Chelmsford City Football Club is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. Currently members of they play at the Melbourne Stadium.

History

Chelmsford

Chelmsford Football Club was established in 1878 by members of the Chelmsford Lawn Tennis and Croquet club to give them something to do in the winter.Mike Blakeman (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' Six years earlier, an attempt to form a football club by the same name had been proposed by Chelmsford West End Cricket Club, but the plans failed to materialise. On 16 November 1878, Chelmsford played their first game, drawing 1–1 against

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

at home, with Chelmsford's first ever goal being scored by E. H. Christy. In May 1883, some members of the club proposed to fold the club and reform as a new club due to a lack of interest, however nothing came of it. The club won the Essex Senior Cup in 1892–93 and again in 1901–02. In 1895 they were founder members of the North Essex League, but left in 1900 to join Division One of the South Essex League. In 1903–04 the club also entered a team into the newly formed South East Anglian League, but left after a single season. They finished bottom of Division One of the South Essex League in 1903–04, and again in 1910–11. In 1908–09 they spent a season playing in the Eastern Division of the Spartan League. In 1912 Chelmsford were amongst the founder members of the Athenian League, although they also continued to play in the South Essex League for another season. In 1922 the club failed to be re-elected and dropped into the Middlesex County League. In 1923–24 they also entered a team into the Essex & Suffolk Border League. That season saw the club win the Middlesex County League and finish second in the Border League, prompting them to step up to the Premier Division of the London League. In the following season, Chelmsford won the East Anglian Cup, a feat repeated in 1926–27 and 1928–29. The club won the London League Premier Division title in 1930–31, before becoming founder members of the Eastern Counties League in 1935. Two years later they left the ECL to become founder members of the Essex County League. In 1938, it was decided to form a professional club to join the Southern League. Having seen how Colchester Town had fared so badly after the formation of the professional

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

, it was decided to close down the existing club and to reform as "Chelmsford City", despite the fact that Chelmsford itself would not be granted city status until 2012. Chelmsford's last game as an amateur club came in the Chelmsford Hospital Cup, drawing 1–1 at New Writtle Street against Hoffman Athletic on 23 April 1938.

Chelmsford City

The new club continued playing at New Writtle Street and were accepted into the Southern League. On 27 August 1938, Chelmsford City played their first game, drawing 3–3 against Bristol Rovers Reserves. They made an immediate impact in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, reaching the fourth round in their first season. After beating fellow non-League club Kidderminster Harriers 4–0 in the first round, they defeated Division Three North

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

3–1 in the second round and Second Division

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

4–1 in home matches with attendances in excess of 10,000.Dave Twydell (2001) ''Denied F.C.: The Football League election struggles'' Yore Publications, pp60–61 In the fourth round they lost 6–0 at

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

. At the end of the season the club applied to join

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

, but received only one vote. In the 1939–40 season the Southern League was split into Eastern and Western Divisions; City were Eastern Division champions and were declared joint overall champions after drawing a play-off with Lovells Athletic 3–3. The club were the Southern League's first champions when football resumed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, also winning the Southern League Cup that season. They applied for Football League membership in 1947, 1948, 1950 and 1951 and 1956 but were unsuccessful on each occasion; their eight votes in 1950 put them second amongst the unsuccessful clubs, and marked their highest-ever vote total. Chelmsford won the Southern League Cup again in 1959–60 and the league title in 1967–68 and 1971–72. They continued to apply to join the Football League, making bids in 1960, 1961, 1962, and every year between 1967 and 1971 and again from 1973 until 1976, but were unsuccessful; In total the club had 17 unsuccessful attempts at election into the Football League between 1947 and 1976. They remained in the top division of the Southern League until 1976–77, when they were relegated to Division One South. In 1977, City were one of six clubs to represent England in the

Anglo-Italian Cup The Anglo-Italian Cup (, also known as the Anglo-Italian Inter-League Clubs Competition and from 1976 to 1986 as the Alitalia Challenge Cup, Talbot Challenge Cup or Gigi Peronace Memorial) was a European football competition. The competition was ...

. After the formation of the Alliance Premier League they regained their top division status in the Southern League. The club were relegated again in 1987–88 but made an immediate return to the Premier Division after winning Division One South the following season. Another relegation was experienced in 1996–97 and after an issue with the seating at the ground meant they were refused promotion in 1997–98, they did not return to the Premier Division until 2001. In 2004, Chelmsford transferred to the Premier Division of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

and were champions in 2007–08, earning promotion to the Conference South. They reached the play-offs in the following season but lost to Hampton & Richmond in the play-off semi-finals. The club qualified for the play-offs again in 2009–10 and 2010–11, but lost in the semi-finals on both occasions. They reached the second round of

in 2010–11, losing 3–1 at Wycombe Wanderers. In the following season Chelmsford reached the second round again, taking Macclesfield Town to a replay after drawing at home, however they lost 1–0 in the replay at Moss Rose. During the 2012–13 season, the club reached the second round for the third consecutive year, defeating Essex rivals

3–1 at Melbourne Park. At the end of the season the club qualified for the play-offs for the fourth time in five years, but lost in the semi-finals to Salisbury City. After a period of mid-table finishes, Chelmsford qualified for the play-offs again in 2016–17 after finishing fourth in the renamed National League South. After beating

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

2–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 to Ebbsfleet United in the final. A third-place finish the following season led to another play-off campaign, but the club were beaten 1–0 by Hampton & Richmond Borough in the semi-finals. In the 2018–19 season, Chelmsford finished fourth, however lost 3–2 in the play-offs away to Welling United; their ninth play-off campaign in total. During the 2022–23 season, the club qualified for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in five years, losing against Barnet in a replay, as well as qualifying for the play-offs for the first time since 2019, where they lost 1–0 against St Albans City. In the 2023–24 season, Chelmsford recorded their highest finish and highest points total since being in the National League South, finishing second in the division before losing 3–2 in the play-off semi-finals to local rivals Braintree Town.

Reserve team

When Chelmsford City was formed in 1938 it entered a reserve team into the Eastern Counties League. After World War II, the team were champions in 1946–47, 1947–48 and 1948–49 (a season in which they also won the East Anglian Cup), going unbeaten in the first season. They also played in the London League between 1945 and 1948, winning the Premier Division in 1946–47 and 1947–48. Although the team's later years in the ECL were not as successful, they won the League Cup in 1960–61, before withdrawing in 1963 after losing the title to Lowestoft Town on goal average. They then joined the

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Essex Senior League, in which they played until 1990. The reserve team then joined the Essex & Herts Border Combination League and was disbanded again in 1997. Resurrected again in 2004, the reserve team rejoined the Border Combination, before moving to the Capital League in 2007. In 2014, the reserve team returned to the Essex & Herts Border Combination. In June 2021, the club confirmed the reserve side would enter the Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Division. In June 2023, after two seasons in the Essex & Suffolk Border League, the club withdrew from the league.

Ground

Chelmsford moved to New Writtle Street in 1922, having previously played at Broomfield Road, New Street and King's Head Meadow in the centre of the town.Steven Garner & David Selby (2001) ''Wheel 'em in: The Official History of Chelmsford City Football Club'' After their establishment, Chelmsford City continued to play at the New Writtle Street ground, which the club purchased in 1939. During the early parts of World War II the ground was shared by Southend United, before it became a

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the atta ...

site in 1942. On two occasions (the 1930s and 1940s) the stadium hosted

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...

. The record attendance of 16,807 was set for a local derby with

on 10 September 1949. Floodlights were installed in 1960 and several plans were made to increase facilities at the ground, including installing a swimming pool and building office blocks or a hotel, but none came to fruition. The club's first floodlit game was against Wisbech Town on 21 September 1960, with the official opening coming in a friendly against

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 3 October 1960. In 1997, the site was sold to developers and the club had to move out of Chelmsford, with Chelmsford's last game at the ground being a 2–0 win against Clevedon Town on 16 August 1997. They initially shared at Maldon Town's Wallace Binder Ground, before moving to Billericay Town's New Lodge in January 1998. In January 2006, the club moved back to Chelmsford when they became tenants at the Melbourne Stadium, also known as Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre. The centre first had a track in 1934, before a cinder track was opened in 1962 alongside two seated stands on one side of the track, together holding 700 spectators.Jon Weaver (2005) ''The Football Grounds of Rural Essex'', p15 It hosted Chelmsford City Ladies matches, as the pitch inside the track was too small for men's football. The Ladies team left the ground when the stands were dismantled, although a new 270-seat stand was built in the early 2000s. Chelmsford City announced that they would be moving to the Melbourne Stadium in March 2004. Following the announcement another stand was built on the other side of the pitch. The first game back in Chelmsford was against former landlords Billericay Town on 2 January 2006 and was played in front of a then-record crowd of 2,998. The club has plans to upgrade the stadium to a 5,000 capacity capable of achieving the necessary 'A' ground grading. The current record attendance at Melbourne Stadium is 3,201 for a game against

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...

on 15 March 2008.Wealdstone v Chelmsford City
Wealdstone F.C. In December 2020, the stadium was renamed the EMG Inspire Stadium as part of a sponsorship deal.

Supporters and rivalries

In 1928, a supporters' club was in operation during the existence of Chelmsford F.C., the town's former amateur club. With branches in the Essex towns of Braintree,

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

and Witham, the supporters' club had built up enough funding to improve the terracing at New Writtle Street and purchase houses to accommodate players that did not already live local to Chelmsford. On 31 August 1939, "a number of small fights" broke out, according to the '' Essex County Standard'', following Chelmsford's 2–1 win against Colchester United at Layer Road. During the club's Southern League stay, Chelmsford regularly drew attendances of over 3,000 in the late 1950s, reaching a seasonal high average attendance of 4,438 during the 1960–61 season. In January 1968, the club recorded an attendance of 16,403 for an

tie against Colchester United. Five years later, Chelmsford declared an attendance of 15,557 in the same competition against Ipswich Town with numerous supporters being charged in regards to spectator violence. In August 1976, the two clubs once again experienced violence during a pre-season friendly at New Writtle Street. Nowadays, the club holds rivalries with Braintree Town, Billericay Town and Dartford. During both clubs' tenure in the Southern League, Chelmsford and

also held a rivalry.

European record

In 1977, Chelmsford City were one of six clubs to represent England in the

. Former England international

Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of England's best ever players, he is England's fifth- ...

described the 1977 Anglo-Italian Cup as the "highlight" of his time at Chelmsford City. In 1983, Chelmsford returned to Italy for a two-game stint in the Anglo-Italian Cup.

Current squad

Managerial history

*1938: Billy Walker *1938–1939: Allan Sliman *1939–1945:

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

*1945–1949: Arthur Rowe *1949–1950: Jack Tresadern *1950–1951: George Smith *1951–1952: Billy Walsh *1952–1954: Ben Burley *1954–1955: Augie Scott *1955–1959: Frank Grice *1959–1963: Harry Ferrier *1963–1965: Billy Frith *1966: Peter Harburn *1966–1969: Harry Ferrier *1969–1970: Geoff Walker *1970–1974: Dave Bumpstead *1974–1975: Sid Prosser *1975: Bill Leivers *1975–1976: Don Walker (caretaker) *1976–1977: Bobby Kellard *1977–1978: Mick Loughton *1978: Ollie Hopkins *1978: Brian Honeywood (caretaker) *1978: Don Walker (caretaker) *1978–1979: John Newman *1979–1980: Don Walker *1980–1981: Colin Harper *1981: Paul Delea (caretaker) *1981–1984: Mick Loughton *1984–1985: Don Stewart (caretaker) *1985–1987: Joe O'Sullivan *1987: Don Stewart (caretaker) *1987–1989: Chris Symes *1989–1990: George Borg *1990–1992: Danny O'Leary *1992–1996: Joe O'Sullivan *1996: Robbie Garvey and Paul Watts *1996: Roy McDonough *1996–1998: Colin Norman and Gary Bellamy *1996–2001: Gary Bellamy *2001–2003: Paul Parker *2003–2004: Steve Mosely *2004–2005: Aidan Boxall (caretaker) *2005–2006: Craig Edwards *2006–2009: Jeff King *2009–2013: Glenn Pennyfather *2013: Dean Holdsworth *2013: Kenny Brown (caretaker) *2013–2016: Mark Hawkes *2016:

Kevin Maher Kevin Andrew Maher (born 17 October 1976) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a midfielder. He is head coach of National League side Southend United. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland international ...

(caretaker) *2016–2020: Rod Stringer *2020–2025: Robbie Simpson *2025–: Angelo Harrop

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 2007–08 *Southern League **Champions 1939–40 (joint), 1945–46, 1967–68, 1971–72 **Division One South champions 1988–89 **League Cup winners 1945–46, 1959–60, 1990–91 *London League **Champions 1930–31 *Middlesex County League **Champions 1923–24 *East Anglian Cup **Winners 1924–25, 1926–27, 1928–29 *Eastern Floodlight Cup **Winners 1966–67, 1974–75, 1977–78, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87 *Eastern Floodlight League Cup **Winners 1972–73, 1974–75 *Essex Professional Cup **Winners 1957–58, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1973–74, 1974–75 *Essex Senior Cup **Winners 1892–93, 1901–02, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1992–93, 2002–03, 2008–09, 2016–17 *Non-League Champions Cup **Winners 1971–72

Records

*Best

performance: Fourth round, 1938–39 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Semi-finals, 1969–70 *Record attendance: **New Writtle Street: 16,807 vs

, Southern League, 10 September 1949 **Melbourne Stadium: 3,201 vs

, Isthmian League, 15 March 2008 *Lowest attendance: 120 vs

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, Southern League, 21 December 1979 *Biggest victory: 9–0 vs

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

, FA Cup fourth qualifying round, 3 November 1945; 9–0 vs

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is a suburb in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London. Prior to 1965 it was in Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

, Southern League Southern Division, 6 December 1988; 10–1 vs Bashley, Southern League Division One East, 26 April 2000 *Heaviest defeat: 2–10 vs Barking, FA Trophy, 11 November 1978 *Most appearances: Tony Butcher, 560 (1957–1971)Honours & Records
Chelmsford City F.C. *Most goals: Tony Butcher, 286 (1957–1971) *Record transfer fee received: £50,000 from Peterborough United for Dave Morrison, 1994 *Record transfer fee paid: Undisclosed to Barnet for Joe Grimwood, 18 June 2025 *Youngest player: John Felton; 15 years, 10 months and 26 days vs

Waterlooville Waterlooville is a town in the Borough of Havant in Hampshire, England, approximately north northeast of Portsmouth. It is the largest town in the borough. The town had a population of 64,350 in the 2011 Census. It is surrounded by Purbrook, ...

, 30 April 1980 *Oldest player: Peter Taylor; 42 years, 3 months and 7 days vs VS Rugby, 10 April 1995

Notes

References

External links

* {{Coord, 51, 45, 12, N, 0, 27, 05, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Essex 1878 establishments in England 1938 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1878 Association football clubs established in 1938 Sport in Chelmsford Fan-owned football clubs in England East Anglian League Spartan League Athenian League Essex and Suffolk Border Football League London League (football) Eastern Counties Football League Essex County League Southern Football League clubs National League (English football) clubs Isthmian League clubs Essex Senior Football League South Essex League North Essex League