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Grays Athletic came around when the 1890-founded Grays Juniors renamed themselves as Grays Athletic in 1906, that coming after another club in the area, in Grays United, had disbanded in 1905. Juniors, having played at "The Hoppit" in Thurrock as well as "The Lawn", then moving grounds to United's old home of the Recreation Ground, where the club, as Grays Athletic, remains today. Life in the Athenian League, the Corinthian League and then the Isthmian League followed before they became founder members of the Conference South in the 2004-05 season.
The club, having gone full-time the year before under the ownership of Mick Woodward, doing the double in that campaign as they won the Conference South title and also the FA Trophy. Their first season at Nationwide Conference level found them still on the rise, finishing third in the table and losing out in the play-offs to the now defunct Halifax Town 5-4 on aggregate.
Turbulent times have taken over since then though with the club finishing just one point above the relegation zone in 2006-07, although they did end up in the mid-table reaches last season with a healthy 70 points. Woodward, in Michael Knighton style, has taken over as manager of the club twice and it is off the field where there has been a lot happening recently.
Two weeks ago, with the Essex club down the wrong end of the Blue Square Premier table, the board announced that the clubs three major sponsors had been forced to withdraw their financial support for the club and that therefore some drastic economic cuts would have to be made.
One of the impacts of that, for a full-time club on average crowds of 654, being that salaries paid to contract/non contract players and staff would have to be reduced, thus meaning players salaries being cut by 50%, the club would however seek to repay the deficit at times when, and if, funds become available.
Wayne Burnett, moving from Conference South side Fisher Athletic, took over as the manager of the club in September 2008 and his arrival, added to the financial situation at the New Recreation Ground has seen a raft of players come in and out of the door. The squad now already having four non-contract former Fisher players, in Damien Batt, Kenny Beaney, Luke Hickie and Gavin Dayes within it.
Names that United fans may recognise are former Torquay defender Lee Canoville, ex-Rushden defender Rob Gier, former Barnet goalkeeper Ross Flitney, ex-Yeovil winger Ishmael Welsh, who scored against Carlisle while with the Glovers, and former Ipswich veteran Fabian Wilnis.
Stuart Elliott is the only player in the Grays squad to have played for United, the London-born defender having played seven matches on a non-contract basis under the stewardship of Roddy Collins at the start of the 2001-02 season. The only other possible link in the match, with Ben Alnwick now cleared by his parent club to play for Carlisle in the FA Cup, seeing two on-loan Tottenham goalkeepers facing each other, with David Button currently at Grays for the season from the North London club.
This campaign, thanks mostly to the turmoil off the field leading to a weakened squad on the field Grays are currently second bottom in the Blue Square Premier with 12 points from 16 games. All those points have been gained at the New Recreation Ground, with the away record of the Essex club reading played eight, lost eight, scored three, conceded fourteen. A 2-0 home win over AFC Totton yesterday seeing Grays now face a trip to Carlisle in the first round of the FA Cup.
FA Cup First Round Draw :
Colchester v Leyton Orient
Havant & Waterlooville v Brentford
Blyth Spartans v Shrewsbury Town
Sutton United v Notts County
Torquay United v Evesham United
Oxford United v Dorchester Town
Bury v Gillingham
AFC Wimbledon v Wycombe Wanderers
Chester City v Millwall
Carlisle United v Grays Athletic
Team Bath v Ashford Town or Forest Green Rovers
Eastbourne Borough v Barrow
AFC Hornchurch v Peterborough United
Yeovil Town v Stockport County
Leiston or Lewes v Fleetwood Town
Accrington Stanley v Tranmere Rovers
Walsall v Scunthorpe United
AFC Bournemouth v Bristol Rovers
Brighton & Hove Albion v Hartlepool United
Aldershot Town v Rotherham United
Morecambe v Grimsby Town
Huddersfield Town v Port Vale
Alfreton Town v Bury Town
Kidderminster Harriers v Cambridge United
Leicester City v Stevenage or Horsham
Milton Keynes Dons v Bradford City
Darlington v Droylsden or Belper Town
Chesterfield v York City or Mansfield Town
Northwich Victoria or AFC Telford United v Southend United
Hinckley United or Curzon Ashton v Exeter City
Durham City or Histon v Swindon Town
Kettering Town v Lincoln City
Barnet v Rochdale
Hereford United v Dagenham & Redbridge
Cheltenham Town v Oldham Athletic
Luton Town v Newcastle Blue Star or Altrincham
Crewe Alexandra v Woking or Ebbsfleet United
Wrexham or Eastwood Town v Brackley Town
Leeds United v Northampton Town
Harlow Town v Macclesfield Town
Ties to be played on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November, winners receive £20,000