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| Full name | Leatherhead Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Tanners | ||
| Founded | 1946 (as Leatherhead Rose, 1907) | ||
| Ground | Fetcham Grove (Capacity: 3,400) |
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| League | Isthmian League Division One South | ||
| 2008–09 | Isthmian League Division One South, 15th | ||
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Leatherhead F.C. is a football club based in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. The club is nicknamed The Tanners and plays home games at Fetcham Grove.
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History
Football in Leatherhead can be traced back to at least the start of the 1900s but the current Leatherhead Football Club was formed in May 1946 with the merger of Leatherhead Rose and Leatherhead United. They won the Surrey Senior League four times in a row and were founding members of the Delphian League in 1951. The team played in the Surrey Senior League, Metropolitan League and Corinthian League, and in the mid-1960s was elevated to the Athenian League.[1]
The club reached the semi-finals of the FA Amateur Cup in 1969, losing to eventual winners Skelmersdale United, and again in 1971, falling to Ilford. The hero of this era was “Nobby” Skinner, noted for his ability to 'poach' a goal out of nothing.[1]
In the 1974-75 season, The Tanners were national news with an FA Cup run that saw them beat Isthmian League rivals Bishops Stortford (First Round), League side Colchester United (Second Round), and 2nd Division Brighton, managed by Peter Taylor (Third Round). In the Fourth Round they were drawn against 1st Division Leicester City at home. It remains the furthest the club has ever reached in the competition. With the game switched to Filbert Street, at the request of Tanners management, the BBC's Match of the Day cameras and over 32,000 people saw a dramatic match, in which the Tanners went two goals up, and then saw a Chris Kelly goalbound shot that would have made it 3-0 cleared off the line. Leicester City's fitness and class eventually told as the top-flight team fought back to win 3-2 in the second half.
Kelly was the star player of the side, described by the Daily Mail as “Leatherhead’s answer to Stan Bowles and Rodney Marsh” and earning the nickname 'The Leatherhead Lip' for his readiness to talk up the team. At the height of the team's success, Kelly appeared on national television, including Match of the Day, Nationwide and even Tomorrow's World. He achieved immortality when, later in the year, his name featured in the TV comedy Porridge on the back of a copy of The Sun, read by Fletcher.
The following year another budding FA Cup run saw Leatherhead beat Cambridge United, managed by Ron Atkinson.
In 1978, the side reached the final of the FA Trophy, played at Wembley, only to lose 3-1 to Altrincham.[1]
The Tanners also reached the FA Cup first round in 1980 but lost 5-1 to Exeter City. In October 2006, they were drawn against Torquay United in the FA Cup first round, the first time in 26 years they had reached this level, going out 2-1.[2]
In 2004, the Tanners joined the Isthmian League First Division.
Club operations
Serious financial problems emerged at Fetcham Grove just before Christmas 1999. The club survived that immediate crisis but it seemed that they were doomed in the summer of 2000 when a last ditch appeal to the local business community for sponsorship failed. It was then that the supporters of the Tanners stepped in to save their club. A group of fans secured a new long-term lease on Fetcham Grove, helping to secure the Tanners' future, under the motto “a club run by its supporters for the benefit of the community”.
Tim Edwards (1954-2009) was a leading figure in that group and went on to become club chairman, having previously served as the club's youngest ever committee member, at age 25, and then as press secretary, programme editor and photographer.[3]
Stadium
The club ground, Fetcham Grove, is situated to the south-west of the town centre. Parking is available at the adjacent Leatherhead Leisure Centre.
Home fans are known to prefer the 'Shed End'.
The ground was fitted with floodlights in the 1960s.[1]
Current squad
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Notable former players
- Matt Elliott
- Justin Fashanu
- Lee Harwood
- Kezie Ibe
- Alex Inglethorpe
- Budge Kelly
- Duncan MacDowall
- Jamie Mackie
- Andy Martin
- Mark Nwokeji
- Richard O'Connor
- Joe Sheerin
References
- ^ a b c d Chris Kelly aka “The Leatherhead Lip”, Bentley's Roof
- ^ Torquay 2-1 Leatherhead - BBC Sport
- ^ Tanners' saviour Tim Edwards passes away Get Surrey, 26 June 2009
Further reading
- How Green is Mole Valley: The History of Leatherhead FC, 1946-2006, David Johnston and Graham Mitchell. ISBN: 095527852X
External links
- Official website
- Leatherhead at the Football Club History Database
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