They`ve Played for Your Club……Metropolitan Police

Continuing the series on players who have represented the current clubs in the Southern Football League.

On 6th July 1829, Sir Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police, the first organised Police Force in the world, with an office overlooking the Thames at Whitehall known as Scotland Yard, a name that has become famous throughout the world and also became synonymous with the Metropolitan Police.

Ninety years later, in 1919, the Metropolitan Police Football Club was formed, playing friendly matches until joining the Spartan League in 1928.

Apart from the Second World War years, the club remained in that competition until 1960.

During that time the Blues were champions eight times, runners-up once and League Cup winners once.

In 1960 the Blues joined, ironically, the Metropolitan League, winning the League Cup in 1969.

In 1971 the Blues were accepted into the Southern League and played in Division South until 1977 under manager Vic Rouse, the former Wales and Crystal Palace goalkeeper.

In 1977, the Blues moved to the Isthmian League, becoming one of the founder members of the restructured Division Two.

A successful first season resulted in the club finishing runners-up to Epsom & Ewell and being promoted to Division One.

In Season 1981/82 the club finished third in Division One, missing promotion by just two points.

However, fortunes changed and in 1984/85, as a result of finishing third from the bottom, the Blues were relegated to Division Two (South).

Ironically, in that 1984/85 season, the Blues enjoyed their best run in the FA Cup, reaching the First Round and the home tie against Dartford was subsequently featured on the BBC's `Match of the Day` programme.

Defeat against Dartford was followed by a run of defeats in the league, which saw the Blues drop into one of the four relegation places introduced that season.

On returning to Division Two (South) the Met finished seventh in both 1985/86 and 1986/87.

During 1987/88 the Blues led the Division Two (South) table in January by 7 points, but they were overhauled by Chalfont St Peter, who won their last two games of season and became champions by just a point.

The Met were runners-up by virtue of a one-goal difference over Dorking after a nail-biting finish to a season in which the Blues lost just two league matches, both away.

The next two seasons saw the club finish in mid-table in Division One but in 1990/91 the club finished second-from-bottom and were relegated into the newly formed Division Two of the re-structured Isthmian League.

The club remained in Division Two for several years, always finishing in the top half but just outside the promotion positions.

In 1993/94 the Blues again reached the First Round of the F.A. Cup, losing 2:0 to Crawley Town.

Season 1994/95 saw the club celebrate its 75th anniversary with a game against the Army and the opening of a new grandstand at Imber Court.

The Blues finished in fifth position in Division Two and ended the season with a thrilling victory in the Carlsberg Trophy, defeating Collier Row in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw after extra-time.

During the next few seasons, the club continued to finish in the top half of Division Two and in 1999/00 reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase (last 8), losing to the eventual winners Deal Town.

Amidst another league re-organisation, the club were moved into the Isthmian Division One South in 2002, before being placed in Division One in 2004.

A fifth-place finish in 2004/05 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, but they lost 4–3 on penalties to Bromley in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw.

The Met finished fourth in the division the following season, but lost in the play-off semi-finals again, defeated 1–0 by Dover Athletic.

More league re-organisation saw the Met placed in Division One South in 2006.

They finished fourth in 2007/08, losing 2–0 to Cray Wanderers in the play-off semi-finals, and another fourth-place finish in 2008/09 was followed by a 1–0 win against Fleet Town in the play-off semi-finals before a 1–0 defeat to Cray Wanderers in the final.

They won the London Senior Cup in 2009/10, beating AFC Wimbledon in the final on penalties.

In 2010/11 the club won Division One South, earning promotion to the Isthmian Premier Division.

The club underwent a change when they opted out of having to field serving police officers.

They have not had an active officer as part of their side since 2012 when the last representative had to miss an FA Cup First Round match at home to Crawley Town as he had used up his annual leave – the Met lost 2–1.

In 2014/15 they finished fifth, going on to lose 2–1 to Hendon in the play-off semi-finals but won the Surrey Senior Cup, beating Merstham 2–0 in the final.

At the end of the 2017/18 season, the Met were transferred to the Southern League Premier Division South as part of yet another re-structuring of the non-League Pyramid.

The following season saw them reach the First Round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–0 to Newport County and they also won the Surrey Senior Cup, and finished third in the league.

In the play-offs they defeated Salisbury 3–2 in the semi-finals, and went on to win the final against Poole Town 1–0, qualifying for the super play-off final against Tonbridge Angels, which they lost 3-2 after extra-time.

Their Imber Court ground, in Molesey, Surrey, is not even within the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.

What was once part of the long arm of the law is now merely associated with it.

They are funded, in a sense, by the police. Those who work for the Met have a lottery that raises money for sports sides.

The team combines pride in the name with an ironic outlook. Their dressing room is marked by the badge, but they walk out to The Clash's `I Fought The Law`. They have officers among the coaches, but they are willing to scream at a striker to 'go down' when a tackle comes in.

The club has around 26 youth teams and whilst black and ethnic minority people are under-represented in the force, they thrive in the Met`s football academy.

The Met`s record goalscorer is Mario Russo.

Born in Sydenham, he is as his name suggests, of Italian descent.

He joined the police force in 1980 and went on to represent the British Police on numerous occasions.

Russo played for the Met for almost 18 years.

Mark Adams was a quick and tricky wide player.

He began his playing days with Wealdstone, making his first-team debut at the age of 17 in the Alliance Premier League.

He went on to enjoy a spell with New York Arrows in the North American Indoor Soccer League before returning to England and joining Hayes in 1984, where he played a total of 52 games and scored 8 goals.

Adams went on to play for Harrow Borough, Kingstonian, Hendon, where he had two stints and Slough Town.

He joined the Met in 1990 and was a constable in North London.

He went on to represent the British Police, the FA XI and the Isthmian League.

Adams continued to play for the Met until the age of 36 when he retired from playing in 1998 and went into coaching with Northwood amongst others.

A very powerful midfielder, John Nicholson hails from the east of England where he turned out for Huntingdon Town, March Town United and Wisbech Town before joining the Met Police in 1990.

He went on to have a spell with Boreham Wood before joining Collier Row and Romford following a second spell with the Met in September 1996.

Nicholson was somewhat surprisingly offered the chance to play in the Isthmian Premier Division with Dagenham & Redbridge, which he took with some success.

He was released and spent the 1998 pre-season with Billericay Town but was going to re-join Romford until he opted to accept an offer from Harlow Town.

Bradley Hudson-Odoi started his career with Fulham as a youth player.

He signed for Hereford United and made his senior debut during the 2008/09 campaign.

He went on to play 16 games for the Bulls, scoring 3 goals as well as having a loan spell with Grays Athletic.

In August 2009, he joined Histon and returned to Grays for a second loan spell in November 2009.

In January 2010, he switched to Conference South club Thurrock and then had a stint abroad at Hungarian side Vasas.

Upon returning from Hungary, Hudson-Odoi – older brother of Chelsea and England star Callum – joined the Met, initially on trial, before signing a contract in January 2014.

He went on to play 65 times for the Blues, contributing 19 goals.

A move to Wealdstone during the 2015/16 season saw Hudson-Odoi being voted their player of the season.

After the season ended, Wealdstone announced his departure for National League side Sutton United.

He played 13 times for the U`s, bagging a couple of goals, and also had spells on loan with Maidstone United, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Eastleigh.

Hudson-Odoi played a part in Sutton's historic run to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup for the first time ever, including a 3–1 victory over League One side and local rivals AFC Wimbledon in the Third Round in January 2017, and a 2–0 defeat to Premier League Arsenal in the Fifth Round a month later.

However, later in February 2018, he was released by Sutton and signed for Hampton.

But at the end of the 2017/18 season, he returned to Wealdstone.

After an injury-hit 2018/19 campaign, he left Wealdstone and re-united with former manager, Alan Dowson at then-National League South rivals Woking.

However, just after featuring twice for the Surrey-based side, Hudson-Odoi opted to leave the club in February 2019.

Defender John Hamsher started his career with Fulham and went on the make 3 substitute appearances for the Cottagers before being released in the summer of 1997.

He joined Rushden & Diamonds in August 1997 and after a slow start, earned nationwide prominence when his penalty helped the Diamonds defeat Division Two side Scunthorpe United in the First Round of the FA Cup in 1999/00, then holding Sheffield United to a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane in the Third Round before losing the replay on penalties after another 1-1 draw at Nene Park.

He went on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge in December 2000 and played 5 games before being recalled in January 2001 after Stevenage Borough offered an undisclosed fee for his services.

He remained at Broadhall Way until the end of the following season but was released in the summer of 2002, joining Isthmian Division One South side Carshalton Athletic.

He suffered a broken leg in September 2002, and again in May 2003 and after returning to fitness, he unfortunately suffered a third broken leg in the game against Kingstonian in January 2004.

He remained at Carshalton until May 2005, when he signed for then-Isthmian Division One side Metropolitan Police.

After two seasons with the Blues, he joined Cove in June 2007 before starting the following season at Chertsey Town.

In October 2008, Hamsher joined Guildford City as player/assistant manager, but left early in 2009 to become player-coach at Banstead Athletic.

He then started the 2009/2010 season as joint-assistant manager at Isthmian League Division One South side Merstham, but time restrictions with a new job forced him to stand down, and he joined then-Sussex County League side Dorking Wanderers in November 2009.

In March 2011, Hamsher was appointed manager at Combined Counties League Premier side Egham Town.

After some 20 months in charge of the Sarnies, he resigned in September 2012 whilst the club were top of the table and was appointed manager at Isthmian Division One South side Chipstead nine days later.

With the club struggling at the wrong end of the table, Hamsher quit in April 2013.

Late in 2014 he became manager of Combined Counties side Hanworth Villa.

Goalkeeper Colin Mackleworth began his career with his local club, West Ham United, with whom he won an FA Youth Cup winners medal in 1963.

However, he only managed to make 3 first-team appearances before being released and joining Leicester City in 1967.

He was brought to Filbert Street as cover for Peter Shilton and faced a high-pressure debut in the drawn FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Rotherham United at Millmoor before making his League debut.

For another three seasons he bore the frustrations of regular Football Combination football and irregular senior opportunities.

In 1971, he made the short trip down the A6 to sign for Southern League Kettering Town.

And he helped the Poppies, under Ron Atkinson, to win the Division One North title and promotion to the Premier Division in 1971/72.

Although Atkinson wanted Mackleworth to stay at Rockingham Road, he had already decided to join the police force.

He was placed at his local Bow station in East London where, ironically, his duties included matchdays at West Ham`s Upton Park.

He had a brief spell with Clapton before spending several seasons in goal for the Met.

Nester Guinness-Walker was born into an acting family - his great-grandfather was Sir Alec Guinness. He had spells with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur whilst at school, but played Sunday league football until he was 17, when he signed for the Met in 2016.

His performances for the Southern League Blues in the 2018/19 FA Cup, when he helped them to reach the First Round against League Two Newport County, and had scouts flocking to Imber Court.

The left-back became AFC Wimbledon`s first signing of the close season in 2019, despite Guinness-Walker receiving offers from two Premier League clubs.

After winning the race for his signature, he wasted no time impressing at the start of his Dons career and he scored his first senior goal at Ipswich Town.

He made 27 appearances in his first season with the club and has 52 to his name to date.

A team-mate of Guinness-Walker`s at both the Met Police and at AFC Wimbledon is Ethan Chislett.

After moving to England as a boy from South Africa, Chislett played for Guildford Saints, where his father Donovan was his manager.

Although spells with professional academies, including Southampton, didn’t work out, he furthered his football development by playing Futsal before returning to these shores to reignite his career at Imber Court with the Met.

In 2017, he had a spell in Spain with CF Reddis in the Segona Catalana.

He returned to England and re-joined the Met and, alongside Guinness-Walker, played a pivotal part in their 2018/19 FA Cup that ended in defeat at the hands of Newport County.

He was snapped up by Aldershot Town in 2019 and his form in the National League, where he made 38 appearances in his debut season at that level, earned a move to AFC Wimbledon min August 2020 and a reunion with Guinness-Walker.

To date, the midfielder has made 27 appearances for the Dons, scoring his first professional goal against Northampton Town in September 2020.

Forward Ken O`Rourke is the brother of John, who also played Southern League football later in his career after being with Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers and Bournemouth.

Born in Lambeth, London, Ken O`Rourke showed great promise as an apprentice at Leyton Orient, leading to Arsenal signing him at the age of 17 in February 1967.

Failing to make a first-team appearance for the Gunners, he was released at the end of the 1967/68 season after scoring 12 goals in 42 youth games, joining Ipswich Town on a two-month trial.

He again failed to make the grade at Ipswich, joining neighbours Colchester United on a similar trial period in October 1968.

Whilst with Colchester, O'Rourke made his first and only Football League appearance in a 2–0 Fourth Division defeat to Swansea City at Vetch Field in November 1968.

He also made one other appearance for the U's in the FA Cup, a 5–0 thrashing of Chesham United in the First Round a week prior to making his League debut.

O'Rourke was released at the end of his trial period, and signed for Southern League Bedford Town in December 1968, but was released at the end of the season, having played 12 times, scoring 3 goals for the Eagles.

After that, he joined the Metropolitan Police as a police officer and played for the Blues for several years, mostly in their first spell as a Southern League outfit.

Of the former internationals on the Met`s books, capped 6 times at full international level by Barbados, winger or striker Jon Nurse is perhaps the best know.

A qualified UEFA B coach, Nurse returned to the Met in a coaching capacity in December 2015.

Having failed to get anywhere in Crystal Palace or Wimbledon`s academy set-ups, he came to the fore with Sutton United in the Isthmian Premier, notching 19 goals in 28 games in 2003/04.

That earned him a move to Stevenage Borough in the summer of 2004 with Craig McAllister; the pair racking up nearly 60 goals between them during that 2003/04 season.

While it took time for him to break into the first team at Broadhall Way, it soon clicked, and he went on to make 86 appearances and score 18 goals as well as have loan spells with Lewes and Woking.

He made the step-up to Football League with Dagenham & Redbridge in 2007 and spent five good years with the Daggers, competing in League One and League Two during his time at the club.

But his time in East London came to an end in 2012 and he moved to Barnet.

But it wasn’t the happiest of stays as after his first season, Barnet were relegated to the Conference and Nurse was put on the transfer list.

He stuck it out with the Bees for three years in the end but found himself on the fringes of the first team squad.

That said, he did take up some coaching duties; a role not lost on the club when they were promoted back to the Football League in 2015.

After the 2014/15 campaign, he left to concentrate on coaching but did play for the Met and also for Loxwood in the Sussex County League.

Midfielder Alfred Mugabo had a short spell with the Blues in 2017.

A former Arsenal academy graduate, after being released by the Gunners at 18 he had a short spell with Spartan South Midlands League side Bedford FC and then played in the Isthmian League for Enfield Town, Dulwich Hamlet and Canvey Island before signing for the Met.

Capped by Rwanda in 2013 against Algeria in a 2014 World Cup qualifier, he left after a handful of games at Imber Court and joined Braintree Town but since 2018 has been playing local Sunday league football.

Centre-back >strong>Junior Eldstal is another to have had a brief spell with the Met.

A Swedish-born Malaysian, he started his career with Aldershot Town, but has mostly represented the reserve team, going on to have spells with Farnborough and Reading and played for then-Hellenic League side Slimbridge whilst attending Hartpury College.

In May 2013, he signed with Malaysian side Sarawak after a successful trial only to be bought by rivals JDT after the 2014 transfer window.

In 2019 he returned to England and had his brief spell at Imber Court and then flew off to play for Thai League One club Chonburi.

Having represented Malaysia 11 times at under-23 level, he has won 14 full international caps to date since 2014.

Rene Regis was a former Saint Lucian international, who played for the likes of Chippenham Town, Salisbury City, where he was awarded the player of the year for 2005/06 season, and Dulwich Hamlet before signing for the Met Police.

Regis represented the Saint Lucia national team in numerous international matches and went on to score the only goal in their World Cup Qualifying match against Suriname.

He sadly died in March 2019 at the age of just 46 following a short battle with cancer.

Metropolitan Police Web Site