Ilkeston Town

The current Ilkeston Town FC, formed in July 2017, is the latest football club to represent the Derbyshire town, with others falling by the wayside owing to huge debt in the latter two cases. This article tries to explain the timeline.

When Town were wound up, it was thought that the Supporters Trust would take charge of the new club, but SR Education took on the former club's assets and continued to employ manager Kevin Wilson and coach Darren Caskey.

Ilkeston Town FC were originally formed in the Derbyshire town whose major industries were traditionally coal mining, iron working and lace making in 1945. Previous clubs had represented the town since 1886. The club played at the Manor Ground in the centre of Ilkeston.

They initially started out in the local leagues before becoming a prominent club in both the Central Alliance and then the Midland League from 1961-62. The club suffered badly in 1968 as the newly formed Northern Premier League weakened the Midland League, while Brian Clough's amazing renaissance of nearby Derby County depleted crowds. 

An attempt to attract fans was made by joining the Southern League in 1971-72, but it proved a disaster, so Town returned to the Midland League in 1973-74 before joining the newly formed Northern Counties East League in 1982-83 as members of the Premier Division.

This didn't suit the club with the increased travelling, so they entered the Central Midlands League in 1986-87, where they were placed in the Supreme Division. The club quickly realised it did not guarantee promotion up through the pyramid and looked for alternatives.

The Reds moved to the West Midlands (Regional) League under the millionaire chairmanship of Paul Millership for the start of the 1990-91 campaign. The side was relegated to Division One in their debut season, when a new ground was built, and ambition was high. 

Town returned to the Premier Division after sealing their divisional title twelve months later before winning the competition in 1993-94 to progress to the Southern League Midland Division, which was won at the first attempt to clinch a place in the Premier Division.

Relegation followed in 1995-96, back to the Midland Division from where they were promoted in 1997-98. The yo-yo effect continued with a drop down to the Western Division following in 2002-03. They took a sideways step into Division One of the Northern Premier League in 2004-05, again winning promotion to the Premier Division at the first time of asking.

Hopes were high that the 2007/08 season would see Ilkeston heading for a playoff place. Instead, it was a disastrous season, both on and off the pitch. The club was hit hard by the tragic loss of its saviour Paul Millership, and the team only managed to survive relegation on goal difference. 

There were serious concerns that Millership's death would spell the end of Ilkeston Town. The end of the season ended on a high note and gave great optimism for the future. Millionaire local builder Chek Whyte stepped in to make sure that the club would not only survive but also strive for a highly successful future.

At the end of the 2009–10 season, the club came under new ownership with Gary Hodder taking over as chairman. On 8 September 2010, Ilkeston Town FC were wound up in the High Court over a £47,000 tax bill from the Chek Whyte era.

In their final season (2010–2011) they played initially in the Conference North, but their record was expunged on 8th September as they were subject to a winding up order. The new Ilkeston FC appealed to the FA after fulfilling the academies fixtures the previous season to place them in a league suitable to the club. 

The decision was not universally popular as they were placed in the Northern Premier League. The team under joint managers Rob Scott and Paul Hurst won promotion via the playoffs in 2011-12 as they defeated Sheffield and then Leek Town.

Kevin Wilson later became manager as the side reached the playoffs in 2014-15. Workington were seen off, but Curzon Ashton won the final. Gavin Strachan was appointed as head coach before the arrival of Phil Brown a few months later. Paul Holland was next in the role, with Shaun Goater taking over in February 2017.

Once more, the club representing the town fell foul of financial overspending and was wound up in the High Court. Alan Hardy, owner of Notts County, set up the new incarnation of Ilkeston Town FC, who were placed in Division One of the Midland Football League, winning promotion as runners-up in their debut season with Steve Chettle as manager.

Martin McIntosh was appointed as manager in 2018, replaced by Lee Fowler, with the 'Robins' winning the League to be placed in Division One South East of the Northern Premier League, during two abandoned coronavirus-hit seasons before being allocated a slot in Division One Midlands in 2012-22.

The title was won twelve months later, with promotion resulting in a place in the Premier Division Central of the Southern League. Jamie Ward and Ben Turner became joint managers in October 2022, before the club was placed in the corresponding division in the Northern Premier League in 2023-24.

Ian Deakin was named as the new manager of the side in September 2023, with them narrowly missing out on a playoff place in 2024-25.

Ilkeston Town FC will play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Wednesday 16th September 2009

I awoke in my extremely small but good value hotel room in Nottingham after a restless sleep following coming off night shifts. I had planned a big day's groundhopping in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, so I made my way down to Victoria Bus Station for my first journey.

I boarded the every ten-minute service to Ilkeston to find a really comfortable bus for the half-hour journey. We crossed the M1 and entered Derbyshire, and then the large former mining town. The bus dropped me just a five-minute walk away from The New Manor ground on the edge of town by the canal.

A gate was opened which took me down a tunnel to the far end of the ground where I found a doorbell on the office door. A man came down and gave me permission to wander around the most excellent venue. I don't know what Town's old ground was like but it would have had to have been special to beat this one.

 

The Town End had a decent sized cover although not many steps. The other end had a substantial covered terracing for a club of Ilkeston's size complete with crush barriers. One side had flat open standing with a long clubhouse taking up most of the area. The fourth side was the grounds crowning glory.

Towards one end stood the dressing room block with a seating block on top of it. In the corner was a tower complete with clock before the club two story office block completed the structure around the corner. Towards the half way line there was a seated stand before it gave way to a small section of open terracing.

I was extremely impressed with what I'd seen. With not too much more work, the ground would not be far off Football League status. I walked back into a town centre that did not match up with the football club. It showed signs of it being from a tough era when people had grafted hard for their money. I can imagine it being very "lively" on an evening!