Dulwich Hamlet F.C.

Dulwich Hamlet

Full name	Dulwich Hamlet Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Hamlet
Founded	1893
Ground	Champion Hill, London
Capacity	3,334 (500 seated) [1]
Chairman	Ben Clasper
Manager	Hakan Hayrettin
League	Isthmian League Premier Division
2023–24	Isthmian League Premier Division, 12th of 22
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at Champion Hill.

History

The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. They were founder members of the Dulwich League in 1899, and were its inaugural champions. ^[2] The club went on to retain the title the following season. ^[2] In 1907 they joined both the Isthmian League and the Spartan League, leaving the latter at the end of the 1907–08 season. ^[3] In 1919–20 the club won its first Isthmian League title, winning the league on goal average against Nunhead. They also won the FA Amateur Cup, beating Tufnell Park 1–0 in the final at the Den. The club won the league again in 1925–26, and the FA Amateur Cup for a second time in 1931–32 win a 7–1 win against Marine in the final. ^[3] The following season the club won their third league title. In 1933–34 they won their third FA Amateur Cup, beating Leyton 2–1 in the final. The two clubs met in the final again in 1936–37, with Dulwich winning 2–0.

In 1948–49 Dulwich won the Isthmian League for a fourth time. The 1976–77 season saw the club finish bottom of Division One, resulting in relegation to Division Two, which was renamed Division One the following season, with Division One becoming the Premier Division. The club went on to win the Division One title in 1977–78 and were promoted back to the Premier Division. They finished bottom of the Premier Division in 1989–90, and were relegated to Division One. The club were promoted back to the Premier Division at the end of the 1991–92 season after finishing third in Division One. In 1998–99 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1948, losing 1–0 to Southport.

After finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2000–01, the club were relegated back to Division One. After finishing seventh in 2003–04, the club played off against Wealdstone for a place in the Premier Division after league restructuring but lost 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw. In 2010–11 Dulwich finished fifth and entered the promotion play-offs, beating Bognor Regis Town 3–1 in the semi-finals before losing 4–3 to Leatherhead in the final. ^[4] The following season the club finished third, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Folkestone Invicta 2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost the final 1–0 to Bognor Regis. ^[3] They returned to the Premier Division after winning the Division One South title on the last day of the 2012–13 season with a 1–1 draw against Burgess Hill Town.

In 2014–15 Dulwich finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. However, they lost 2–1 at Margate in the semi-finals. ^[5] The following season the club finished fifth, and reached the play-off final after winning 1–0 at Bognor Regis Town in the semi-final, ^[6] before going on to lose 3–1 at East Thurrock United. ^[7] In 2016–17 Dulwich finished third in the Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs for the third season in a row. After beating Enfield Town 4–2 in the semi-finals, they lost 2–1 at Bognor Regis Town in the final. ^[8] The following season saw the club finish as runners-up in the Premier Division. In the subsequent play-offs, they beat Leiston 1–0 in the semi-final, ^[9] before defeating Hendon 4–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw in the final to earn promotion to the National League South. ^[10]

The 2019–20 season saw Dulwich reach the first round of the FA Cup, with the club losing 4–1 at home to Carlisle United. ^[11] In 2022–23 the club finished fourth-from-bottom of the National League South ^[12] and were relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division. ^[13]

Ground

Champion Hill main stand, and dugouts in April 2017

Main article: Champion Hill

The club played at Woodwarde Road until 1895, when they moved to College Farm. The following year they moved to Sunray Avenue, where they remained until 1902. Between 1902 and 1912 they played at Freeman's Ground on Champion Hill, ^[14] before moving to an adjacent plot of land, where they played until the opening of the Champion Hill stadium in 1931. The stadium was used for amateur international matches, including the 1948 Summer Olympics. ^[15]

In 1991 the stadium was demolished, as it was too run-down and dangerous to bring up to modern safety standards, as a result of new regulations brought in as a result of the Hillsborough disaster. During the 1991–92 season the club played at Tooting & Mitcham United's Sandy Lane ground, whilst a new, smaller stadium was built on the same site, opening for the start of the 1992–93 season. The new stadium was funded by the sale to Sainsbury's of land that had once been the club's training pitch, situated immediately behind the large covered terrace on the north side of the 'old' Champion Hill, by the landlords King's College London. The new ground remained in King's ownership, with the club having given up the lease on the old ground in return for the new ground being built.

In September 2013 it became the first football ground in Greater London to be listed as an Asset of community value, ^[16] but this was withdrawn by Southwark Council not long after, due to a legal technicality. ^[17] In February 2014, Champion Hill was bought for £5.7m by Meadow Residential. ^[18] In March 2018 the company forced the club out of the ground, resulting in a temporary groundshare with rivals Tooting & Mitcham, at their Imperial Fields stadium, ^[19] which lasted until Dulwich returned to Champion Hill in December 2018.

Players

Current squad

As of 7 May 2024 ^[20]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Pos. Nation Player GK   Will Lakin DF   ENG Jerome Binnom-Williams DF   Michael Chambers DF   Harrison Hatfull MF   Sean Bonnett-Johnson MF   Kaya Hansson

No. Pos. Nation Player MF   GUY Anthony Jeffrey MF   KOS Kreshnic Krasniqi MF   Ryley Scott MF   Josh Shonibare MF   Luke Wanadio FW   ENG Danny Mills

Notable former players

During the 1920s the club had two players capped by the full England team. Bert Coleman was capped whilst playing for Dulwich in 1921, whilst Edgar Kail won three caps against France, Belgium and Spain in 1929. Kail was the last amateur player to play for England whilst solely with an amateur club, and shunned many approaches from professional clubs to stay with Dulwich Hamlet, his local side, for whom he scored over 400 goals, and is still the subject of terrace songs by fans of the club. ^[21]

Backroom staff

As of July 2023 ^{[22] [23]}

Position	Name
Manager	Hakan Hayrettin
Assistant Manager	Terry Harris
Coach	Erdal Yörük
Goalkeeping Coach	Alex Balaskas
Physio	Sid Bullett

Managerial history

From 1966 onwards:

Years	Manager
1966–1967	Frank Reed
1967–1971	Peter Gleeson
1971–1972	Fred Setter
1972–1976	Jimmy Rose
1976–1977	George Rocknean
1977	Jimmy Langley
1977–1981	Alan Smith
1981–1984	Eddie Presland
1984–1986	Billy Smith
1986	Allen Batsford
1986–1987	Micky Leach
1987	Ray Thorn
1987	Billy Edwards
1987–1989	Eddie Presland
1989–1990	John Langford
1990–1991	Joe Fascione
1991–1994	Jim Cannon
1994–1997	Frank Murphy
1997	John Ryan & Mick Browne
1997–2000	Dave Garland
2000–2001	Les Cleevely
2001	Gwynne Berry
2001–2006	Martin Eede
2006–2007	Wayne Burnett
2007–2009	Craig Edwards
2009–2022	Gavin Rose
2022–2023	Paul Barnes
2023–	Hakan Hayrettin

Supporters

Despite being relegated, Dulwich Hamlet had the highest attendance in the National League South 2022–23, with an average attendance of 2,464. ^[24] The club has gained a reputation for the activist element of their support, with the fans behind the goal going by the nickname of "The Rabble". ^[25] In recent seasons, the Football Club Committee, Supporters Trust and fans have backed anti-discrimination and anti-homophobia initiatives, amongst many other initiatives within the community. ^[26]

The efforts made by the club and all of its volunteers to ensure that the club connects with all parts of its local community were recognised in 2016, when they were awarded the Football Foundation Community Club Of The Year at the National Game Awards in London. ^[27]

The Rabble has also gained a reputation for creating a party atmosphere during games, and a particularly creative and witty approach to songs and chanting. ^[28]

Friendship with Altona 1893 and other European links

Hamlet fans have developed a friendship with supporters of German club Altona 1893, as the two clubs were founded in the same year, which began as a friendship started by the Dulwich Hamlet supporters' team. In recognition of the relationship, the club adopted the Altona 1893 home strip as their away strip during the 2014–15 and 2022–23 seasons. ^[29] On 12 July 2015, Altona 1893 and a large group of fans made the journey to South East London to play a friendly between the two sides. ^[30] Altona 1893 won 5–3 on the day. In July 2015, Altona 1893 unveiled their new away strip in pink and blue colours, featuring a friendship logo on the sleeve. ^[31] Dulwich Hamlet returned to Hamburg in July 2018 for a match against Altona 93 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the founding of both clubs. ^[32]

The clubs will meet again in a fixture at Dulwich's Champion Hill ground on 7 July 2023. ^[33]

Honours

• FA Amateur Cup
  • Winners 1919–20, 1931–32, 1933–34, 1936–37
• Isthmian League
  • Champions 1919–20, 1925–26, 1932–33, 1948–49
  • Division One Champions 1977–78
  • Division One South Champions 2012–13
• Dulwich League
  • Champions 1899–1900, 1900–01
• London Senior Cup ^[34]
  • Winners 1924–25, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1983–84, 2003–04
• Surrey Senior Cup ^[35]
  • Winners 1904–05, 1905–06, 1908–09, 1909–10, 1919–20, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1927–28, 1933–34, 1936–37, 1946–47, 1949–50, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1973–74, 1974–75
• London Challenge Cup
  • Winners 1998–99
• London Junior Cup ^[34]
  • Winners 1899–1900

Records

• Most appearances: Reg Merritt, 576 (1950–1966) ^[14]
• Most consecutive first team appearances: Chris Lewington, 290 (1977–1982)
• Most goals: Edgar Kail, 427 (1919–1933) ^[14]
• Most goals in a season: Edgar Kail, 53 (1925–26) ^[36]
• Biggest league win: 10–1 vs West Norwood, 1920–21, 9–0 vs Worthing, 1990–91^{[ citation needed ]}
• Biggest cup win: 13–0 vs Walton-on-Thames, Surrey Senior Cup, 1936–37^{[ citation needed ]}
• Heaviest league defeat: 0–9 vs Walthamstow Avenue, Isthmian League, 1945–46; 1–10 vs Hendon, Isthmian League, 1963–64^{[ citation needed ]}
• Heaviest cup defeat: 0–9 vs Hornchurch, FA Cup third qualifying round, 2004–05^{[ citation needed ]}
• Record attendance (old Champion Hill): 20,744, Kingstonian v Stockton, FA Amateur Cup Final (1932–33) ^[37]
• Record attendance (new Champion Hill): 3,336 vs Carlisle United, FA Cup first round, 8 November 2019 ^[38]

See also

• Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players
• Dulwich Hamlet F.C. managers

References

1. "Dulwich Hamlet 5 Ebbsfleet United 2". Dulwich Hamlet FC. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
2. Official Handbook Archived 24 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine Dulwich Football League, p3
3. Dulwich Hamlet at the Football Club History Database
4. 2010–11 Isthmian League Archived 9 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine FCHD
5. "Kent 2020 hailed as a huge success". Kent Online. 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
6. "Bognor Regis Town 0-1 Dulwich Hamlet". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
7. "East Thurrock Utd 3-1 Dulwich Hamlet". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
8. "Bognor Regis Town 2-1 Dulwich Hamlet". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
9. "Dulwich Hamlet 1 Leiston 0 – Ashley Carew strikes winner to secure play-off final". London News Online. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
10. "Dulwich Hamlet Promoted After 111 Years". Southwark News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
11. "Carlisle beat Dulwich Hamlet in FA Cup". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
12. "Ups, Downs And Play-Off Places Confirmed On Epic Final Day". The National League. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
13. "Isthmian League 2023-24". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
14. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p604 ISBN   978-1-869833-77-0
15. Lamont, Tom (26 October 2018). "Dulwich Hamlet: the improbable tale of a tiny football club that lost its home to developers – and won it back". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
16. There may be trouble ahead: Dulwich Hamlet FC face an uncertain future Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Brixton Buzz, 7 February 2014
17. Asset of Community Value Listing Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust
18. Revealed: Rio Ferdinand made a multi-million pound offer to save troubled non-league club Dulwich Hamlet Archived 6 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Independent, 23 February 2018
19. Dulwich offered groundshare by rivals Tooting & Mitcham Archived 18 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport, 10 March 2018
20. "Men's Squad". Dulwich Hamlet F.C. 25 September 2023.
21. Football's local hero Archived 23 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport, 17 February 2003
22. "Club Statement 21st October 2022". Dulwich Hamlet FC.
23. "Men First XI Squad". Dulwich Hamlet FC.
24. "Vanarama National League South – Average Attendances" . Retrieved 11 June 2023.
25. Ian Burrell (24 October 2014). "Football revolution as disillusioned fans head for the non-league". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
26. "Dulwich Hamlet hope anti-homophobia in football campaign is blueprint to others at top of game". The Guardian. London. 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
27. "We're Number One In The Community". Dulwich Hamlet F.C.
28. Lawn, Andrew (22 March 2021). "The History of Football Chants". Outside Write. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
29. "2014–2015 Home & Away Shirts". pitchero.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
30. "Altona fans make OUR local papers!". pitchero.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
31. "They say imitation is..." pitchero.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
32. "Summer 2018 trip to..." pitchero.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
33. "Altona 93 coming back to Champion Hill" . Retrieved 11 June 2023.
34. "Memorandum Of Procedures For Dealing With Misconduct Occurring". Docstoc.com. 24 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
35. "Saturday Senior Cup Previous Winners". SurreyFA. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
36. History Archived 19 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine Dulwich Hamlet F.C.
37. Archived 9 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine David Bauckham
38. Dulwich Hamlet 1–4 Carlisle United Archived 9 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport, 8 November 2019

External links

• Official website
• Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Trust