Arnold Town

Arnold Town FC is a non-league football club that was formed in 1989 following a merger of Arnold FC and Arnold Kingswell FC, playing their home games at the King George V Ground on Gedling Road.

The Eagles played in the Central Midlands League before joining the Northern Counties East League in 1993. Chris Freestone won a move to Middlesbrough as his talents were spotted, before arnold reached the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round in 2002-03 before going out at home to Conference club Scarborough.

A downloaded image of the King George V Ground

The club badly needed a new home ground because their old venue was a public open space. The club campaigned long and hard and received letters of support from some of the biggest names in the British game. After a public enquiry, the new ground was given planning permission in 2005.

Eagle Valley eventually opened in 2009 as the club developed their many teams to become a real asset to the community. Arnold moved sideways in the pyramid for the 2013-14 season as they became members of the East Midlands Counties League.

A bottom-placed finish in 2018-19 saw Arnold drop down a level to the Central Midlands League where they became members of the South Division. After finishing mid-table in 2022-23 the club was placed in Central Midlands Alliance Premier Division South after league amalgamations.

Chris White led the side to fourteenth place in 2023-24.

Arnold Town FC will play in the Central Midlands Alliance Premier Division South in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Tuesday 15 September 2009

I was in Nottingham before Scarborough Athletic's President Cup clash at Long Eaton United. My friend Pete Moss kindly gave me a lift out to Eagle Valley. I had given up any chance of seeing it as public transport did not serve the complex.

Eagle Valley was basically in the middle of nowhere off the A614. The nearest houses can be just about seen in the distance. It has a grand new access road and impressive wrought iron gates at the entrance.

Luckily it was open as two groundsmen were busy working on the many other pitches which house the club's other sides. We were met in the large car park and taken by a kind worker through the main entrance for a look around.

As a new ground, it undoubtedly needed some growth around it to protect it from the wind but it was extremely neat. A path and flat grass standing surrounded the playing area. A small covered terrace stood on the far touchline with a packaged seated stand in front of the facilities on the near side. 

The rest of the ground was open. It had a huge function room and clubhouse adjoining the ground and clubhouse. There was plenty of potential but also extremely remote and I would imagine prone to windy conditions.

It looked to be an excellent facility to suit the demands of the club. My only criticism was how exposed it was and the lack of access apart from by private transport.