Re: Met Police appeal

By ChrisHFC17/5/2018 23:04Thu May 17 23:04:50 2018In response to Met Police appeal

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Two points occur to me on this. First, Met Police have already spent six seasons (1971-72 to 1976-77) in the Southern League during their existence, so the league, though different then, is not exactly an unknown to the club, though it may be to the majority, if not all, of their current officials and supporters.

Secondly, the Isthmian League was often thought of, and still is by some people, as a London based league. Yet almost since its founding in 1905 the league has had non-London based members, Oxford City joining in 1907-08 and remaining members until 2002-03, except for five season in the late 1980s and early 1990s when they lost use of their ground and had to drop to a lower league on a new ground before being promoted back to the Isthmian.

Woking, which is London commuter belt, but not London, joined in 1911-12 and stayed until 1991-92. Other non-London teams include Wycombe Wanderers (joined in 1921-22), Maidstone United (joined in 1959-60), and Hitchin Town (joined in 1963-64 along with Enfield, Sutton United, and ourselves).

There may be a case for including Hitchin, Woking, and Wycombe as London clubs on the basis that at one time they were served by London Transport Country buses and Green Line coaches. However this is not true of Oxford and Maidstone.

The Isthmian League, therefore, has only been a London based league in its first two seasons (1905-06 and 1906-07), and in spring 1919, following the end of World War 1, when a five team league was held. Once the league started its expansion in the early 1970s, clubs have been drawn from the wider Home Counties and in recent years from East Anglia, not forgetting Yeovil Town, who have spent five seasons in the Isthmian League in two spells.

Apparantly Met Police's recent manager lives in Upminster, which is technically in Essex, but which is also in London, being on the eastern edge of the London Borough of Havering. Just saying he lives in Essex suggested to me that he came from Chelmsford, or Colchester, or somewhere even further out, not from inside the eastern edge of Greater London.