Sussex County League.
In 1983 the club was elected as a founder member of Division 3 of the Sussex County League, despite opposition from an FA Councillor who suggested that Langney Sports were and would only ever be ‘a parks side’, and moved to it's current headquarters at Priory Lane, now recognised as one of the finest in Sussex: covered all four sides, and boasting an impressive 500 seat stand plus executive boxes. In recent years the ground has continued to stage the prestigious Sussex Senior Cup Final, and a Non-League International Tournament welcoming England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales Non-League representative sides.


Eastbourne Challenge Cup Winners 1980

In 1986/87 Langney Sports became 3rd Division champions, and completed a treble by winning both the Division 3 League Cup & the Eastbourne Challenge Cup. With promotion to Division 2, Senior Status was achieved and it was no surprise when promotion again followed in 1987/88, this time to Division 1. Apart from two seasons (1994/95 and 1995/96) when they finished in 11th and 9th place respectively, Langney Sports never finished outside of the top four in Division One. In 1989/90, they finished 3rd and also collected their first major honours as a senior club: beating Selsey 3-0 to take the Sussex County League Cup. In 1992 Langney Sports also reached the final of the Sussex Senior Cup, losing 0-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves at the Goldstone Ground.


Pete Cherry - Legendary Manager ..::. Mick Green - Legendary Captain ..::.. Nigel Hole - Legendary Goalscorer

In the late 1990s, Langney Sports became recognised as a force in the FA Cup. Season 1997/98 was marked by the club's best ever run at that time, eventually losing 1-2 at then Dr Martens Premier side Sittingbourne in the 3rd Qualifying Round after disposing of Ryman League opposition (Southall, Leatherhead & Dorking) in previous rounds. In 1998/99 the club went one better, reaching the 4th Qualifying Round but unfortunately a 1st Round Round tie against Torquay did not materialise as they went down 7-0 at Worcester City. Highlight of the run was a fine 4-1 victory over Ryman Premier side Harrow Borough in the 3rd Qualifying Round at Priory Lane.
1999/00 was the most significant in the club's brief history at that time. Yet another good run in the FA Cup (knocking out Dr Marten's Premier side Havant & Waterlooville before losing 1-0 at Whyteleafe in the 3rd Qualifying Round) was capped by a wonderful League season, winning Division One of the Sussex County League for the first time and gaining promotion to the Dr. Marten's League (Eastern Division). Langney Sports ended the season with 99 points, scoring 101 goals to just 25 conceded, and lost only 1 League game all season. The team finished 14 points ahead of second-placed Burgess Hill Town, who had been champions for the previous three seasons. The icing on the cake was winning the Non-League Club Directory Home Counties South award, in recognition of a memorable season, both on and off the pitch.


Langney Sports Celebrate Winning The County League 1999

Climbing The Pyramid.
2000/01 saw the club elevated to the Dr Martens Southern League, competing in the Eastern Division. In a season of consolidation the club finished in a very creditable 9th position, with the highlight of the league campaign arguably a 4-1 home victory over Chelmsford City, who went on to win promotion. The season also saw the club receive a £117,000 grant from the Football Foundation, to go towards further development of Priory Lane. At the end of the season the Football Committee made one of the most crucial decisions in the club's history: the change of name to Eastbourne Borough FC. Since promotion to the Southern League, it had become increasingly apparent that opposing clubs had little or no idea where Langney was (and often mis-spelt the name of the club). Certainly, very few identified Langney as being part of Eastbourne. In recognition of this, and the desire to both raise the profile of the town, and increase the potential for sponsorship, the decision to change the name was taken. With so many of the Committee associated with the club since it's earliest beginnings sentiment weighed heavily, but the decision was ultimately a pragmatic one. However, in recognition of the past, and continued association with the Langney Sports Club; the club badge and colours remained unchanged, as did ‘The Sports' nickname.


Langney Sports Team For 1st Fixture Above The County League .v. Spalding United Aug 2000

The club's second season in the Southern League (2001/02), and first competing as Eastbourne Borough, was another successful one. Borough ended the season in 7th place, 10 points clear of Dartford who finished a place below them. During the campaign champions and runners-up Hastings Town and Grantham Town respectively both suffered heavy defeats at Priory Lane, losing 3-0 and 4-0 . In addition there were fine cup runs: reaching the semi-final of the Dr Martens League Cup; 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup (losing 0-1 at Ryman Premier Division champions Gravesend & Northfleet); and 3rd Round of the FA Trophy (going out to a deflected last minute goal at Conference runners-up Dagenham & Redbridge). The season ended on a high note however, as the club won the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time, beating the holders Lewes 2-1 after extra time, in front of a crowd of over 1,500 at Priory Lane, then a record attendance for the ground. The Reserves also enjoyed a fine campaign, and lost only 4 times all season, winning both the Sussex County League Reserve Section Premier Division and League Cup.
At the end of the 2002/03 season the club took another enormous stride forward, winning promotion to the Dr Martens Premier Division as runners-up to champions Dorchester Town (losing out only on goal difference). The squad proved itself the most consistent in the DM Eastern Division, with two matches the worst run of defeats, and boasting the best defensive record in the League. The club also finished top of the Division's 'Fair Play' league. The Reserves retained the League title and added the Sussex Intermediate Cup to the trophy cabinet. Sadly Borough failed to retain the Sussex Senior Cup, but only by the narrowest of margins – losing in a sudden-death penalty shoot-out to Crawley Town after the game had finished goal-less after extra time. One consolation however, was a new record crowd of just over 1,700.
Season 2003/04 began with the target of finishing outside of the bottom four in the club's first season in the DM Premier Division, with a play-off place the height of ambitions. However, once more expectations were surpassed and by finishing in eleventh place, Borough again made history to become founder members of the Conference South in 2004/05 just 20 years after helping found Division 3 of the Sussex County League. Only one club completed the league 'double' over Sports. In addition, the Reserves picked up a 3rd successive League title, and also the League Cup for the 2nd time in 3 years.

Conference Football Comes To Eastbourne.
2004/05 proved to be the arguably the most memorable in the Club's history to date, and certainly as Eastbourne Borough FC. Once again, ambitions were limited to survival in Conference South and, after a dreadful start that saw Borough at the bottom of the table at the end of August it looked as though fears of the Club's ability to cope at a higher level were well founded. A remarkable turnaround was to follow however, with Garry Wilson twice picking up the Manager of the Month award, and guiding the team to 5th place, and into the play-offs despite an arduous run-in that saw them play 3 times in 5 days. The final table showed that only runaway winners Grays Athletic had a better goal difference over the season, and significantly failed to beat Borough in the 2 league fixtures. In the play-off quarter final, Borough turned around a half-time deficit at Thurrock to win 4-2; before travelling to Cambridge City where the League runners-up were comprehensively beaten 3-0. Over 1,000 Borough supporters made the 500 mile round trip to Stoke City for the North v South Play-off Final against Altrincham, but it wasn't to be and a last minute Scott Ramsay penalty wasn't enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat. League attendances were up by more than 20% with Borough ‘officially’ the 32nd best supported club in Non League football. The Reserves picked up yet another League & Cup double; with the U18s finishing as SCFL Youth Section champions, and the Ladies' side also winning a League & Cup double in their inaugural season.


Scott Ramsay In Action 2006/2007

After the euphoria of the 2004/05 season expectations were high amongst supporters, many of whom had experienced nothing but success previously. Certainly, no-one involved at the Club had ever been involved in a relegation battle. For 2005/06 Garry Wilson assembled what many considered to be the Club's strongest ever squad and, after an opening day victory at Bishop's Stortford and a good win at Cambridge City all boded well. However, it wasn't long before a catalogue of crippling injuries began to seriously undermine the team's performances with Wilson seldom able to pick the same side twice. The pattern of what was to follow was set at St. Albans City in early September, where Borough crashed 5-0. The remainder of the season was spent hovering nervously above the relegation zone, largely due to injuries but also some very inconsistent performances. Although Borough recorded a good Boxing Day victory over Lewes and performances generally improved in the New Year, it wasn't until the side won at Welling United in April that Conference South survival was all but assured, with a 6-2 win at relegated Maidenhead on the penultimate day of the season confirming Conference status as Borough eventually finished in 17th place.
Despite their League form, the Club still achieved another milestone by reaching the 1st Round proper of the FA Cup for the first time. As one might imagine, they did it the hard way: requiring replays after hard-fought draws at both Redbridge and Metropolitan Police, before a 1-0 win at Hellenic League club Bishop's Cleeve saw them through. Following his performance at Bishop's Cleeve, club captain Stuart Tuck was named 'FA Player of the Round' and received an award at the Final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Borough's reward was a home tie against League Two club Oxford United. Cheered on by a new record crowd of 3,770, Borough dramatically forced a replay as Ollie Rowland held his nerve to equalise in the last minute from the penalty spot after the referee had ordered his first spot kick to be re-taken. Although the replay was lost 3-0, most considered that the result flattered Oxford and Borough certainly left the Kassam Stadium with heads held high. A spin-off to the tie was that striker Yemi Odubade was later offered a contract for Oxford and signed in January 2006 for an initial fee of £15,000. Meanwhile, the Reserves (now re-named the Midweek Squad) continued their success by taking the inaugural title of the Sussex Midweek Alliance League.


Allan Tait. 1 Of Several Players Who Joined 'The Sports' With Conference Experience

The 2006/07 season saw the squad adopt a change in direction with the Garry Wilson and Nick Greenwood placing an emphasis on ‘quality’ not ‘quantity’. The quality players arrived, dropping down a division from the Conference National, but recruits were also made from the Sussex County League maintaining the tradition of providing opportunities to players who demonstrate the right attitude, attributes and ability. As the season progressed this was evidently a wise move as the side never dropped below 11th in the league, only lost 2 league fixtures at Priory Lane, and went on a 14 match unbeaten run, beating then league leaders (and eventual champions) Histon, and Salisbury on the way. The challenge for a play-off place was eventually undone by a hectic 11 games in 36 days culminating in a final 8 days with 4 fixtures. The club finally finished 7th, 4 points off a play-off berth. The club also suffered disappointment away from the league fixtures. Extreme wet weather after Christmas saw several fixtures postponed and an excellent performance at ‘home’ in the FA Trophy tie was witnessed by a reduced crowd at Hastings United, Northwich Victoria winning the 2nd Round game 1-0. The FA Cup also served the club a dose of ‘giant killing’ as Haverhill Rovers defeated the club 1-0 on their own Hamletcroft ground. The Midweek Alliance, that produced some excellent football the previous year, ran into problems, mostly linked to the wet weather in the south of England, and the squad fulfilled only a single fixture. Fans of ‘The Sports’ were however cheered by the news of ‘Garry & Nick’ extending their tenure at the club for a further 2 seasons.


Nathan Crabb Celebrates His Play-off Final Strike - May 2008

Buoyed by the previous league season the club started the 2007/2008 season in high spirits and was to prove a most successful campaign that saw the club progress from the parks of Eastbourne to the pinnacle of non-league, the Conference Premier. An unbeaten pre-season saw the club play 23 league fixtures unbeaten featuring a remarkable comeback at Basingstoke Town. Scott ramsay pulled a goal back in the 90th minute, the club trailing 2-0. In time added on Andy Atkin and Danny Leach scored to send the travelling support wild and record an unlikely away win. In the cups Boro reached the FA Cup 1st Round for the 2nd time, losing to Weymouth 4-0 and exited the Sussex Senior Cup at the semi-final stage against Crawley Town. The Setanta Shield League Cup also saw ‘The Sports’ lose to Crawley but league title rivals Lewes were beaten 7-2 at Priory Lane earlier in the competition. As the Conference South campaign continued the club and Lewes exchanged the top spot several times before Boro were finally undone by a combination of injuries, suspensions and the transfer deadline, ‘The Rooks’ eventually claiming the league title. However Boro finished a close 2nd and after defeating Braintree Town 5-0 over 2 legs met Hampton & Richmond Borough in a Setanta televised play-off final. As ever the club did everything the hard way arriving late at Stevenage Borough after the coach broke down and rode their luck during the 1st 80 minutes, ‘The Beavers’ missing several chances to score with the Boro back-five in imperious form. Nathan Crabb and Paul Armstrong scored in the closing stages to seal promotion and complete the journey from ‘The Parks’ to ‘The Premier’ division of non-league football.


Squad Celebrate Promotion To Conference Premier Division - May 2008

Development Of A Non-League Football Ground
Originally published on Nomad-Online, July 2001
Eastbourne Borough FC Chairman Len Smith gazes down from the top of a dilapidated garage at the club’s ground with some satisfaction at the pile of decaying roofing material he has spent the morning replacing:


Priory Lane 1979

“This garage was the first thing we built on this site some 20 years ago, and now we’re having to renovate it”.
Smith’s voice has an air of surprise about it, but also a deep sense of pride in what he, and his hard-working Committee have achieved in just over thirty years: leading a parks side, through all three divisions of the Sussex County League, and into the Dr Martens Southern League. Along the way, they have managed to build virtually single-handed, a stadium widely regarded as the finest in the County. Like the majority of his Committee, Smith has been involved with the club since it’s earliest days: “I first got involved at the age of 17 in the early 1960s”, he recalls. “Then, I was Secretary of the Under 18 side of the Langney and Friday Street Youth Club. I disappeared off the scene for a while whilst I was managing a band, but returned in about 1968 and have been here ever since”.
Langney Sports, has they became known, moved to the site at Priory Lane, having previously played at Princes Park, within a goal-kick from Eastbourne United’s ground at the Oval. Keen to have their own ground and play in Langney rather than on the sea-front, they set up a meeting with local counsellors. Two fields were identified, owned by the Council and set aside as playing fields. Smith and the rest of the team promptly set up a Playing Fields Committee to lease the ground, and this is still in existence today. The first thing to be done was to pipe in a river that ran along the far side of one of the fields, raise the area by about two feet, and plant the trees which today screen the area from Priory Road which runs adjacent. The aforementioned garage was then built to store equipment, and house a large pump for drainage.


Filling The Ditch 1980

Having watched games from the comfort of an old packing case, a small stand was then constructed as work began on the impressive Clubhouse. Today visitors to the ground are amazed that this was completed in just two years, by a main core of just five individuals, who worked every weekend and during evenings in the summer. Indeed, the only professionals used on the project were the carpet fitter and a plumber.
Founder members of Division 3 of the County League, 1985/86 saw them promoted to Division 2, and then again the following season, into Division 1. In the meantime work had been underway, seeding and laying a new pitch on the adjacent field. Several tons of soil was imported from Uckfield, along with sand from the Brighton area. Not for the first time in the club’s history, success came a little too quickly and when promotion beckoned, the League insisted that the club move to the new pitch, even though it was less than a year old. A further condition of promotion was the construction of a stand, which again was not ready.


Priory Lane 1981

“On the day of the ground inspection, we arranged for the contractors to deliver a lorry load of steel to coincide with the visit, so at least it would look as though work was underway” recalls Len Smith. As it turned out, the stand (known as the Peter Fountain stand after the man who supplied all the labour) was erected in time, and Langney Sports took their place in Division 1 in 1988/89, finishing 10th.
Another feature of the ground at that time was a large bank (or “hump”), which ran behind the goal at the eastern end of the pitch, and provided a good vantage point for spectators. “The hump was simply an inexpensive way of enclosing the ground” says Smith, “… but had to be removed when the Bowls Hall was constructed as we needed new changing rooms behind the goal. We had a problem as we had to remove it before the Bowls Hall could be built, otherwise all the lorries would have had to go across the car park, which would have ruined it”. To this day, the final resting place of “The Hump” remains a closely guarded secret!
The hump was replaced by the impressive dressing room and hospitality box complex, named in honour of former club captain Mick Green, tragically killed in a building site accident, an event which devastated not only the club and it’s supporters, but reverberated throughout the League, with the funeral service having to be relayed outside in the street because all seats were taken in the local church. Smith recalls that Green’s death dramatically hastened construction: “The Mick Green stand was originally designed to be constructed at our own pace, as and when we could afford it. Sadly Mick died and there was pressure to complete the stand as a lasting memorial to him”.
Until their Championship-winning season in 1999/00 the club proved to be the bridesmaids but never the brides. However, the policy had always been to continually improve the ground and, when it was ready, to move forward with more purpose, able to take promotion if and when it came along. Even then, it almost came too soon, with the Committee and a resolute bunch of supporters working against the clock to ensure that the ground was able to meet requirements of the Southern League.
Asked if the ground will ever be completed to his satisfaction, Smith replies in the affirmative but adds that plans keep changing to meet the ever-increasing ambitions of the club, and ground-grading requirements: “It has always been the policy of the club to build things that will last: from brick and steel that will look nice and won’t have to be replaced. We had originally planned to enclose the ground with a new toilet block in between the stand and covered terrace, because at the time we felt that a 300 seat stand was as much as we would ever want. We’re now thinking that if we go into the Conference we will need a 500 seat stand, plus a further 500 seats elsewhere. Consequently we are now planning to tuck the toilets behind the covered terracing and extend the stand, possibly by December 2001, but perhaps without the seats initially”
Funding explains Smith, is the issue, not withstanding a grant of over £100,000 received from the Football Foundation last season. Other plans include construction of a new hospitality suite and announcers box as part of the main stand, more convenient that the current facilities behind the goal in the Mick Green stand, and a further requirement of the Dr Martens Premier Division.


Main Stand 2007

So, just how high up the Pyramid do the Eastbourne Borough Chairman’s ambitions extend: “It’s very difficult. Once upon a time, we didn’t want to go into the County League, and certainly didn’t want to go into the Southern League. This time last season we thought the Eastern Division was as far as we’d go. Now we’re certainly looking to go into the Premier Division.” And the Conference? Smith provides the sort of response one would expect from the Director of Finance of a successful local company: “The problem, I have to say, is that in the Premier Division and the Conference we can have a ground good enough, certainly; and I think we have a Manager and a Committee strong enough. Where we do fall down though is a lack of financial clout. We work on the principle that the club is self-financing. A lot of people work for nothing, but we don’t have anybody putting in really large amounts of money. We really want to work as a business. We could win the League next year by throwing a lot of money at it but then we’d go up and have to find more money. We want to be here for the long-term and have to cut our cloth accordingly. That is the problem we are going to have to face. That’s why we brought in Tony [Hylands] as Commercial Manager (Tony has since left the club – Ed.). In the end, the successful clubs all rely on one person putting money in.”
Finally, Len Smith reflects on what must have been a gut-wrenching decision to change the club’s name from Langney Sports to Eastbourne Borough, from 26 May 2001. He says the decision was ultimately a pragmatic one: “I think the name change will help with sponsorship ultimately. It will also help gates, as the wider population of Eastbourne will now more readily identify with the club. It has also helped with the sale of lottery tickets, as we can now ‘legitimately’ sell these across the town”.
The new season then, heralds another new chapter in relatively short book thus far, but one, which, under Len Smith’s continued leadership, looks likely to expand into several volumes.
David Bauckham – 2001

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The Club Crest – The Martello Tower



Although Langney Football Club was founded in 1964, and became Langney Sports FC four years later, the club crest actually dates from the late 1970s. On deciding to create a recognisable crest for the Club, the Football Committee wished to adopt an image that was clearly identifiable with the then relatively undeveloped local area. At that time there were two options: the Priory, and the Martello Tower at nearby Langney Point. The latter was chosen, mainly because it was easier to draw! The idea for the original crest was inspired by that of Nottingham Forest FC; with the three wavy lines underneath taken from the logo of East Sussex County Council and also representative of the club and Langneys proximity to the sea.



About the time the new indoor bowls hall opened at the Club’s evolving Priory Lane headquarters in the early 1990s, it was decided that the crest required updating, and was passed to a local graphic design artist. The result was a more stylised version of the original. It should also be said that the image has always owed more in appearance to the well-known Wish Tower on Eastbourne seafront, than the Tower at Langney Point.
For general information on Martello Towers please visit ‘The South Coast Martello Towers’ web site (available from the Links section of this web site). The towers most relevant to Langney Sports Club / Eastbourne Borough Football Club are located at Norman’s Bay, Pevensey Bay and Eastbourne.

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