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Corinthian-Casuals F.C.

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Corinthian-Casuals
File:Corinthiancasualsfc.jpg
Full nameCorinthian-Casuals Football Club
Nickname(s)Casuals
Founded1878/82 (1939)
GroundKing George's Field, Tolworth
Capacity2,700
ChairmanP Haworth
ManagerBrian Adamson
Leaguetbc
2006-07Isthmian League Division One South, 21st

Corinthian-Casuals F.C. are a football club based in Tolworth[1] in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, who were relegated from the Isthmian League First Division South in 2006–07. The club was formed in 1939 by a merger of two famous amateur clubs, Corinthians, who formed in 1882, and Casuals, who formed in 1878 (though till recently thought to be 1883).

Despite an almost immediate break for World War II, in 1945 they took Casuals' place in the Isthmian League, and gradually dropped down its divisions. In 1988 the team acquired its first home ground, King George's Field [2] in Tolworth, and on a tour of Brazil, Sócrates played a match for the club. [3] A proposal has been mooted for Corinthian-Casuals to move back to Queen's Club, where Corinthians had played till 1922.

History

Corinthian-Casuals were formed in 1939 following the merger of the two great amateur sides bearing those names.

The Corinthians were founded in 1882. N.L. Jackson who was then Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Football Association aimed to develop a club side capable of challenging Scotland at international level. A meeting was held at Jackson’s offices in London’s Paternoster Row and this was when the club was born. The name came from a suggestion by England international H A Swepstowe which was unanimously accepted. Within 4 years there were 9 Corinthians in the England team that drew 1-1 with Scotland. Between 1883 and 1890, 52 of the 88 caps awarded against Scotland went to Corinthian players. Corinthians fielded the full England side twice in 1894 and 1895, both matches against Wales.

The Corinthians original constitution stated that the club play in no competition and this was not broken until 1900 when the Sheriff of London Shield was competed for. Aston Villa who were Football League champions at the time were beaten 2-1 as Corinthians lifted their first trophy. Four years later Corinthians inflicted Manchester United’s record defeat to the tune of 11-3. In 1902 Real Madrid adopted Corinthians white strip although the two clubs have had a reversal of fortunes ever since!

After the Great War Corinthians entered the F.A. Cup for the first time. If they had done so in the 1880/1890’s the club would surely have won the cup on several occasions. 1922/1923 saw Corinthians take Brighton to a second replay and a year later Blackburn Rovers were beaten 1-0. 50,000 people then witnessed the 0-5 defeat at West Brom. In 1925 the F.A. Cup was reorganised into its present structure and Corinthians were granted a bye to the 3rd Round with the Division 1 and 2 clubs. 70,000 people saw the two games against Manchester City who won 4-0 after a 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace. The bye to the 3rd Round continued until the end of the 1932/1933 season and notable results were the 4-0 thrashing of Walsall in 1927, beating Norwich City 3-0 in 1929 and taking Millwall to a second replay in 1930. The club was also runners-up in the Charity Shield losing 2-1 to Cardiff City in 1927.

Perhaps the Corinthians greatest contribution to the game was their ‘missionary’ work abroad touring in South Africa, South America, Canada, the U.S.A. and every corner of Europe. A tour of Brazil in 1910 inspired the Sport Club Corinthians Paulista to be formed.

Recently discovered newspaper clippings show the Casuals to have been founded five years earlier then previously thought, in 1878. Their F.A. Cup performances were not too clever and in 1890/1891 after never getting past the 1st round Aston Villa put 13 goals past them. The next year Stoke won 3-0 and a year later Nottingham Forest triumphed 4-0. The Casuals rarely entered the competition again.

In 1894 the Casuals made a lasting impression on the Amateur Cup by reaching the first final where Old Carthusians won 2-1 at Richmond. The Casuals jointly won the London Senior Cup in 1886/1887 after drawing with Old Westminsters and were runners up another five times, and the London Charity Cup was won a total of six times in this early period.

The Casuals were founder members of the Isthmian League in 1905 and the Southern Amateur League in 1907 winning the first AFA Senior Cup in 1908. The Casuals rejoined the Isthmian League in 1919. Whilst they were members they won the Surrey Senior Cup in 1930 beating Nunhead 2-1. The Amateur Cup was collected in 1936, the cubs greatest achievement when they beat Ilford 2-0 in a replay at Upton Park after a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace. Casuals were also Isthmian League runners up that year. Three years later came the merger with Corinthians.

Corinthian-Casuals only played one game before the outbreak of the war but on the restart of football took their place in the Isthmian League where they would stay until 1984.

In 1954 the club beat Epsom 2-0 to win the Surrey Senior Cup and in 1956 got to the Amateur Cup Final where they drew 1-1 with Bishop Auckland at Wembley, with a headed goal from Norman Kerruish. The Bishop’s won the replay 4-1. A year later another good run in the Amateur Cup saw the club reach the semi-final.

After this high point the club slipped into a long decline, a rare moment of success seeing them reach the F.A. Cup 1st Round in 1965/1966 but Watford won 5-1. In 1973 Corinthian-Casuals were relegated for the first time into Isthmian League Division 2 and they would stay here until 1978 when further relegation to the basement occurred.

Some steady seasons were played out before new ground sharing rules created by the Isthmian League saw Casuals thrown out in 1983/1984. Ironically the year this occurred was the best in quite a while after the club reached the 1st Round of the F.A. Cup holding Bristol City to a goalless draw at Dulwich’s ground before losing 4-0 in the replay. This same season we finished 5th and also got to the 5th Round of the F.A. Vase.

The first season in the Spartan Premier League was a disaster and a second consecutive relegation occurred. Next year the Casuals fortunes took an upturn and we bounced back as Champions remaining in the Premier Division for 12 seasons. 1988 was a historic year as the club secured its first ever home ground after merging with the crippled Tolworth F.C. and taking over the running of their facilities. This season also saw Casuals tour Brazil and the legendary Brazilian international Socrates donned the Casuals colours in one game.

A runners-up berth in 1993 and winning the League Cup in 1995 were the highlights of the Spartan League era before Casuals switched to the Combined Counties League in 1996. The Combined Counties was a great experience and in the first season a runners up spot was achieved to at last win back our place in the Isthmian League.

The first three seasons in Isthmian Division 3 saw us finish 10th, 11th and 10th again, the club winning a Best Disciplinary award in the Ryman League in 1999/2000.

Our best finish for many years, 5th in 2000/2001 saw us miss promotion by 3 points and the reserves won the Suburban League South and London Intermediate Cup. In May the Casuals toured Brazil again and won the São Paulo Athletic Invitation Cup. Victories were achieved over Paulistano and São Paulo AC but Corinthians Paulista U-21’s inflicted a 2-0 defeat.

2001/2002 saw the reorganisation of the Isthmian League with a top 6 finish guaranteeing a place in the new Division 1 South. Although being in the running for much of the season a late slump saw Casuals slip to finish 10th place. However, thanks to some astute thinking the ground was improved anyway to gain a Grade B award and due circumstances elsewhere, the promotion places sank to as low as 11th and the club got to play it’s highest level of football since 1978.

The new Division One South only lasted two seasons and on each occasion Casuals finished in the bottom four. The 2004/2005 season saw a reversion to a single Division One and, presented with its most exciting squad for many years, New Year passed with the club in 3rd place. However, a heavy loss at Horsham started a stunning decent and with just two wins in the last 18 fixtures the club sank to 13th. Much of that side were picked off by wealthier neighbours and the remainder of the squad had a horrendous season in 2005/2006, rarely emerging from the foot of the table. Lady Luck, however, came to Casuals aid once more with further tinkering of the non-league set up across England, as well as some clubs either resigning from Level 4 or disappearing altogether. The upshot is that Casuals get another season in the Isthmian League and with a new manager (Brian Adamson) for the first time in four years, hopes are high for an improvement in fortunes.

  • 1939 - Merger of the Corinthians and the Casuals, took Casuals' Isthmian League place on its resumption after War
  • 1955-56 - F.A. Amateur Cup runner-up
  • 1974 - Relegated to Division Two
  • 1977-78 - Division Two renamed Division One; Relegated to (new) Division Two
  • 1984 - Left Isthmian League
  • 1996-97 - Joined Combined Counties League. Combined Counties League runner-up
  • 1997-98 - Rejoined Isthmian League, in Division Three
  • 2002-03 - Promoted to Division One South on league re-organisation
  • Best league position: 5th in Southern League, Premier division (then level 6), 2002-03
  • Best FA Cup performance: 1st round replay, 1983-84
  • Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Runners-up (after replay), 1955-56
  • Best FA Trophy performance: 2nd round, 2002-03
  • Best FA Vase performance: 5th round, 1983-84

Sources

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