The end of an era ? not a day too soon some will say, but the EPH are hanging up there pool cues.....
I have played every season from our debut in Croydon back in 96/7 (i think am sure Alex can confirm 1 way or the other) from the start we played out of the Eden Park Hotel.
A team of mates that could all play pool ? Alex Barnetson / Keith Barnetson /Scott Lansing / Tony Venus / Adam Hewson /Arthur Hewson / Steve Rae / Richard honey / Andy Stevenson / Jamie Everret & me (Well the others can play a bit...haha)
This was the best pool venue i have ever played in & it provided us with some great nights, on a Tuesday you could hear the jukebox smashing out Oasis for miles around & that along with the walk through a dark bar with some dubious characters sitting at the bar meant most teams in those lower leagues were beat before we?d even broke off. That along with the fact we were miles better that the teams at that level & we were young/brash/arrogant & louder than you can imagine (back then we really did roar)
All the teams back then said we should have been shuffled up to Div 1 ? we were not & we smashed our way through the Lges with divisional titles in the bag & in 97/8 we lifted the Winter K/O cup beating a Sean Kelly inspired Pawleyne Arms 4-3 from 2-0 down, we fought back mainly thanks to Richard ?Show me the? Honey & an amazing swerve shot to sink the black to get us back to 2-2 & we went on from there to take the pot home (via a massive night in the curry house)
We had some major rivalries through the years (some friendly some not) none more so than the Bromley Cuemasters ? who we battled with up to Div 1 & have had battles every season right up to our last (well except when they were relegated ? something that has never happened to us)
When we finally made Div 1 in 2001/02 we lost some great players in Richard Honey / Steve Rae & Jamie Everret & this badly dented our side, as we never really challenged at the top table like us & a few others thought we would. We had enough days in the shine though ? ruffling feathers always & trying to crank the roar up, which in truth was never the same after the EPH closed its pool doors to us.
Summer 2003 was another great year for us as a team ? we won the K/O cup against the mighty Hot Shots, it was a classic final with us leading 6-0 then 10-6 finally closing it out 11-9 in what really was a 1 sided final only for us to keep letting them back at us
Individually we have seen some great players/achievements most recently with Barry Watkins making the Singles Semi-final last season & Scott Lansing winning/sharing the honour of Top Div 1 player a couple of seasons ago & other feats achieved by various players
Thanks to some of our recent signings who made sure we kept our Div1 status over the last few years ? Rab/scott Harkness, Farron Rowe, Billy Burnett, Metin Tomrisz, Tash Schultz & the best player of the last few years Barry Watkins...oh and Tony Venus for helping rescue us when in desperate need last season
In closing thanks to Alex who travelled ridiculous lengths to captain the team for years & his passion for it was undeniable & truly remarkable, just sorry we could not pick up a final pot over the last few years to sign off in style
Good luck to the players who are moving on to diff teams etc
1 thing is for sure Div 1 will never be the same again, maybe a little quieter though
Its been emotional fellas HOW LONG LEFT ?
It's always a shame to see a team fold, even the Eden. It's been on the cards for a few seasons though and the last couple of years have seen the original members disappear one by one. I never played at the EPH so can't comment on it as a venue but I do remember my first experience of the Eden roar at the working mens club in West Wickham. I can honestly say it was the most hate-fuelled atmosphere I've ever known at a pool match and I think words were even exchanged between Alex's dad and the Coles twins' dad. But from then on matches between us were played in the right spirit, with a competitive edge but ending in handshakes all round. I'm surprised you consider us your biggest rivals though, I always thought it was the Coney you hated.
I for one will miss the battles we had with Truey, Alex et al and so it is adios to the Eden from the Cuemasters. At least we've managed to outlast you.
i can only echo the sentiments of longshanks that the eden will be a big loss to the league, i wasnt playing in the league when the cuemasters/eden rivalry was taking part but heard all the stories the good & the bad, but i have to say since i been playing for the cuemasters the matches against the eden where some of the ones i looked forward to most and they was always played in a very sporting manner which is to me what a pool night should be about! the old teams of truey,alex.the hewsons,lansing raes plus others were always ultra competitive and when they the old ones started leaving to be replaced by the watkins roes harknesses ect youthought a new era was starting but obviously was not to be! i personally remember when one night me and stu thompson went down the elmer lodge to witness what the eden v coney rivalary was all about and after witnessing it i have to say it was the most highly strung atmosphere i have seen on a tues night! just a pure burning desire to win from both teams.
I have to say apart from one unfortunate evening the Eden was always a match that made us most up for playing and in my eyes the most enjoyable owing to how competitive it was. For the teams who were always not quite able to challenge at the top of the league these fixtures kept the interest going for the seasons in Division 1 that were all over by the shouting after 10 weeks!. Unfortunately the Eden seemed to struggle in a similar way that we did with big journeys needed from amny players, people starting families and others just moving on.
I remember the game that the Shark talks about but to be honest all of our matches were like that and both teams always seemed to find their best line up for such matches. Whilst I am personally not playing at the moment I would say that the Eden will be missed in a big wayas they were one of the real characters of the league.
Firstly, let me say Truey is too modest. A true gentlemen and he left out mentioning above he achieved the highest personal accolade of an Eden player & becoming Croydon Singles champion in 2003 in winning the Summer title. He ripped apart some big names to take that title. The final was done & dusted in record time.
I echo Truey's thanks to the team of recent years. I love them all to bits. Let me just clarify, the current Eden set up has not 'folded' due to the decline of players and we believed that we had a team in place until a week or so ago. Barry, Farron & Co had an 'opportunity' to keep an identity, to be different, & keep the Eden tradition going and seemed to have attracted a few new players in recent seasons. Maybe sitting on the bench for their new sides will make those players realise the 'opportunity' to keep it going has been missed.
I also want to mention these special players who played for the Eden. Legend says if you cut them open...'they will bleed a little Eden'... Mark Eldridge, Michael Eldridge, Liam Connors, Steve Field, Pedro Watts, Donna Evans, Cliff Mills, Danny Evans, Marc Burnett, Matt Ansell.
And all those who played for the Eden, that of course would never wish to be remembered as 'bleeding a little Eden', Matt Palmer, Rob Spry, and Luke Davis - yes the Coney Poo's did have a brief stint with a summer Eden side!
The Eden side was originally formed in 1986, played in the Bromley league until 14 years ago when joining the Croydon league. In 2001 we had to leave the pub at Eden Park Hotel (EPH) in our beloved home manor of Eden Park - it was a massive blow, & since then we have joined many journeymen sides in Croydon. I have always believed a pool team should keep its identity and having its own home venue in the end never materialised again for us after the EPH. We kept it as local as possible, the Legion in West Wickham, to the Elmer in Beckenham, then a big move totally out of our area something we thought would never work, to Thornton Heath. My thanks go to Dave & Betty at the Farley for their hospitalilty and support over three seasons. We left the Farley mid season, a choice taken by the majority who felt we had a future at Rileys - and the Eden is now history. Team name was originally The EPH, with the summer line up in those days known as the Magnificent 7. At the Elmer Lodge pub we changed our team name to the Eden Cues, and then in downtown Thornton Heath at the 'Theatre of Dreams', we played as the Farley Eden. Our last season at Rileys Frith Road we reverted back to Eden Cues....
You either hated us or you either hated us. I take both as a compliment. Some great battles along the way, some great matches. It kicked off too many times to put down on paper, but thats what we were about. We were never in it to make friends, though we mellowed in recent years our passion continued at times to spill over. I'll remember forever the 1998 presentation night when we lifted the Knockout Cup, we were booed on and then off the stage! Marc Burnett once said about the Eden, ''the Eden are misunderstood, admittedly they are horrible on or around a pool table but when two miles away from a pool table they are a decent bunch of lads.'
Dave named a few teams above that we had battles with, certainly the Cuemasters in the early days, but also with the Legionnaires, and New Circle. The Coney in recent seasons took the limelight as being our arch enemy and both teams will reflect on some incredible tense matches played in probably the most hate fuelled atmosphere's I have ever witnessed. As we stormed through the leagues the opposition changed and there were numerous crazy nights it also went Pete Tong with the likes - Hazel's Legion, Nuttman's Eagles, Harris Warbank, MACCA'S Prop, Jacko's Patriots, and Pat's Pond, Bensalem's Jolly. Plus in between we also liked to have the odd dust-up between ourselves.
For me, the present day Eden had a real chance to take one of the two major Cups, we came close a number of times, semi finals, and lots of quarter final appearances. We had a terrible record in the League Cup, but we breezed into the Semi's in 2008 and met a depleted Prop side in the semi's and that night went our best opportunity to progress to a final against a Patriots team, which I am positive we would have beaten. My personal desire to keep travelling 100 miles a week was spurred on by the belief the current Eden set up was good enough of taking one of these Cups but also because I got a buzz from playing in a side that just 'wanted to have it' each week. As for the original Eden we were young, reckless, disrespectful and full of passion. We had a burning desire to not lose a match, and enjoyed upsetting the odds - it was the key factor in winning both 1998 & 2003 Knockout Cup's, plus prior to joing the CDPL we won the then 'London Cup' in 1995. The two Croydon Cup final wins were special nights - but both finals made special by the gallant displays of our opponents. Both matches were in the end famous for their last frame shoot out' s. Pawleyne 'Paula' Arms in 1998 fell on the Eden sword 4-3 & in 2003 Hot Shots, in what was another epic final were eventually defeated 11-10.
I'm gutted we could not have signed off with one last full season, Dave & I have talked about a possible sign off season next summer but we both agreed unless it was back at the EPH and we could muster back most of the original team, which is unlikely then why even try and bother. So this is it. Its over. Last one out turn the lights off. No comeback imminent.
I always told the lads every week before we went out for a match, 'you are only as good as your last win'. And so it was to be - we signed off an Eden era with a 9-1 win over the Jolly at the end of last Winter season. Ironically it will be the match I will remember the most - the match that made sure the Eden maintained a personal record of not being relegated in 24 years of league pool.
Apologies for the Powerlike short edition post.
Edited by ThePower on 08-09-2010 15:35
I'd just like to say, I haven't been in the league for that long (since around 2002-03 I think) but I did like the Eden and their 'Roar' and always enjoyed playing them as the banter was amazing and how pool should be played, at a high competitive level...
I'd like to think that we (Rack Pack) have have tried to attain that sort of spirit when we play and hope the Eden are remembered when teams come to play us...
Haven't logged in here for donkeys, but saw this and had to pay something of a homage...
I had a brief stint at the Eden (played like a halfwit) and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I felt it was one of the teams you had to have played for, not least because of the fuss and furore they created right throughout the league, from bottom to very top.
Another memory as an outsider is from the doubles one year, myself and Mev Ali drew Scott Lansing and I believe Arthur. In the deciding frame the cue ball came to rest in a hole where the black spot once lived. Mev asked if he could move it a touch, Arthur said Yes, Scott went nuts - anyway, Mev got to move the ball, dished up, we shook up and left quickly, with the sound of Scott calling Arthur every c*nt under the sun, resonating in our ears as we walked back to the car
Without a shadow of a doubt, of the teams that were not regular winners of the various titles, the Eden absolutely top the tree of teams that have every right to claim their status of 'Legends of the CDPL'.
Good luck to those of you that end up in other teams, and to those that are hanging up your cues for good, thanks for the memories, both as a brief member of the team, and as an avid spectator of your antics over the years.
wow i must say that is a truly amazing achievement! had some quality laughs with the eden, esp at 'the elmer lodge' and I must say, for guys who didnt play near as much pool as some of the other teams, they could certainly mix it with the ' big boys'
I can remember the 'magnificent 7' played from wwickham legion club, that was in my 'flying machine' days, another pub, which wasn't always great to play in, esp for a visiting team! ( gone completley off the subject) a massive pat on the back to the eden, eph, magnificent , helped put the croydon pool lge where it is 2day!
Really hope this isnt the end for some of the 'original guard' and they return in the foreseable futrure.
I feel pretty gutted u arent going to be about in fairness! It's like alot of the pubs now days, here one minute, gone the next! The eden where apart of the furniture, great characters and really top fellas.
It's nice to be nice ; )
OMG what has happened! The Eden must survive ! I feel partially responsible as i have not played since becoming a dad a year ago.
I have been a member of the EPH since the get go and boy has it been a journey. When you have players in your team with nicknames like The Power, Mad Dog, Sting, The Honey, Letty and the Doctor then you know its going to be interesting.
We were the fashionable, trendy and popular guys who also played pool, but boy we were very good at it. Especially good at playing once a week and then smashing up teams who really wanted to be good at pool and practised 3/4 times a week.
Over the 20 odd years we have seen massive highs and some serious lows but throughout we stayed together and played our matches always knowing we could win every game, even against the big boys. I remember beating the Hot Shots a few years back in the last game of the season down at their place to break their hearts and prevent them winning the league. We then turned them over every season up until last year.
It will NOT be the same in this league ever again without the EPH.
It makes me sad to see it come to an end but i suppose the light that burns twice as bright, burns half as long. And we have burned so very, very brightly.
Never say Never.....
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? something that has never happened to us)
I'm sure I speak for everyone by saying that the CDPL will never be the same without the 'Eden Roar' . .
