page_title: Walton Casuals F.C.
section_title: 1992–2002: Entering the football pyramid
hierarchical_section_title: Walton Casuals F.C. / History / 1992–2002: Entering the football pyramid
caption_attribution_description: English: The 1997-98 Walton Casuals squad.
context_page_description: Walton Casuals Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Founded in 1948, they currently play in the Southern League Premier Division South. The club is affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association, and has been a part of the football pyramid since 1992.
  The club joined the Surrey Intermediate League upon formation, and remained there until the league disbanded in 1965. A move to the Surrey Senior League lasted just two years before becoming founding members of the Suburban League. Walton Casuals won their first major honour in 1983 as champions of the Suburban League Southern Section. In 1992, the club turned semi-professional and entered the football pyramid by joining the Surrey Premier League. The Stags earned promotion to the Combined Counties Football League in 1995, and the Isthmian League 10 years later. After two years of groundsharing, the club moved into the Elmbridge Sports Hub – a £20 million sports complex development – for the 2017–18 season. In their first season at the new stadium, Walton secured a top six finish on goal difference and went on to win the play-offs.
context_section_description: Subsequent years saw the club slip into a steady decline, regularly finishing in the bottom two of the Suburban League. After 21 years of competing in the Suburban League, the club decided to switch to the Surrey Premier League in June 1992 to join the pyramid system. A year of consolidation paved the way for major changes at Franklyn Road the following summer, as Kim Harris was reappointed as manager after a successful spell at Hersham RBL and the club expanded into both Sunday and youth football. In 1993–94, the Casuals won the Surrey Premier League Challenge Cup, defeating Holmesdale after a replay, and in 1994–95 the club finished runners-up to Chobham in the league. They were also were losing finalists to Vandyke in the Challenge Cup.
  During the summer the club was promoted to the Combined Counties Football League, and the first four seasons proved a real struggle. Finishing bottom of the league in 1996–97, the club avoided relegation thanks to the Combined Counties League exercising its prerogative to maintain a minimum number of clubs in the Premier Division. With the help of local charities, the installation of floodlights at Franklyn Road was completed in February 1999 – a major hurdle overcome as far as ground requirements were concerned. The appointment of Mick Sullivan and Garry Clark as joint managers in the summer of 1999 brought about a dramatic improvement in results. As well as a best-ever finish of 5th in the league, the club won the League Cup in 2000, beating Viking Greenford 4–2 in the final. The following season was also a relatively successful one, with a placing of 7th in the table and another appearance in the League Cup final, beaten 3–0 by double-winners Cove.
caption: The 1997–98 Walton Casuals squad, managed by Mick Byrne.
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