In the beginning

Henleaze Corinthians, one of the league’s founder members (a group of parents of children at Henleaze School) put out an appeal to play a fund raising game for Red Nose Day in 1993. The Golden Bottle at Lockleaze came forward. It turned out to be an eventful game (for all the wrong reasons!!) and the Lockleaze ‘Bottle Boys’ proved to be too ‘hard’ for the gents from Henleaze. Other, more friendly friendlies, were played against combined teacher/parent teams and against Chris Carter’s Red Star Bedminster – another founder member.

The boredom of two games against the same opposition and a few lunchtime pints set Harry Mottram (Henleaze) and Chris Carter (Red Star) thinking about finding other teams to form a mini-league. A small advertisement in Venue led to a few more teams making contact and in May 1995 the first official tournament took place at Henleaze School. This tournament was won by Woodland Road Wanderers. They never went on to join the Casuals League as they realised they were too good and should have been playing in a ‘proper’ league all along! The tournament had been a great success and confirmed the demand was there to form a Casual League.
 
 

The first season

Amidst a mass of publicity, at a packed Highbury Vaults Tavern, on 29 August 1995 the press packs got the announcement they were waiting for. The League was to go ahead and fixtures would commence in September. Founder members, in order of final league position, were Poetic Champions, Red Star Bedminster, Henleaze Corinthians, The Farmers, Sun Life Veterans, Easton Monday, The Crew and Polar Bears.

The Cup Final that year was between Poetic Champions, who had a 100% league record and fourth placed Farmers (now Hewlett Packard Farmers). The final took place at the same time as a mini-tournament at the Imperial Ground. Woodland Road Wanderers came back to grab some glory, winning the tournament. Poetic Champions were odds-on favourites to win the cup and double, but as we all know - anything can happen in the cup. Ross Burnham’s Farmers reversed their earlier league defeat and ran out 3-1 winners in a fiercely competitive battle.
 
 

1996/7 From strength to strength

News of the league’s popularity had now spread far and wide. Representat from teams all around the globe, various parts of Bristol, and one team from somewhere in Somerset packed into a doubly crowded Highburt Vaults Tavern on 18 July 1996. The meeting was to be hosted by Harry Motram, Chris Carter and Chris Badley (Easton Monday). All sorts of teams who considered themselves to be too old, too fat, too unfit and too crap to play in ‘proper’ leagues were clambering to get a piece of the action. The popularity of the league was such that a split into two groups was inevitable – hence the birth of the ‘Brunel’ and ‘Cabot’ divisions. Maths teacher and self-styled Stato, Chris Carter sorted the teams into two groups supposedly of similar ability (or did he just pick the names out of one of many empty beer mugs??). New league members included Wellesley Park Friday, Redland Ramblers, Westbury Wobblers (who soon got serious and re-named themselves Westbury Wanderers), Lovable Rogues, Hill farm casuals, Borussia Munchen Glenside, Dynamo Tourismo, Brislington Very Old Boys and Left Field Soccer Deviants.

The season was not uneventful. Two teams were to go into extinction. The shock of the season was the disbanding of Julian Mines’ Poetic Champions. They were unable to raise a full team, so bowed gracefully out rather than mess opponents about. The other ‘casual’ties (geddit?) were the not so Lovable Rogues. They could olny raise two players (their captain and a young lad who happened to be passing on a bike) for their opening game against Redland Ramblers. Many people still ask if Lovable Rogues’ existence was merely a cover for laundering drugs money! The Rogues were finally expelled for consistently not being able to raise a team. Poetic Champions were replaced at short notice by PSST. People often ask where the name PSST comes from. Was it in any way connected with their ongoing intake of vast quantities of alcoholic beverages? Or was it merely an expression they used to quietly attract the attention of young boys in adjoining closets in public toilets? Neither is true (so they say!). It actually stands for Primary and Secondary School Teachers.

The Brunel Division was won convincingly by Redland Ramblers with a straight Played Seven – Won Seven. The Cabot Division was a much tighter affair. Left Field Soccer Deviants and Red Star Bedminster both finished on 10 points. Red Star Bedminster had actually played one game less, so might claim a degree of moral victory. But the real victory was achieved by . Leftfield Soccer Deviants who topped the league with a better goal difference. The Cup Final was contested by PSST and Wellesley. In a gripping final both teams were still goaless after extra time. Wellesley eventually beat PSST in a sudden death penalty shootout.
 
 

1997/98 Resignation Shock

1997 saw the shock resignation of Harry Mottram. Having swapped this suburban delights of Henleaze for the rural tranquillity of Axbridge, Harry said, "After much thought and considerable family pressure I have decided to stand down as the Football Association Secretary." Another packed AGM at the Cottage in August 1997 voted to grade the two divisions according to ability. It also saw the introduction of Dynamo Belarus and Bugs and Drugs. Without Harry to coordinate the results and tables many teams were left to wonder who had played whom, where the hell they were in the league tables (nobody saw any tables all season) and generally what the f*** was going on. All was eventually revealed, well sort of… when a brave individual (who shall remain nameless for his own safety…second thoughts… I’ll tell anyone for tenner!) volunteered to put together all the results that were known to us and attempt to produce a set of league tables. Both leagues were much closer than in previous seasons. Redland just scraped the Cabot Division with 11 points – closely followed by Leftfield and Westbury on 10 points a piece. The Brunel Division was the setting for a titanic battle between Sun Life and PSST – both on 9 points. Sun Life had scored more goals, 25 against PSST’s 18, but PSST had the better goal difference, plus 12 against Sun Life’s plus 11. PSST had also played one less game. So the undisputed Brunel Champions were PSST…or was it Sun Life? Anyway, as nobody fixed the rules at the start, I guess you’ll both have to argue it out!! PSST rounded off a highly successful season with a 3-1 Cup Final victory over Borussia Munchen Glenside.
 
 

And so up to now…

1998/99 kicked off with another full house AGM at the Cottage. Thursday 12 August was a balmy summer’s evening when I left home in my T-shirt and shorts. By the time the meeting commenced it was bloody freezing outside, so nobody objected to any of the chair’s proposals. It was agreed to seed the teams again into Cabot and Brunel Divisions. We welcomed Axbridge Saxons (founded by the legendary Harry Mottram), Nameless, Cheltenham Exiles alias Tivoli Traders alias Cunning Stunts, Russell Athletic and late arrivals Easton Cowboys. The early signs suggest that the Stunning Cun…I mean, Cunning Stunts, could run away with the Cabot title. Prince of Wales Strollers look red hot favourites for the Brunel Division. But, it is never all over until the fat lady sings. Must be off…i can hear Dawn French singing her rendition of ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing’ somewhere. If you’re old enough to remember The New Seekers, you’re old enough to be playing football with a bunch of sad old gits like us!!
 
 

John Nowland Jan 1999