Cray Valley Paper Mills F.C.

History

The club was established in 1919 and joined Division Two of the new Sidcup & Kent League. Playing in green and white, the colours of the mill's vehicles, their first match was played on 20 September 1919, a 1–0 win against Hamilton House.

Cray Valley joined the South London Alliance in 1975. When it merged with the South Midlands League to form the Spartan South Midlands League in 1997, the club were placed in Division One South. Despite finishing as runners-up in the league's first season, they left to become founder members of the London Intermediate League.

In 2002–03 Cray Valley won Division One West, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They were also runners-up in the Kent Reliance Senior Trophy in the same season. However they were disqualified from the first round of the FA Vase for fielding an ineligible player, former Crystal Palace defender Matthew Parsons. The club reached the London Senior Cup final again the following season, but lost 4–1 to Balham.

The 2018–19 season saw Cray Valley reach the FA Vase final for the first time, in which they lost 3–1 after extra time to Chertsey Town at Wembley Stadium. They were also Southern Counties East League Premier Division champions, earning promotion to the South East Division of the Isthmian League. They reached the first round again in 2023–24, when they were drawn away to local League One side Charlton Athletic. After a 1–1 draw at the Valley, they lost the replay 6–1. The season also saw the club win the South East Division title, earning promotion to the Premier Division.

In 2024–25 Cray Valley finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 4–3 to Dartford in the semi-finals.

Ground

The club originally played at the sports ground of the paper mills in St Paul's Cray. However, at the end of the 2018–19 season Greenwich Borough were evicted for failing to pay rent, and subsequently moved to the Phoenix Sports Ground in Barnehurst.

Honours

• Isthmian League
  • South East Division champions 2023–24
• Southern Counties East League
  • Premier Division champions 2018–19
• Kent County League
  • Premier Division champions 2004–05
  • Division One West champions 2002–03
  • Division Three (Western Section) champions 1932–33
• South London Alliance
  • Premier Division winners 1980–81
  • Division One champions 1979–80, 1983–84
• Sidcup & Kent League
  • Division Two champions 1919–20
• London Senior Cup
  • Winners 2016–17
• London Intermediate Cup
  • Winners 2002–03, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Kent Intermediate Shield
  • Winners 2004–05
• Kent Junior Cup
  • Winners 1921–22, 1977–78, 1980–81
• West Kent Challenge Shield
  • Winners 2001–02

Records

• Best FA Cup performance: First round, 2020–21, 2023–24
• Best FA Trophy performance: Second round, 2023–24
• Best FA Vase performance: Runners-up, 2018–19
• Record attendance: 1,550 vs Charlton Athletic, FA Cup first round replay, 15 November 2023

References

References

1. (10 November 2023). "'Like Willy Wonka's golden ticket': Only 1,550 will get into Cray Valley's FA Cup replay with Charlton".
2. [https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com%2Fclubs%2F76256%2FRqG4XckQqOpHXx9FBNZy_AAAA+Club+History+Third+Party.docx Cray Valley (PM) FC - Our history 1919-2015] Cray Valley Paper Mills F.C.
3. The club won the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One of the Bromley & District League. In their second season they won the Kent Junior Cup. They later joined the [[Kent County League|Kent County Amateur League]], winning Division Three of the western section in 1932–33 and finishing as runners-up in the division in 1936–37. The club left the league at the end of the 1954–55 season.[http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2_SE/KCAL51.html Kent County Amateur League 1951–1960] Non-League Matters
4. However, in 2001 they left to rejoin the Kent County League, becoming members of Division One West.[http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2_SE/KentCou98.html Kent County League 1998-2004] Non-League Matters
5. [http://www.kentsportsnews.com/ashford-lift-kent-reliance-senior-trophy-09-04-2017/ Ashford lift Kent Reliance Senior Trophy] Kent Sports News, 9 April 2017
6. [https://kentishfootball.co.uk/news/crayvalley061117 Matthew Parsons: Cray Valley wishes to apologise for allowing this situation to occur] Kentish Football, 6 November 2017
7. [http://kentishfootball.co.uk/news/balhcray090518 Balham 4-1 Cray Valley (Paper Mills) - I just think there were too many below par performances, admits Cray Valley boss Kevin Watson] Kentish Football, 9 May 2018
8. {{usurped
9. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48314552 FA Trophy Final] BBC Sport, 19 May 2019
10. In [[2020–21 FA Cup. 2020–21]] the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 at [[Havant & Waterlooville F.C.. Havant & Waterlooville]].[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54840173 Havant & Waterlooville 1–0 Cray Valley Paper Mills] BBC Sport, 8 November 2020
11. Chamberlain, Darryl. (15 October 2023). "Eltham's Cray Valley PM to face Charlton in FA Cup's first Greenwich borough derby".
12. (5 November 2023). "Minnows Cray Valley Paper Mills earn FA Cup replay with draw at Charlton".
13. (15 November 2023). "Cray Valley Paper Mills 1–6 Charlton Athletic".
14. (28 April 2024). "Magnificent Millers take the title".
15. [https://www.thenonleaguefootballpaper.com/latest-news/isthmian-league-step-three/16696/return-to-the-royal-borough-has-meant-a-busy-summer-for-greenwich-borough/ Return to the Royal Borough has meant a busy summer for Greenwich Borough] The Non-League Football Paper, 5 August 2016
16. [https://kentishfootball.co.uk/news/greenwich200519 Greenwich Borough confirm groundshare deal at Phoenix Sports and appoint Ben Kotey as their new manager] Kentish Football, 20 May 2019
17. [https://www.crayvalleypmfc.com/a/club-honours-56719.html Honours] Cray Valley Paper Mills F.C.