Click here for picture of 1981 second XI
The decade began with the youth policy continuing to flourish. Amongst the new boys were the sons of former players such as Carlton Evans and Paul Haden. The club as a whole was in a fairly strong position with teams in the Premier Division, Division One, Division Three and Division Five of the AFA. The third XI lifted the Minor Cup for only the second time in 1980.
Click here for picture of 1982 first XI
During the 1983/84 season five Old Wulfrunians played in the Centenary Varsity match, Andy Husselbee for Oxford and Angus Whyte, Jamie Rentoul, Gary Baker and Carlton Evans for Cambridge. This season also saw entry into the London AFA Open Veterans' Cup for the first time. Guinness, pies and a sing-song in a pub down the Old Kent Road before a game. In a later game that season, against Upminster, Tony Phillips cried off en route (at a service station) as he needed hospital treatment after closing the car door on his head.
Click here for picture of 1983 second XI
In the following season the same five Old Wulfrunians played in the Varsity match. Discipline was on the wane within the club, three cautions and a sending off in the whole season of one hundred and twelve games played.
By the mid-eighties the early optimism regarding younger players had evaporated and Chairman Ian Ross was now expressing concern over the future of the club as there were "too many older players and not enough young ones", a problem that was a cause for concern right through until the end of the nineties.
Click here for picture of 1984 first XI
Season 1985/86 saw Mark Howard take over as club captain, a stint that spanned eight seasons. The second XI suffered an acute goal scoring problem, scoring just twenty-eight goals in twenty-six games. The Veterans side finished runners up in the London AFA Open Vets Cup. On the way they inflicted on Corinthian Casuals their first ever defeat in this competition, Alan Thompson and Gordon Brown scoring the goals in a 2 - 0 victory (after extra time). This season also saw the first year of sponsorship under the direction of David Cook.
Prior to the start of the 1987/88 season Dave Pointon was elected Chairman for a three year stint, a three year stint that turned out to be a fifteen year stint. The club captain, Mark Howard, played for every team in the club during a hectic end of season league campaign - a club captain in the true sense of the word.
Click here for picture of 1987/88 Veterans
On the whole the eighties was very much a nearly decade. Twice Premier Division runners up, runners up in the Senior Cup, Junior Cup, Minor Cup, twice in the London AFA Open Veterans' Cup and even runners up in the AFA Club of the Year. The one pleasing achievement was winning the Eric Cash Memorial Trophy, awarded by referees to the most welcoming and sporting club.
