Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

based in

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road.

History

Concord Rangers was officially formed in 1967 by Albert Lant, and originated from a team of boys (including Albert's son Steve) that played friendly matches during 1966 on a pitch along the

seafront close to the Concord Beach, hence the name Concord Rangers. They are therefore quite possibly the only English football team to be specifically named after a beach. The club initially joined the Thundermite Boys' Football League in 1967, with Albert Lant as manager, before progressing into the Vange and District League in 1973, where the club won several league and cup honours in a six-year period before joining the Mid-Essex League for the 1979–80 season – the club's first foray into Saturday football. At that time fixtures were played at Waterside Farm, on Canvey Island. The 1978–79 season saw Concord Rangers become the inaugural winners of the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy, defeating Bishop's Park 4–0 in a game played at Tiptree United. It was not until 1985 that the club secured land in Thames Road, to initially develop the clubhouse and stadium. In 1988, the club joined the Essex Intermediate League Division Two, where they stayed for three seasons, winning the title in 1990–91 on goal difference and gaining promotion to the

Essex Senior League The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...

. Concord spent 17 seasons in the Senior League, winning the title three times in that period (1997–98, 2003–04, 2007–08), with the 2007–08 championship win under the joint-management team of

Danny Cowley Danny Cowley (born 22 October 1978) is an English professional football coach who was most recently manager of EFL League One side Portsmouth. He has previously managed Concord Rangers, Braintree Town, Lincoln City, Huddersfield Town and P ...

and Danny Scopes seeing the club gaining promotion to the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

. The 2007–08

winning season was the club's 40th anniversary year, and also saw the team win the Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy, reach the final of the Essex Senior League Cup, and also reach the quarter finals of the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

, in which they lost 1–0 to Lowestoft Town. The "Beach Boys" reached the play-off final in their first season (2008–09) in the

Division One North, but lost 5–4 on penalties to

Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and E ...

. Despite being touted as having hugely over-performed in their debut season at this level, the team once again reached the play-off final in the 2009–10 season, this time emerging as winners, defeating

Enfield Town Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highway ...

3–1 in front of a crowd of 752 at Thames Road, to gain promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division. Concord had an impressive start to life at Premier Division level, finishing in eighth place in 2010–11, but this was followed by a lower 14th-place position for 2011–12, before a resurgent 2012–13 campaign saw the team reach the Premier Division play-offs, where they beat

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

2–1 away from home in the semi-finals, followed by a 2–1 away win at Lowestoft Town in front of a crowd of 2,490, to see the Beach Boys earn promotion to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

for the first time in their history. The Beach Boys were also winners of the Isthmian League Cup for 2012–13, with a 3–2 victory after extra time over

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

at Maidstone United's Gallagher Stadium. 2013–14 saw Concord have a successful inaugural season at Conference South level, finishing in ninth position, and also winning their first ever

Essex Senior Cup The Essex Senior Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1884, and is the most prestigious cup competition in the county of Essex. The competition is run mainly for Non-League foot ...

, defeating higher-ranked opposition Braintree Town 2–1 at Dagenham & Redbridge's Victoria Road ground. 2014–15 was also another successful season for The Beach Boys, and included many firsts for the club. The club reached the first round proper of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

for the first time in their history, eventually losing 1–0 at home to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they play in a blue and ...

in a replay, after Jordan Chiedozie's goal had seen the sides draw 1–1 in the initial tie. In the league, the team improved on the previous season's ninth-place finish by securing seventh place, and also retained the

with a 5–0 victory over

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

in the final, again played at Dagenham & Redbridge, and by doing so became the first team in 15 years to win consecutive

s. At the end of the 2014–15 season, long-serving manager

departed the club to become first team manager at

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

side Braintree Town, having won three promotions and three cups since his appointment in 2007–08; in the process becoming the most successful manager in the club's history. His younger brother, and assistant manager Nicky Cowley also moved to Braintree to take up the post of assistant manager, having made 268 appearances for the club as a player, the majority as club captain, before making the switch to a coaching role in late 2014. Adam Flanagan, a former Concord player – was appointed ahead of the 2015–16 season to succeed

, joining the Beach Boys from

Brentwood Town Brentwood Town Football Club is a football club based in Brentwood, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Brentwood Centre Arena. History A Brentwood Football Club was established in the 19th century, and played ...

whom he had just guided to promotion from the

Division One North via the play-offs, with an impressive 5–0 win over

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...

in the play-off final. In 2015–16, Concord retained the

during Flanagan's first season in charge beating Heybridge Swifts 1–0 in the final at Dagenham and Redbridge's Victoria Road ground, and in doing so became the first team to win the cup three years in succession for 50 years. This

win meant Flanagan joined only a small group of people who have lifted the trophy as both a player and manager; having also won the competition with

in the 2010–11 season.Club History
Billericay Town F.C. It was announced on 26 April 2018 that Adam Flanagan would leave his post as first team manager after 3 seasons in the role, with assistant manager & first team coach Glen Alzapiedi also departing following a 17th-placed finish that secured a 4th consecutive season of National League South football for 'The Beachboys'. Under Flanagan's reign, the side finished 10th, 18th, and 17th in the National League South, and reached the

4th qualifying round in 2017-18, eventually bowing out to higher-division opposition

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in a replay. On 2 May 2018, the club confirmed the appointment of former

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

player/manager Sammy Moore as the successor to Adam Flanagan, with

Jack Midson Jack William Midson (born 12 September 1983) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays for Sheppey United where he is player-manager. Midson was the 2011–12 League Two joint top scorer, along with Izale McLeod, Lewis Grabban an ...

– a former teammate of Moore's at

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

and also his player/assistant at Leatherhead as assistant manager, with Darren Beale also joining as first team coach. It was then announced on 18 May 2018 that Miki Hood, who had been part of the club's staff under both

and Adam Flanagan would take on the role of assistant first team coach to complete the club's new-look management team. The club reached the final of the

2019–20 FA Trophy The 2019–20 FA Trophy (known for sponsorship reasons as the Buildbase FA Trophy) was the 51st season of the FA Trophy, an annual football competition for teams at levels 5-8 of the English National League System. The competition consisted o ...

, losing 0–1 to

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town A.F.C. is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed the Sulphurites, due to the ...

in a final played in May 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On 10 May 2021, following the final defeat, Antony Smith stepped down from his role as chairman after twenty one years in the role. A day later, manager Danny Scopes also resigned from his position, with

Lee Minshull Lee Benjamin Minshull (born 11 November 1985) is an English former Professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Chatham, Kent, Minshull played for Charlton Athletic School of Excellence as a youngster. He began his senior ...

resigning from his position of assistant manager on 14 May 2021.

Coaching staff

Players

First team squad

Out on loan

Honours

League

* Isthmian League Premier (Tier 7) **Play-off Winners (1): 2012–13 * Isthmian League Division One North (Tier 8) **Play-off Winners (1): 2009–10

Cups

Cup **Winners (1): 2012–13 *

**Winners (3): 1997–98, 2003–04, 2007–08 * Essex Intermediate League **Winners (1): 1990–91 *

**Winners (3): 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

Records

**First Round 2014–15, 2020–21 *

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

**Runners-up 2019–20 *

**Quarter Finals 2007–08 *Record attendance: 1,537 vs

, FA Cup first round replay, 25 November 2014Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2020) ''Non-League Club Directory 2021'', p527

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 51, 30, 45.151, N, 0, 34, 31.642, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Association football clubs established in 1967 Canvey Island National League (English football) clubs Isthmian League Essex Senior Football League 1967 establishments in England Football clubs in Essex Mid-Essex Football League Essex Olympian Football League