The long road back from 1986

Then came the seventies and eighties of mid-table obscurity, followed by a peculiar sort of rhythmic instability. The club developed a habit of bouncing between divisions like a faulty lift. They won the second division again in 1996, then in 2009, and finally in 2019. Each victory felt like a new beginning, provided one ignored the inevitable slide that followed.

The most curious chapter arrived in 2003. Brixton AFC briefly became a Big club. It was a dizzying ascent that lasted exactly one season before they were relegated back to the second division. It is now regarded as folklore: a fleeting glimpse of the mountaintop before the gravity of the league reasserted itself.

Through these cycles, Cornelius Adeyemi remained. The 33-year-old midfielder has survived three separate yo-yo stints. He is a cult hero for the simple reason that he is still there. To be fair, that is often enough to earn a statue in certain parts of the city.

The fanbase thrives on this chaos. The atmosphere at Brockwell Park remains the most alive in the league, mostly because the supporters are never quite sure what is happening on the pitch. It is a devotion based on the certainty of uncertainty.

Forty years on from that first title, the nostalgia is the only thing currently performing at a high level. The club has settled back into a mid-table existence for the current era. The present reality is less poetic than the 1986 celebrations. After six matches, Brixton AFC sits 19th in the table with three points. One simply renews the season ticket anyway.