Who are Enfield?
The birth of what we’d come to know as Enfield Football Club is up for debate. We can trace the line back to 1893, when the club formed as Enfield Spartans. After binning the Spartans name in 1900, they joined the London League and then on to the Athenian League in 1912. A couple of seasons in, the First World War got in the way of things and – afterwards – the club is said to have disbanded; members of junior side Grange Park deciding to go senior and take on the Enfield name in 1919. So, it’s up to you where the line actually starts.
After this point, the Es spent their time competing in the Athenian League without much to write home about. They finished as runners-up in the 1934-5 campaign – but it wasn’t until the 1960s that things got interesting. Thomas Lawrence came in as boss and led the club to back-to-back Athenian titles. The second of these would be a line in the sand as Enfield joined the Isthmian League in 1962. And the success continued; going at it hard during the first four seasons and then claiming three titles on the spin to end the 60s on a high.
A brief lull followed, before the titles came back a-rollin’ in; another three-in-a-row starting with the 1975-6 campaign, as well as the honours for 1979-80. This run of success meant they were seen as part of the non-league elite and joined the Alliance Premier League (or Conference) in 1981. The first season saw them come runners-up and win the FA Trophy. The following season, they went one better and were crowned champions. But, due to the archaic election system in place, were denied a deserved crack at the League.
It happened again to Enfield in 1986; the last year of the election system. And, from there, the bubble would soon burst, despite a second FA Trophy win in 1988.
Why do we know Enfield?
Enfield fell away from the top of the Conference and went down at the end of the 1989-90 season. It’d be their first time back in the Isthmian League for 10 years. But there was no sign of the Es being sorry for themselves; sticking close to the top of the table and making a real fist of trying to earn their place back in the Conference. The 1990-1 campaign saw ’em miss out on the title by four points, although the gap was slightly larger the next season.
As the Es kept trying – but falling short – in their bid to return to the Conference, we were on the way up. In the Es’ third season back in the Isthmian League, they were joined by a soaring Boro’ side. And what a test it’d surely prove to be for us as we went into the 1992-3 Diadora League Premier Division season. So, how did it go? Based on how things went, good – right?
