Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Chislehurst, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray, near Orpington. Such a date would make it one of the oldest football clubs in the world. Cray Wanderers play their home games at Flamingo Park.
Cray Wanderers were Kent League champions four times, and have reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup three times in their history. The club currently play in the .
Badge The badge of Cray Wanderers is based on the coat of arms of Orpington Urban District, before the 1965 Greater London expansion, in yellow and black with 'CRAY WANDERERS FC' and 'Founded 1860' encompassing the crest.Cray Wanderers F.C. Football Crests. 15 October 2002. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
Today, the coat of arms of Orpington is no longer used, as it was replaced with the London Borough of Bromley coat of arms. Although Cray Wanderers still use the crest today, recently their badge was altered for a simplified design, which can be found on all digital platforms.Revamped Club Crest / Logo Cray Wanderers Official Website. Crests. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
History
The first origins of Cray Wanderers are linked to the construction of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway line during 1858 to 1860. During their leisure time, migrant workers kicked a ball around, and that is how the club originated in the St Mary Cray village. The pitch at Star Lane is now a cemetery, and is located beneath the nine-arch railway viaduct that spans the Cray Valley. The industrial belt of the River Cray, especially the paper mills, provided much of the club's support up until the 1950s.
Cray Wanderers were a strong force in senior county football at the turn of the century. After being Kent Junior Cup semi-finalists and finalists in 1890–91 and 1891–92, they entered the first ever FA Amateur Cup competition in 1893–94. They had a spell as a professional club between 1895 and 1907. They were a nursery club for Woolwich Arsenal during part of this period. They were one of the founder members of the Kent League in 1894–95, and they won the championship in 1901–02. Other honours included Southern Suburban League champions in 1898–99, West Kent League champions in 1903–04, and Kent Senior Cup runners-up in 1899–1900.
After World War I, Cray switched to the London League where they remained until 1934. In the 1930–31 season, they won the Kent Amateur Cup. Cray rejoined the Kent League in 1934–35, but their four-year stay came to grief when 1936 saw the loss of the Fordcroft ground in Cray Avenue, their home since 1898. Cray were forced to drop into a lower level of football, drifting from one temporary pitch to another while the club committee dwindled to a perilously small number. The team struggled in the South London Alliance and the Kent Amateur League.
In 1936, under Harry Taylor's guidance, the Orpington & District Amateur Boxing Club organised various tournaments to raise funds for Cray Wanderers Football Club, ensuring its survival during the challenging times.
1951-52 heralded a new era, and an upturn in the club's fortunes, when local businessman Mick Slater took over at the helm. The club was elected to the London League and regained its senior status. Cray moved to a new ground at Grassmeade in 1955. Their stay there was a very successful period in the club's history. Drawing extra support from the commuter town of Orpington, they played in the London League and then the Aetolian League. They were three times crowned champions, won the League Cup twice, and also won the Kent Amateur Cup three times.
Cray switched to the semi-professional Metropolitan League for five seasons commencing in 1966–67. In 1971–72, the Met London League was created by a merger of the Metropolitan League and the Greater London League.
Cray moved to Oxford Road in 1973–74. Johnny Biddle and Jimmy Wakeling proved to be successful managers. In 1974/75 Cray won the Met London League and League Cup, scoring 170 goals in all matches that season. In 1976–77 and 1977–78, Cray won the London Spartan League championship.
Cray decided to return to the Kent League in 1978–79. Success came quickly because Cray won the championship in 1980/81, having been runners-up the year before. Their powerful new team under manager Harry Richardson reached the FA Vase quarter-final and 5th round in those two seasons. After that, the 1980s decade brought only one more piece of silverware, the Kent League Cup in 1983–84. After finishing Kent League runners up in 1990/91, Cray had a lean period during most of the 1990s, with the exception of 1992–93 when they won the Kent Senior Trophy.
A new club chairman Gary Hillman arrived in 1994/95 and Ian Jenkins, a Cray player since 1993, was appointed manager in 1999. By now, Cray were tenants of Bromley F.C. As champions of the Kent League in 2002–03 and 2003–04, also reaching the FA Vase quarter-final, they achieved promotion into the Isthmian League Division One.
In the 2007–08 season Cray reached the play-off final after finishing 3rd in the table, but lost to Tooting & Mitcham United 1–0 at Imperial Fields. They also reached the Kent Senior Cup final, played at Hayes Lane on 26 July, where they lost to Ebbsfleet United 4–0. Cray again reached the play-off final the following year, in which they defeated Metropolitan Police 1–0 and were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Cray Wanderers celebrated their 150th anniversary during the summer of 2010, including friendlies against the other two oldest clubs in the world, Sheffield and Hallam, in a three-team tournament.
Ian Jenkins, who had managed the club for 14 years, left in September 2013.Kentishfootball.co.uk Keith Bird and Mike Paye, managers of Bromley's reserve team, were appointed as manager and assistant manager respectively. The team was relegated into the Isthmian League Division One North at the end of April 2014. Gary Abbott and Mike Paye became joint managers of the team at the start of October 2014. On 5 January 2015 the club appointed Tommy Warrilow as the new manager. Warrilow masterminded a dramatic "Great Escape" from a second successive relegation as the team won their last ten games of the season.
Former player Tony Russell took over for the 2015–16 season, guiding the team to fourth place in Division One North. Cray therefore qualified for the promotion play-offs but lost to Harlow Town. Two years later, they reached the play-offs again, this time after finishing 3rd in Division One South, but lost 5–2 to Walton Casuals. On 13 April 2019, Cray secured their return to the Premier Division with a 3–1 win over Ashford United to win the inaugural Division One South-East title.Cray Wanderers 3-1 Ashford United News Shopper. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019. The following season, Cray were challenging for a second successive promotion when the season was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Isthmian League website. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
Neil Smith was appointed as manager towards the end of the 2021–22 seasonCray Wanderers pull off managerial coup with Neil Smith becoming their third manager of the season Kentish Football. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023. and the following year led Cray to the highest league finish in their history (5th). The Wands lost on penalties to Hornchurch in the play-off semi-final.Hornchurch 3-3 Cray Wanderers Kentish Football. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
League history Information taken from club stats book. Season League contested Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Final league position 2024–25 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 18 7 17 58 52 61 10th of 22 2023–24 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 13 11 18 54 66 50 17th of 22 2022–23 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 20 14 8 78 48 74 5th of 22 2021–22 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 10 9 23 64 85 36 19th of 222020–21 Isthmian League Premier Division 7 5 0 2 21 10 15 Season curtailed 2019–20 Isthmian League Premier Division 33 18 10 5 63 45 64 2nd of 22 Season abandoned 2018–19 Isthmian League South East Division 36 25 7 4 79 35 82 1st of 19 Promoted 2017–18 Isthmian League Division One South 46 25 14 7 112 46 89 3rd of 24 2016–17 Isthmian League Division One South 46 19 11 16 88 86 68 11th of 24 2015–16 Isthmian League Division One North 46 27 9 10 98 52 90 4th of 24 2014–15 Isthmian League Division One North 46 14 10 22 77 86 52 16th of 24 2013–14 Isthmian League Premier Division 46 7 5 34 40 137 26 24th of 24 Relegated 2012–13 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 10 13 19 60 85 43 17th of 22 2011–12 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 20 8 14 74 55 68 9th of 22 2010–11 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 20 9 13 72 46 69 9th of 22 2009–10 Isthmian League Premier Division 42 14 9 19 54 70 51 15th of 22 2008–09 Isthmian League Division One South 42 24 7 11 87 54 79 2nd of 22 Promoted 2007–08 Isthmian League Division One South 42 25 11 6 87 42 86 3rd of 22 2006–07 Isthmian League Division One South 42 14 12 16 67 69 54 12th of 22 2005–06 Isthmian League Division One 44 20 8 16 80 74 68 11th of 23 2004–05 Isthmian League Division One 42 19 16 7 95 54 73 6th of 22 2003–04 Kent League 32 22 4 6 88 35 70 1st of 17 Promoted 2002–03 Kent League 29 19 5 5 68 23 62 1st of 16 2001–02 Kent League 30 15 6 9 56 44 51 5th of 16 2000–01 Kent League 32 10 5 17 39 46 35 12th of 17 1999–00 Kent League 34 10 3 21 42 80 33 13th of 18 1998–99 Kent League 36 8 9 19 53 66 35 14th of 19 1997–98 Kent League 42 20 11 11 70 50 71 6th of 22 1996–97 Kent League 40 11 6 23 43 66 39 18th of 21 1995–96 Kent League 38 16 5 17 70 70 50 12th of 20 1994–95 Kent League 40 6 14 20 45 76 32 19th of 21 1993–94 Kent League 40 11 9 20 37 65 42 17th of 21 1992–93 Kent League 40 10 8 22 64 79 38 17th of 21 1991–92 Kent League 40 8 7 25 38 84 31 18th of 21 1990–91 Kent League 40 27 11 2 91 33 92 2nd of 21 1989–90 Kent League 38 7 11 20 48 74 32 18th of 20 1988–89 Kent League 38 19 7 12 67 53 64 7th of 20 1987–88 Kent League 36 16 7 13 72 51 55 7th of 19 1986–87 Kent League 34 12 8 14 56 48 44 10th of 18 1985–86 Kent League 34 9 12 13 34 51 39 14th of 18 1984–85 Kent League 32 17 2 13 59 51 53 5th of 17 1983–84 Kent League 30 14 7 9 66 40 49 4th of 16 1982–83 Kent League 32 12 10 10 65 53 34 8th of 17 1981–82 Kent League 30 13 6 11 51 40 32 8th of 16 1980–81 Kent League 32 24 5 3 92 27 53 1st of 17 1979–80 Kent League 32 20 9 3 80 25 49 2nd of 17 1978–79 Kent League 34 9 9 16 50 65 27 14th of 18