Hucknall Town

Hucknall Town FC are based in the former mining town a few miles from Nottingham. They were formed in 1945 as Hucknall Colliery Welfare and played predominantly local football before changing their name to their present title in 1987.

 

'The Yellows' moved from the Notts Alliance to the Central Midlands League before being promoted into the Northern Counties East League. They progressed through the Northern Premier League and then into the Conference North after carrying out work at their Watnall Road home. They had earlier been refused entry into the Conference National before the North and South Divisions had been created.

The club hit a bad spell on the pitch as money was tight. They suffered  relegations in 2008-09 back into the Northern Premier League and then once again at the end of the 2010-11 season. Retford's championship winning manager Brett Marshall was installed as the new boss in the summer of 2012 after his side had been denied owing to financial irregularities the previous season.

In season 2012-13 Hucknall Town played in the Northern Premier League Division One South, but further financial woes led to another relegation, this time to the Central Midlands League.

Hucknall Town FC will play in the Central Midlands League South Division in the 2014-15 season.
 

My visit

I arrived outside Watnall Road by bus on Wednesday 16th September 2009 from Eastwood as part of a ground tour. My chances of seeing inside looked poor as all the gates seemed to be locked. I then realised the clubhouse was open with some ladies making sandwiches in the kitchen for a function later that evening. They gave me permission to go inside the ground if the front door was open, which thankfully it was.

I was greeted by a very decent ground. Obviously hard work had been put in to secure the clubs status in previous seasons. At the Watnall Road End there was a decent covered terrace. To the right it was open flat standing with various huts and portakabins providing facilities as well as a camera tower on the half way line. The far end had a smart open terracing while a stand ran the whole length of the far side, which consisted of two thirds seats and one third terracing.

The club surprisingly are looking to construct a new stadium over the road from the current one. Credit to them if they can afford it and require one in the future, but Watnall Road seemed a most satisfactory venue to me.