Non-League and Academy football writer

Jimmy Flanagan has been the chairman of current Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Division One South side Barkingside FC, since 2008. I recently spoke to Jimmy, about his memories so far of being the chairman of the historic non-League side – Barkingside, and it was a pleasure to speak to Jimmy about some of his Barkingside memories.

How did you come about joining Barkingside, as their chairman?

Jimmy: It was completely by accident, to be honest. I’d worked at Millwall Football Club for 20 odd years. And a friend of mine who’d played for Millwall, had got the assistant-manager job at Redbridge, and so I used to go and watch their games, but they were struggling quite a bit at the time, to be honest. One day when I was leaving the ground, a man on the gate asked me if I’d be at the game on Monday. And so he said that it was a different team that played on Monday, as it was his team – Barkingside. So I purely went and watched them because they played on a Monday, and so after that I started going to watch them regularly on a Monday. Then one day, the guy who was the chairman of Barkingside at the time (John Taylor) phoned me up one Thursday night, and he said if I wanted to help him with the club, then I was welcome to. He then said that he was basically going to give me the club, which took me by surprise a bit. We got a committee together of 12 which went to a meeting, which soon whittled it down to six, and then three people. I was just the secretary at first, and there was a guy who took over as chairman.

The man who would take over as chairman, to be honest I thought that he’d taken over Man United, because he’d sack the manager all of the time. Then eventually, the manager at the time asked me if I wanted to take over as chairman, and so we had to call a vote and a meeting. And so they voted that they had no confidence in the chairman and the guy who was the treasurer, and so I took over as the chairman in December of 2008, and I’ve been there ever since.

Could you talk me through some of your standout memories from your time as Barkingside chairman, so far?

Jimmy: Positive standout memories are winning our respective League Cup in the first year, and then winning promotion to the Isthmian League, in the 2012/13 season. Also, winning The Essex Senior League Cup again was another positive memory when we beat Bowers & Pitsea 9-1 at Rush Green, in the final. That game is out of all the games that I’ve been there for, is the most special game for me. That was probably as good as it’s ever going to get, as it was such a special cup-final win. We did have some good wins in the Isthmian League, as well. Some of the disappointing memories include having to leave Oakside, seeing us get relegated a couple of times, including one where we thought we were safe, until the FA demoted us, after changing their mind. It’s sad what’s going on at the moment with the ground, and it takes it away from the football. I’m involved with Barkingside purely because of my love for football, not because of my own ego. I don’t want to be the person who kills Barkingside Football Club, but I also don’t want Barkingside to kill me. Hopefully the things with the ground will get resolved soon.

What have you made of the current 2023/24 season for Barkingside?

Jimmy: We’ve probably gone through two or three seasons, where because of being sidetracked by the ground, that has deflected the attention off of the first team. It’s probably not been fair to the managers or the players. James has arrived to take charge of the first team, and to be fair him, Ryan and Elliot have done really, really well. There was a spell just before Christmas where if we’d have had a decent January, then we might have been looking to push on and get in the play-offs. But we had a tough January, where all of the games were against the top six in the league, and only one of those games was at home. The actual footballing side of this season has been probably the most enjoyable that it has been, for three or four years. There are definitely signs that we are going back in the right direction, and except for cup results all of the other defeats have mainly been by the odd goal. We’ve got a lot of young players in our side, and we probably need to add a bit of experience for next season, but we’re obviously doing something right, because our top goalscorer has just dual registered with a step three side – Concord Rangers. So hopefully that sends out a bit of a positive message to people who want to join the club.

Who has been in your opinion the toughest team that Barkingside have faced this season?

Jimmy: That would be Wormley Rovers and Benfleet. Wormley was the toughest game, and they are a team who should have been promoted last season. Personally speaking, I think that it will be out of them and Benfleet who win the league this season. Both of those clubs are nice clubs who are trying to do right things, both on and off the pitch. So personally I think that it will be between those two teams, for who wins the league.

What have you made of the current 2023/24 Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League Division One South season, so far?

Jimmy: I would have said at the start of the season, that Harlow Town would be near the top, and so would Benfleet, Cannons Wood and Wormley Rovers. Hutton and Dunmow Town have surprised me a bit, probably because they were quite unknown in this league, having been in step 7. I did think that Clapton Community would do well, purely because of their support. I’m not too surprised that the teams who are at the top of the league, are who they are. In a lot of ways it’s been an enjoyable season.

Could you talk me through what it’s like to be the chairman of a step 6 non-League football club?

Jimmy: If you’re asking me should I do it, then I’d say no. I enjoy it because I’ve got a genuine love of football, but it’s a thankless task. Like money has crept into the pro game, money has also crept into non-League football. Each season is becoming harder and harder to stand still, let alone progress, and especially for us, as we don’t have a budget. I think that some of the money that some people are putting into non-League clubs, is something that I don’t see the point in, because for me you’re never ever going to get that money back. But the one good thing about being the chairman of a non-League club is that you meet some good people through football. And they are people who become friends for life, and I’ve certainly made friends for life over the years, through football. Sometimes it is a bit frustrating when you’re a part-time club who aren’t too much a step-up from a Sunday morning club, because we rely on volunteers, but in certain situations, such as with ground grading, you are expected to be like a Football League club.

What are some of your hopes/aims for the future, for Barkingside FC?

Jimmy: The main one is that whether it’s at Cricklefields or elsewhere, that we finally get to be somewhere that can be our home, without anything being questioned, because that is holding us back in a lot of ways. We’ve got a really, really good youth system, and I want push on with certain things regarding academies and things like that, but that’s not been helped by the current situation with the ground. So I’d like to see that sorted out, and then hopefully we can look to get back to step 5, which is where the club has probably spent 80% of their history.