Basildon United F.C.

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Basildon United

Full name	Basildon United Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Bees
Founded	1967
Ground	Gardiners Close, Basildon (Capacity: 4,000 (200 seated))
Chairman	John Moran
League	Essex Senior League
2011–12	Essex Senior League, 18th
Home colours Away colours

Basildon United Football Club is an English football club based in Basildon, Essex. They currently compete in the Essex Senior League and are nicknamed the Bees, due to the club adopting amber and black as the team colours.

History

1967 to 1970

Basildon United came into being in 1967, previously operating under the name Armada F.C. as a junior club that were formed in 1963. In 1967–68, the club joined the Thurrock Thames-side Combination League, moving into the Greater London League the following season.

1970 to 1980

The first major step came in 1970 when the Essex County FA granted Basildon United senior status and they became founder members of the Essex Senior League. It was not long before Basildon got amongst the honours, and when they successfully applied for promotion to the Athenian League in 1980, they could look back on four consecutive Championships from 1977 to 1980 and this still stands as a League record, in addition they also finished runners-up in 1973 and 1975 and the League Cup was won in 1978 to complete that season's double. The following season they carried off the Essex Senior Trophy.

1980 to 1990

Basildon United's membership of the Athenian League only lasted one season as they finished runners-up behind Windsor & Eton and earned promotion to the Isthmian League Division Two. Also in this season, 1980–81, they progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA Vase before Irthlingborough Diamonds ended the Bees run, winning 6–4 in a sixth round replay.

After three seasons in the Isthmian League Division Two, Basildon United were promoted as Champions in 1984, pipping St Albans City by one point on the last day of the season. This saw them reach the finals of both the Essex Senior Trophy and the Eastern Floodlight Competition. The Bees found life a lot harder in Division One and eventually lost their struggle against relegation in 1989 back to Division Two (North), this was the only time the club have been relegated in their history. Two further seasons were spent in Division Two (North) before the decision to de-regionalise the Isthmian League.

1990 to 2000

The club rejoined the Essex Senior League in 1991–92. The club felt that an excess of travelling in the Isthmian Division was financially unviable at that point. The club quickly regrouped both on and off the field and it wasn't long before the Senior League successes of the late 1970s were emulated. The Bees finished in the top six in both 1991–92 and 1992–93 and made a League Cup Final appearance in 1992. A superb 1993–94 season saw Basildon United again win the Essex Senior League double, the Championship being won for a record fifth time and the following season they battled through to the FA Vase Quarter-Final for the second time in their history before losing out to Raunds Town.

During 1997–98, Basildon United equalled Brentwood's record of three Essex Senior League Cup wins by beating Burnham Ramblers 1–0 in the final and it was Basildon's sixth appearance in the League Cup Final, which is also a record. The Bee's also finished runners-up to Condord Rangers in the Essex Senior League. 1999–2000 saw Basildon United finish 13th, their worst-ever season till 2007–08 season.

2000 to 2009

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The club are hoping to move to a new ground soon to be located in or near to Basildon. So the club has been in much turmoil, the club has had three managers, John Doyle, John Higley and current manager Jason Emery, who took over half way through 2007–08 as he stepped up from being the reserves manager. Emery was summarily dismissed in the summer of 2008 and Colin Cook appointed in his place. After 6 league wins out of 6, Cook's coaching team were dismissed for various reasons, and Cook followed before Christmas. Jody Pardoe now the unenviable task of staying in the hotseat longer than a couple of weeks or so.

Stadium

The club plays at Gardiners Close, which was opened by then West Ham United players Geoff Hurst and Jimmy Greaves. The first match was played against West Ham in front of what remains the club's record crowd of 4,000.

The club are hoping to move to a new ground in the near future though a site has not been chosen yet. The Gardiners Close site is wanted for redevelopment by Basildon Council so therefore sadly cannot be developed on by the club. Within the Grounds there is a bar, decent size car park, small training facilities, changing rooms, and Main stand with two covered standing area either side.

Rivals

Basildon's rivalries are mostly down to geographical closeness more than anything else. Friendly rivals with Bowers & Pitsea are still played out every season as both teams are members of the Essex Senior League.

Billericay Town are also local rivals though the teams haven't played each other for several years. The rivalry was rekindled in recent times as Billericay Town submitted plans for a new stadium in Gloucester Park, Basildon. Other ESL rivals are Hullbridge Sports and Concord Rangers.

Recent managers

The recent managerial history of Basildon United:

• John Doyle (? – 2005)
• John Higley (2005–2007)
• Jason Emery (2007–2008)
• Colin Cook (2008)

Notable former players

This list of "famous" or "notable" sporting persons has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help to define clear inclusion criteria and edit the list to contain only subjects that fit that criteria. (May 2012)

• Ken Charlery (Went on to Watford and Peterborough United)
• Steve Tilson (went to Southend United and is now manager of that club)
• Dave Cusack (Formerly of Sheffield Wednesday, Southend United and Millwall)
• Kerry Dixon (joined briefly for the 1997–98 season)
• Jonathan Gould (went on to play for Celtic, Scotland and Preston North End)
• Michael Kightly (joined from Tottenham Hotspur and went on to Southend United and Grays Athletic before joining Wolves)
• Wayne Purser (joined Queens Park Rangers youth-setup, then moved on to play for Barnet, Leyton Orient, Peterborough United and Cambridge United)
• Ian Renshaw (went on to play for Scarborough)

Lionel Messi. They signed him for a quid. Because he's boom.

Honours

• Isthmian League
  • Division Three champions: 1983–84
• Essex Senior League
  • Champions 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1993–94
  • Challenge Cup winners 1977–78, 1993–94, 1997–98
• Essex Senior Trophy
  • Winners 1977–78

External links

• Club website
• 1st team news
• MultiMap
• Gateway FM Sport: Basildon United News
• Basildon United at the Football Club History Database