BLOODING NEW COMMUNITY TIES

THE OLDEST club in Essex, reads the sign above the turnstile at Saffron Walden Town’s Catons Lane home.

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There have certainly been some ups and downs since their formation in 1872.

From being forced to withdraw from the FA Cup in 1867 because they couldn’t afford to travel to face Wanderers, to their current position among the frontrunners of the Essex Senior League Premier Division’s title race under boss Jason Maher.

But it’s not so long ago the Bloods were on the brink of liquidation. In 2011, they resigned from the Eastern Counties League because their dire financial position meant they couldn’t guarantee they’d complete the campaign.

In 2012, around 100 people attended a public meeting to set the wheels in motion for the return of senior football to the market town.

A new committee travelled to Wembley to make their case for a return to senior football, which they duly did at Step 6 in the Eastern Counties League in 2012-13.

Promotion followed in 2014-15 before they switched back to the Essex Senior League ahead of last season.

Having extended the lease on their home for the next 100 years, the club is going from strength to strength.