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Eastbourne Town Football Club is an English football club based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and are currently members of the Southern Combination Premier Division and play at The Saffrons.

Eastbourne Town

Full name	Eastbourne Town Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Town The Townies Blue and Yellows[1]
Founded	19 October 1881; 141 years ago (1881-10-19) (as Devonshire Park FC)
Ground	The Saffrons, Eastbourne
Capacity	3,000 (200 Seated)
Chairman	Dave Shearing
Manager	Jude Macdonald
League	Southern Combination Premier Division
2021–22	Southern Combination Premier Division, 6th of 20
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Founded on 19 October 1881 as Devonshire Park F.C., they are founding members of the Sussex County F.A. in 1882,[2] Southern Amateur Football League in 1907 and the Sussex County Football League in 1920. The club is considered the oldest senior football club in Sussex.

The club is a FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association.[3]

History

See also: List of Eastbourne Town F.C. seasons

Early history (1881-1905)

The Eastbourne Chronicle, dated 13 November 1880 first reported of the formation of Eastbourne United Football Club as a result of the amalgamation between Eastbourne Rovers and Eastbourne FC.[4] The club briefly changed its name to Eastbourne Football Club at a meeting on 5 October 1881.[5] Having failed to secure the use of a ground in South Fields, near to Guildredge Park, permission was sought to play on the grounds of Devonshire Park. Part of the deal was to change the name to Devonshire Park in return the Park Company would supply all match materials and pay travelling expenses to aways games. At a meeting on the 19 October 1881, it was agreed that the club would be known as Devonshire Park F.C.[6]

Currently the club have record that it was founded in 1881 as Devonshire Park Football Club by Rev. Willis[7] as an amateur gentleman's club, named after the original ground they played at now occupied by the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club which is also the venue for the Eastbourne International Tennis tournament. The club held its first general meeting on 19 October 1881.[8] Members of this meeting were formerly associated with Eastbourne Football Club and Eastbourne United Football Club, formed several years earlier as Association Football and Rugby football clubs and had no connection to the current club of the same name today.[9] Mr. A.C. Hillman was elected as the club secretary to manage the team.

The first recorded game was against Clifton House School on 26 October 1881,[8] which was won by Devonshire Park 5–1. The first loss was against New College on 12 November 1881. A game in which Devonshire Park lost 5 - 0.[10] Their first recorded away win was on 26 November 1881 with an away game at Ardingly College, although the game was played in a 'downpour of rain' and the pitch being in a bad state. Devonshire Park won the game by 4 goals to 1.[11] On 23 September 1882, at a meeting in Brighton with other clubs in Sussex, Devonshire Park became one of eleven clubs that formed the Sussex County Football Association[2] with Captain Cardwell being nominated as one of the vice-presidents for the first season. In the same year was the creation of the Sussex Senior Cup, following a dispute with a cup tie Devonshire Park withdrew from the Sussex County FA.[9]

Playing at Devonshire Park for 5 years, with the Tennis club and a Cricket club, they moved to the then newly opened Saffrons Field in 1886 when the tennis became a predominant sport there and the success of the South of England Championships.[12] It has been their home since along with Eastbourne Cricket Club and Eastbourne Hockey Club. In 1888, Devonshire Park re-joined the Sussex FA and competed again in the Sussex Senior Cup, reaching the semi-finals with Burgess Hill

In 1889 the club changed its name to Eastbourne F.C. to reflect the expansion of the town after the railway brought in tourism. Although not in a league, and still an amateur team, they competed in the Sussex Senior Cup reaching the final beating Chichester 4–0. The following season the club founder, Rev. Willis was elected as the club secretary and the senior cup was done on a league basis in which Eastbourne won, playing 15 games, winning 14 and drawing a game with Chichester.[9] Eastbourne reached the Sussex Senior Cup final ten times between 1889 and 1903, winning eight times in that period.[13] Around the turn of the century, Eastbourne played professional teams such as Woolwich Arsenal,[14] Derby County[15] and West Ham United. It has been recorded that Eastbourne played and won in two international tournaments, In 1904 the 'Meeting du Nouvel' and in 1909 the Challenge International du Nord, both cups were invitations for amateur clubs to compete in. David Noakes took over as the club secretary from Rev. Willis in 1906.

Amateur Football League (1907-1976)

Southern Amateur League (1907-1946)

In 1907 the club split from the Football Association, as they didn't recognise amateur clubs, at a meeting on 25 July 1907, the club committee decided to join the Amateur Football Association[16] and became founding members of the Southern Amateur Football League, along with Ipswich Town, they remained in the league until 1946, winning the Sussex Senior Cup[12] a further three times in that period. In 1909 Eastbourne were invited to play in the Challenge International du Nord, a competition for amateur teams in both England and France, reaching the final after beating Le Havre AC 2–0, the final was played in front of 2,000 spectators against RC Roubaix and Eastbourne won 5–0. Town entered the competition in December 1909 but withdrew after a dispute with their opponents and at Christmas hosted Paris University, winning 10–1, the following Easter Red Star Paris visited and beat Eastbourne 8–1. On Boxing Day 1910 Eastbourne were defeated 3–2 to Racing Club Paris.

In 1920, the Town was one of the founding teams of the Sussex County Football League. Finishing third in the 1920-21 season and finishing 8th in the Southern Amateur league the same season.[17][18] They returned fully committed to the Southern Amateur Football League, winning the league twice in 1923 and 1926, and in four consecutive seasons reaching the AFA Senior Cup final, winning the trophy twice, Beating Ealing Association 1–0 in 1922 and 2–0 1925. Also winning the Sussex Senior Cup in 1922.

April 1931 saw the retirement of David Noakes[19] who had managed the club for the past 25 years and his role was taken over by the club captain Mr. W. S. Grevett. In his first two seasons he lifted the Sussex Senior Cup twice and the Sussex RUR Cup in 1933 at their first attempt, but still struggled in the Southern Amateur League, finishing mid table in most seasons. At the end of the 1937–38 season, Eastbourne were relegated[20] into Division 2 A, but came back up the following season after winning the league.[21] The second World War brought a halt to the league and regular friendly fixtures being played, Eastbourne played the 1939–40 season in the Sussex County league, and came sixth in the Eastern Division. 1943 saw their heaviest defeat with an army team. The Southern Amateur League restarted in 1945. The 1945–46 season saw Eastbourne finish 5th in the table.[22]

Corinthian and Athenian Leagues (1946-1976)

In 1946 Eastbourne left the Southern Amateur League and joined the Corinthian League, another amateur football league for teams based in the south of England. Attendances averaged around 3000 and the ground was improved, the pitch moved closer to the cricket ground to allow the Town Hall side to be terraced. Town won the R.U.R Cup twice again in 1948 and in 1950 under manager W.E. Collings but were sadly hovering around mid-table around that period. In December 1950, defender Eric Beardsley became the club's first Amateur International player being selected to play for the England Amateur Team against the Republic of Ireland on 6 January 1951. Sadly he lasted 4 minutes of his debut when he broke his ankle.[23] In June 1951, Collings resigned from his role as manager after 9 years.[24]

The 1950s saw George Duke, a professional coach between 1949 and 1954, and manager Bob Baker, winning the Sussex Senior Cup in 1953, the last time Eastbourne won this competition. Both were found guilty along with other officials in the club in a fraud conspiracy where amateur players were being paid more than the F.A. amateur salary cap. Duke was banned from football and football management for a period of one year and the club was fined £50.[25] The club recorded their highest attendance on 10 October 1953, when 7,378[26] spectators watched local rivals Hastings United play in the FA Cup 2nd Qualifying round. Eastbourne lost the game 7–2. 1954 saw Scottish born Alex White, a former Chelsea Defender briefly manage the team until the end of the season and George Skinner taking over from June 1954 until 1959, later becoming the chief coach for the Sussex FA and later the national coach for Libya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.

Skinner left in the summer of 1959 and was replaced by Jock McGuire who lifted the Sussex Intermediate Cup for the first time at the end of the season and was replaced by Don Gold who the previous season was coaching the minors team and played for the Town for years before that. Whilst in charge in 1961 saw another milestone in the club's history. A game versus Moulsecoomb Rovers in the FA Amateur Cup saw the Town win 13–1,[27] a feat that has yet to be beaten. Town were finishing around mid-table at this point. In 1963 the Corinthian League merged with the Athenian League[28] and placed in the first division for the first three seasons before being relegated into the second division. Town again were finishing around mid-table. 1967 Town reached the 4th Qualifying Round of the F.A. Cup but lost at home to a strong Margate side 9–0, finished that season in 15th. Town missed out on promotion in the 1968–69 season and finished 3rd by four points, and again nearly reached the 1st round proper of the F.A. Cup drawing Canterbury City 2–2 at the Saffrons in the 4th Qualifying Round, but losing the replay 4–2.

1969–70 season saw success in the A.F.A. Invitation Cup but finished 4th in the league and in 1971 the club being nicknamed as the "town club" for over 80 years, became Eastbourne Town F.C. their present name today. Town reached the finals of the 1971–72 Sussex Senior Cup losing 1–0 to Ringmer at the Goldstone Ground. Attendances were sadly falling in this period, although reaching the 5th round of the FA Vase in the 1975–76 season, the club resigned from the Athenian League at the end of that season as became uneconomic to remain.

Sussex County League (1976–2007)

Joining the Sussex County Football League for the second time in the 1976–77 season,[29] the team was placed in Division 1 and won the title, a year later they reached the Sussex Senior Cup final losing 4–0 to Worthing at the Goldstone Ground, a regular fixture for the cup between 1952 and 1995. Onwards in the league for 20 years between 1980 and 2000, Town saw 14 different managers and were quite quiet in the Sussex County League. Usually finishing around mid-table. In 1985 Town seemed stronger finishing 3rd in the table and reaching the semi-finals of the R.U.R. Cup. The 1985–86 season Town finished 3rd again, but won the R.U.R Cup which then won again the following season. After which Town were quiet again, finishing in the top five the following two seasons before going back to finishing in the lower half of the table. They nearly missed out relegation in the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons finishing 17th both seasons and the 1990s were no improvement to the team. Towards the end of the decade, a joint management team with Rob Thorley and ex-Langney Sports manager Peter Cherry seemed to improve the team but had a shock in the 2000–01 season when Town were relegated for the first ever time into Division Two, along with Lancing and East Preston. With manager Dave Winterton at the helm, Division Two only lasted two seasons, finishing 4th in 2002. The summer of 2002 saw Yemi Odubade sign for Eastbourne Town having moved from Nigeria and became a prolific goal scorer alongside Gary Brockwell contributed to Town's then record of 97 goals in the league but were runners up at the end of the 2002–03 season by 3 points to Rye & Iden and returned to Division 1. Yemi was also top scorer the following season and left in the summer of 2004 when Yeovil Town took an interest in his 70 plus goals in his two seasons at Town, who finished that season in 5th place. Yemi was clearly missed in the 2004–05 season when Town dropped form and Dave Winterton was sacked by the Town board in January 2005, for his aggression to match officials[30] and was replaced by Adrian Colwell 18 days later, finishing the season in 10th place.

Isthmian League (2007–2014)

The 2006–07 season saw them County League champions[31] for the second time in their history, 30 years after the previous time, securing the title by defeating Oakwood F.C. 6–1 away and earning promotion to the Isthmian League Division 1 South. Eastbourne Town survived the first season in the Isthmian League, finishing 18th with 44 points. Danny Bloor replaced Colwell as manager in 2009 and finished the 2008–09 season 13th in the table. In the 2009–10 season, the club finished bottom of the table with just 6 wins, however they were reprieved from relegation when Ashford Town went into administration, Folkestone Invicta and Croydon Athletic both being promoted into the Isthmian Premier Division and a knock on effect from Merthyr Tydfil being expelled from the Southern League and liquidating.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2012–13 season Bloor hired ex Eastbourne Borough manager Gary Wilson as his assistant manager,[32] but Town finished the season 11th in the table, the highest finishing position to date.[29] Bloor left the club in June 2013[33] and the club saw two different managers over six months. Kevin Laundon between June and August and Tony Reid from August to January 2014.[34] John Lambert took over in January 2014[35] but after seven seasons, Eastbourne Town were relegated back into the Sussex County League at the end the 2013–14 season.

Southern Combination League (2014-present)

Town came 4th in the Sussex County League Division 1 in 2014–15 season, and reached the quarter finals of the Peter Bentley League Cup, but Town did have success in winning the RUR Cup final scoring two late goals against a 10-man Loxwood. [36]

The 2015–16 season, the Sussex County Football League was renamed and became the Southern Combination League (SCFL) and what was Division 1 became the Premier Division. The 2015–16 season saw Eastbourne finish in 2nd place in the league and reach the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Cup for the first time in 47 years.[37] At this point attendances started to rise as a new fanbase started. The 2016-17 and 2017–18 seasons not only saw Eastbourne Town finish 5th in the table but achieve a successful run in the FA Vase by reaching the 4th round on both occasions, losing to Crowborough Athletic and Windsor. The 2018–19 season saw them being knocked out by Abbey Rangers F.C. in the third round, which led them to concentrate the rest of the season on league results, finishing the season 3rd place and reaching the quarter finals of the Sussex Senior Cup, losing to Brighton & Hove Albion Under 23 squad and a tight game which went into extra time.

The 2019–20 season started with more success, by November the Town were unbeaten in the league drawing only two games. Although had been knocked out of the League and Sussex Senior Cups, they were still in the FA Vase beating Windsor 7–1 in the second round. By the end of November, Town had lost two league games, to Lancing and to Crawley Down and again knocked out of the 3rd round of the FA Vase in a tight game away at Leighton Town. By the end February Town were sitting around 3rd place in the table and reached the finals of the Sussex RUR Cup beating Lancing 2–0. In March the league was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the league was abandoned with all results expunged on 26 March 2020, including the RUR Cup final.[38]

The 2020–21 season started on 5 September 2020, a late start due to the COVID-19 pandemic with only one league cup to compete in, the Sussex Senior Cup. The FA Cup and FA Vase was also played with Eastbourne being knocked out the Preliminary and First Rounds respectively. The season was also halted between 5 November and 2 December as the United Kingdom had a 4 week lockdown. The season briefly restarted but was again halted on 22 December with the season never to restart again. A supplementary shield competition was played in April 2021 with the main league curtailed. Normality was restored in the 2021–22 season, however Town finished 6th place and manager John Lambert and his assistant Jamie Podmore decided to step down from first team management.

On 19 May 2022, it was announced that former Whitehawk manager, Jude Macdonald, would take over as first team manager.[39]

Colours and Badge

Club crest

The club crest is mostly based on the Eastbourne coat of arms. As with all the other Eastbourne sports teams who use the same basis of the town crest, with the exception of rival team Eastbourne United also used the same town crest until their merger with Shinewater Association in 2003. And Eastbourne Borough, who have their own crest. Over the years the club crest has had different colour versions. For a while the crest was in blue and yellow instead of the red and white as used by the town council and the Hockey and Rugby clubs in the town, but reverted back in 2019.

• The red bars being from the Badlesmere family landowners of the Eastbourne area and residing in Bourne Place, now known as Compton Place in the 14th century.
• The stags heads from the Arms of the Duke of Devonshire, the principle landowners of Eastbourne, notably the landowners of The Saffrons.
• The Rose and visor from the Arms of the Davies-Gilbert family, another large landowner of the town.

The Seahorse above the crest to resemble Eastbourne as a coastal town.

Both the Devonshire and Davies-Gilbert families contributed in developing Eastbourne in the 1850s. The motto 'MELIORA SEQUIMUR' is translated to "We follow the better things", also on the Eastbourne Coat of arms.

Football Kits

The club's colours have mainly been yellow and blue, the colours that represent the county of Sussex.[1] The club originally played in yellow and blue halves until just before the 1960s when the team played in yellow shirts with variations over the years.

1881–1958[40]

1960s until 1990s

Circa 1999

Circa 2010

2012–2014

2017–2019

2019–2021 [41]

2021–2022

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit supplier	Shirt sponsor
1881–1985	Unknown	None
1985–1986		Holmes & Leadbitter
1986–1988		Stone Carpets
1988–1990		Maybank of Newhaven
1991-92		Stone Carpets
1993–1998		Eastbourne Car Auctions
1999–2000		Trident Fish Restaurant
2000-2004		Owen Contractors
2004-2007	Prostar Sports
2007–2010	Nike
2010–2011		D J Eade Jewellers
2011–2014	MKK Sports	Sussex Business Times
2014–2015	Nike	McDonald's
2015–2017	Macron	UK Packaging[42]
2017–2019	Errea
2019–2022	Macron
2022-Present		UK Packaging (Away shirt)
	Umbro	Coleman Plant Hire (Home shirt)

Ground

Devonshire Park (1881–1886)

Originally a cricket ground, Devonshire Park opened its gates in 1874, with Tennis courts added in 1879. Devonshire Park FC being formed in 1881, played on a grass pitch here the same time the South of England Championships tournament started.

The first recorded game played here by Devonshire Park was on 12 November 1881 versus New College,[10] a game which Devonshire Park lost 5 - 0.

After 5 years as the tournament became popular, both the football team and cricket team moved 500 meters northwest to the newly opened Saffrons Field.

Devonshire Park is still open and is the current venue for the annual Eastbourne International tennis tournament.

The Saffrons (1886–present)

Eastbourne Town currently play their home games at The Saffrons, Compton Place Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1EA. Located in Eastbourne town centre, a 5-minute walk from Eastbourne Railway Station.

Eastbourne Town have played football here since 1886, when the then Devonshire Park Football Club moved grounds from their former namesake (now the venue for the Eastbourne International tennis tournament).

The ground is enclosed with a cricket pitch, hockey pitch and grass bowls surrounding three sides of the ground, all of which share a clubhouse. There is a capacity limit of 3,000 spectators and seating for 200. The gate house at the Meads Road end was built in 1914. 1994 Also saw the main stand and floodlights installed. There is also an uninterrupted view of the Town Hall, the chimes are often heard during home games.

Supporters

First reference of the Eastbourne Supporters Club goes back to September 1930 when the club reported growing membership numbers.[43] The club was formed to encourage its supporters to visit games at home buy introducing season tickets and arranging transport to away games. By September 1937 membership was noted at 148 members and slowly growing.[44] By June 1951 the membership was totalled at 949 members.[45] Numbers dropped in the 1970s.

In the present day Eastbourne Town's support now includes two main supporters groups Pier Pressure and the Beachy Head Ultras. Started in 2015, the groups follow the European ultras tradition and were formed by local fans disengaged with modern professional football.[46] The club's supporters groups have regularly backed anti-discrimination and anti-homophobia initiatives, amongst many other initiatives within the community.[47] Pier Pressure have strong links with the Whitehawk Ultra's and both groups regularly visit each other's games. There has also been similar links with the supporters of Dulwich Hamlet and Clapton Community.

Pier Pressure are often heard at both home and away games, often with drums, big flags and unique chanting. An occasional saxophone makes an appearance at certain games. A youth section was formed during the 2018–19 season, with kids from local schools, who make use of the free entry, join in. Bringing in their own drums and flags for support.

The groups have gained attention for their graphic work for the club (programmes, merchandising and promotional posters) using an eclectic range of visuals relating to Eastbourne including Throbbing Gristle's 20 Jazz Funk Greats, co-author of the Communist Manifesto; Friedrich Engels (whose ashes were scattered in the town) and Aleister Crowley (who edited a Chess column for the local newspaper).[48][49]

Eastbourne Town often has games where over 100 people attend. In March 2019 it was noted that Eastbourne Town, along with Peacehaven & Telscombe, were 8th in the top 13 Non-league Sussex clubs with the highest attendance. The average standing at 257.[50]

Rivals

Eastbourne is one of very few towns to have three senior teams. The highest ranked of these, Eastbourne Borough, who play in the National League South aren't considered as rivals since they compete at a considerably higher level. The other, Eastbourne United, play in the Southern Combination Premier League with Eastbourne Town. Local team Little Common, who are some 10 miles away near Bexhill. ground shared with Eastbourne United until 2022. Until 2021 Langney Wanderers were another rival team until the club folded

Eastbourne Derby

For many years, the unofficial named Eastbourne Derby has been played between Eastbourne Town and Eastbourne United, often attracting big crowds. The first competitive meeting between the two clubs was in 1920 in the East Sussex Challenge Cup between Eastbourne (Town) and Eastbourne Royal Engineers Old Comrades (United). Eastbourne won the game 2–1 in front of a crowd of 3,671 spectators at The Saffrons. During the 2018–19 at the Boxing Day fixture saw a record crowd in the 21st century of 856 people. The game was won by Eastbourne Town 5 goals to nil. Currently 32 league games and 64 cup games have been played between the two clubs.

League Meetings

Season	League division		Eastbourne Town vs Eastbourne United					Eastbourne United vs Eastbourne Town
			Date	Venue	Score	Attend.		Date	Venue	Score	Attend.
1939–40	Sussex County Eastern Division		18 November 1939	The Saffrons	2–2			13 January 1940	Lynchmere	1–4
1966–67	Athenian League Division 2		27 March 1967	The Saffrons	0–2	2,010		27 August 1966	The Oval	2–0	1,620
1975–76	Athenian League Division 2		19 August 1975	The Saffrons	1–2	550		27 December 1975	The Oval	2–0
1998–99	Sussex County Division 1		14 October 1999	The Saffrons	0–1			16 February 1999	The Oval	1–1
1999–00	Sussex County Division 1		15 September 1999	The Saffrons	2–2			6 May 2000	The Oval	2–3
2000–01	Sussex County Division 1		26 December 2000	The Saffrons	1–1			16 April 2001	The Oval	3–1
2002–03	Sussex County Division 2		21 April 2003	The Saffrons	5–1			26 December 2002	The Oval	0–3
2004–05	Sussex County Division 1		27 December 2004	The Saffrons	2–5	368		28 March 2005	The Oval	0–1	367
2005–06	Sussex County Division 1		17 April 2006	The Saffrons	1–1	347		26 December 2005	The Oval	2–1	262
2006–07	Sussex County Division 1		26 December 2006	The Saffrons	2–0	323		9 April 2007	The Oval	1–2	355
2014–15	Sussex County Division 1		27 December 2014	The Saffrons	1–0	408		6 April 2015	The Oval	0–0	225
2015–16	Southern Combination Premier		28 March 2016	The Saffrons	0–0	427		28 December 2015	The Oval	0–1	357
2016–17	Southern Combination Premier		17 April 2017	The Saffrons	4–1	563		26 December 2016	The Oval	1–3	463
2017–18	Southern Combination Premier		26 December 2017	The Saffrons	8–1	674		17 April 2018	The Oval	3–5	210
2018–19	Southern Combination Premier		26 December 2018	The Saffrons	5–0	856		23 April 2019	The Oval	1–3	410
2021–22	Southern Combination Premier		5 February 2022	The Saffrons	0–1	561		18 April 2022	The Oval	2–0	485
Overall			Town Wins	Draws	United Wins			United Wins	Draws	Town Wins
			6	5	5			5	2	9

Cup Games

Season	Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Competition	Attendance
1919–20	1 May 1920	Eastbourne	2–1	Eastbourne Royal Engineers Old Comrades	The Saffrons	East Sussex Challenge Cup Final	3,671
1920–21	22 January 1921	Eastbourne	0–2	Eastbourne Royal Engineers Old Comrades	The Saffrons	East Sussex Challenge Cup Semi Final	2,200
1922–23	6 January 1923	Eastbourne Royal Engineers Old Comrades	1–0	Eastbourne	Lynchmere	Sussex Senior Cup 2nd Round	3,230
1925–26	27 February 1926	Eastbourne	3–1	Eastbourne Old Comrades	The Saffrons	Sussex Senior Cup 3rd Round	4,350
1929–30	9 November 1929	Eastbourne	1–0	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	FA Amateur Cup 3rd Qualifying	4,170
1931–32	18 April 1932	Eastbourne	2–4	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Semi Final	2,500
1932–33	17 December 1932	Eastbourne	2–1	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Semi Final	2,031
1934–35	17 April 1935	Eastbourne	2–3	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	2,000
1935–36	29 April 1936	Eastbourne	2–0	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	1,774
1936–37	28 April 1937	Eastbourne	2–0	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	1,800
1937–38	27 April 1938	Eastbourne	0–1	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final
1938–39	8 October 1938	Eastbourne Comrades	4–2	Eastbourne	Lynchmere	FA Amateur Cup 1st Qualifying	1,620
	1 May 1939	Eastbourne	2–0	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final
1939–40	28 April 1940	Eastbourne	3–6	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final
1947–48	28 April 1948	Eastbourne	3–3	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	3,000
1948–49	15 September 1948	Eastbourne	7–1	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final Replay
	13 November 1948	Eastbourne	4–4	Eastbourne Comrades	The Saffrons	Sussex Senior Cup 1st Round	4,000
	20 November 1948	Eastbourne Comrades	0–4	Eastbourne	The Oval	Sussex Senior Cup 1st Round Replay	3,880
1949–50	8 October 1949	Eastbourne Comrades	0–1	Eastbourne	The Oval	FA Amateur Cup 1st Qualifying Round	4,380
1952–53	7 May 1953	Eastbourne	2–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final
1953–54	16 January 1954	Eastbourne	2–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Sussex Senior Cup 3rd Round	4,200
1954–55	18 September 1954	Eastbourne	3–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	FA Amateur Cup Preliminary Round	4,000
1955–56	14 September 1955	Eastbourne	1–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	3,471
	7 May 1956	Eastbourne United	6–0	Eastbourne	The Oval	Sussex RUR Cup Final	6,600
1960–61	11 February 1961	Eastbourne United	3–1	Eastbourne	The Oval	Sussex Senior Cup 3rd Round	2,242
1961–62	10 February 1962	Eastbourne	0–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Sussex Senior Cup 3rd Round	2,594
	16 April 1962	Eastbourne	1–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	785
1962–63	9 May 1963	Eastbourne	4–3 a.e.t.	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	1,603
1964–65	26 April 1965	Eastbourne	1–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final	997
1966–67	1 May 1967	Eastbourne	1–4	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	1,201
1967–68	30 September 1967	Eastbourne	2–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	FA Cup 2nd Qualifying [18]	1,721
1968–69	19 October 1968	Eastbourne United	2–3	Eastbourne	The Oval	FA Cup 3rd Qualifying [18]	1,600
	21 April 1969	Eastbourne	2–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Semi Final	682
1969–70	18 March 1970	Eastbourne United	2–0	Eastbourne	The Oval	Round Table Trophy Leg 1	800
	8 April 1970	Eastbourne	0–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Round Table Trophy Leg 2
1970–71	19 September 1970	Eastbourne United	1–3	Eastbourne	The Oval	FA Cup 1st Qualifying [29]	793
	28 March 1971	Eastbourne United	2–2 5–6 p	Eastbourne	The Oval	Round Table Trophy Semi Final	600
1971–72	11 September 1971	Eastbourne Town	0–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	FA Amateur Cup Preliminary Round	1,012
	12 April 1972	Eastbourne United	1–0	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Round Table Trophy 1st Led
	22 April 1972	Eastbourne Town	0–2	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Round Table Trophy 2nd Leg
1972–73	21 October 1972	Eastbourne United	3–2 a.e.t.	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Athenian League Cup 2nd Round	510
1973–74	9 May 1974	Eastbourne Town	0–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup Final
1977–78	17 December 1977	Eastbourne Town	0–2	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	FA Vase 3rd Round [29]	497
1978–79	7 May 1979	Eastbourne Town	0–2	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	526
1979–80	5 May 1980	Eastbourne Town	0–3	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	600
1980–81	1 May 1981	Eastbourne Town	0–0 a.e.t.	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	400
1981–82	3 May 1982	Eastbourne Town	2–1 a.e.t.	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	850
1982–83	2 May 1983	Eastbourne Town	2–2 7–8 p	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	550
1983–84	6 August 1983	Eastbourne United	1–0	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	County Cup Group Stage	300
	14 August 1983	Eastbourne United	1–2 a.e.t.	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	County Cup Final	600
	7 May 1984	Eastbourne Town	1–2	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	500
1984–85	1 August 1984	Eastbourne United	0–2	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	County Cup Group Stage	300
	12 August 1984	Eastbourne United	0–1	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	County Cup Final	450
	6 May 1985	Eastbourne Town	0–1	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Eastbourne Charity Cup	700
1985–86	5 August 1985	Eastbourne United	2–1	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Borough Centenary Cup Group Stage	200
	11 August 1985	Eastbourne United	3–2	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Borough Centenary Cup Final	300
1986–87	8 August 1986	Eastbourne United	1–1	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Borough Centenary Cup Group Stage
	25 August 1986	Eastbourne United	3–5 a.e.t.	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Borough Centenary Cup Final
1990–91	13 August 1990	Eastbourne United	0–2	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	John Gower Memorial Trophy
1991–92	10 August 1991	Eastbourne United	3–0	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	John Gower Memorial Trophy
1995–96	3 October 1995	Eastbourne United	2–1	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Sussex County League Cup	100
2001–02	26 Septbember 2001	Eastbourne United	2–1	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Sussex Senior Cup 1st Round	121
2006–07	3 November 2006	Eastbourne United	2–0	Eastbourne Town	The Oval	Sussex RUR Cup 3rd Round	326
2010–11	8 December 2010	Eastbourne Town	4–0	Eastbourne United	The Saffrons	Sussex Senior Cup 2nd Round	80

Town wins	Draws	United wins
30	4	30

Players

Current squad

Correct as of 29 October 2022[51]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ENG Chris Winterton — DF  ENG Isiah Carter — DF  ENG Frankie Chappell — DF  ENG Lloyd Cotton — DF  ENG Harvey Greig — DF  ENG Leon Greig — DF  ENG Nathan Hover — DF  ENG Freddie Legg (on loan from Hastings United) — DF  ENG Harry Simmons — MF  ENG Adam Davidson — MF  ENG Ronnie Galt

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Jack Samways — MF  ENG Anesu Sisimayi — MF  ENG James Waters — MF  ENG Mykee-D Worman — FW  ENG Tyler Capon — FW  ENG Oliver Davies (on loan from Burgess Hill Town) — FW  ENG Delwin Duah — FW  ENG Cobi Fuller — FW  ENG Fletcher Holman — FW  ALB Louis Veneti

Notable former players

Club officials

Source:[52]

Boardroom staff

Position	Name
Chairman	Dave Shearing
Vice Chairman	Ross Perrin
President	Chris Backhurst
Vice President	Tony Guarino
General & Match Secretary	Richard Marsh
Commercial Manager	David Jenkins
Social Secretary	Luci Del-gaudio
Social Media	Josh Claxton Ed Copping

Coaching staff

Position	Name
Manager	Jude Macdonald
Assistant Manager	Ben Davis
First Team Coaches	Matt Elphick
Goalkeeping Coach	Dave Winterton
Under-18 and 23 Manager	Mark Simpson
Under-18 and 23 Assistant Manager	Paul Parks
Under-18 and 23 Coach	Steve Doidge
Ladies Manager	Rick Tate
Physio	Vicki McFarlane

Management history

Between 1881 and 1942 Eastbourne Town managers were known as Secretaries,[53] nominated at each Annual General Meeting. after which they were known as Managers. A.C. Hillman was nominated as the first secretary[8] for Devonshire Park Football Club. He was elected for nine years until the club founder, Rev. W Willis, took over for a further 16 years. A year before Eastbourne joined the Southern Amateur League, David Noakes was elected and is currently the clubs only long serving secretary holding the position for nearly 25 years before the role was handed to W.S. Grevett who held the role for a further 11 years until 1942.

After which the role was called Manager or Head Coach. W.E. Collings was the first to be hired as a manager followed by George Duke who was the first professional coach to manage Eastbourne. George Skinner managed Eastbourne between 1954 and 1959 and became the head coach of the Libya, Jordan and Saudi Arabia national teams during the 1960s.

Key

• League matches only. M = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; Win % = percentage of total matches won
•    Managers with this background and symbol in the "Name" column are italicised to denote caretaker appointments.
•    Managers with this background and symbol in the "Name" column are italicised to denote caretaker appointments promoted to full-time manager.

Stats as of 29 October 2022.

Name	Nationality	From	To	Duration	M	W	D	L	Win %	Honors	Notes
A.C. Hillman	England	26 October 1881	1890	9 Years	—	—	—	—	—	Sussex Senior Cup Winners: 1889–90	[8]
Rev William Willis	Ireland	1890	1906	16 Years	—	—	—	—	—	Sussex Senior Cup Winners: 1890–91, 1893–94, 1894–95, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1902–03 Tournoi du Novel An Paris Winners: 1904 Eastbourne Charity Cup Winners: 1897–98, 1899–1900
David Noakes	England	10 September 1906	30 April 1931	24 years, 232 days	395	192	62	141	048.61	Southern Amateur League Division 1 Champions: 1922–23 1925–26 AFA Senior Cup Winners: 1921–22 1924–25 Sussex Senior Cup Winners: 1921–22 Challenge International du Nord Winners: 1909 Eastbourne Charity Cup Winners 1909–10	[54][19]
W.S. Grevett	England	1931	1942	11 Years	186	69	32	85	037.10	Sussex Senior Cup Winners: 1931–32 1932–33 Sussex RUR Cup Winners: 1932–33	[55]
W.E. Collings	England	1942	13 June 1951	9 Years	140	49	22	69	035.00	Sussex RUR Cup Winners: 1947–48, 1949–50	[24]
Robert Baker	England	14 June 1951	20 July 1953	2 years, 36 days	52	16	14	22	030.77	Sussex Senior Cup Winners: 1952–53	[56]
George Duke	England	21 July 1953	21 February 1954	215 days	13	7	2	4	053.85		[25][57]
Alex White	Scotland	23 February 1954	29 June 1954	126 days	13	4	3	6	030.77		[58]
George Skinner	England	30 June 1954	29 June 1959	4 years, 364 days	136	33	33	70	024.26		[59]
Jock McGuire	Scotland	1 July 1959	14 August 1960	1 year, 44 days	30	8	4	18	026.67	Sussex Intermediate Cup Winners: 1959–60	[60]
Don Gold	England	15 August 1960	30 April 1962	1 year, 289 days	60	18	12	30	030.00		[61]
Bob Mallen	England	1 May 1962	16 May 1964	2 years, 15 days	56	14	8	34	025.00		[61][62]
Jack Boyd	Scotland	4 July 1964	11 September 1965	1 year, 69 days	34	9	9	16	026.47		[63]
Alan Cornwall	England	12 September 1965	31 May 1966	261 days	26	6	3	17	023.08
William Booth	England	1 June 1966	7 May 1968	1 year, 355 days	60	14	8	38	023.33		[64]
Melton "Taffy" Jones	Wales	14 May 1968	22 April 1972	3 years, 326 days	120	51	32	37	042.50	A.F.A Invitation Cup Winners: 1969–70	[65]
Roger Savage	England	1972	1978	6 Years	174	70	39	65	040.23	Sussex County League Division 1 Champions: 1976–77
Keith Giles	England	1979	1980
Peter Andrews	England	1980	1981
Doug Pearson	England	1981	1981
Roger Addems	England	1981	1984
Trevor Woods	England	1984	16 October 1986							Sussex RUR Cup Winners: 1985–86
Jeff Dyson	England	17 October 1986	1986								[66]
Brian Donnelly	England	1986	1988							Sussex RUR Cup Winners: 1986–87
Godrey Stevens	England	1988	1988	3 Months
Jim Stevens	England	1989	1980
Don Guy	England	1990	1991
Roger Cooper	England	1991	1993
Peter Roberts	England	1993	1994	6 Months
John Kemp	England	1994	1994
John Lambert	England	1995	1995	3 Months
Rob Thorley & Peter Cherry [lower-alpha 1]	England	1995	21 May 2001		190	61	48	81	032.11		[67]
Dave Winterton	England	29 June 2001	4 January 2005	3 years, 189 days	124	71	22	31	057.26	Sussex Intermediate Cup Winners: 2003–04	[68][30]
Jon Purdey	England	4 January 2005	22 January 2005	18 days	2	1	0	1	050.00		[69]
Adrian Colwell	England	22 January 2005	30 December 2009	4 years, 342 days	192	86	38	68	044.79	Sussex County League Division 1 Champions: 2006–07	[69]
Danny Bloor	England	30 December 2009	14 June 2013	3 years, 166 days	146	41	38	67	028.08	Sussex Intermediate Cup Winners: 2010–11	[70]
Kevin Launden	England	14 June 2013	21 August 2013	68 days	4	0	1	3	000.00		[33]
Tony Reid	England	22 August 2013	10 January 2014	141 days	20	3	6	11	015.00		[34][71]
Sammy Donnelly	England	10 January 2014	13 January 2014	3 days	1	0	1	0	000.00		[71][35]
John Lambert [lower-alpha 2]	England	13 January 2014	23 April 2022	8 years, 100 days	290	163	55	72	056.21	Sussex RUR Cup Winners: 2014–15	[35][36][72]
Jude Macdonald	England	19 May 2022	Present	180 days	14	5	4	5	035.71		[39]

Other teams

The club runs two FA Chartered youth teams and a ladies team:[73]

• Eastbourne Town Under 18's competing in the Southern Combination Under 18 (East) League
• Eastbourne Town Under 23's competing in the Southern Combination Under 23 (East) League
• Eastbourne Town Women, competing in the London and South East Women's Regional Football League

Eastbourne Town also run several other younger age group youth teams after a merger in 2010/11 with Old Town Boys F.C. OTBFC were established in 1983.

Honours

First team

Reserve / Under-23's team

Club records

Player records

References

External links

• Official website
• Eastbourne at the Football Club History Database
• Eastbourne Town at the Football Club History Database

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