Local Amateur Football Team helps Premiership Professionals

Last week, Premiership football club, West Ham United cancelled all tournaments to be held at Upton Park this summer due to entering the Europa League via Fair-Play standings. In their announcement, they said they needed to relay their pitch as their season will begin in July, earlier than usual, so they can compete in the preliminary rounds of the Europa League. This is great news for West Ham, but not so good for all those teams that have entered tournaments to be held at Upton Park this summer. Some 40 teams from all over the UK and in Europe will now miss out on the chance to play at the home of this famous team.

This announcement, coming just a few days before the event takes place, may also mean that many of these teams face the prospect of losing money paid for flights and accommodation. Some teams have been fund raising all year to meet the costs of travelling to and staying at the event and now face the prospect of not playing any football or getting their money back. However, due to the quick thinking of one youth team football manager from Tolworth in Surrey, the under 13s teams who entered the tournament, from France, Jersey and around the UK, will not be disappointed.

Corinthian-Casuals, an amateur club from the 7th tier of the English Football League have offered to hold this event for those teams in the u13 age group. Manager, Peter Doherty said, “It’s a terrible shame we can’t host the whole tournament here at Corinthians, but it’s just not possible. Corinthian’s are probably the last fully amateur club in England and consequently always struggling financially. If things were different, it would be our duty to take on the whole tournament, as even if we are not a cash rich club, we do everything we can to make sure all kids get a chance to play football. It’s part of our Corinthian Sprit ethos…”

Peter, manager of the Corinthian-Casuals under 13 Youth team was one of the teams out in the cold when West Ham made their announcement and was bitterly upset at disappointing his players, so began investigating alternatives. To his surprise, he found that all the other managers in his age group were keen to have Corinthians host the games. He was also surprised to hear that many knew the history of the club and were excited to visit the home of such a highly regarded team. 

“It’s not the greatest venue in the world and nothing to match West Ham’s new home or the Boleyn, but our history rivals many professional teams. Back in the day, we were the greatest footballing team in the world and as amateurs, often beat professional sides. We beat Manchester United 11-3! That still stands as their worst defeat ever. We took football all over the world and on one trip to South America in 1910, inspired the creation of Corinthians Paulista. Over the years, their fortunes grew to being the World Club Champions, while we went in the opposite direction and now we struggle to keep the club going. I’m just glad we can offer at least a small consolation to some of the teams and hopefully they will enjoy the day and leave with happy memories of visiting our club."

The tournament will be at Corinthian-Casuals ground in Tolworth, Surrey on Sunday 7th of June, beginning at 10.00am. It is also hoped that an ex-West Ham player will be there to present the trophies to the winning teams.

More info can be found on our Youth website www.ccfcys.co.uk

Corinthian-Casuals will once again host the annual Geoff Harvey Memorial Vase tournament on July 11th and 12th with four Ryman League sides battling it out to be crowned champions.

The two-day tournament, held at Corinthian-Casuals’ King George’s Arena in Tolworth is now in its sixth year and has become an established part of pre-season preparations.

Alan Dowson’s Ryman Premier side Hampton and Richmond are joined by hosts Corinthian-Casuals, who are led by the incoming James Bracken. Making up the four are Tooting & Mitcham United, with new manager Mark Hams in charge and Jim Cooper's Ryman Prem side Met Police.

The format sees two ‘semi-final’ matches on the Saturday, with 11am and 3pm kick-offs. The winners of each game, decided by penalties should the scores remain level at 90 minutes will then face each other for the prestigious Vase on Sunday 12th July at 3pm. The losers from Saturday will face each other in the early kick-off at 11am. 

Admission is £8 per day or £12 for the weekend – working out at just £3 per match. Seniors are half price and under-16s are FREE with an accompanying adult. Supporters and visitors alike can enjoy a fully licenced bar, hot food and a full colour, glossy tournament programme.

Whatever the outcome of the four games, adding a competitive edge to the pre-season programme is always welcome and last year’s tournament saw no less than fifteen goals. 

King George’s Arena, Queen Mary Close, Hook Rise South, Tolworth KT6 7NA

Admission
Adults: £8 per day / £12 weekend ticket
Seniors: half price
Under 16’s FREE with paying accompanying adult or senior

Saturday 12th July
Match 1: Semi Final 1 (TBA) – 11am
Match 2: Semi Final 2 (TBA) – 3pm

Sunday 13th July
Match 3: Losers from Match 1 vs Losers from Match 2 – 11am
Match 4: FINAL – Winners from Match 1 vs Winners from Match 2 – 3pm

Teams entered:
Corinthian-Casuals (Ryman Division One South)
Hampton & Richmond Borough (Ryman League Premier Division)
Merstham (Ryman League Premier Division)
Tooting & Mitcham (Ryman League Division One South)

Club Captain Joe Hicks and midfield maestro Maz Bettache have left Corinthian-Casuals after impressing Ryman Premier Clubs Hampton and Richmond Borough and Hendon respectively.

Hicks (shown right), who joined Casuals in 2010 took on the captaincy under departing boss Matt Howard and played a pivotal part in Casuals’ defence in the past few seasons. His performances didn’t go unnoticed and ex-Kingstonian Manager, Alan Dowson who is now at Hampton has taken the opportunity to add Hicks to his summer signings. Hicks previously played under Dowson at K’s before joining Corinth.

Dowson went on record to say of the signing of Hicks, saying, "Joe is now more than ready to make the step up to the Ryman Premier League and he will be a very important part of the squad."

Maz Bettache (pictured left) impressed in his time at Corinthian-Casuals and his skills were picked up by many who saw him, including Manchester United’s South American scout and Corinthians’ Futstal coaches in Sao Paulo.

But it was his performance against Hendon in the London Senior Cup that first attracted the Ryman Premier runners-up to the ex-Fulham trainee.

Both will be sadly missed by Casuals and tributes to Hicks and Bettache have been made on both sides of the pond. Ex-England Cricket Captain and Casuals’ member Alec Stewart took to Twitter to say “They will be missed but they have to try and further their careers.” Club Secretary Hanna Newton also added “I’m going to miss Joe & Maz at Corinthian-Casuals but wish them all the very best, they have both been an absolute pleasure to work with.” 

Hicks and Bettache who played in front of 30,000 fans in Brazil in January 2015 also gathered tributes from Sao Paulo including “congratulations !they deserve it! Two great players! We will miss them actually!”

Club spokesman Stuart Tree said “On behalf of all at Corinthian-Casuals, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Joe and Maz for everything they achieved here. We wish both of them the very best for the future.

“They were both fantastic for us on the pitch and real ambassadors to the club off it. It will be a shame not to have  them and their supportive families at King George’s Arena. Casuals will be a poorer place for that.

“We always say to players that this is a club where those looking to further their careers can forge experience of playing in such a competitive league. I’m sure their time with us has made them more complete footballers and will surely excel at their new clubs.

“But we have exciting times ahead at Casuals; with James Bracken taking charge, the signs are already very positive and we’re aiming for an even better season than the one just gone. There’s some very positive vibes coming out of King George’s Arena at the moment.”

Congratulations to all the players who won awards at the end of season dinner last night. 

A fantastic evening in which we said goodbye to Matt Howard and Luke Garrard and thank them for all their efforts in the time spent at King George's Arena. 

Here's the winners:

Manager's Player of the Year: Lee Hall
Player's Player of the Year: Danny Bracken
Supporter's Player of the Year: Jamie Byatt
Most Improved Player of the Year: Juevan Spencer
Reserves Manager's Player of the Year: Matt Pierson
Reserves Player's Player of the Year: Seon Headley

Corinthian-Casuals are delighted to announce the appointment of James Bracken as First Team Manager for the forthcoming season.  

James, older brother of goalkeeper Danny Bracken, has a fantastic managerial record which includes steering Sutton United reserves to three consecutive Suburban League Premier title wins including this season in which his side remained unbeaten for the whole campaign. Bracken has picked up no less than seven trophies this past term.

James said of his appointment, "I'm delighted to be taking charge at Corinthian-Casuals, a club with unrivaled history. This has come after 8 years of success at Sutton United and I would like to thank them for their support. I look forward to taking this special club forward both on and off the pitch in what I hope will be an exciting new chapter in the club's history."

Stuart Tree of Corinthian-Casuals said "We're all really excited to have James on board. His track record is immense and he's incredibly passionate about what he does. His work ethic, determination and dedication will surely prove to be a huge asset for Casuals and we're already looking forward to next season."

James steps into the role after the departure of Matt Howard and Assistant Luke Garrard to Carshalton Athletic. We'd like to thank both Matt and Luke for everything they achieved at Casuals and wish them all the best for the future.