FISHER ATHLETIC HISTORY

Recent Times

These are exciting but uncertain times for Fisher Athletic. Season 2008/09 will mark the club's fifth year in exile at Champion Hill stadium, a ground located almost 5 miles from Fisher's traditional catchment area. The Fish find themselves effectively homeless with a board keen to invite new financial investment but the club remain extremely ambitious and hungry for success. To that end, the board submitted planning permission to build a 7,000 all seater stadium close to Fisher's old ground at Surrey Docks, Rotherithe in Autumn 2007. This multi purpose arena, if given the green light, will act as a platform to propel the club into League football for the first time in it's history. Together with success on the field, the club will possess numerous avenue's of finance to become effectively self sufficient and not reliant on private investment. The board feel these goals are ambitious but realistically attainable. Fisher are currently lobbying for political support and talks with the Southwark Council are ongoing.

On the field, Fisher enjoyed it's most successful campaign in 2007/08 since the 1980's finishing a tremendous fourth place and gate-crashing the play-off positions. The club welcomed back their old manager Wayne Burnett in summer 2007. Fisher's fine football brought a host of Football league scouts to Champion Hill whilst Jeff Goulding became the clubs first ever present England C international winning his debut cap against Wales at Exeter's St James Park. The Fish are fast gaining a reputation for developing player's. A total of 'Eight' first team players went on to secure professional Football League contracts in summer 2008 and the clubs academy is renownd as one of the finest in the south of England. These excellent traditions enforces Fisher's place as one of the top semi-professional clubs in England today.

Introduction

Fisher Athletic was founded in 1908 by the John Fisher Catholic Society whose aim was to provide football facilities for under privileged children in the London district of Bermondsey. The club is named after the Catholic martyr, John Fisher who was Bishop of Rochester, chancellor of Cambridge University and principal tutor to Prince Henry, later Henry VIII in early sixteenth century. The Fish are thus one of the few sports clubs in the world to take their name from a person rather than a place.

Brief History

The club spent the first 70 years of it's existance playing in various local amateur leagues at poorly equiped grounds. It wasn't until 1982 when the club finally moved into the purpose built Surrey Docks Stadium when a golden age for the club began. The stadium with a capacity of nearly 6,000 allowed Fisher to gain promotion to the Vauxhall Conference in 1987 (now Blue Square Premier) where the club competed for four season's until their eventual relegation back to the Southern League in 1991. During this fruitful time for the club, Fisher reached the 1st Round of the FA cup in successive campaigns and won the London Senior Cup three times. Various manager's came and went during the 1990's including Keith 'Rhino' Stevens, Alan Walker and Gary Abbott but this proved to be a frustrating time for the Fish. Fisher gained two promotions during the 1990's to the Southern Premier but were relegated after only one season on both occasions. The club seemed content to meander through the lower reaches of the Southern and later the Ryman until the Muduroglu family took over in 2004. Back to back promotions to the Blue Square South in 2005 and 2006 was immediately consolidated with a top ten finish in 2007, before penalty heartbreak in the 2007/08 play-off's meant Fisher's return to the premier division will have to wait for at least another year.

Club Records:

Attendance: 4,283 v Barnet, GMV Conference 4/5/91

Win: 7-0 v Lewes Sept 95, FA Cup

Defeat: 1-8 v Barnet, GMV Conference 90

Career Goalscorer: Paul Shinners 205

Career Appearances: Dennis Sharp 720

Transfer fee paid: £15,000 for Wesley Thomas (Thurrock 2007)

Transfer fee received: £45,000 for Paul Gorman (Charlton 1991)

Best Season:

FA Cup: 1st Rnd 84-85 (0-1 at home to Bristol City), 88-89 (0-4 at Bristol Rovers)

FA Trophy: Third Round replay 87-88 FA Vase: Second Round replay 82-83

Honours:

Southern Lg 86-87 (R-up 83-84, Southern Div 82-83, Lg Cp 84-85, Championship Cup 87-88, Merit Cup), London Spartan Lg 80-81 81-82 (R-up 78-79, Senior Div 77-78, Div 2 R-Up 76-77), Parthenon Lg 61-62 (Lg Cup 63-64 65-66), Kent Amateur Lg 73-74 74-75 (R-Up 72-73), London Senior Cup 84-85 87-88 88-89 04-05 05-06, London Intermediate Cup 59-60 (R-Up 75-76), Kent Senior Cp 83-84, Kent Senior Trophy 81-82 82-83, Surrey Intermediate Cup 61-62, Isthmian League Cup 05-06, Southern League Eastern Division 1 04-05, Ryman Premier Play-off Winners 05-06

Players progressing:

John Bumstead (Chelsea), Trevor Aylott (Bournemouth), Paul Shinners (Orient 84), Dave Regis (Notts Co. - via Barnet), Paul Gorman(Charlton 91), Sean Devine (Barnet via Okonia Nicossia), George Barry (Leyton Orient), Dean Martin (West Ham Utd.), Jason Lee (Charlton), Ken Charlery (Barnet), Lee Bowyer (Charlton), Steve Watts (Leyton Orient), Damien Scannell (Southend United - 2007), Kieran Murtagh (Yeovil Town 2008), Gavin Tomlin (Yeovil Town 2008), Shaun Batt (Peterborough United 2008), Andre McCollin (Yeovil Town 2008) Nic Plumain (Macclesfield Town 2008), Jeff Goulding (AFC Bournemouth 2008), Wesley Thomas (Dagenham & Redbridge 2008)

Note: The Fish also have a boxing department, which is one of the largest boys boxing clubs in the UK.