Tooting & Mitcham United Football Club is an
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
club based in the
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton () is a London borough in London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...
. They are currently members of the and play at
Imperial Fields in
Morden
Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...
. Their nickname is "the Terrors" or "the Stripes".
History
In 1932, Tooting FC (founded 1887) and Mitcham Wanderers FC (founded 1912) united to become the modern club representing the two areas. Their merger had been mooted for two years previously, but it was only after it became clear that the area could not host two competitive teams that anything happened to advance it. Originally playing in white shirts, in 1956 the broad black and white stripes were adopted.
The club has reached 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 ...
proper on 10 occasions, the last time being the
2009–10 season. It has also won the Isthmian League twice, in 1958 and 1960. Other honours include the
Surrey Senior Cup
The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...
which the club has won nine times and the
London Senior Cup
The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...
which the club has won six times.
Perhaps the most famous FA Cup run was in 1959, when the club reached the third round; drawn at home to First Division
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football.
Founde ...
, on a frozen pitch they went into a 2-goal lead with goals from Grainger and Murphy before Forest fought back with the aid of a Murphy own goal and a penalty. Forest won the replay 3–0 in front of a crowd of 42,362 and went on to win the trophy that year. A British Pathe newsreel features this game.
Alex Stepney
Alexander Cyril Stepney (born 18 September 1942) is an English former association football, footballer who was Manchester United F.C., Manchester United's goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper when they became the first English club to w ...
, who was born in
Mitcham
Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...
in 1942, joined the club in 1958. In 1963 he signed for
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
and later played for
Chelsea,
Manchester United
Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
Dario Gradi
Dario Gradi (born 8 July 1941) is an Italian-English former 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 the Academy, unt ...
, who spent more than twenty four years as manager of
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
, briefly played for the club in the 1960s.
Tooting enjoyed a more sustained period of FA Cup glory in the 1970s. In 1974–75, they reached the first round proper for the first time since 1963–64 and were drawn at home against
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
, who played just five miles down the road and were in Football League Division 3. The game was played at Tooting's Sandy Lane ground on 27 November 1974, a Wednesday afternoon, in front of a packed crowd of, according to The Times, 10,000. A Crystal Palace side which included
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...
,
Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to:
Arts
* Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
* Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing
Politic ...
and
Alan Whittle won 2–1. Tooting's goal was scored by Steve Grubb.
In 1975–76, Tooting went three steps further reaching the fourth round proper, the last 32. They beat
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 ...
1–0 in the first round proper and
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...
2–1 after a replay in the second. In the third round they triumphed over Football League opposition defeating
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system.
Founded as Swindon A ...
of Football League Division 3. After a 2–2 draw at Swindon (Tooting's goalscorers were Nicky Glover and Derek Casey), Tooting won 2–1 at Sandy Lane with goals from Dave Juneman and Alan Ives. On 24 January 1976, the team and its supporters made the long journey to
Bradford City
Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander.
The club was founded in 1903 and ...
of Football League Division 4. Although they did get on the scoresheet through Dave Juneman, they lost 3–1. After the game, Bradford City's Don Hutchins, who scored two of his side's goals, said he thought ‘the game was tougher than Rotherham and Shrewsbury’ (Bradford's Football League opponents in the previous two rounds). ‘Tooting put up a good fight.’
This proved to be the club's high point although the team went on to reach the second round proper in 1976–77 losing away at Kettering 1–0 and the first round proper in 1977–78 losing 2–1 at home to Northampton Town of Football League Division 4.
In 2000–01
Keith Boanas led the club to the
Isthmian League Second Division title, before leaving to manage
Charlton Athletic Ladies. In the
Isthmian League First Division, the club were managed by
Richard Cadette
Richard Raymond Cadette (born 21 March 1965) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward, most notably for Falkirk F.C., Falkirk, Brentford F.C., Brentford and Southe ...
, whose lengthy list of former clubs include
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
,
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
and
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
.
The team played a very consistent first half of the
2005–06 season but injuries and the loss of star player
Gavin Grant to
Gillingham saw the team lose some of their cutting edge and start to falter. At the end of this season Cadette was sacked as the team once again failed to gain promotion following defeat in the
playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
semi-finals to
Tonbridge Angels
Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional association football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded as Tonb ...
. Former player
Billy Smith was appointed as manager for the start of the
2006–07 season, in which the club won the Surrey Senior Cup and London Senior Cup. In May 2008, the club secured promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division by defeating Cray Wanderers 1–0 at Imperial Fields.
In the 2009–10 season they reached the first round of 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 ...
where they played in front of over 3,000 people against
Stockport County
Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...
although they were beaten 5–0. Despite an encouraging season the board announced that the club required a 40% cut in budget, these changes saw manager Billy Smith, his assistant George Wakeling and many of the players leave the club. Former Sheffield United player Mark Beard was appointed manager in May 2010, with former player Kevin Cooper as his assistant. After a good start to the 2011–12 season Beard was relieved of his position in December 2011 when results declined. Academy manager Danny Lee was appointed caretaker manager but declined the job permanently. As a result, Kenny Brown was appointed the new manager. However the results got worse and Tooting were relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season.
Tooting & Mitcham had three managers in the 2012–13 season (Roberto Forzoni, Jamie Martin and Phil Simpson). The manager up until the end of the 2014–15 season was former player Craig Tanner who was in his second season at the helm with the Terrors before being sacked because of a lack of progress. Frank Wilson took his first senior role in football from 2015/16, an uncertain start saw a change in staff. Wilson introduced Paul Dale as 1st team coach in November 2015, a move that saw results improve, a climb away from relegation and the season rounded off with 2–0 victory in the London Senior Cup against
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
. The following season saw them finish as Division One South Champions, finishing on 105 points, earning themselves a place in the Isthmian Premier Division. Having suffered immediate relegation in the
2017–18 season, they were relegated a further time to the ninth tier in the
2022–23 season.
Stadium
Imperial Fields has a capacity of 3,500 (including 612 seats) and is located in
Morden
Morden is a district and town in South London, England, now within the London Borough of Merton, in the ceremonial county of Greater London. It adjoins Merton Park and Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon to the north, Mitcham to the east, Sutton, Londo ...
. There are two adjoining artificial
3G multi-purpose pitches, used primarily for training but also games of various sporting activities. The stadium was selected as a
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
Torch bearer
''The Torch Bearer'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by William Russell and Jack Prescott. The film stars Charlotte Burton.
Cast
* Charlotte Burton as Janet Dare
* Harry Keenan as William Wendell
* Marie Van Tassell as Mrs. ...
change-over point, the torch was carried in by
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
commentator and presenter,
Sue Barker
Susan Barker (born 19 April 1956) is a British former television presenter and professional tennis player. During her playing career, Barker won 15 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including a major at the 1976 French Open. She reached a career- ...
.
The club moved to Imperial Fields in 2002 from their previous historic ground at Sandy Lane in Mitcham. The new stadium had previously been the site of a former
Chelsea,
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
and
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
training pitch and is adjacent to the
River Wandle
The River Wandle is a right-bank tributary of the River Thames in south London, England. With a total length of about , the river passes through the London boroughs of London Borough of Croydon, Croydon, London Borough of Sutton, Sutton, Londo ...
. The stadium was chosen to host the 2007 and 2011 finals of the London Senior Cup.
The club also has an academy scheme to develop talented 16 to 21-year-olds. This is run partly in association with Ernest Bevin College.
Honours
*
Surrey Senior Cup
The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...
**Winners (9): 1937–38, 1943–44, 1944–5, 1952–53, 1959–60, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 2006–07
**Runners-Up: 1955–56, 1982–83, 1995–96, 2000–1, 2018–19
*
London Senior Cup
The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...
**Winners (8): 1942–43, 1948–49, 1958–59, 1959–60, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2015–16, 2020–21
*
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 ...
**Premier Division Champions (2): 1957–58, 1959–60
**South East Division Champions (1): 2016–17
**Second Division Champions (1): 2000–01
**D1 South Play-off Winners (1): 2007–08
*
Athenian League
The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...
**Champions (2): 1949–1950, 1954–55
*
Surrey Senior Shield
**Winners: 1951–52, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1965–66
*
London Challenge Cup
The London Challenge Cup was a association football, football tournament formerly organised by the London Football Association, London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974 ...
**Finalists: 1959–60
*
South Thames Cup
**Winners: 1969–70
Records
*
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 ...
**1st Round: 1948–49, 1950–51, 1963–64, 1974–75, 1977–78, 2009–10
**2nd Round: 1956–57, 1976–77
**3rd Round: 1958–59
**4th Round: 1975–76
*
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 ...
**Quarter Finals 1975–76
*
F.A. Amateur Cup
**4th Round: 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57
*
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
**Quarter Finals: 2000–01
*Record attendance:
**Sandy Lane: 17,500 vs
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...
, FA Cup second round, 8 December 1956
[Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2020) ''Non-League Club Directory 2021'', p564 ]
**Imperial Fields: 2,637 vs
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 ...
,
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 ...
Division One, 16 April 2005
*Biggest victory: 11–0 vs
Welton Rovers,
FA Amateur Cup
The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status.
History
Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...
, 1962–63
[
*Heaviest defeat: 1–8 vs Kingstonian, ]Surrey Senior Cup
The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...
, 1966–67[
*Most appearances: Danny Godwin, 470][
*Most goals: Alan Ives, 92][
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tooting and Mitcham United F.C.
Football clubs in London
Isthmian League clubs
Sport in the London Borough of Merton
Association football clubs established in 1932
Athenian League
1932 establishments in England
Football clubs in England
Combined Counties Football League