Senrab F.C. is a
Sunday League football
Sunday league football is a term used in Britain and Ireland to describe the amateur association football competitions which take place on Sunday rather than the more usual Saturday. The term pub league may also be used, owing to the number of ...
club, based at
Wanstead Flats in the
Forest Gate district of
London, England.
It is noted for the high number of professional players who played for the club in their youth.
History
The club takes its name from Senrab Street in
Stepney; the club's players trained at Marion Richardson School on Senrab Street (which is close to Barnes Street, and is 'Barnes' spelt backwards).
The club was founded in 1961 by then 15-year-old Jimmy Tindall (later a youth development officer for
West Ham United),
playing eight-a-side at first before progressing to 11-a-side within two years. Tindall's son,
Jason was a 1990s product of Senrab, playing in midfield with
Lee Bowyer before later moving to
AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
.
The club had three 11-a-side teams to begin with, all playing in the Regent's Park League.
Tindall's recruitment policy was to pick up only the best young players, stipulating that to play for Senrab, a player must have previously played for his district or county.
In the early 1970s, so many Senrab players signed for
Chelsea that former player
Ray Lewington nicknamed Senrab "Chelsea Juniors".
In 2014 Senrab were shortlisted for the Daily Mirror Pride of Sport Awards in the Local Team of the Year Category.
Operation
Senrab operates 15 teams for age groups ranging from 5 to 17 years old.
The club has produced a great number of players who have gone on to have successful professional careers, including
Sol Campbell,
,
Ledley King and
John Terry.
A number of professional coaches have also started out at Senrab, most notably
Dario Gradi,
who, until June 2007, was the longest-serving football manager in
the Football League. In April 2011, former Senrab player John Terry donated an undisclosed sum to the club to keep it running.
Former players
The following players and coaches have all gone on to play for or coach a professional football club after leaving Senrab FC.
Players
*
Ade Akinbiyi
*
Adebayo Akinfenwa
*
Cliff Akurang
Cliff Danquah Akurang (born 27 February 1981) is a former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Barnet.
Early life
Akurang was born in Accra.
Career
After prolific spells at Heybridge Swifts and Thurrock, he joined Dag ...
*
Lee Bowyer
*
Sol Campbell
*
Scott Canham
Scott Walter Canham (born 11 November 1974) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder for Torquay United, Brentford and Leyton Orient. He went on to play for several years in non-League foot ...
*
Gary Chivers
Gary Chivers (born 15 May 1960) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender in the Football League for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City, Queens Park Rang ...
*
Alan Curbishley
*
Jermain Defoe
*
Ugo Ehiogu
*
Simon Ford
Simon Gary Ford (born 17 November 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender from 2001 to 2013.
Having started his career with Charlton Athletic as a youngster, he transferred to Grimsby Town in 2001. He moved on to Bri ...
*
Jonathan Fortune
Jonathan Jay Fortune (born 23 August 1980) is an English professional footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, Amer ...
*
Leo Fortune-West
*
Fitz Hall
*
Vince Hilaire
Vincent Mark Hilaire (born 10 October 1959) is a retired professional footballer who played in the Football League for Crystal Palace, Luton Town, Portsmouth, Leeds United, Stoke City and Exeter City. He was one of the first established black p ...
*
Terry Hurlock
*
Kemal Izzet
*
Muzzy Izzet[
* Jodi Jones]Ezri Konsa
Ezri Ngoyo Konsa (born 23 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Premier League club Aston Villa. He came through the academy at Charlton Athletic and later joined Brentford and Aston Villa. Kons ...
* Tommy LangleyTeddy Maybank
Edward Maybank (born 11 October 1956) is an English former professional footballer who played for Chelsea, Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion in The Football League between 1974 and 1980 and subsequently for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Foll ...
Jason Tindall
Jason James Tindall (born 15 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is currently the assistant manager of Newcastle United.
A defender during his playing days, Tindall spent the bulk of his career wit ...
[
* ]Bobby Zamora
Robert Lester Zamora (born 16 January 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first ...
Coaches
* Tony Carr
* Alan Curbishley
* Dario Gradi
* Ray Wilkins
* Ray Lewington
* Lee Bowyer
References
Sources
*
*
*{{cite news , first=Nick , last=Szcezepanik , title=Doors still open at fame academy; The battle for survival at the Senrab Boys Club in East London , url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/article806633.ece , work=The Times , publisher=Times Newspapers , date=30 December 2002 , accessdate=14 August 2009
Youth football clubs in England
Football clubs in London
Association football clubs established in 1961
1961 establishments in England
Football clubs in England