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WHO ARE CONCORD RANGERS?

Concord Rangers began life as a team of boys headed by Steve Lant playing friendly matches during 1966 on a pitch along the Canvey Island seafront close to the Concord Beach (hence the name Concord Rangers and the nickname The Beach Boys). In 1967 Albert Lant, Steve's father and current Club President, became the team manager and took the club into competitive football. The club initially joined the Thundermite Boys Football League, before moving into the Vange and District League in 1973 where they won several league and cup honours. Concord became the first winners of the Essex Sunday Junior Trophy in 1979, managed then by Chris Crerie, by beating Bishops Park 4-0, with the final being played at Tiptree FC. Saturday football was introduced to the club shortly after when Concord joined the Mid Essex League and played their home games at Waterside Farm on Canvey Island.

In 1985 Concord secured some land at the end of Thames Road, Canvey Island, using that land to develop the clubhouse and ground with current club treasurer Jack Smith being the mastermind behind the project. Jack organised the funds, labour & materials and worked many hours on the site. A special mention also goes to the late Clive Smith (Jack's brother) as without Clive's machinery and labour Concord's pitch would not exist, also Martin Gill, Steve Barnes, Brian Godfrey, Lee and John Slater, Rob Fletcher, Pat Bennett, Roger Tipthorpe, Barry Clark, Tony Ing and many more all contributed.

Further success came the Beach Boys way in 1988/89 as they joined the Essex Intermediate League and became Divisional League & Cup Winners that year. Two years later Concord Rangers made the step up to the Essex Senior League where they spent a total of 17 seasons.

In 1991 club founder Albert Lant retired as chairman after 25 years at the helm to become Club President, with Jack Smith taking over for two years. Grant Beglan became Chairman when Jack stood down, but like his predecessor only held the role for 2 years. A number of Chairman held the role from 1995 & in 1998 the club was languishing at the bottom of the Essex Senior League, the youth section had been disbanded and the bar licence had not been renewed meaning no revenue could be made for the club.

 
Former Chairman Jack Smith’s son Antony decided to step in and put a new committee together along with a plan to put the club back on its feet. Antony is very hands-on in his approach, which has helped guide the club through recent successes and the development on both the playing side & with the ground/facilities.
 
Under the guidance of manager Colin McBride, the Beach Boys won the Essex Senior League Cup in 1997 after beating Ford United 1-0, and the following season under Lee Patterson won the Essex Senior League Championship for the first time. Further cup success came during the 1999/2000 season with former player Steve Knott in charge as Concord beat Burnham Ramblers 3-2 to win the Harry Fisher Memorial Trophy. League success followed soon after as under manager Brain Horne the club finished as Essex Senior League runners up in 2002/03, and then won the league the following season with Ben Embury at the helm. It was during that 2003/04 season that striker Danny Heale won the Don Douglas trophy for being the leagues top scorer, notching up 32 goals for Concord Rangers. 
 
As Concord Rangers began their 40th Anniversary season in 2007/08, Danny Scopes and Danny Cowley become joint managers of the club. Concord ended the season winners of the Essex Senior League, and were Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy winners along with Essex Senior League Cup Finalists. Concord also reached the Quarter-final of the FA Vase that year. Club President Albert Lant won an outstanding achievement award from the Essex County Football Association for 40 years unbroken service to Concord Rangers.

Having gained promotion from the Essex Senior League the club would have been happy with a mid table finish in their Ryman League Div 1 North debut in 2008/09, but expectations were exceeded as the two Dannys led Concord to a 5th place finish. This highlighted how both managers could really get the best out of the players. Beating East Thurrock United in the Playoff Semi-Final set up a final vs Waltham Abbey, in which Concord led with 10 minutes to go before future Beach Boy Harry Elmes levelled things for Abbey, taking the game to penalties which we lost 5-4.

Concord didn’t have to wait long to earn promotion though, as the following season they again reached the playoff final, this time beating Enfield Town 3-1 to reach the Ryman Premier Division. The clubs first season in the Ryman Premier Division was a solid one, finishing in 8th place, which exceeded the target of simply avoiding relegation! Earning that respectful 8th spot and just missing out on a Play-Off position by two points was a great team effort.


2011/12 was a difficult season for the Beach Boys, as injuries to key players contributed to a poor start which was never wholly recovered from. Concord managed to finish the season in 14th though and secured a third season at this level. Danny Scopes retired from his post as joint manager, and soon afterwards Glen Alzapiedi was appointed as Danny Cowley’s Assistant Manager. Another poor start was made by the club in 2012/13, but this was recovered from quickly and the Beach Boys displayed a never say die attitude to earn some incredible results both at home and away. Concord found themselves in the playoffs come the seasons end along with the Ryman League Cup final. Two fantastic away performances in the play offs saw us promoted to the highest level of football we've played at and a great performance in the cup final saw us end the season with 2 trophies.

The Beachboys lost their 2013/14 first Conference South fixture, however were soon picking up points regularly with determined & professional performances against some of the biggest teams at this level. Although there were a couple of harsh results, there was a level of consistency many didnt expect to see against this opposition, this helped Concord reach what was a spectacular 9th place finish by seasons end. To cap it all off, The Beachboys were able to win the Essex Senior Cup against Braintree as the football season came to a close.

2014/15 was a season of historical moments, but started with 3 losses out of 4 games. Fortunes quickly turned around for the club as eventually a 7th place finish was achieved (a 13 game unbeaten run being a key contributor). The most incredible moment of the season was Concord Rangers reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time. Drawn away to Mansfield Town, Concord earned a 1-1 draw before losing 1-0 in the replay in front of 1500 at the Aspect Arena. The second round of the FA Trophy was reached, also for the first time. A penalty shootout filled Essex Senior Cup run saw Concord retain the trophy they'd won a year before, this time beating Billericay in the final. At the seasons end manager Danny Cowley & his assistant manager brother Nicky (who took over from Alzapiedi in September) left the club for pastures new.

2015-16 was a season of rebuilding with Adam Flanagan & Jody Brown in charge of the side which had lost a number of key players, whilst trying to maintain our National League south position. A poor start saw Brown replaced with the returning Alzapiedi as assistant manager, and things looked up. A 12 game unbeaten run at the start of 2016 helped the side reach their 3rd Essex Senior Cup final in as many years, making history in the April when beating Heybridge Swifts to retain the cup. A mid table finish guaranteed another season of National League South football.

2017/18 saw the Beachboys put an impressive 13 game unbeaten run together at one point, however the poor start and shaky end to the season saw the side stave off relegation by just a couple of points, which saw Flan and Glen be relieved of their positions.

Prior to the 2018/19 season, Sammy Moore and Jack Midson were brought in to take charge of the first team, as Concord Rangers looked to make their 6th season at this level a successful one, and a success it was as the club finished in 6th place. However due to ground grading issues, Concord were unable to take part in the playoffs.

Moore & Midson left the club by mutual consent, after which an old favourite returned to take the helm as Danny Scopes was appointed first team manager for the 2019/20 season.

Scopesy enlisted the help of Lee Minshull, James Roach and Adam Drew for his time in sole charge of the Beachboys, and while the league form started well, it was the historic FA Trophy run that really set the tone for the year. Two seasons of prematurely ending league campaigns were the result of the pandemic, but Scopesy's reign was capped off by a historic appearance in the FA Trophy Final at Wembley, losing 1-0 to Harrogate Town.


Following the resignation of Dan Scopes, the Concord U18 manager Chris Search made the step up to become First Team manager for the 2021/22 season.

TBC
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CURRENT KEY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
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CHAIRMAN

John Smith 

VICE CHAIRMAN

Jack Smith Jnr

CLUB SECRETARY

Colin Gamble
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