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Hey Big Spenders!

Hey Big Spenders!

Matt Robinson26 Sep 2017 - 12:48
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https://www.hungerfordtown.com

The FA Cup is upon us and it's the visit of big spenders Billericay Town

If you don't already know about Billericay Town, then it is time to have a read. Billericay are a club to watch out for, rumoured to be spending circa £40k a week on wages they are a club hopeful of getting to the football league.

Established as Billericay in 1880, the club joined the Romford & District League in 1890, where they played until World War I. They also started playing in the Mid-Essex League, winning Division Two in 1912–13. They remained in the Mid-Essex League until joining the Southern Essex Combination League in 1947. In 1946 they adopted their current name.

In 1966 the club were founder members of the Essex Olympian League. The 1969–70 season saw them win the league and League Cup double, a feat they repeated the following season. Following their back-to-back titles, the club became founder members of the Essex Senior League in 1971, finishing as runners-up in its first season and winning the title in 1972–73.

After finishing as runners-up again, the club won back-to-back league titles in 1974–75 and 1975–76. The latter season also saw them reach the final of the FA Vase and beat Stamford 1–0 at Wembley, as well as a first Essex Senior Cup title when they beat Epping Town 3–2 in the final. Although they only finished third in 1976–77, they retained the FA Vase, beating Sheffield 2–1 in a replay at the City Ground in Nottingham after a 1–1 draw at Wembley.

In 1977 the club switched to the Athenian League, which they won at the first attempt. The 1978–79 season saw them retain their Athenian League title and win a third FA Vase in four seasons, beating Almondsbury Greenway 4–1 in the final, with Doug Young becoming the only player to score a hat-trick in an FA Vase final at the old Wembley. The following season saw them move up to Division Two of the Isthmian League, they also won at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One. Their run of success continued in 1980–81 as they finished as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division, the first time back-to-back promotions had been achieved in the league by a new club.

Billericay remained in the Premier Division until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1985–86 season. This began a spell as a yo-yo club, as they were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1988–89 season. They were placed in Division Two in 1991 after league restructuring, before being promoted back to Division One in 1992–93 and then to the Premier Division in 1997–98 after finishing as Division One runners-up. The 1997–98 season also saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–2 at home to fellow non-League club Wisbech Town.

In 2004–05 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 1–0 at home to Stevenage Borough. They also finished as Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 2–0 at home by Leyton in the semi-finals. A fourth-place finish in 2006–07 saw them qualify for the play-offs again, this time beating local rivals Chelmsford City 5–3 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw, before losing 4–2 on penalties to Bromley in the final following another 1–1 draw. In 2007–08 they qualified for the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–1 at home to Swansea City.

In 2010–11 Billericay won the Essex Senior Cup for a second time, beating Aveley 2–0 in the final. The following season saw the club win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference South. However, they were relegated back to the Isthmian League the following season after finishing second-from-bottom of the Conference South. In December 2016 the club was taken over by Glenn Tamplin, who funded several high-profile signings including Jamie O'Hara and Paul Konchesky and Jermaine Pennant all of whom have played in the Premier League with Pennant claiming a Champions league runners up medal losing 2-1 to AC Milan in 2007 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

It seems crazy to think that these three players amongst others will grace the turf of Bulpit Lane on Saturday. This is a very high profile game with lots of media coverage. We are expecting a large crowd, so get yourself down to Bulpit Lane to cheer on the boys in their bid for £7k and a ticket to the 4th Qualifying Round.

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