Edgware Town FC BACK in the SSMFL next season!

[Rhodes]

Discussing this on The Non League Show at the moment!

You mean with Caroline Barker, does she know Gavin then

[TRS]

What was said???

 

They interviewed the 'Manager', who I think is actually the current Enfield Town Manager? Unsurprisingly he denied being Edgware Manager. It was all a bit surreal and must have been a slow news week as it was the lead item!

[Horace]

What was said???

 

They interviewed the 'Manager', who I think is actually the current Enfield Town Manager? Unsurprisingly he denied being Edgware Manager. It was all a bit surreal and must have been a slow news week as it was the lead item!

 

Should have done it on 1st April!

[Tiger Man]

Fake Edgware Town FC Website

A website purporting to be that of Edgware Town FC appeared online recently and came to my attention when it was listed on the club’s wikipedia page as an official link.

 

Having viewed the website, it quickly became apparent that this was a fictional piece of work, as Edgware Town FC have not kicked a ball since the end of the 2007/08 season.

 

This factitious website claimed that Edgware Town were playing in the Zamaretto league, and gave the impression that the club were alive and well with the same playing staff that finished the clubs final campaign three seasons ago.

 

I immediately removed the link from wikipeida and thought nothing more than someone was either playing a hoax or was taking playing ‘’Championship Manager’’ to a different level !!!!

 

However, it appears the story caught the eye of the press, with the BBC ‘’Non League Show’ giving it air time on last week's show, and interviewing ex Edgware Town manager Steve Newing to get his view on the subject !!!

 

It’s also come to light that a very serious situation could have arisen, with the posting of ‘’Trials for 8-11 year olds for the ‘’Edgware Town Academy’’whiich were posted on this site asking for applicants to provide their details.

 

Thankfully, this matter was reported to the web hosting company by alert members of a Non League fourm and the offending site has now been removed.

 

My name is being mentioned on various forums as possibly being behind this website, and in some respects due to my past history with Edgware Town I can understand why, but I just wish to make it clear that this is NOT something that I was behind.and that in no way shape or form did I have anything whatsoever to do with this website.

 

Sadly as far as I’m aware Edgware Town FC continue to remain dormant and the White Lion Ground remains dilapidated and vandalised with no sign of any building work.

 

 

 

http://edgwaretown.b...fc-website.html

[Eastside Urchin]

To be honest there are plenty more stories in non league football for the non league show to worry about than a fictional piece of work.

[Rhodes]

To be honest there are plenty more stories in non league football for the non league show to worry about than a fictional piece of work.

Eastside Urchin - Do you remember when Clement Temile was on the Non Leage Show a couple of years or so ago, I took him to the BBC studio along with Kenny Dyer and Caroline Barker's face was a picture

[Tiger Man]

To be honest there are plenty more stories in non league football for the non league show to worry about than a fictional piece of work.

 

 

Whilst that is the true, the story took a nastier turn when it was revealed that trials for 8-11 year olds' were being posted on the website asking for full details and claiming that the 'club' had CRB checked officers....whether this website was meant to be fun ie someone posting their 'Championship Mananger' results and taking it to extremes or something a little more sinsister, we have yet to find out.

 

The matter was reported to the web hosting site and the Middx FA who asked for the site to be removed, and thankfully it has been.

 

I'm sure that the BBC Non League show thought like I did that it was just a bit of bizzare fun, but whoever was behind it needs to be brought to book for the very least trying to mislead people.

Edited July 4, 2011 by Tiger Man

[Eastside Urchin]

Didn't realise it could of been that sinister

[Savagebee]

So have Edgware Town reformed or not ? whats going on ?

[Tiger Man]

So have Edgware Town reformed or not ? whats going on ?

 

 

In a word NO !!!!

[Savagebee]

So have Edgware Town reformed or not ? whats going on ?

 

 

In a word NO !!!!

 

Thats a shame!

[Rhodes]

Savagebee - A crying shame you mean, after Edgware Town folded you may recall that a 'Working Party' was formed consisting of Gavin, Uncle Urchin, Syd Lexic, Darter and myself to see whether something could be salvaged from the ashes but sadly nothing came of our brave efforts

[Rhodes]

I see Gavin has made an interesting post on another's Forum, it says it all:

 

Part of the recommendation that allowed Harrow council to pass planning permission on the White Lion Ground home of Edgware Town was that we would be re housed in a 'green' stadium on the PEPF site.

 

Once the club's sponsors left Edgware high and dry and the fact that Edgware did not own the lease on the White Lion, they were unable to finance a move to Cannons park (which is little more than a goal kick from the White Lion).

 

Despite Edgware not having any funds, we were led to believe that the club would be re housed at the expense of the council who were supposedly given a ''sweetener' by the property developers to acquire the White Lion Ground.

 

Three years on since Edgware last kicked a ball at the White Lion Ground and the site is dilapidated, the main stand demolished along with the club house, the side terrace remains albeit in a derelict state but the shell of the ground remains with no site of any building work.

 

Walk a few minutes up the road and you will find the Prince Edward Playing Fields, AKA ''The Hive'' taken over by Barnet FC for use by all their teams bar their first team.

 

State of the art five a side pitches, and lots of land for full size pitches, yet a large unfinished ground looms like an elephant in the room, there but not talked about.

 

Bottom line is that Harrow council failed to re house Wealdstone FC who had to look outside the borough to find a new home, cost Edgware Town their home and sadly the club, and Barnet who have paid to have this site finished, but what use for this 'stadium'

 

My guess is that one day, Barnet FC may move there and play first team matches, but in hindsight it would not have been that hard to build Edgware Town a little covered stadium to hold 3000 amongst the vast land that is there-

 

Instead we have one football ground let to ruin, and another that's never seen a ball kicked, and looks like it's been vacated by a club rather thaen a shiny new ground.

 

Harrow council are an utter joke, save a football club or build a new 'super' mosque, we all know which one was high on their priority list!!!!!

[Rhodes]

You have to hand it to Gavin for his fanatical loyalty to Edgware Town, pictures of the once proud and now sadly derelict White Lion Ground, such as these, breaks our hearts so imagine how he must be feeling:

 

http://www.derelictlondon.com/sportsgrounds.htm

 

http://edgwaretown.blogspot.com/

 

http://hoppysnaps.blogspot.com/2008/06/edgware-town-june-2008.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dawudislam]

It really amazes me what has gone on with this club, and also how little outcry there has been from the wider public. If you contrast it with the situation at Hendon FC for example, there has been a lot more public outrage at the situation and over how badly they have been treated, but I have not seen any of that for poor Edgware.

 

I was a regular attender at The White Lion Ground in the late 70's in the days of Brian and Eddie Stein, Martin Sperrin, Dave Beasant and Ray Fulton amongst others, not to mention the enigmatic Peter Shoedinde. During that period, just after the floodlights were installed, we were averaging probably around 300-400 for Athenian League games and quite a bit more for FA Cup games (I remember about 850 for a 3rd qualifying round replay with Leyton Wingate and about 1,600 for the next round against Barnet). I am estimating that during that period probably around 80% of our support was in the 14-20 age bracket. Therefore a good few hundred of us must be aged 40-50 like me right now. Surely amongst this group there must be enough of us with sufficient business nous and capital to drag this carcas off the table and bring it back to life. It was an important part of our lives in our transformative years so why should we be denying the youth of future generations in the area to enjoy the life affirming experiences that we had and that come from the joys of following a local non league football club.

 

Someone needs to grab the bull by the horns and inject some life into this sleeping giant. I agree that Harrow Council needs to do more. I am not going to criticise them for building a new mosque as I am sure that this also plays an important role in the local community (and as a muslim I would say that you can never have too many mosques!!) but a local football club also contributes just as much to an areas social cohesion and can also raise its profile on a national basis in a way that few other vehicles can. The handling of the Prince Edward playing Fields fiasco has brought little credit to the council and the current state of the site is a joke. My preferred option would always be for Edgware to somehow return to the White Lion Ground and whilst the land remains derelict and unbuilt on this always remains a possibility, although past experience tends to suggest that the longer a site remains derelict the less likely a return there becomes feasible (Scarborough the most obvious recent example).

 

If anyone wants to conatct me off list on this they can e-mail me at dawudislam@hotmail.com . Although these days I live some distance away In Bradford I am nonetheless always looking for signs of hope in an Edgware revival. Sadly I have seen little in recent months to give me any optimism. The days of us persuading the coach driver to allow around 20 of us to either stand or sit in the aisles on an away trip because so many wanted to travel seem a long time ago.

 

Dawud Islam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to hand it to Gavin for his fanatical loyalty to Edgware Town, pictures of the once proud and now sadly derelict White Lion Ground, such as these, breaks our hearts so imagine how he must be feeling:

 

http://www.derelictl...ortsgrounds.htm

 

http://edgwaretown.blogspot.com/

 

http://hoppysnaps.bl...-june-2008.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ref off ref]

It makes sad viewing seeing pictures like linked above.

Guess Rhodes that Ford Meadow can also be added to the list, the 128 year old former home to Buckingham Town.

[Rhodes]

Ref Off Ref - It might have been before your time on this Forum but as I explained earlier, after Edgware Town folded a 'Working Party' was formed, consisting of Gavin, Uncle Urchin, Syd Lexic, Darter and myself, to see whether something could be salvaged from the wreckage that Ken Batten had 'criminally' left behind but sadly nothing came of our brave efforts despite leaving no stone unturned.

[Horace]

Ref Off Ref - It might have been before your time on this Forum but as I explained earlier, after Edgware Town folded a 'Working Party' was formed, consisting of Gavin, Uncle Urchin, Syd Lexic, Darter and myself, to see whether something could be salvaged from the wreckage that Ken Batten had 'criminally' left behind but sadly nothing came of our brave efforts despite leaving no stone unturned.

 

Wash your mouth out with soap Rhodes - it wasn't Ken Batten's fault - he struggled manfully for some time to keep the club afloat after others had sold the club's birthright (i.e. the lease to the ground). You know nothing odf what really happened.

 

 

 

[Rhodes]

Horace - Well I recollect Gavin telling it differently on here sometime back

[Stoney Ground]

Ref Off Ref - It might have been before your time on this Forum but as I explained earlier, after Edgware Town folded a 'Working Party' was formed, consisting of Gavin, Uncle Urchin, Syd Lexic, Darter and myself, to see whether something could be salvaged from the wreckage that Ken Batten had 'criminally' left behind but sadly nothing came of our brave efforts despite leaving no stone unturned.

 

Wash your mouth out with soap Rhodes - it wasn't Ken Batten's fault - he struggled manfully for some time to keep the club afloat after others had sold the club's birthright (i.e. the lease to the ground). You know nothing odf what really happened.

 

 

 

 

The White Lion was crumbling around Edgwares ears, and whilst Wealdstone were tennants, there were continual issues and lack of expected services required ie Hot water, reasonable pitchand security of tenure resulted in us moving off to Northwood.

 

After we left Paul Gregory worked tirelesly with his family to keep the club functioning whilst on the pitch Del Deanus & Steve Newing put together a competeive team, it is very difficult for a small band of followers to do all the day to day stuff needed for a continued period. When the owners of the land have different agendas it is always the football club that suffers because the lack of investment and profit opportunity.

 

I think Gavin put his heart and soul into Edgware and was a really positive injection (though sometimes a problem with his outbursts), but feel that the task was more than most realised and without finance were slowly losing any control over their destiny, which is the same for many clubs who don't own their grounds.