History
Aveley Football Club was formed in 1927 and played in local leagues until 1939. Club activities were then suspended during the war years 1939-45. In 1946 the club was reformed and joined the Thurrock Combination. Aveley twice won the Essex Junior Cup, firstly in 1948, then retaining it the following year.
Aveley gained Senior League status in season 1949/50 and were elected into the London League, Division One. They were Division Champions in the 1951/52 season. In the same season, they moved from Lodge Meadow to Mill Field and were promptly nicknamed The Millers. In season 1954/55 they were Division Champions once again which was followed by election to The Delphian League in 1955/56. They competed in this league until 1962/63 with little success.
1963/64 saw Millers join the Athenian League. Full membership of the Football Association was granted in 1964/65. Season 1970/71 was probably the club’s most successful one. The first round proper of the FA Cup was reached along with the FA Amateur Cup quarter-finals, they were also Champions of the Athenian League.
Aveley were elected to the Isthmian League in season 1973/74. Here they competed without success in Division One until they were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1985/86 season. The 1989/90 campaign was a memorable one for The Millers. Promotion back to Division One was gained with a tremendous end-of-season run-in to finish second to Heybridge Swifts by two points. This was followed by a 3-0 victory over Premier Division St.Albans in the final of the AC Delco (League) Cup. This made Aveley the first team from the lowest division to win this competition. After this, the club slipped down to Division Three and cup successes were limited to appearances in the finals of both the East Anglian Cup and the The Essex Thames-Side Challenge Trophy in 1997/98.
After a disappointing start to the 2007/08 campaign, November saw the arrival of Rod Stringer as Manager, and fortunes turned with the Millers putting a string of impressive results together to finish the season in Mid-Table. 2008/09 saw the foundations that were laid the previous season, bare its fruit as the Ryman League Division One North Championship was won on the last day of the season in dramatic fashion at East Thurrock United. In a tense finish to the season, Millers created a club record of 11 straight away league wins, and Rod Stringer was duly judged as the Manager of the Season for the Division.
After many years of trying, the Millers were granted the green light on the 13th May 2016 allowing the club to start building a new stadium as soon as possible, with Parkside completed for the 2017/18 season.
In 2018/19 season, the Millers had a successful season and finished 2nd, with a month left of the season to go manager James Webster resigned and Aveley moved quickly to bring in Danny Dafter who came in with five games left and won every game to help Aveley to finish 2nd, behind Bowers & Pitsea in the Bostik North. However, that winning run ended with defeat in the Play-Off Semi Final against Heybridge Swifts, 2-0.
The Millers had a historic season in 2019/20 which was cut short due to the Corona-Virus outbreak. Aveley made it to the Quarter Final of the FA Trophy and were second in the Isthmian North, although PPG would’ve seen Aveley promoted, they were denied promotion after the season was decided and later announced to be null and void.
The next complete season (2021/22) saw the Millers win the Isthmian North Division, beating Canvey Island to the title by two points. Their success wasn’t to end there. Their first season in the Isthmian Premier Division saw them promoted via the play-offs after a remarkable season that saw them finish 4th in the league. A narrow 1-0 win away at Hornchurch was enough to clinch promotion in the play-off final.
Last season, the Millers had the highest league finish in their history after another remarkable campaign saw them finish 7th in their first season in the National League South. They were eventually beaten by Maidstone United in the play-offs.
Form
The start to the 2024/25 season in the National League South has been a difficult one for the Millers who currently sit bottom of the table after 14 matches. They have picked up just eight points so far this season, with wins against Dorking Wanderers and Enfield Town being the real highlights.
Last time out, they were beaten at home to Weymouth which saw the Terras leapfrog the Millers in the league table.
Last Six
02/11 – Weymouth (H) – Lost 0-1
29/10 – Walthamstow (A) – Won 0-4 (Essex Senior Cup)
26/10 – Weston-super-Mare (A) – Lost 4-1
19/10 – Enfield Town (A) – Won 2-4
12/10 – Chippenham Town (H) – Lost 0-1
05/10 – Farnborough (A) – Lost 2-0
The Gaffer
Danny Scopes has been in charge at Parkside since November 2021 and has guided the Millers to back-to-back promotions, as well as a 7th-placed finish in their first season in the National League South.
Before joining Aveley, Scopes was Concord Rangers’ Manager in the National League South and guided the Beachboys to the FA Trophy final taking on Football League side Harrogate Town in May 2021. Scopes also assisted the Cowley Brothers in Concord Rangers’ rise from the Essex Senior League to the National South before becoming first team manager in 2019.
After back-to-back promotions with the Millers. Scopes was awarded the Manager of the Season award last term in the National League South after guiding his side to a play-off place finish.
The Captain
Following the departure of Harry Gibbs earlier this season, Jason Ring was named as club captain at Aveley.
Jason joined The Millers after the pandemic in 2020 and went on to make his debut for Aveley away at Harpenden Town in the Emirates FA Cup in a 3-0 victory.
‘Ringo’ went on to make 11 appearances that season before it was cut short. The following Isthmian North title-winning season, he played a vital part and made 31 appearances before he was injured against Coggeshall Town in a 5-2 victory at Parkside which ruled him out for the last two months of the season.
The defender signed on for the Millers’ Isthmian Premier League campaign and built his way back to full fitness as he recovered from injury to play another vital role in helping his side seal promotion via the play-offs and Velocity Trophy cup victory.
He was ever-present throughout our debut season in the National South and went on to make 44 appearances and achieved his 100th appearance against Torquay United at Plainmoor.
Key Player
Young midfielder Manny Ogunrinde joined The Millers in 2020 from Isthmian North side Grays Athletic and has gone on to make more than 100 appearances for the club.
In the 2021/22 season, Manny scored 9 and assisted a further 8 times in 39 appearances as Aveley were crowned the champions of Isthmian North for the first time since 2009. The 2022/23 campaign in the Isthmian Premier League saw Manny score vital goals away in our 2-1 victory at Hornchurch and break the deadlock against Bowers & Pitsea the game after. Manny made 20 appearances in total after an injury-affected season, which saw the Millers win promotion to the National South and Velocity Trophy winners for the first time since 1990.
Last season saw Manny’s biggest return for goals for The Millers, after starting the season on the fringe of the team, he went out on loan to Isthmian North side Brightlingsea Regent where he made 7 appearances and scored two goals. Manny was recalled from loan and came off the bench against St Ives in the FA Trophy, only to score an equaliser in the 85th minute and the winner in the 90th minute to seal Aveley’s place in the next round. Manny would go on to score 6 more times to take his tally to 8 for the season, scoring goals against Farnborough, Welling United, a 95th-minute winner against Dover Athletic, Taunton Town, and scoring the goal that put ahead away at Maidstone in the National South Play-Off Eliminator before being defeated 2-1.
Familiar Faces
Tomorrow night will see the return of two former Rebels to the Sussex Transport Community Stadium with Tyrese Owen and Ibby Akanbi both part of the squad at Aveley.
Akanbi joined the Reds in October 22 after a short spell with Dulwich Hamlet, making his debut from the start in a defeat away at Braintree Town. He didn’t have to wait long for his first goal for the club, netting the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Taunton Town on his home debut. He followed that up with a winning goal against his former club just three days later.
He netted a brace in the thrilling 4-3 win over Hampton & Richmond on Boxing Day, then in February 2023 bagged four goals in the thrashing of Crowborough Athletic in the Sussex Senior Cup. By the end of the campaign, he’d established himself as a regular in Hinshelwood’s side, starting both play-off ties and the Sussex Senior Cup final where he converted from the spot in the shoot-out win over Bognor Regis Town.
In total Akanbi contributed 12 goals in 34 appearances.
Tyrese Owen joined the Rebels back in the summer but never went on to make a competitive appearance for the club after featuring in pre-season. He then joined Aveley at the end of August.
