Football Focus Issue 83 | Page 40

Fisher FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/FOOTYFOCUSMAG Fisher FOOTBALL CLUB Fisher FC is a supporter-owned, volunteer-run community football club based at St Paul’s Stadium on Salter Road in Rotherhithe, South East London. The club is a registered society under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, and operates on a one member, one vote basis. History Fisher FC is the continuation of the Fisher Athletic, which was founded in 1908. Older readers may recall Fisher Athletic taking on Bristol City in the 1st round of the FA Cup in 1984, playing Conference Football and, latterly, winning the London Senior Trophy. Fisher Athletic played at the old Surrey Docks Stadium (just across the road from the new St Paul’s Stadium), now a housing development. Fun fact: named after Saint John Fisher, Fisher is one of the few sports clubs in the world to be named after a person rather than a place! Sadly, Fisher Athletic was wound up in the High Court in 2009. A week later, following a successful meeting, a supporter’s trust was set up to take control of the club, and Fisher FC was born. The club ground-shared with Dulwich Hamlet at Champion Hill until St Paul’s Stadium was completed in 2016. The new stadium enjoys the backdrop of the Canary Wharf towers behind one goal which makes for a fantastic setting, particularly during floodlit evening games. Men’s First Team Despite a valiant effort, the club’s men’s first team was relegated from the SCEFL Premier Division in season 2016/17, the first season back in Rotherhithe. Under manager Dean Harrison, a youthful side playing some fantastic attacking football and notching up some huge wins including 9-1, 6-0 (twice) and 6-1 scorelines, finished third in the SCEFL First Division in season 2017/18. That was sufficient for promotion back to the SCEFL Premier Division (step 5 of the non-league football pyramid). At the time of writing, Fisher sits in second place in the Premier Division, which is a remarkable achievement given the club was only promoted in the summer. The club is also in the quarter finals of the SCEFL Challenge Cup. It has been a season which has exceeded all expectations so far: we were hoping for a season of consolidation and to remain in the division. However, the wins just keep coming, particularly at home where we have won 11 and drawn 1 of our 13 fixtures. Not only that, but the attacking football of last season has continued and we also have the best defensive record in the league. All of this is testament to a really hard-working group of players, and “We’ve sponsored the club since January as we are in close proximity to Fisher and so have members visit us in the bar. We are turning into fans now and hope to be able to sponsor them for a long time. It is great to see the club doing well and we wish them the best of luck for the future.” Matt Simpson, Brew by Numbers 40 Issue 83