| Season 2001/02 |
| Temple Fortune's Old Boys Team |
| Maccabi Masters League |
When the Club decided to form an Old Boys team in 1994, the objective was to become founder members of any inaugural Maccabi veterans league, should the idea ever take off. Temple Fortune's Old Boys team spent several seasons playing around eight friendlies a season, the first Maccabi club to actually run a veterans side.
During the 1998-99 season, Stuart Lustigman – a long serving dignitary in the Maccabi sporting movement – started up an Over 40's team called the "Association of Maccabi Footballing Masters", or AMFM for short. Temple Fortune provided AMFM's first opponents at King George V Playing Fields in Barnet. Several more friendlies took place before Lustigman established that there was considerable interest to start up a Maccabi Over 40's league. This duly followed in season 1999-00, with Temple Fortune becoming founder members of the newly formed Maccabi Masters Football League, along with two AMFM sides and North West Neasden. Temple Fortune finished fourth in the four-team mini-league but readily took part again the following season.
In the summer of 2000, the League doubled in size with Brady Maccabi , EDRS Stonegrove, Faithfold (replacing one of the AMFM teams), Kenton Maccabi and London Maccabi Lions all joining. Temple Fortune fared much better, actually topping the League at the turn of the Century! Yet, everyone associated with the MMFL realistcially knew that the strongest sides were undoubtedly London Maccabi Lions and North West Neasden, two teams that had spent most of their M(S)FL existance in the top flight. The Lions duly topped the second league but Temple Fortune earned a creditable fifth place, claiming a notable 'double' over fourth-placed Faithfold.
The MMFL's third season saw Ashlodge – a keen competitive rival of Temple Fortune 's First Team in the early eighties – replace Kenton in another 8-team league campaign. Again London Maccabi Lions and North West Neasden were seen to be the only teams able to challenge for the title although EDRS Stonegrove had a decent but relatively limited side capable of challenging for third spot.
Temple Fortune Old Boys attracted several newcomers into the team for the 2001/02 season, a few of them so-called 'outsiders' who had not been associated with the Club in the past. This was a breakaway from the earliest intentions of using only former or current players but the Club's management realised that participating in an improving competitive league required additional players able to raise the side's standards. David Goldberg (formerly of Stamford Hill Old Boys), Greg Bradman (ex-Bushey) and Simon Lawrence (ex-West Coast Armadillos) were amongst the players coming in.
The 2001/02 season started with a new look Old Boys team taking on EDRS Stonegrove at Chase Lodge but a heavy 8-1 defeat seemed to spell out an arduous campaign ahead. However, the team turned the bad start around and collected some fine victories including a third consecutive win against Faithfold, by 2-1. Brady Maccabi, who had beaten Temple Fortune twice during the previous season, were defeated 5-2 and 6-1.
One of the victories was a 3-0 success over Ashlodge at Copthall in November 2001. Temple Fortune fielded a new player, namely ex-Gants Hill midfielder Sid Shaw, who scored twice. Sadly, it was later found out that Shaw's registration form had been falsified by another newcomer, Andy Block. Although the Club knew nothing about Shaw being under-aged, the MMFL committee ruled that Ashlodge would take the points. More controversy followed when a depleted Faithfold side fielded four 'ringers' at Wingate & Finchley, one of them actually scoring the equaliser in a 2-2 draw! After much deliberation, the Club decided not to appeal in the interest of Masters fair play.
Undeterred, Temple Fortune pulled off one of the Old Boys team's finest wins by defeating third-placed EDRS Stonegrove by 4-2 at Chase Lodge, a tremendous turn-around considering the first encounter at the beginning of the season. In contrast, second from bottom Ashlodge disappointingly won 1-0 in the return fixture but AMFM, holding up the table for the second season in succession, were comfortably beaten twice. The Old Boys XI's welcomed progress over the course of the season resulted in meritable matches against the 'power clubs' towards the end of the season, North West Neasden winning by a mere 1-0 whilst the Lions taking a double-header by only 3-1 and 2-0.
But of notable importance was the fact that Temple Fortune had climbed one place above the previous season's eventual finish. An excellent fourth place was about as high as the Club could have envisaged when the season kicked off in September 2001. And that Temple Fortune achieved this fine feat meant that season 2001/02 had been the Old Boys Team's best season since formation – and one certainly worthy of mention in this series!
