The FA Carlsberg Trophy
Preliminary Round
Saturday 7 October 2006
Winning Club's receive £1,000



Enfield of the Ryman League Division One North won the FA Trophy in 1982 and 1988. They entertain Corinthian Casuals in the Preliminary Round of the competition on Saturday. Enfield's chairman Steve Whittington discusses his club's fortunes.

Steve, you have an FA Trophy tie coming up against Corinthian Casuals. How much are you looking forward to it?

Very much so. Enfield and Corinthian Casuals are two old clubs steeped in history. So we will be delighted to play them. And we are looking to have a good run this season in the Trophy. It would be marvellous for prestige and also financially.

Your club has a very good pedigree in the FA Trophy. You won it twice in the 80’s and it is 25 years since your first Wembley victory isn’t it?

Yes it is. And a lot of our supporters still talk about the good old days. We are one of the biggest names in Non-League football. If you spoke to people at Old Trafford in Manchester and said the name of ‘Enfield’, they would know us. They would turn around and say " Yeah - great Cup side!" So we have a fantastic history and we are currently rebuilding the club.

How are things going at Enfield this season?

We had a very good start to the campaign although we've had some mixed results just lately. And it was very disappointing to go out of the FA Cup to Raunds Town. That was a blow financially. Every club at our level needs money coming in so we hope to do better in the FA Trophy.

You returned to the Ryman League this season after a spell in the Southern League. Are you pleased to be back?

Yes. There is not too much travelling in Division One North which is very nice. There are lots of small journeys which are only 30-40 miles and then obviously a number of local derbies against the likes of Enfield Town, Waltham Abbey, Ware and Potters Bar which are very good.

The division is looking very competitive isn't it?

I think it is a league where everyone can beat each other. So every team has a chance of doing well. We have no fear of playing anybody and we just need to get that little bit of consistency if we are going to be in contention.

You continue to groundshare at Ware‘s Wodson Park. How is that going?

It is a fantastic relationship. We are in our third season in the groundshare with another two years to go. They are really nice people at Ware. Obviously, we are looking to get back to the borough of Enfield, but if we carry on a little bit longer at Wodson Park then there will be no problem.

What are the chances of getting a stadium built back in Enfield?

That is our main ambition. We are talking to the council at the moment and it would be wonderful if we can get some help from them. We have got people who are willing to put money into the club if we can find the right site. You do need your own stadium for the bar takings and the financial side of things if you want to be successful.

Enfield had a big slump after losing the famous ground at Southbury Road in 1999 for redevelopment. But is the club bouncing back now?

I think we are getting it right. It has taken a few seasons. Winning promotion from the Ryman Division Two into the Southern League in 2005 was a good step up and we have steadied the ship since then. We have a very young side with an average age of 21, so if we can keep the boys together then it will be fantastic. And we haven’t got any debts so the future looks bright.

We just want to keep moving forward.