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 Wanstead Flats is the southernmost portion of Epping Forest, in Leytonstone and Wanstead, London. The flats and by extension the forest ends at Forest Gate directly to the south. It now falls wholly within the boundaries of the London Boroughs o ...

in the

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

district of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 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 Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

; 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 West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium ...

), playing eight-a-side at first before progressing to 11-a-side within two years. Tindall's son,

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

was a 1990s product of Senrab, playing in midfield with Lee Bowyer before later moving to AFC Bournemouth. 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 Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club Southend United. He previously managed Macclesfield Town from November 2018 to August 2 ...

, Jermain Defoe, Ledley King and

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea, the England national team and Aston Villa. He was most recently the ...

. A number of professional coaches have also started out at Senrab, most notably

Dario Gradi Dario Gradi, MBE (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former amateur football player, coach and manager. He was associated for more than 36 years with Crewe Alexandra, where he was variously manager, director of football and director of t ...

, who, until June 2007, was the longest-serving football manager in

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. 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 * Lee Bowyer *

* Scott Canham * Gary Chivers *

Alan Curbishley Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley (born 8 November 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He played as a midfielder for West Ham United F.C., West Ham United, Birmingham City F.C., Birmingham City, Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa ...

* Jermain Defoe * Ugo Ehiogu * Simon Ford * Jonathan Fortune * Leo Fortune-West *

Fitz Hall Fitz Benjamin Hall (born 20 December 1980) is an English former professional footballer and current football agent. He played as a defender in his professional career, and as a striker in amateur football. Club career Early career Hall began h ...

* Vince Hilaire * Terry Hurlock *

Kemal Izzet Kemal "Kem" Izzet (; born 29 September 1980) is an English football coach and former professional player. He most notably played for Colchester United between 2001 and 2013, where he made over 400 league appearances. He was previously on the b ...

Muzzy Izzet Mustafa Kemal "Muzzy" Izzet (; tr, İzzet; born 31 October 1974) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Chelsea, Leicester City, Birmingham City. Born in England, he represented the Turkey national team internation ...

* Jodi Jones * David Kerslake * Ledley King * Leon Knight * Paul Konchesky *

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 Langley * Ray Lewington *

Teddy 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 ...

* Kevin Nicholls * Darren Purse *

Jlloyd Samuel Jlloyd Tafari Samuel ( , 29 March 1981 – 15 May 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he was raised in England and played for England up to under-21 level. He played two ful ...

* Terry Skiverton * John Sparrow *

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 with ...

Sanchez Watt Herschel Oulio Sanchez Watt (born 14 February 1991) is an English professional footballer who last played as a forward or winger for Wealdstone. He has represented England at under-16, under-17 and under-19 levels, and he is also eligible t ...

Ray Wilkins Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

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 fir ...

Coaches

Tony Carr Anthony Carr MBE (born 5 September 1950) is an English sports coach and former Director of Youth Development at the West Ham United football club's youth academy and is recognised as one of the most influential figures in English football. A for ...

* 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