One thing that Eton Manor certainly can't complain about in their FA Cup and FA Vase draws published this week is a lack of knowledge about their opponents.

The FA Cup has thrown up a home tie against Stanway Rovers of the Ridgeons Premier Division. Manor faced Stanway in the Essex Senior Cup last season and an experimental Manor side containing 4 debutants were dispatched 6-1 in convincing fashion. The winners will face Beaconsfield SCYCOB who are now in the Southern League One Midland Division, after loosing in the play offs of the Southern League One South & West division last season and then being moved sideways.

In the FA Vase, Manor will travel to face Essex Senior League opposition in the shape of Mauritius Sports, who Manor played in last season's league cup group stage. The winners of that tie will have a good chance to progress further with Erith Town or Canning Town waiting in the next round.

Eton Manor's players returned from their summer break last evening as the club began its preparation for the 2009/10 season. The Manor coaching staff put the players through their paces as they seek to get the squad into peak physical condition before their opening friendly against Brentwood Town.

Manager Kevin Durrant said: "I'm pleased with tonight. We spent a lot of time planning the pre-season training and it paid off with a well constructed session that worked the boys at the right level."

Eton Manor will face Clapton and Basildon in the League Cup group stage as they look to regain the trophy that they won in 2008. Manor crashed out at the group stage last season, after mistakenly playing an ineligible player in their win at Mauritius cost them 3 points. The team that went through in their place as a result was Barkingside, who went on to lift the trophy.

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Eton Manor's long serving webmaster Paul Tandy has stepped down from the position with club in order to focus on his role at Tilbury FC.

Paul joined the Manor when close friend Kirk Whitelock took over as First Team Manager in 2003 and was an influential part of the efforts to re-launch the club after the struggles of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

However, when Graham Chester moved on from Eton Manor to Tilbury as manager in 2008, Paul moved with him and is in the process of building a brand new Tilbury website. Alongside that role, Paul has also accepted the position of Tilbury match secretary for next season.

This extra workload, coupled with a desire at the Manor to have the website back “in house” has led to the decision for Paul to hand over the mantle. He has stressed however, that he remains happy to assist the club in the development of the website in any way possible.

He said: “It’s the end of a long association with the club for me. When I arrived Eton Manor was really at a bit of a low ebb, but to see the club now finishing consistently in the top 6 of the league is a delight. Getting the website off the ground was a real achievement and I am very proud that it is regularly recognised as one of the best in the Senior League. I was anxious not to let it deteriorate last season after 5 years hard work, but I am now happy in the knowledge that there is a new group of people at the Manor with the desire and the drive to push the club forward. So I am happy to hand it over and know that it will be in safe hands.”

Manor’s General Manager Alex Lee paid tribute to Paul’s work saying: “I can’t thank Paul Tandy enough for what he has done for the club. He designed the fantastic club badge that we now have, he built a terrific website and even last season after leaving the club was happy to maintain the site in his spare time, which is a true testament to his commitment. He will forever remain a friend of Eton Manor and is welcome at any of our matches whenever time allows.”

The Manor would like to state categorically that the website will continue to be updated regularly and developed over the course of the coming season.

Eton Manor are delighted to announce that they have finalised their pre-season programme and will play SEVEN friendlies during July and early August. The full list of fixtures is:

Sat 11 July – Brentwood Town (H) 3pm
Tue 14 July – Waltham Forest (At Met Police Ground, Chigwell) 7pm KO
Sat 18 July – Leverstock Green (A) 3pm
Tue 21 July – Kentish Town (At Met Police Ground, Chigwell) 7pm
Sat 25 July – London Colney (A) 3pm
Tue 28 July – Wadham Lodge (A) 7.30pm
Sat 1 Aug – Cockfosters (A) 3pm

Since the last update three further fixtures have been added. On Saturday 18th July, the Manor will travel to Leverstock Green for the second year running. Last season’s game was the opening pre-season match for the Manor and in the sweltering summer sunshine Billy Cove’s team produced 45 minutes of scintillating football to lead 3-0 at half time. However, Leverstock hit back with 3 goals themselves in the second half to draw the game 3-3. The home side went on to have a successful season finishing 6th in the Spartan South Midlands Premier Division. Which means that they finished in the exact same position on the pyramid as the Manor!

Kentish Town also played in the Spartan South Midland Premier last season, but a disappointing campaign, following promotion the previous season, saw the club take just 17 league points and they were relegated back to Division 1 (step 6) in bottom place. However, they will be amongst the favourites go back up in the 09/10 season, and will meet the Manor at the Metropolitan Police Ground in Chigwell on Tuesday 21st July in a 7pm kick off.

The third addition is Wadham Lodge FC. Named after their ground, formerly the home of Ryman club Waltham Forest and currently shared with Mauritius, Wadham Lodge will be new entrants to the Essex Olympian League next season. They were formed last summer by Martyn Fitch, with the long term ambition of being a Ryman League club. They finished a creditable 3rd place in the Essex Business Houses League last season gaining promotion to the 2nd Division of the Olympian, and their target is to make the Essex Senior League within the next 3 or 4 years. Wadham Lodge will host Manor on Tuesday 28th July for a 7.30 kick off.

Eton Manor are pleased to announce that their pre-season programme is starting to take shape.

The Club will commence pre-season training on 22nd June and will have three weeks to prepare for their first friendly, which is the undoubted headliner of their pre-season matches against Ryman One North title favourites Brentwood Town.

Brentwood will travel to Mayesbrook Park on 11th July (kick off 3pm) for what promises to be a competitive contest. The visitors were beaten 4-1 by Waltham Abbey in the semi final of the promotion play-offs last season after a third place finish in the Ryman One North. However, they are expected to strengthen again during the summer and under the management of former Manchester City star Carl Griffiths are many people’s tip for the title in 2009/10.

Three days later (Tuesday 14th July) the Manor will be at The Met Police Ground in Chigwell for a 6.30pm kick off against another Ryman One North outfit in the shape of Waltham Forest. Forest produced a miraculous run in the second half of last season to avoid relegation, eventually finishing 3rd bottom of the league. However, they are expected to push up the table in the coming season and will prove another high quality opponent for the Manor.

On Saturday 25th July (kick off 3pm) the club will face step 6 opposition when they visit London Colney of the Spartan South Midlands Football League Division One. Colney finished a creditable 9th out of 21 in the 2008/09 season following relegation from the Premier Division the previous season. They will be looking to build on that next time around and should provide another staging post in the Manor’s preparation.

The fourth friendly already in the diary is a trip to face fellow step 5 opposition in the shape of Cockfosters of the Spartan South Midlands Football League Premier Division. Cockfosters are about to start their third campaign in the Premier Division having narrowly avoided relegation last season. Manor will travel to play them on Saturday 1st August (kick off 3pm) in what looks likely to be their final pre-season game, on the assumption that League competition will commence the following Saturday.

Manor’s Head Coach Paul Norris confirmed to emfc.co.uk that the Club were still looking for 2 or 3 further fixtures to complete the pre-season programme. He said: “We are looking forward to getting started and to open up with the Brentwood game is obviously tremendous news for the club. They are a great side and will be a real test for our players. Myself and Kevin have been working hard on piecing together the list of games and we are still looking at a couple of dates. We are in the advanced stages of arranging a midweek game around the 27th or 28th of July and we hope to confirm something as soon as possible on that front."

"Ideally that will leave us with one more on the 18th and Kev is chasing a couple of leads there too.”

Norris also admitted that the strengthening of the squad has been the other priority since the season ended. He said: “I seriously feel like the football hasn’t stopped this time. With the ground share to arrange and then the pre-season fixtures, plus the search for a new club secretary and a physio I’ve still been on the phone to Kevin and Reg most days. We are absolutely determined to have everything in place for a successful campaign next season. That includes improving the squad. We have three confirmed new additions, all of whom have good experience of higher levels of football and that is something that we were keen to add, because we have a lot of boys here who have stepped up from lower leagues and we needed that bit of know how in crucial areas. We are still working on one or two things on the playing front – ideally we’d have 5 new boys to strengthen what we already have and provide real competition for places. Essentially we are trying to avoid me having to turn out again next season, even despite my sterling efforts at Bowers on the last day of the season!!”

The Manor have confirmed that they have reached agreement with Barking and Dagenham Council to play at Mayesbrook Park in the 2009/2010 season. The Braves will join another of London’s proudest and oldest football Clubs, Barking FC, in using the facilities at Mayesbrook Park next season and the two Clubs have already held a number of extremely positive meetings about the future together.

The Manor’s agreement is initially for one year but bothl sides are hopeful about the arrangement lasting much longer into the future and giving the Club somewhere to finally call home.

Club Chairman Reg Curtis said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we are moving into Mayesbrook Park. The pitch here is of an excellent standard and it is right in the heart of East London which takes the club back to its roots. We have a wonderful relationship with the people at Barking and we offer our sincere thanks to them for their assistance in making this happen. Our manager Kevin Durrant also deserves special praise. He has been at the forefront of this from the start and it underlines his commitment to driving the club forward on and off the field.”

Manor General Manager Alex Lee has also been involved in the discussions from an early stage and he told emfc.co.uk that there is a long term plan for Mayesbrook Park. He said: “The one thing this place needs to re-establish itself as one of the foremost football venues in the area is a bar. We have given our undertaking to the people at Barking that we will pursue the possibility of making this happen. We have already broached the subject with the council and we will continue to take forward discussions with them with a view to getting a match day bar back up and running. This shows our intention to be here for the long haul and again, it is important that we fully engage with the council, Braking FC and all of the other stakeholders to make this a reality.”

Manager Kevin Durrant also expressed his delight at the news saying: “If you look at last season – our away record was outstanding. We were the only team to win in the league at Southend Manor, we won at Takeley, we won at Enfield (albeit in what was technically our home game), won at Burnham and we drew at Barkingside. Our problem was our home record and I have no doubt that the playing surface played a part in that. The pitch at Waltham Abbey didn’t suit our passing game and we feel tha the pitch at Barking will allow us to impose ourselves more on home games.”

Paul Tandy – Club Media spokesperson said "Exciting times lay ahead for the Manor. The Club is heading in the right direction both on and off the field. The move to Mayesbrook Park next season allows the Club to finally settle and make plans for the future. Finally - I would like to put on record our sincere thanks to Waltham Abbey Football Club for their kind hospitality last season, we have a great bond with the good people of the Abbey, and we truly wish them well in the hunt for success in the Ryman Premier League next season."

The Manor's end of season day out at Newmarket races on the 2nd May was an overwhelming success, according to coach Paul Norris. Club officials, management, players and supporters attended the 2,000 Guineas day at the famous racecourse and despite not having much success on the track – a good day out was had by all.

Norris said: “It was a terrific day out and everybody who came along thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We boarded the coach at 10am in Barking and the last few standing made it home around 2am on the Sunday – so it was most definitely a success!”

The trip was a well deserved reward for the Manor boys who finished a creditable 6th in the Essex Senior League in Kevin Durrant’s first season in charge at the club. Durrant said: “We had a good day, a few drinks and the atmosphere was fantastic. We’ve got a really good spirit and you have seen with Romford this season, and with Waltham Abbey in the Ryman One North that if you can harness that you have a chance of success. We will definitely look to do something like this again at the end of next season – hopefully we will have something really big to celebrate!!”

On the coach the Manor’s end of season presentations took place. The winners were:

Players’ Player of the season:
Dean Frett
Managers Player of the season:
Richard Simpson
Supporters Player of the season:
Dean Frett
Golden Boot:
Jerry Nkrumah

In the spirit of looking to build on their achievement Eton Manor will be starting pre-season training officially on Monday 22nd June. Time and location are to be confirmed. Any players who believe that they are capable of playing for an ambitious Step 5 Club and who are interested in joining the Manor can call Kevin Durrant on 07966047932.

The Manor's First Team Manager Kevin Durrant lifts the lid on the his first season in charge of the Manor. Current speaks honestly about the season from the first call made by Club Chairman Reg Curtis offering him the Managers position to the final game of the League Season Durrant said "

"Now that the season has ended I’ve taken a little time to reflect before putting together my notes for the season. I should start at the beginning, which for me was a telephone call from Reg Curtis on Wednesday 2nd September 2008. At the time I was at Brentwood Town as Chief Scout. It was a job that I was very happy doing. But I knew instantly when Reg offered me the Eton Manor job that I was going to say yes. I’ve known Reg a long time and I honestly believe that this a great club and a great job to have."

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The Manor's First Team Coach Paul Norris gives his verdict on the 2008-2009 League season. Norris speaking with emfc.co.uk News said"Well that’s a wrap. I can’t quite believe how quickly this season has disappeared"

"It was 10 months ago that I first attended an Eton Manor training session with Billy Cove as the new manager looking forward to the season ahead. Unfortunately it all went sour quite quickly for Billy, which is a shame because he is a decent bloke and he really does have Eton Manor in his blood."

"I said at the time that I was delighted to see Kevin Durrant and Nick Clark turn up as our new management duo. They have their own "unique" style but they have done an absolutely marvelous job at the Manor. The three of us have worked as hard as possible this year and have put in some serious hours, not only on match days but in terms of planning, selection, scouting and organising."

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The Manor rounded off their season with a 1-1 draw at Bowers & Pitsea - a result which saw the Manor secure a credible 6th placed finish within the Essex Senior League.

Manor Head Coach Paul Norris rolled back the years with a virtuoso performance as a late substitute playing on the right of a 3 pronged Manor attack. However, it was the home side who had the better of the first 45 minutes and but for a couple of good saves by Manor keeper Nick Wilson in the Manor goal they might have taken a lead into half time.

The Manor lost Michael Gheorgiou to a first half injury which saw Aaron May move into midfield and Tony Hadley slotted in seamlessly at right full back. His name might not have been Rio but this was a performance that certainly was GOLD.

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Durrant and Norris will both be providing their season summaries in the next few days so keep an eye on emfc.co.uk for details.

The Manor entertained Burnham for this ESL game and it soon became apparent that many of their players were really feeling the effects of the tough match that they had playded against Enfield 1893 on Tuesday night. With a very small squad Manager Kevin Durrant was unable to make many changes .The game was played pretty direct by both sides and indeed these were the right tactics as the pitch was very hard and so getting the ball down and passing was not really an option.

Neither side managed to fashion anything of note in a dour first half. After the interval the Braves replaced a tired Joe May with Courtney Linton and also took off Jerry Nkrumah and Joe Nightingill to give them some respite before the Manor's final game this Saturday away to Bowers & Pitsea.

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The Manor's last Essex Senior League fixture for the 2008/2009 Season is away to Bowers & Pitseas on Saturday 25th April 2009, kick-off at 3pm.

The Manor started this game with a passion and tempo that Manager Kevin Durrant had demanded in his pre- match talk. They immediately took the game to their opponents Enfield 1893 and easily had the better of the opening exchanges.

Wide players Tom Nyama and Courtney Linton worked up and down the flanks tirelessly and with Dean Frett making late forays forward to support the tigerish Jerry Nkrumah Enfield were under extreme pressure. Joe May was his usual skillfull self and Michael Ghiorghiou, in a holding mid field role was discipline personified.

The Manor back four of Danny Alleyne, Richard Simpson, Neil Barrett and Joe Nightingill were unfazed by any attacking threat by Enfield. The Braves keeper Nick Wilson was his usual confident self and this whole team ethic constantly had Enfield on the back foot.

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The Manor's next Essex Senior League fixture is at home to Burnham Ramblers on Thurs 23rd April 2009, kick-off at 7:45pm.

The Manor are looking for a committed and organised individual to take on the role of Club Secretary next season.

Enrique Nespereira has held the position in recent years, but unfortunately due to work and family commitments he has struggled to dedicate the necessary time to the role this season.

Chairman Reg Curtis paid tribute to the work Nespereira has put into the role saying: “I’m very grateful to Enrique for the work he’s done for the club. He’s my son-in-law and he has worked very hard for Eton Manor. However, with the children growing up and work pressures in the current situation he has not been able to attend as many games as we would all have liked this season. He will remain an important friend of the club and we all look forward to seeing him at matches in the future.”

The Club have enjoyed a strong first season under manager Kevin Durrant and are likely to finish in the top 6 or 7 of the Essex Senior League, a base from which Durrant is keen to push on next season. He said: “We are looking for a secretary who wants to be part of an exciting period for the club. I think we can be up amongst the promotion hopefuls next season and having a good secretary to deal with all the administrative issues at the club will be a big burden lifted of myself and my coaching staff who have shouldered a lot of the match day work this season.”

The ideal candidate would have experience of working within non-league football as a secretary or assistant secretary, be located in or around the East London area and have their own transport. However, the club would be happy to take applications for the role from any committed individuals who feel that they have something to offer.

Interested parties should contact Kevin Durrant on 07966 047932

We at Eton Manor FC understand how much the Club means to both young and old folk within the East End of London. The Club Management is conscious of the thousands of local people over the past decade's that have worked tirelessly to ensure that the Club holds true to what the founders initiated back in 1901. The Club has become an institution to many people over the years, and intends to hold true to the values and expectations of all the good people involved.

We shall continue to search for quality in everything we do; we want to continue to look after the interests of the people, funds and property that have been entrusted to us. We want to blend the past with the future and keep the old traditions alive whilst working within a modern environment.

The Club has become more like a family to many members of Eton Manor and we understand the level of expectations on the Club to perform to a higher standard.

We shall seek out business partnerships and endorse their name, products and services to a high level.

Our main objective is to source a new home, which we can call our own, and build a profitable and successful business to support the needs of the people involved.

Reg Curtis
Chairman
Eton Manor FC