REPORT FOR SEASON 2025/26
"The 2025/26 season brought the Club three major momentous events, one celebratory and two amounting to extreme anguish. Of course, the more pleasing of the trio was TFFC's 50th season in the Maccabi (Southern) Football League, an incredible achievement of longevity which is unrivalled in the Maccabi game.
But bringing considerable sadness was the passing of MGBSFL Chairman David Wolff who followed the Club's lengthy path in the League from Day One. He was there at the very beginning, watching Fortune's inaugural fixture on Sunday 5th September 1976. The strained relationship the Club had with the League in those earliest seasons gradually dissipated as the years passed, to develop into a very stable rapport with David who definitely mellowed over the years. He became a true friend of the Club, fully appreciating the length of unbroken service TFFC has given the M(S)FL. He was our Guest of Honour at various Club events including one of the pilgrimages back to Princes Park, where we were originated, and a few Club Awards. His passing on 3rd February curtailed an amazing tenure of service to the MGBSFL – and grassroots football as a whole – spanning over six decades, more than five as Chairman. A fitting tribute to David appears in the TFFC book commemorating 50 seasons in the League. I was very fortunate to get an article from him for the book a couple of months before he passed.
The passing of Marie Kelly of Belfast, a Friend of Fortune for a long time, on 17th April hit me hard. We were very good friends for 20 years, talking and messaging almost on a daily basis (see page 24 for a tribute).
The second piece of adversity came in the form of stolen funds from the Club's PayPal account, which first came to light in January. In short, our PayPal account was compromised by an infiltrator last August amounting to a total of £3,674 being diverted to a fraudulent account. This matter has been covered in more detail under the Treasurer's Report but it has seriously left the Club well short of funds.
Apart from that, administratively the Club ran well and was on target to have a good financial season once again up to the PayPal disaster hitting us hard. Undoubtedly the situation overshadowed anything the Club was doing right on and off the field of play during the season. Which leads me onto the playing side of the 2025/26 campaign.
In James Lee's first full season as manager, the First Team took on a promotion to the MGBSFL Division 1, with the rest of last season's Division 2, and recorded a welcomed winning season (more league wins than losses) for the first time since 2019/20. Despite starting the season strongly, they lost to the leaders Sukkotingham - by far the best team and comfortable champions - twice and endured defeats to two teams previously beaten handsomely this season, namely 40 Year Wanderers (won 4-0) and Hampstead Ducks (won 6-2). The other loss, against bottom side Mill Hill, was a game the Firsts should have won comfortably but threw away a 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the First Team were blighted by a massive injury list and James had to bring in new emergency signings, on occasions just to make up the numbers. With so many key players absent towards the end of the season, it was little wonder the Firsts were hit by inconsistency leading to some disappointing set-backs. Yet, the Firsts finished in third place, losing out to Brady for the runners-up spot only on goal difference.
In the cup competitions, an extremely tough opening tie in the Peter Morrison Trophy against Sukkotingham led to elimination, whilst in the Cyril Anekstein Cup, Fortune drew 3-3 with Chopped Villa but lost on penalties. In the Super Cup/Barry Goldstein Trophy, the Firsts won two of four group qualifiers but went out in the quarter-final, again on penalties after conceding a late equaliser against Rapid Viennas.
Finishing in third place last season, the Old Boys Team were not able to match the excellence of that particular achievement, winning just one match of the 12 league fixtures played, finishign second from bottom. Simon Black, Old Boys Team manager for 4 seasons, decided to stand down and striker Stefan Simons took over in December. The Old Boys drew 4 games which is jointly the highest number of Fortune draws in any MMFL season. A narrow 3-2 defeat to Scrabble showed the team's competitive spirit and Maccabi Lions were given a good game too, Fortune losing 4-1. A tremendous 3-2 victory against Brady procured the Old Boys their only league win.
More importantly perhaps was a great run in the new Charity Cup, a competition that replaced the Jack Morgan Memorial Cup in name. We will remember that the Old Boys won the Jack Morgan Memorial Cup in 2021, beating St John's Wood Tigers 2-1 in the final, giving the Club its first knockout silverware ever. In this season's competition, Fortune won 3 of the 4 group matches played, which qualified the team for a final appearance against Brady at Rowley Lane. Unfortunately, in a poor football match during which the team did not get their game together, the Old Boys lost to a single second-half goal. Well done to Stefan and his team for making the final which otherwise turned around a rather disappointing season in the League.
Regarding the TFFC book to commemorate the 50th MGBSFL campaign, it was completed in mid-April after two years of production, filled with information galore over 132 pages from cover to cover. The book went to print in early May and was distributed at the CAPE 2026. A payment of £200 will be made to Dementia UK.
A big thank you to Sammy Samuelson, Jonathan Abrams and Stefan Simons on the management side, to our captains Adam Speck and Wayne Davison, and to Kerry for her administration assistance throughout what turned out to be a very difficult season for reasons we certainly did not envisage. Thanks go to James Lee and Simon Black who both stood down as team managers, Simon before the first half of the season was completed and James standing down at the end of the season. James took over from Stevie Allen in February 2025 and saw the team promoted to Division 1, whilst the best of Simon's four-year tenure was a meritable third place finish last season, the Old Boys Team's highest placing in Division 1.
As I said previously, all the pleasing aspects of the 2025/26 season were immensely overshadowed by the financial catastrophe affecting the Club, adding to the sad departure of the legend who was the backbone of the M(S)FL over many years. How the League, already in serious decline, will progress without him remains to be seen but David Wolff will be sorely missed in every sense."
NIGEL KYTE, 3rd June 2026
"The 2025/26 season brought the Club three major momentous events, one celebratory and two amounting to extreme anguish. Of course, the more pleasing of the trio was TFFC's 50th season in the Maccabi (Southern) Football League, an incredible achievement of longevity which is unrivalled in the Maccabi game.
But bringing considerable sadness was the passing of MGBSFL Chairman David Wolff who followed the Club's lengthy path in the League from Day One. He was there at the very beginning, watching Fortune's inaugural fixture on Sunday 5th September 1976. The strained relationship the Club had with the League in those earliest seasons gradually dissipated as the years passed, to develop into a very stable rapport with David who definitely mellowed over the years. He became a true friend of the Club, fully appreciating the length of unbroken service TFFC has given the M(S)FL. He was our Guest of Honour at various Club events including one of the pilgrimages back to Princes Park, where we were originated, and a few Club Awards. His passing on 3rd February curtailed an amazing tenure of service to the MGBSFL – and grassroots football as a whole – spanning over six decades, more than five as Chairman. A fitting tribute to David appears in the TFFC book commemorating 50 seasons in the League. I was very fortunate to get an article from him for the book a couple of months before he passed.
The passing of Marie Kelly of Belfast, a Friend of Fortune for a long time, on 17th April hit me hard. We were very good friends for 20 years, talking and messaging almost on a daily basis (see page 24 for a tribute).
The second piece of adversity came in the form of stolen funds from the Club's PayPal account, which first came to light in January. In short, our PayPal account was compromised by an infiltrator last August amounting to a total of £3,674 being diverted to a fraudulent account. This matter has been covered in more detail under the Treasurer's Report but it has seriously left the Club well short of funds.
Apart from that, administratively the Club ran well and was on target to have a good financial season once again up to the PayPal disaster hitting us hard. Undoubtedly the situation overshadowed anything the Club was doing right on and off the field of play during the season. Which leads me onto the playing side of the 2025/26 campaign.
In James Lee's first full season as manager, the First Team took on a promotion to the MGBSFL Division 1, with the rest of last season's Division 2, and recorded a welcomed winning season (more league wins than losses) for the first time since 2019/20. Despite starting the season strongly, they lost to the leaders Sukkotingham - by far the best team and comfortable champions - twice and endured defeats to two teams previously beaten handsomely this season, namely 40 Year Wanderers (won 4-0) and Hampstead Ducks (won 6-2). The other loss, against bottom side Mill Hill, was a game the Firsts should have won comfortably but threw away a 2-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the First Team were blighted by a massive injury list and James had to bring in new emergency signings, on occasions just to make up the numbers. With so many key players absent towards the end of the season, it was little wonder the Firsts were hit by inconsistency leading to some disappointing set-backs. Yet, the Firsts finished in third place, losing out to Brady for the runners-up spot only on goal difference.
In the cup competitions, an extremely tough opening tie in the Peter Morrison Trophy against Sukkotingham led to elimination, whilst in the Cyril Anekstein Cup, Fortune drew 3-3 with Chopped Villa but lost on penalties. In the Super Cup/Barry Goldstein Trophy, the Firsts won two of four group qualifiers but went out in the quarter-final, again on penalties after conceding a late equaliser against Rapid Viennas.
Finishing in third place last season, the Old Boys Team were not able to match the excellence of that particular achievement, winning just one match of the 12 league fixtures played, finishign second from bottom. Simon Black, Old Boys Team manager for 4 seasons, decided to stand down and striker Stefan Simons took over in December. The Old Boys drew 4 games which is jointly the highest number of Fortune draws in any MMFL season. A narrow 3-2 defeat to Scrabble showed the team's competitive spirit and Maccabi Lions were given a good game too, Fortune losing 4-1. A tremendous 3-2 victory against Brady procured the Old Boys their only league win.
More importantly perhaps was a great run in the new Charity Cup, a competition that replaced the Jack Morgan Memorial Cup in name. We will remember that the Old Boys won the Jack Morgan Memorial Cup in 2021, beating St John's Wood Tigers 2-1 in the final, giving the Club its first knockout silverware ever. In this season's competition, Fortune won 3 of the 4 group matches played, which qualified the team for a final appearance against Brady at Rowley Lane. Unfortunately, in a poor football match during which the team did not get their game together, the Old Boys lost to a single second-half goal. Well done to Stefan and his team for making the final which otherwise turned around a rather disappointing season in the League.
Regarding the TFFC book to commemorate the 50th MGBSFL campaign, it was completed in mid-April after two years of production, filled with information galore over 132 pages from cover to cover. The book went to print in early May and was distributed at the CAPE 2026. A payment of £200 will be made to Dementia UK.
A big thank you to Sammy Samuelson, Jonathan Abrams and Stefan Simons on the management side, to our captains Adam Speck and Wayne Davison, and to Kerry for her administration assistance throughout what turned out to be a very difficult season for reasons we certainly did not envisage. Thanks go to James Lee and Simon Black who both stood down as team managers, Simon before the first half of the season was completed and James standing down at the end of the season. James took over from Stevie Allen in February 2025 and saw the team promoted to Division 1, whilst the best of Simon's four-year tenure was a meritable third place finish last season, the Old Boys Team's highest placing in Division 1.
As I said previously, all the pleasing aspects of the 2025/26 season were immensely overshadowed by the financial catastrophe affecting the Club, adding to the sad departure of the legend who was the backbone of the M(S)FL over many years. How the League, already in serious decline, will progress without him remains to be seen but David Wolff will be sorely missed in every sense."
NIGEL KYTE, 3rd June 2026