Latest News on the 'Foxes'

Monday 14th. April 2008

BILL ROBERTSON

It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of our popular Hon. General Secretary Bill Robertson who died on Sunday 13th. April after being present with us at Cricklefield for the match against Wingate & Finchley on Saturday

His sudden death has come as a great shock to everyone at Ilford Football Club and our thoughts are with his wife Rose and her family.

Many tributes have already been received from other clubs and administrators at various levels of football.

The Club will seek details of the funeral arrangements in the near future.

Monday 14th. April 2008

Ilford, on the 50th. annversary of the Amateur Cup Final against Woking last Saturday hauled themselves off the foot of the Ryman Division One North table with an excellent 3-1 win over Wingate & Finchley. The three points gained hoisted them above Wivenhoe Town and gives them a lifeline to avoid the drop even at this late stage.

Goals from Tom Laxton, Ben Jones and Paul Olima broke the hearts of the visitors who had initially equalised Ben Jones opener just before half-time.

Ilford now face another task this Saturday which probably could not be more difficult as it is against Tilbury the side one place and one point ahead of them in the table.

The day was magnificent for The Foxes as we also staged something of a re-union for the 1958 Wembley side with four members, Henry Dodkins, Eric Cross, Gus Simmons and Sid Castle present at the game along with Tony Hitchcock who played in the early part of the season before emigrating to the United States. Tony who is visiting the "old country" was delighted to have met up with his four playing buddies from so long back, and was also very pleased to see Ilford win as we all were

That we have had some 75,000 hits on our website this season and it hasn't been updated for the best past of six months shows that there is still lots of interest in the club and how we are faring. It has been a very difficult time and during the intervening period since our last update, we have changed managers, seen a whole load of players come and go and other come into replace those who were part of the changes.

Until the middle of March the club looked certain to be relegated, and indeed those who follow the league tables through these pages will kno that we are still in bottom place as we go into the final three weeks of the season, but Oh what a change has been witnessed in our fortunes in the past two to three weeks as we have recorded three wins and a couple of draws to pull uis much closer to the pack above us.

Now there are nine points left in the season to contest with games at home to Wingate & Finchley and Witham Town and a vist to Tilbury to play.

So what has gone on in that intervening six months - for much of the time it was doom and gloom as we decended to the foot of the table and it was inevitable that eventually Manager Kevin Durrant departed from the club after the game on Boxing Day. Kevin felt that he had done all he could in the circumstances and it was by mutual agreement that we parted company with this most hard working and likeable man whom we are delighted to hear is back with another club, after joining forces with another of our former managers, Stuart Margolis at Enfield Town. Kevin will always be welcome at Ilford and indeed he has returned to see his former club in action on several occasions.

The Club moved quickly to replace Kevin with Les Whitton who has been well known in the South Essex area from time spent with several clubs, including Brentwood Town and Romford. Les looked to players who has assisted him in the past to build the nucleus of a new side and very quickly there were five or six new faces. A draw at home to Northwood was later followed by a win against Potters Bar Town and another draw at Waltham Abbey, but then a run of five defeats saw Ilford cast adrift of the pack above them excepting Wivenhoe Town. Then early in March a goalless draw at Wivenhoe signalled another revival.

A spirited win over Brentwood Town in the Essex Thames-side Trophy by an unlikely 5-4 scoreline moved us close to Easter and it was on Easter Saturday that Edgware Town came to Saturday and Ilford finally got back on the winning trail with an excellent 4-1 win over what had been dubbed the meanest defence in the Division. Two days later the Easter holiday was crowned with another victory - our first of the season away from home only by a single goal, but an oh so important one at Waltham Forest with Petric Elbi who had got three on the Saturday getting the strike.

A draw on the last weekend of the month against Aveley carried the momentum on and on the first Saturday in April at Great Wakering Rovers, Ilford again were victorius winning 2-1 against a Rovers side whom we have always found it difficult to beat on their home turf.

Those three remaining games will mean nothing if others around us have successful results themselves, but at least Ilford's results mean that others are looking over their shoulders just a little more nervously during these last three weeks.

And as well as that we have still to go to Canvey Island for the semi-final of the Essex Thames-side Trophy