CHANNELING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

I know Guernsey is not a particularly large island but you would expect that they would have had a football team representing the isle in some national league or other before 2011. Not so. They played in a Channel Islands cup before founding Guernsey FC, a proper club, in July 2011 when they turned out for their first official league game. They were the first "overseas club" to play in the Pyramid.

So much interest was there in the club and its progress that Sky filmed their game in the Combined Counties League the following November against Feltham which the Green Lions won 2-0.

Home is a 5,000 capacity stadium called Footes Lane and Matthew Le Tissier is their President and his brother Mark, the club secretary. Many clubs find the journey to the island a bit of a chore, but the Channel island clubs have to pay for their transport and there is also the attraction of a cheeky hotel as advertised below!

I have mentioned the Green Lions before and here are some links for you about the development of the club. I promise they are interesting.

http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/fa-cup-semi-finalists.html
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/freedom-to-play.html
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/a-full-day-work-for-amateurs.html

So having drifted through these past blogs you will appreciate what a big step this has been for the Green Lions, venturing forth into the natonal league.

2012 was big season for the club as they won the Combined Counties League Div 1 (Step 10) completing their campaign with a win over Bedfont Sports 7-1 and then they won the League's Premier Cup beating Colliers Wood United in the final.

Guernsey now play in the Isthmian Division One South, on Step 4 and they host their first ever FA Cup tie this season against Thamesmead Town FC (from the same Step but in the North division) on 20th August.

They also have a home tie in the FA Trophy against South Park FC on October 8th.
Thamesmead play the Corinthian Casuals in the same round. behave....not this lot!

Ross allen is their hero in this rapid rise, scoring 51 goals in the 2011-2 Combined Counties campaign and 46 in the Isthmian league during 2013-14. He was awarded the Non-League Paper National Game Award that season too. He was the club's top scorer last season too with 34. Good on you.....Ross.