Gedling Town

Gedling Town FC was a non-league football club that was formed in 1986 as R&R Scaffolding playing local league football. They changed their name to Gedling Town in 1990 when they progressed into the Central Midlands League.

They were crowned Division One champions in 1990-91 and then placed in Premier Division South. Promotion to the Supreme Division followed twelve months later. Town were crowned as Central League champions in 1997-98. 

The 'Ferrymen', who were based near the village of Stoke Bardolph by the River Trent progressed to Division One of the Northern Counties East League for the 2000-01 season, winning the title in 2001-02 but not going up owing to ground grading regulations.

Roland Ash owned the club for several years and took Town forward. Joint managers Jimmy Albans and Benny Harrod took the side to fourth place in 2005-06 but then quit as they were not granted the budget they required. Gary Hayward took on the position but lasted just a few months.

His replacement was Paul Jepson who moved on at the end of the 2006-07 campaign. Lee Wilson was appointed as manager in the summer of 2007 before he departed a few months later. John Humphries was given the job before the club joined the newly formed East Midlands Counties League for 2008-09.

The side finished fourth in their debut campaign before the new owner, Tony Griffith, promised investment and further development. Unfortunately, he found no assistance forthcoming and was not prepared to fund the club on his own. 

He pulled Town out of the East Midlands Counties League in July 2011 after they had finished the season in eighteenth place and folded the club.

My visit

Gedling Town 1 Scarborough Athletic 2 (Saturday 5th November 2007) Northern Counties East League Division One (att: 180)

I had the day off from work and it didn't take a lot to persuade me to attend. I boarded the train at St Pancras in a contented mood as I'd managed to bag my return tickets to Nottingham for just £16 and I was doing well in my Station Supervisor course for London Underground. I had done a night shift the previous evening so I was a little jaded.

Nottingham-based Seadog, Pete Moss, had given me directions for finding Gedling but I had forgotten them and I couldn't remember the name of the nearest station as the ground wasn't in Gedling itself. 

I got into a taxi for the journey after explaining to the driver where I needed to be. Fortunately, I remembered the name of the pub, The Ferry Boat Inn, but not the name of the nearest village, Stoke Bardolph! It's amazing how the important details stick. The taxi cost me more than my return train tickets.

I was in the pub at the ridiculously early time of 12.45 but there was no TV inside to watch the live game as it was designed primarily for diners and only had a small bar, a bit like a "Harvester". Gradually more and more Seadogs arrived which threw the bar into chaos. 

For some unimaginable reason, they charged £2.51 for Fosters. The obvious soon happened as they continually ran out of change and the queue lengthened. Gedling's normal crowd of around 40 fans won't have troubled the staff too much but 150 thirsty travelling Yorkshiremen was a different matter. It wasn't helped by the staff being incompetent and uninterested.

Gedling Town's Chairman had stirred a hornet's nest before we got there as he had increased admission prices by £2 and put the programmes up by 50p to cash in on the large away support, which was not particularly popular. 

Some Seadogs let him know exactly what they thought. Even if there was a clubhouse in the ground I doubt many Boro fans would have used it. Most refused to buy any raffle tickets when normally they do as much as possible to give something back to our hosts. 

This added spice to a game that was going to be hard-fought anyway. Gedling were top of the league and unbeaten at home, while Boro were just starting to get their act together with some new signings.

The Riverside Ground was in a lovely setting opposite The River Trent with lots of beautiful picnic spots. The only downside was the occasional stink from the nearby sewage plant when the wind picked up. When entering the ground I first came across flat standing and the changing rooms, catering points and toilets. 

The right-hand touchline and the far end consisted of a mixture of flat areas of hard standing and grass. The far goal showed signs that it once had a shelter. The main spectator facilities were along the other touchline. Two long seating stands were connected in the middle by a narrow and low-covered standing area behind the dugouts. This is where I stood.

The home manager Lee Wilson provided good entertainment but in a sporting way. He gave as good as he got. Boro played superbly and led 1-0 at halftime. The clog he gave his team in the changing rooms could be heard by everyone at that end of the ground. 

It seemed to do the trick as Town got into the game far more with Boro still guilty of missing opportunities on the break. It was an excellent advert for the NCEL played on a slick playing surface.

The home side threw everything at Boro who then replied by scoring with a counterattack through Scott Phillips. Gedling went straight up the other end and got one back. There was some frantic defending from Boro as they hung on until the final whistle to seal a great victory.

Pete gave me a ride back to Carlton with another new Nottingham-based Seadog recruit, Jim, where we celebrated with some quality ale before I was dropped off at Nottingham station. All in all a good day out with free entertainment provided by the numerous firework displays all the way home.