Long Eaton United Football Club is a football club in

Long Eaton Long Eaton is a town in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, just north of the River Trent, about south-west of Nottingham and some 8½ miles (13.7 km) south-east of Derby. The town population was 37,760 at the 2011 census. It has ...

, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Grange Park.

History

Long Eaton St Helens became members of the new Derbyshire Alliance in 1907, the league having been formed as a rebranded Mid-Derbyshire League. The following year they were founder members of the Notts & Derbyshire League, where they played until becoming founder members of the

Central Alliance The Central Alliance was a football league in England, covering the East Midlands. History The league was established in 1911 with twelve clubs, most of which had previously been members of the Notts & Derbyshire League; Derby County Reserve ...

in 1911.The Central Alliance 1911–1925
Non-League Matters They were champions of the league in 1912–13 before being renamed Long Eaton Town in 1914. In 1925 the club joined the

Midland League The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid. History T ...

, but left after two seasons. Long Eaton Town were re-established in July 1949 and joined the Central Alliance, taking over the fixtures of Mansfield Town 'A' during the 1949–50 season.Long Eaton United
Pyramid Passion
Non-League Matters In 1954–55 the club finished bottom of Division One, although they avoided being relegated to Division Two. In 1956 financial problems led to the club being rebranded as Long Eaton United with a new strip and directors replacing a committee.
Long Eaton United F.C. League restructuring also saw the club moved into Division One South of the Central Alliance. They were Division One South runners-up in 1956–57 and champions in 1958–59. Long Eaton United moved up to the Midland League in 1961. The club won the

Derbyshire Senior Cup The Derbyshire County FA Senior Cup is a local county football cup for teams based in the county of Derbyshire. Founded in 1883-1884, the first competition was won by Staveley, who beat Derby Midland 2-1 in the final. 1885-1886 saw Heeley from Y ...

in 1964–65 and again in 1975–76, by which time they had become members of the Premier Division after it gained a second division in 1975, and were Premier Division runners-up the following season. In 1982 the Midland League merged with the Yorkshire League to form the

Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively. History T ...

, with Long Eaton placed in Division One South. After winning Division One South in 1984–85 the club were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1989 Long Eaton left the Northern Counties East League to join the Supreme Division of the

Central Midlands League The Central Midlands Football League is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to its current nam ...

. Despite finishing fifth in the division in their first season, they were demoted to the Premier Division. League reorganisation saw them playing in the Premier Division South in 1991–92 and then the Premier Division again in 1992–93, a season in which they finished fifth and were promoted back to the Supreme Division. After a third-place finish in the Supreme Division in 2001–02, the club moved up to Division One of the Northern Counties East League. Long Eaton were Division One runners-up in 2003–04, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They were runners-up in 2008–09, also winning the League Cup. In 2014 the club transferred to the Premier Division of the new

. In the league's 2014–15 they won the Premier Division Cup, beating Rocester 2–0 in the final.Cup history
Midland League At the end of the 2020–21 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division North of the

United Counties League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckinghamshi ...

Ground

Long Eaton St Helens played at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

, which had previously been used by Long Eaton Rangers. The new Long Eaton Town played at the stadium after their 1949 establishment, but soon relocated to Grange Park on the other side of the road after difficulties dealing with the stadium owners. A terraced stand was built on one side of the pitch, with another stand erected on the other side in 1957, consisting of a roof over earth banking. More cover for spectators was erected next to the new stand using an old

nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of Corrugated galvanised iron, corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British ...

. However, the club was unable to enclose the council-owned ground or erect stands behind the goals amid opposition from local residents who considered it to be a public site. Floodlights were installed in 1998 and the ground was enclosed soon afterwards. A new seated stand, later named the Big Jim Stand, was built on the site of the second stand, with the nissen hut stand replaced with a new covered area. The original stand was also redeveloped and seating installed.

Honours

*United Counties League Premier Division North **Champions 2021-22 *Midlands League **League Cup winners 2014–15 *Northern Counties East League **Division One South champions 1984–85 **League Cup winners 2008–09 *Central Alliance **Champions 1912–13 **Division One South champions 1958–59 *Derbyshire Senior Cup **Winners 1964–65, 1975–76

Records

*Best

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 ...

performance: Third qualifying round, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1976–77, 2021-22 *Best FA Trophy performance: Third qualifying round 1976–77, 1979–80 *Best FA Vase performance: Quarter–finals, 2020–21 *Record attendance: 2,019 vs

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...

, FA Cup third qualifying round, 1970

References

External links