 | Braintree Town | Tiptree United |
1985β86 | Sudbury Town | Tiptree United |
1986β87 | Sudbury Town | Sudbury Town |
1987β88 | March Town United | Braintree Town |
Season | Premier Division | Division One North | Division One South | League Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|
2018β19 | Histon | Swaffham Town | Hashtag United | Long Melford |
2019β20 | Season abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
2020β21 | Season curtailed due to anti-COVID-19 lockdown regulations | |||
2021β22 | Gorleston | Sheringham | Ipswich Wanderers | Not held |
2022β23 | Ipswich Wanderers | Heacham | Frenford | Lakenheath |
2023β24 | Mildenhall Town | Great Yarmouth Town | Benfleet | Harlow Town |
Recordsβ»
Clubsβ»
- Longest membership: Great Yarmouth Town β 1935 (founder members) to date
- Highest attendance: 8,387 for King's Lynn vs Wisbech Town, 12 September 1951
Matchesβ»
- Fewest defeats in a season: Chelmsford City reserves β undefeated in 1946β47
- Most wins in a season
- Wroxham β 34 in 44 matches in 1996β97
- Chelmsford City reserves β 16 in 18 matches in 1946β47 (89% victory rate)
- Fewest wins in a season: None by Thetford Town (1936β37), Newmarket Town (1951β52), Eynesbury Rovers (1960β61), Chatteris Town (1989β90), Clacton Town (2005β06)
- Most defeats in a season
- Newmarket Town β lost all 34 matches in 1951β52
- Clacton Town β lost 41 of 42 matches in 2005β06
- Most draws in a season: Watton United β drew 19 of 40 matches in 1989β90
- Biggest win: Lowestoft Town 19β0 Thetford Town, 20 March 1937
- Biggest away win: Newmarket Town 0β12 Biggleswade Town, 2 December 1961, Norwich United 0β12 Thetford Town, 9 September 2023
- Most consecutive wins: 19 by Lowestoft Town between 21 October 1967 and 13 April 1968
- Most wins from the start of a season: 18 by Bury Town in 1963β64
- Longest unbeaten run: 37 matches by Wisbech Town between 30 April 1983 and 20 April 1984
- Longest unbeaten start to a season: 34 matches by Wisbech Town in 1983β84
- Most consecutive defeats: 39 by Newmarket Town between 1951 and 1959 (they left the league in 1952 and returned in 1959)
- Most matches without a win: 45 by Newmarket Town between 1951 and 1959
Goalsβ»
- Most goals in a season
- Lowestoft Town scored 157 in 34 matches in 1966β67 (4.62 a game)
- Chelmsford City reserves scored 95 in 18 matches in 1946β47 (5.28 a game)
- Fewest goals conceded in a season: Norwich United β 19 in 36 matches (1990β91)
- Fewest goals scored in a season
- Thetford Town β 18 in 19 matches (1936β37), Haverhill Rovers β 18 in 36 matches (1975β76), March Town United β 18 in 32 matches (2000β01), Warboys Town β 18 in 36 matches (2002β03)
- Clacton Town β 20 in 42 matches in 2005β06
- Most goals conceded: Chatteris Town β 208 in 40 matches in 1989β90
- Most goals in a season: 57 in 30 matches by Mick Tooley (Lowestoft Town) in 1965β66
- Most goals in a game: 9 by Ivan Thacker for Lowestoft Town in a 16β0 win over Bury Town on 28 December 1935
- Most consecutive matches scored in: 18 by Mick Tooley (Lowestoft Town) during 1965β66
Notesβ»
- ^ Result subsequently expunged after Norwich United's withdrawal from the league five days later.
Referencesβ»
- ^ Blakeman, M (2010) The official history of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935β2010 Volume I ISBN 978-1-908037-01-5
- ^ England β Eastern Counties League Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
- ^ Williams, Tony (1978). The FA Non-League Football Annual 1978β79. MacDonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. p. 212.
- ^ "FA Announce Which Leagues Have Been Awarded New Step 6 Divisions". Non-League. 8 October 2017.
- ^ Blakeman, M (2010) The official history of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935β2010 Volume II ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2