“The Lions” were formed in 1903. Starting their playing history in local Bognor & Chichester, they made steady progress in the ensuing years. It wasn’t until 1966 that real honours came to the club. They were West Sussex Football League champions that year, repeating the feat in 1969 & 1970. they were granted entry into Division 2 of the County League in 1970. In this inaugaral season they just missed promotion, and found themselves semi-finalists in the Sussex Senior Cup.Following two successive seasons of finishing third, a downward spiral set in, with Pagham having to apply for re-election to the league in 1977. Following a rebuilding of the side, they finished third in 1978 & were crowned champions in 1979. The were again champions two years later only to be relegated again in 1984. 1985 saw them finish third, having also won the Division 2 cup. Although never being out of the top half of the table throughout the 90’s other than the 1999-2000 season, The Lions only other partial successes were an appearance in the RUR cup final, and the semi-final of the Sussex Senior Cup in season 2002-03.
Pagham’s centenary season promised much and, in the end delivered little. With Graham Peach handing over the chairmanship to Steve Newdick, the club’s boardroom still had a familiar face. Also leaving the club was stalwart Adie Miles, choosing to call it a day before the season. Starting the season with a 3-0 reverse against East Grinstead, the return of Lee “Shakey” Stevens to Nyetimber Lane looked to be a crucial one if the Lions were not to struggle in front of goal. Ironically, it was just such a dearth of scoring opportunities which would define Pagham’s poor league showing. Soundly beaten 5-0 away by Cray Wanderers in the F A Cup, another cup game against AFC Wimbledon in the Vase would prove to be the most memorable game of the season. The Wombles came to a packed Nyetimber Lane on a sunny September Sunday with a reputation as a free-scoring and dominant side. A battling performance by the Lions proved otherwise, and a single goal by Kevin Cooper for the visitors was the only thing separating the sides after a pulsating 90 minutes of play. The 3-0 win away to St Leonards typified Pagham’s luck Easily their best away win of the season, it was destined to be expunged from the record books once St Leonards resigned from the league. Paul Gilbert’s departure from the club in January saw Gary Shaw step up from the reserves to try and arrest the alarming slide into the relegation places. His first game in charge was an exciting 1-1 draw against Saltdean in the Brighton Charity cup that was settled 7-6 on penalties in Pagham’s favour. Defensively the Lions were proving to be quite a solid unit, with Wes Hallett in goal deservedly getting the supporters award for Player of theYear.
The lack of goals was becoming a concern, though, and Adie Miles retirement did seem to have robbed the Lions of some of their teeth. Small consolation was taken by a league double over local rivals Selsey. A home draw against fellow strugglers Shoreham was less welcome, with only Dave Ward’s last minute header rescuing Pagham from an embarrassing defeat. By now the Lions were 8 points adrift from safety, with the aforementioned loss of St Leonards being the only realistic hope of avoiding the drop. A 2-1 defeat at home to fourth from bottom Redhill on April 10th left Gary Shaw’s men hoping the League would decide that with one team dropping out, only two would be relegated to Division Two. With so many results ending in narrow defeats, Gary Shaw could claim, with some justification that the Lions were never really outplayed in any of their games. However the results spoke for themselves, and only on the last day of the season, with a 2-1 win in an impressive display against title hopefuls Rye and Iden Utd did Pagham do themselves justice.
The 2004-5 season started with a win at home to Hassocks. So began a season in which the Lions would lose narrowly to Tunbridge Wells in the FA Cup and the F A Vase. Goals seemed to still be at a premium for the Lions, although they were conceding at an alarming rate. As at the end of the previous season, Rye and Iden were to prove influential on events at Nyetimber Lane. Following their 5-0 defeat of the Lions at Nyetimber Lane in February, Gary Shaw left the club with Reserve boss Gary Block and coach Vijay Korgaokar taking over. Foloowing on from a 0-0 draw at Chichester, a 6-0 home defeat by Worthing United showed the pair just how much work they had to do. A 5-4 defeat against Littlehampton in the Brighton Charity Cup followed by a 4-4 draw at Hailsham may have been exciting to watch, but the slide down the table continued. A solitary win against East Grinstead in their last five league games doomed the Lions to relegation to Division 2.
Gary Block made his mind up to ensure Pagham would not have another season of relegation worries. However, a 4-2 reverse at Oakwood to begin with suggested another season of struggle at Nyetimber. An early exit from the FA Cup at Sidley and only two draws by the end of August didn’t bode well. A fighting win at Worthing United in the Sussex Senior cup did show some light. The first game of September was destined to go down in Nyetimber folklore. Travelling to high-flying Wealden, the Lions managed to help themselves to nine goals whilst conceding three. The next two games bought them down to earth, being dumped out of the FA Vase by Hythe and then being beaten 4-1 at home by St Francis Rangers saw the vultures hovering again. However, the Lions were playing some good football, and even in the 8-1 mauling at Lewes in the Sussex Senior Cup there were signs of big improvements. The “Goals against” column was still showing cause for concern, but the strikers were doing enough to keep Pagham just about in the hunt to avoid relegation. They scored nine again in a “six-pointer” against Bexhill United at the start of April, and did enough to ensure that they could start the 2006/07 season in Division 2.
The new season started with a marathon run of 11 friendlies, which prepared the Lions for a positive start to the season. An away win at Crawley Down was followed by a sequence of results which would see them lose only three of their first 11 matches. As two of those defeats were in cup competitions against higher league opposition, the Lions were looking very impressive as they sat at the top of the Division 2 table at the start of October 2006. A trip to Tunbridge Wells in the FA Vase saw them lose 6-1, but they bounced back straight away with a 2-0 win at Storrington. Losing 3-1 at Peacehaven in the next match saw them slip to second in the table. There then followed a dispiriting 3-0 defeat at Whitehawk in the RUR before a much better display as Mile Oak were despatched by the same scoreline on their own pitch.
Success in the cups over the following weeks was mixed. A 1-0 defeat at home to St Francis in the Division 2 Challenge contrasted with a 5-0 thrashing of Mile Oak in the John O’Hara cup 3rd Round. With this game delayed three times due to bad weather, it seemed ironic that the Lions would then fall at the next hurdle only a week later as Sidley won by the odd goal in five. Sandwiched between these two results was a battling display against Division 1 Shoreham in the Brighton Charity Cup. The Lions went down 4-2, but showed definite signs that higher placed opposition held no fears for them. League form was still successful, with a 2-1 reverse at Broadbridge Heath being their only defeat in seven as February started. Westfield’s shock 3-1 win on an equally shocking playing surface was followed by a 3-1 home defeat by lowly Wealden.
When many were voicing doubts over Gary Block’s team, they hit back in style, entering an 11 game unbeaten run which was only ended at Wealden who “did the double” by again winning 3-1. By this time, though, the Lions had already secured the championship without kicking a ball. Westfield’s defeat to East Grinstead meant Pagham could not be over taken. The midweek trip to Midhurst should have been a top of the table clash, but with Midhurst having fallen away in recent weeks, Gary Block’s Black and White Army were victorious, winning 2-1. Mile Oak visited Nyetimber Lane in the penultimate game of the season, and with nothing to play for, they prevailed 1-0. The last game of the season had always promised to be a classic. St Francis Rangers were so often the Lions’ nemesis, and they visited Nyetimber Lane knowing that a victory would allow them to join the Lions in Division 1. A game full of drama went right to the wire. It was deep into injury time that Sam Jeremiah scored the goal that ensured both teams would spend the next season feasting at the top table. The final whistle triggered jubilant scenes at Nyetimber Lane to bring down the curtain on a tremendous season.
