Westminster Casuals FC
Westminster Casuals Football Club was founded in the Summer of 1991 by Phil Malcolm and Alex Aiken and initially played for two seasons in the West End Sunday League gaining promotion and a Cup Runners-up spot.
In 1993 the club switched to Saturday football and the London Commercial League. The club progressed from Division 7 to Division 2 between 1993 and 1999 winning the League's Outstanding Achievement Award in 1996-97 and the Division 3 title in 1998-99.
In 2002 the Casuals joined the Kingston & District League, and won Division 3 in our debut season. In 2003/04 we won our first ever league & cup double - the Division 2 championship and the Teck Intermediate Cup, defeating Maori Park Reserves 4-1 in the final.
This was followed up in 2004/05 with an unforgettable treble of trophies. The KDFL Division 1 championship and Teck Senior Cup plus what was described as "the Holy Grail" by manager Phil Malcolm - The Surrey Junior Cup.
Highlights of the Westminster Casuals' 3-0 Surrey Cup Final victory over Old Rutlishians on 5 May 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irePlwCSr-g&feature=player_embedded
The Casuals were denied a quadruple when defeated in the final match of the season, the League Cup Final which was lost 1-0 after extra time.
In 2005-06 the Casuals won the KDFL Premier Division at the first time of asking with four games to spare. Sadly three cup final defeats left a sour taste but to go so close in three knockout competitions was a success in itself.
However, the trophy cabinet was bare at the end of the 2006/07 season as defeat on the final day of the season cost them the Premier League title.
2007/08 saw a move to the more competitive Surrey South Eastern Combination and with Grant Payne at the helm finished a creditable 4th in Division Two. The creation of the new Surrey Elite League saw the Casuals promoted to Division One.
Joe Maughan took the managerial reigns for the 2008/09 campaign and the Casuals finished a disappointing 8th out of 14, with player availability a real problem.
John Skelly was appointed player/manager for the 2009/10 season with the aim of ending the three year trophy drought.
Home Ground The Casuals home ground is the Richardson Evans Memorial Playing Fields, Roehampton Vale. The pavillion and changing facilities were opened in 1928 and are used by many clubs and schools. The pitches are of excellent quality and a big improvement on the swamp on Common Extensions where we played in 2003/04.
Richardson Evans was Wimbledon F.C's training ground until 2002. During its time as the home of the Crazy Gang the ground witnessed countless strippings, beatings, suit burnings and stitch ups all of which helped foster an INCredible team spirit and a togetherness that saw the club deliver incredible results against all the odds.
NEC Harlequins Rugby Club also use the venue as their training ground.
Address: Richardson Evans Playing Fields Roehampton Vale London SW15 3PQ
Directions:
By Car
The ground is on the A3.
From the south, continue to the Robin Hood island where you take the left hand lane and continue on the A3. Take the first exit and follow signs to Guildford and Portsmouth which will take you back onto the A3 heading south. The ground is shortly on the left. There is a tall mobile phone mast in the corner of the car park.
From the north, continue to the Stag Lane junction. The ground is then on the left after a few hundred yards. Look for the mobile phone mast in the corner of the car park.
By Public Transport
Two bus routes serve Roehampton Vale directly:
85 From Putney Bridge to Kingston via Putney Bridge (District Line), Putney and Kingston railway stations. 265 From Putney Bridge to Tolworth via Lower Richmond Road, Putney Bridge (District Line) and Barnes station.
CASUALS ALL TIME PLAYING RECORD (up to and including Old Plymouthians on 14 Oct 2009) Played: 471 Won: 265 (56%) Drawn: 55 (12%) Lost: 151 (32%) Goals Scored: 1,341 Goals Conceded: tbc!
Note: The All time playing record incorporates competitive fixtures only, and does not include tour matches or friendlies.
CLUB HONOURS 1992/93 West End Sunday League Division C Runners Up 1995/96 London Commercial League Division 7 Runners Up 1998/99 London Commercial League Division 3 Champions 2003/04 Kingston & District League Division 3 Champions 2004/05 Kingston & District League Division 2 Champions, Teck Intermediate Cup Winners 2004/05 Kingston & District League Division 1 Champions, Surrey County Junior Cup Winners, Teck Senior Cup Winners, League Cup Runners Up 2005/06 Kingston & District League Premier Division Champions, Surrey County Junior Cup Runners up, KDFL Teck Runners up, KDFL League Senior Cup Runners up 2006/07 Kingston & District League Premier Division Runners up
Other Honours 1996/97 London Commercial League Outstanding Achievement Award Arabian Cup 1995 (shared), 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2008 (London leg) Deckers 6-a-side Champions 2003 Walton Athletic 6-a-side Champions 2005 Fulham Deaf Shield 2007, 2008 shared, 2009
BIGGEST WINS 1992/93 12-1 v Pacific Albion 1998/99 12-1 v Cable & Wireless 2002/03 11-0 v Wandsworth Corinthians 2003/04 11-0 v Teddington BC 2004/05 11-0 v Merton Social 2004/05 11-0 v AC Malden 2004/05 14-0 v A.C Malden - BIGGEST EVER WINNING MARGIN 2005/06 13-1 v Walton Athletic
BIGGEST DEFEAT 99/00 0-9 v Northolt Saints
YOUNGEST PLAYER Neil Fairbairn aged 17 in 91/92 season
OLDEST PLAYER "Tricky" Micky Roache aged 40 in 93/94 season Phil Malcolm aged ?? in 2008/09 season
PLAYERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS: 1991/92 Tony Almond 1992/93 Michael Rootes 1993/94 Huw Thomas 1994/95 Lee Welch 1995/96 Nick Markham 1996/97 Mark Ferris 1997/98 Roger Phillips 1998/99 Michael Rootes 1999/00 Nigel Jeyes 2000/01 Steve Cates 2001/02 Danny Nelson 2002/03 Dan Bennett 2003/04 Ian Hardy 2004/05 Grant Payne 2005/06 Michael Rootes 2006/07 Dom Edwards 2007/08 John Skelly 2008/09 Ollie Harker-Smith
MANAGERS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2002/03 Dom Edwards 2003/04 Ian Hardy 2004/05 Grant Payne 2005/06 Michael Rootes 2006/07 Dom Edwards 2007/08 John Skelly 2008/09 Ollie Harker-Smith
JAMES BRACK INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR ACTS ABOVE & BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY 2002/03 James Brack for being Bracky 2003/04 Sam Holder for ridiculous behaviour 2004/05 Phil Malcolm for his brief visit to Poland 2005/06 Grant Payne for his minging pants 2006/07 Andy Barnett for revealing the Rosebud tattoo 2007/08 Chris Wolsey for behaviour at Casuals Reunited 2008/09 Phil Malcolm for reneging on agreement to return and manage the club
JUDAS ISCARIOT AWARD FOR ACT OF TREACHERY AGAINST CLUB 2005/06 James Brack & Paul Stokes for departing mid-season on a 4 month holiday 2006/07 Chris Wolsey for racking up huge debts and almost sending the club into administration. 2007/08 Not awarded 2008/09 Phil Malcolm for reneging on agreement to return and manage the club
GOALDEN BOOT WINNERS 1991/92 Huw Thomas - 32 goals 1992/93 Michael Rootes - 25 goals 1993/94 Huw Thomas - 15 goals 1994/95 Huw Thomas - 21 goals 1995/96 Huw Thomas - 14 goals 1996/97 Phil Malcolm - 17 goals 1997/98 Michael Rootes - 24 goals 1998/99 Michael Rootes - 20 goals 1999/00 Nigel Jeyes/Nigel Thorpe - 6 goals each 2000/01 Nigel Jeyes - 7 goals 2001/02 Dan Bennett - 10 goals 2002/03 Ian Hardy - 20 goals 2003/04 Ian Hardy - 49 goals 2004/05 Grant Payne - 53 goals 2005/06 Grant Payne - 35 goals 2006/07 Ian Hardy - 14 goals 2007/08 Ian Hardy - 23 goals 2008/09 Sam Holder ? 8 goals
100 CLUB (100+ Casuals appearances as at 14 Oct 2009) 295 Phil Malcolm 237 Steve Cates 200 Stuart Richards 197 Ian Hardy 180 Michael Rootes 171 Chris Wolsey 161 Sam Holder 151 Tony Smith 145 John Skelly 131 Ertan Djemal, Jim Paley 130 Dom Edwards 128 Roger Phillips 127 Huw Thomas 122 Lee Welch 115 Nick Markham 111 Mark Ferris, Joe Maughan 105 Geraint Thomas 104 Dave Houlker 101 Grant Payne 100 James Brack
TOP GOALSCORERS (as at 14 Oct 2009) 191 Ian Hardy 130 Michael Rootes 113 Grant Payne 106 Huw Thomas 95 Phil Malcolm 59 Steve Cates 54 Sam Holder 50 John Skelly 36 Jim Paley 37 Dan Bennett
CLUB MANAGERS 1991-93 Phil Malcolm 1993 (briefly) Tony Smith 1993-96 Phil Malcolm 1997-2000 Steve Cates/Dave Brailsford 2000-01 Joe Maughan 2002-07 Phil Malcolm 2007/08 Grant Payne 2008/09 Joe Maughan 2009 - current John Skelly