Non-League and Academy football writer

(This photograph was taken by @abridgetoofar16)

Chadwell Heath Spartans were founded in 2019, and since then they have come a long way, in a short space of time. A current step seven side of the non-League system (the 11th tier of English football), Chadwell Heath Spartans play their football in the Essex Alliance League Senior Division. A highly competitive league, which includes clubs such as FC Baresi (the current league leaders), Woodford East and Lymore Gardens. However, the Chadwell Heath Spartans story as a club, is one of family, as they are a real family club. Aaron Hunwicks, the current player-manager of Chadwell Heath Spartans, has previously had a good career as a player in non-League, playing and coaching at step five football, at Hullbridge Sports. Aaron’s dad Neil Hunwicks (Neil is the chairman of Chadwell Heath Spartans), was doing photography for Hullbridge Sports during his son Aaron’s time at the club. And even after Aaron had left Hullbridge Sports, Neil would remain there, doing the club photography/media work for another season, and this particular season was one in which the club from Essex were promoted to step four of the non-League system.

Not long after Aaron had left Hullbridge Sports (around a season later), he decided that he wanted to start up a football club of his own. He discussed this with his dad, Neil, as well as his two brothers, Niru and Ray. John Berwick is also an important part of the committee at Chadwell Heath Spartans, and he is a family friend of the Hunwicks family. And so the club, as well as the idea of creating it, was started from scratch, with them first being established as a club, as previously mentioned, in 2019. The Chadwell Heath part of the name, is the area of east London that Aaron and his family were brought up, with the Spartans part of the name, a link to the old club that Neil Hunwicks used to play for (Stoke Park Spartans), in Ipswich, where he is from. Aaron is the player-manager of the club, with John Berwick and Niru Hunwicks, his assistants. And Ray Hunwicks is part of the media team at the club, doing all of the great club graphics and media work on their social media channels. Ray is also a player for Chadwell Heath Spartans. Starting out as a football club in the Essex Alliance League Division Three, for the 2019/20 season, Chadwell Heath Spartans did really well during that season. However, despite being one game away from winning the league, the season was cancelled at that point, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant that the 2019/20 season was declared null and void.

Chadwell Heath Spartans would, following the conclusion of that season be promoted two divisions higher, because of the fact that they had done so well in their debut season. In Division One of the Essex Alliance League, Chadwell Heath Spartans finished that particular 2020/21 null and voided season in second place in the league, with three games in hand over the team who were at the top of the league. For the 2021/22 season the Essex Alliance League were awarded step seven status, and Chadwell Heath Spartans were approached by the league, because they are a serious and ambitious club, who they knew weren’t going to let the league down. Despite knowing that it was going to be a challenge, playing step seven football for the very first time, the club relished the challenge that was ahead. And in their first season in that league, player-manager Aaron Hunwicks and his coaching staff helped to lead the team to an impressive second placed finish, with Cannons Wood winning the league and therefore earning promotion to step six. Chadwell Heath Spartans finished five points behind Cannons Wood in the league that season.

After losing a good amount of their key players for the start of the following 2022/23 season, Chadwell Heath Spartans had to try to rebuild their squad, to an extent. They finished that season in ninth place in the league. However, during the current season, the side who play their matches at the Lakeside Sports Ground, in Essex, are sitting in third place in the league. There’s a lot to be proud of for all of those who have been a part of the Chadwell Heath Spartans’ journey so far, and not only for what this real family club have achieved on the pitch. As they have also had to create their own social media channels, get sponsorship for the club, etc. so it’s those things off the pitch, which although football fans might not see it, which is a credit to the Hunwicks family and for all of the people involved at the club. With six competitive games remaining for them this season, Chadwell Heath Spartans will be looking to secure a top three finish in the league, before looking ahead to an exciting next season (2024/25) for the club.

What have you made of the current 2023/24 season, for Chadwell Heath Spartans?

Aaron Hunwicks: For me, I’m really proud of what we’ve done/achieved this season, even though there’s still a lot to play for during the remaining six games of the season. I would love for us to finish in the top three in the league, but anything below that in the league, would personally be a bit of a disappointment. However, building off of last season, we’re a non-League/grassroots team and family club, who have minimal resources at our disposal. Whereas there are other teams in our league that have the facilities needed to get promoted, which is no small feat. So we’re competing with the best teams in the league, based on what we have, which isn’t really that much. So that’s a proud moment for me and the club. We do have aspirations to get to step six and also win silverware in the cups, but we know that these things take time. The league has been a very tough league this year, because you’ve had Walthamstow Reserves come into the league, and they’re a new team and a very strong team. Another good side who have come into the league this season are Haringey Borough Under 23’s, and then you’ve got the likes of Woodford East, FC Baresi and Lymore Gardens who are strong every season. And then you’ve also got experienced clubs at this level, like FC Petrocub London and Rapid Chingford, who have won things at this level.

So you’ve got a very strong cohort of teams, who are in the league this season, which has made it a tough season. There’s definitely been moments in this season, where we maybe should have picked up points, and made it a closer title race in the league than it is now, but that’s football. One thing that I mention to my players a lot is consistency. We just quite haven’t had the consistency that you need in order to be successful over the course of a whole season.

For those who haven’t seen Chadwell Heath Spartans play, could you describe to me what style of football they like to play?

Aaron Hunwicks: I’d say that we are a side that likes to transition quickly from defence to attack. We like to play our football in our opponents half, whereas a lot of teams now have a style that looks amazing. You think, I’d love to do that, but the reality is that football at grassroots level is not the same as football at the top level. So one of the things that we like to do as a club, is to try and develop young players and also give them the experience of playing senior football. Also, with the knowledge that I have of playing step five football, I try and use that experience to try and improve the players, and to try and give them more practical football knowledge, of what I know in the game. I’ve done my levels one, two and three UEFA B license, so along with the level of football that I’ve played at in the past, I do try and make the players get better at their game. But as a team, I would say that we take quite a direct approach to the game, but we’re all about transitions, and quick breaks. So we want to put our opponents under pressure in their own half, as oppose to putting ourselves under pressure in our own half. On the balance of things, we like to have a variety to our game, and that also depends on who we’re playing against.

Could you talk me through a bit about the current first team squad/group of players at Chadwell Heath Spartans?

Aaron Hunwicks: We’ve got a right-back at the club called Joe Robb, and he’s someone who has been with us since the club started. And in our last match (against FC Baresi), that was his 100th appearance. So for us to have someone like him, who is a really passionate member of the team, and someone who has really helped drive the club forward, that’s something that we’re very grateful for. Joe has been someone who we’ve helped develop into an experienced player at this level, and that shows that there’s still loyalty in the game. We’ve also got two really good midfielders in our team. We’ve got a player called Tommy Harrison, and he’s someone who I used to coach when he played youth football for Chelmsford City. And he’s always been a special talent, even though in those days he struggled a bit with his size. However, now he’s grown into senior football, and he’s understanding of the game is so good that he’s like two or three steps ahead of anyone else on the pitch. Tommy is partnered in midfield by Enoch Salami, who has played alongside him for the last ten or so games. Enoch is a bit more dynamic, and he likes to maraud forward a bit more. But the balance between them has been perfect, and they have instrumental for us this season, in the middle of the pitch.

Billy Gipp plays out-wide for us, and he has contributed with a lot of goals and assists for us this season. And going into the forward areas of the team, there’s Peter Adeleye and Elie Fanga, who play most of the games up front together. Peter is currently top scorer for the club, with Elie second top goalscorer. But again, their partnership up front is something that although not many clubs have, is something that we encourage as a club, to have two strikers. However, we also encourage them to be fluid as well on the pitch. So they’ve both formed a good partnership for the club this season, with both Peter and Elie on double figures for goals scored. 

What are some of your personal aims/the clubs hopes for the future, for Chadwell Heath Spartans?

Aaron Hunwicks: The main goal for me is to win something. As a a club our only honour so far, was our reserve team winning the Second Division cup, which was a massive achievement for the club. Although obviously that’s not my team who I coach, so as for the first team as well, we want to win something as well, like an Essex Cup or a league cup. We’ve been really unfortunate/poor in cup games in the past, when we’ve played teams who we could definitely beat, but who we haven’t. And we’ve actually been knocked out of our last three of the last four cup games on penalties. Even this season, we got knocked out of the Essex Cup on penalties. However, the number one goal is to win silverware, with the kind of number two goal, to win promotion to step six. To achieve both at once would be great, but the problem for us at the moment is that we don’t have our own ground, and it’s almost impossible to get hold of our own ground. And sharing a ground with another team costs between £12,000 and 18,000 per season. We simply can’t afford that, and you really need the revenue that you get from fans, or from someone who is going to invest in the club and put big money into it, which some clubs are lucky to have, and fair play to them. We want to play in the FA Cup and FA Vase in the future, which would be a dream to do. And especially for my dad, as I know that both of those competitions mean a lot to him. So that would make me super proud.

What have been some of the highlights of the club, since it moved into non-League football (in your opinion)?

Aaron Hunwicks: I’d say that one of the things that was big for us as a club, was becoming England accredited/charter standard. My dad put a lot of work into achieving that, and so that was a big thing for us at the time. Also, getting to step seven is a big thing for us. Even though it’s like the bottom of the football pyramid, step seven is a recognised league now. And so we’ve played there for the last three years, and we’ve managed to get through those three seasons without getting relegated, whereas some other teams have been and gone, and folded. So for us, to consistently compete at step seven is a big thing for us, as we’ve only been running as a club for four/five years. Also, another highlight was the reserves winning the Division Two Cup in their first ever season. And we are trying to gradually create a women’s team and a youth team as well.

Who has been in your opinion, the toughest team that Chadwell Heath Spartans have played since you’ve been player-manager of the club?

Aaron Hunwicks: That’s a difficult question, as there are a couple of really good teams who we have come up against in the last couple of years. FC Petrocub London are a team, who on occasions you can face, and you’ll hardly get on the ball against them, when they’re really strong. So I’d say that FC Petrocub London as well as Cannons Wood, who we played during the season that they won the league, are two standout teams who we have faced. This season FC Baresi are a very good side, as were Brimsdown last season, and I always say that the table never lies. But I think that this league season has been the toughest, because of the strength and competitiveness of the teams in the league. Any team can play each other in this league and win. For example, we faced Rapid Chingford twice this season and picked up four points against them. They took four points from FC Baresi this season. Overall though, I would say that FC Petrocub London, Cannons Wood and Brimsdown are the three best teams that we have played.

What are your hopes/aims for the remainder of this season with Chadwell Heath Spartans?

Aaron Hunwicks: We’ve still got six games to play, and out of those six games we’ve got to play four teams in the top half of the table. I’ve said to the team that a top three finish is a minimum requirement. So number one, it’s really important that we don’t lose to the teams who are around us, like Haringey Borough Under 23’s, Walthamstow Reserves and Woodford East. If we can win against Haringey and Walthamstow, then that kind of bridges the gap between the top six. Whereas, if we drop points in those games, then it makes it more difficult as they are very strong sides. I think that Woodford East are probably going to finish second, but I’d be really disappointed if we finished outside of the top three in the league. However, that is still a possibility, and it is really difficult sometimes, to keep the lads motivated, when you haven’t got a lot to play for at the end of the season. However, finishing in the top three is a building block for the future, and there’s still a lot to be proud of.

(This photograph was taken by @abridgetoofar16)