Redbridge F.C.
Redbridge Football Club is an English association football club based in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. Prior to July 2004 the club was known as Ford United F.C. The change of name was chosen to help associate the club within the local area and attract a larger support.
They should not be confused with the former Redbridge Forest, a predecessor of the current Dagenham & Redbridge, though both come from the borough of Redbridge in Greater London.
The club’s roots lie in the car industry, which has long been a staple of the local economy in the surrounding part of East London and Essex.[1]
The club was previously known as Ford United, which dated from a 1959 merger between two older clubs, Ford Sports (Dagenham), the football team of the workers at the huge local Ford Motors factory at Dagenham, and Briggs Sports, both of which were founded in 1934.[1] Up until World War II, the latter actually began life as Briggs Motor Bodies and entered a team in the London League under that name between 1935 and 1951.[1]
As Ford United, they performed well in the Aetolian League winning the title twice,[2][3] and finishing runners up once.[4] The club found itself in serious trouble at the start of 1995–96 season, however, as sponsorship from the Ford Motor Company was ended and the disbanding of the club seemed highly likely, until club Vice-Chairman, George Adams enlisted Sky Sports as sponsors, rescuing the club financially.[1]
During the 2001–02 season Barkingside’s lease at their Oakside ground was sold on to Ford United who needed to find a permanent home to allow their progression up the football pyramid. Considerable investment by Jimmy Chapman, the then Chairman saw Oakside developed to a grade 1 ground.
From the start of the 2004–05 season, Ford United were renamed to Redbridge, as the club sought to establish a local identity and improve its support base.
Redbridge played the 2005–06 season in the Isthmian League Premier Division, as they were relegated after finishing bottom of Conference South,[5] and played in the Isthmian League Division One North in the 2006–07 season after being relegated once again.[6] New manager, ex-Wimbledon and Bolton Wanderers striker Dean Holdsworth was appointed on 30 June 2007.[1] In the 2007–08 season, they missed the opportunity to be promoted back to the Isthmian League Premier Division, losing 5–4 on penalties to Canvey Island in the playoff final,[7] after finishing third in the Isthmian League Division One North.[8] On 18 May 2008, Holdsworth left his post as manager of Redbridge to take up the manager’s position at Newport County.
At the start of June 2008, former Dagenham & Redbridge reserve team coach, Jay Devereux was appointed the club’s new manager. Devereux’s first season was blighted by floodlight problems at Oakside, but the team still finished a respectable eighth in the division. The side had a disappointing start to the 2009–10 season and towards the end of September, it was announced that Devereux and his coaching staff had resigned from their jobs. First team coach Dave Ross took charge for Redbridge’s game at Harlow Town, where they drew 3–3 after being 2–0 down and stayed as manager for the remainder of the season. Poor winter weather affected the side at the start of 2010, the team initially struggled with a fixture pile up but Ross managed to keep the side in the league avoiding relegation.
The 2010–11 season proved to be one of the most turbulent in the club’s history. Manager Dave Ross brought in Kris Taylor to form a management team. After a bad start to the season, which saw the club sitting bottom of the league and Ross was eventually asked to step down. Kris Taylor was confirmed as first team manager on 1 October 2010,[9] after talks broke down with Kevin Durrant who looked all set to join the club. Taylor’s tenure ended in December 2010 when his work commitments affected the amount of time demanded to run a club of this stature meant he was unable to give 100% to the management of the team. First team coach Jody Brown was appointed manager on a short-term basis just before Christmas 2010 and he was able to bring some stability and stave of relegation with three games of the season still remaining.[10]
