FC Clacton statistician publishes two books documenting club's history

Karl Fuller, 50, always wanted to be a sports journalist and used to write FC Clacton match reports for the Clacton Gazette, he was also match day programme editor at the club for seven years.

Since Clacton Town’s rebranding as FC Clacton in 2007, Karl has documented the club’s first 300 players as well as it’s successful season in 2009/10.

This summer, Karl republished an updated version of From Rush Bowl Green to Millfield and Who’s who of the Seasiders in the modern era: The first 300 players to play for FC Clacton.

Karl said: “I wrote my first book in 2010 on the cup winning season and really wanted to write another.

“As the statistician, I note down every time a player makes their debut and add their details to my spreadsheet, so I was aware the 300th player was coming up.

“For some context, Clacton Town was formed in 1892 and rebranded to FC Clacton in 2007, so there’s some crossover as some players played for both clubs.”

From Rush Bowl Green to Millfield chronicles FC Clacton’s third season in which the team won the first division knockout cup, the final was played at Hadley United’s stadium, Millfield.

FC Clacton beat Halstead Town 2-1 in the final and also finished runners up in the first division, earning promotion to the premier division.

The book begins with club legend Paul Hillier’s testimonial match against an Ipswich Town FC side and continues until the cup win.

Karl added: “They’ve not had a season like that since, I’ve seen my club Ipswich Town win at Wembley and in the Premier League, but it’s hard to explain seeing your local team achieve success.”

The second book documenting the club’s first 300 players has interesting player stats including debuts, appearances made and goals scored.

Karl has also provided a subscription service for the book in which patrons paid a small fee to have their names included.

The money raised will go towards St Helena Hospice.