Slough Town

Slough Town FC, is a non-league football club that hail from the large Berkshire town of the same name located nineteen miles west from the centre of London. The club were initially  founded as Slough FC in 1890 following the amalgamation of three clubs: Swifts, Slough Albion and Young Men's Friendly Society. 

The club spent their early years in local leagues before becoming members of the Spartan League in 1921.

Slough played their home games in the town centre at Dolphin Stadium, before the grounds owners installed greyhound racing who forced the club to up sticks. The club shared grounds with Maidenhead United for several years before returning to their home town, amalgamating with Slough Centre FC to take the new name of Slough United FC.

After The Second World War Slough United was reluctant to rejoin the Spartan League and led a breakaway movement to form a new league, which became the Corinthian League. It was from this that the club derived its nickname of 'The Rebels'. Slough lifted the Corinthian League title in 1950-51.

Shortly after this the two clubs which had merged to form Slough United separated once again, with the former Slough F.C. continuing under the new name of Slough Town F.C. In 1964 Town joined the Athenian League; going on to be crowned champions in 1967-68, .

The early 70's saw Town come to prominence in the amateur game as they reached the second round of the FA Cup in 1970-71 before eventually going out 1-0 at home to Barnet. That same season saw the Reblels go all the way to the last four of the FA Amateur Cup before losing out to Dagenham after a replay at Craven Cottage.

Dolphin Stadium - Image taken from the internet

The 1971-72 season saw Town lift their second Athenian League title before retaining their crown in 1972-73. The campaign coincided with another great Amateur Cup run. Hastings United, Leytonstone and Blyth Spartans were dispatched before Bishop's Stortford were beaten in the semi-final at Vicarage Road.

However, the final proved to be one step too far as Slough Town went down 1-0 to local rivals Walton & Hersham at Wembley. The club moved to the Isthmian League for the 1973-74 season, being promoted to the top division at the first attempt.

The Isthmian League title arrived at Wexham Park, which the club had moved into in 1973, in 1980-81 with the Rebels continuing to perform at a high level until a second championship was secured in 1989-90 with promotion to the Conference after a series of ground improvements were carried out.

A fifth place finish came in 1993-94 before Town were relegated back to the Isthmian League for the 1994-95 campaign. A runners-up spot in their first season back secured a return to the Conference at the first attempt.

After three seasons at the top of the non-league pyramid, the new consortium of owners decided that they would not pay for the further required ground improvements required and self demoted the club despite the team achieving an eighth place finish.

The club began a downward spiral which led to relegation from the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2001-02 to Division One. Worse was to come in 2003 when after a disagreement with the stadiums owners, The Rebels were evicted. 

They spent the next four seasons sharing at Stag Meadow, the home of Windsor & Eton. From 2007 they became tenants at Holloways Park to landlords Beaconsfield SYCOB FC as Slough were transferred to the Southern League Division One South West.

A further move in league's came for the 2009-10 season when the Rebels were switched to Division One Midland. In their first season in new surroundings they went all the way to the play-off final. Having defeated Hitchin Town, Slough lost out to Chesham United.

Talks were advanced as of June 2010 talks were advanced with Slough Borough Council for the site of a new stadium within the town which would also include affordable housing and sports fields. The site for this development was the former Arbor Vale School site on Stoke Road to the north of the town. 

Town reached the play-offs once again in the retitled Division One Central in 2011-12 but went out in the semi-final match against landlords Beaconsfield SYCOB. Meanwhile, a planning application was applied for through Slough Borough Council in April 2012 for the Arbor Park development. 

The 2013-14 campaign finally saw Slough promoted as they defeated Rugby Town and then Kettering Town in the play-offs to reach the Premier Division of the Southern League. After a couple of finishes towards the bottom of the table the club finally moved home to their home town in August 2016.

The move to Arbor Park saw a transformation on the pitch as the crowds came back to allow a far more competitive playing budget for joint managers Neil Baker and Jon Underwood.

The 2016-17 saw the Rebels reach the play-offs, where they were defeated in the semi-final away to Leamington. The following season Slough again reached the play-offs, this time defeating Kettering Town and then King's Lynn Town to win promotion to National League South.

A mid table position was backed up by fifth in 2019-20 when the Coronavirus pandemic ended the season early. Dartford ended any dreams of promotion in the play-offs.

Slough Town FC will play in the National League South in the 2020-21 season.


My visits

Slough Town 1 Canvey Island 2 (Saturday 9th September 1999) Isthmian Premier League


I’m pretty certain that this was the match I attended after looking back through archives some years later, although my memory isn’t quite was! I definitely went to a game around this time.

It was a murky autumn afternoon and I decided I needed a day out. I had visited Slough many years previously with my parents and brothers when we stayed at the Holiday Inn at Heathrow on a weekend break. 

Included in the deal were tickets for Slough (Dolphin) Stadium for the Saturday night greyhound meeting. This was a great night out at what seemed a pretty decent stadium. It was nice to explore in a safe environment with my brothers while our parents relaxed behind the glass.

A few years after that, my team Scarborough had travelled to Wexham Park Stadium in an FA Trophy replay, coming away victorious. I was keen to have a look, so I took the tube down to Paddington before taking a train west.

My trip was long overdue, as I'd nearly gone to a game on August Bank Holiday 1999, but the lure of a pub took priority back in those days.

The ground was some distance from the town centre so a bus ride was needed from the bus station to the stop for Wexham Park Hospital, which was adjacent to the ground. 

The ground was reasonable and more than adequate. There were shelters partially over three sides of the ground with the rest consisting of open standing offering plenty of decent views. It just felt a little remote because of its proximity to the edge of the town.

The three sides were called the Golf Range North End, The West Side and the Town End. On the side where the entrance and clubhouse were located stood the Main Stand. 

This was a raised structure with a white wall and steps leading up to the seating deck. Some yellow tip up seats were a later addition at the front to try and satisfy the fussy ground graders.

Unsurprisingly I can’t remember too much of the game, but I recall the clubhouse being of quite a large size and watching the scores coming in before and after the match, before taking a bus back into town for a return train journey back to London.

Slough Town 2 Leamington 0 (Tuesday 27th September 2016) Southern League Premier Division (att: 687)

When Tony Foster suggested driving down to this top of the table clash I didn’t require any real persuasion. The Rebels had returned to town after several seasons in exile and I was keen to see how things were going.

Tony found us a parking spot around five minutes from the ground. Admission was £10, with the programme an extra £2. The outside of the ground was still a work in progress in places but Arbour Park was already a fine venue.

Covered terracing went the full width of the pitch behind either goal. A seated stand straddled the half way line on the far side, with plenty of flat open standing available for future developments. 

The raised Main Stand was still being worked on, so it was closed to spectators. A temporary bar was in place on part of the flat standing on that side of the pitch. Everything was neat and tidy.

The match was of good quality as we had expected, as well as being an extremely tight affair as Slough were not letting in many goals at the time. They were certainly being given a severe test by the Leamington side.

Ten minutes before the break the Rebels took the lead when Gavin James fired in when a corner dropped for him. The visiting Brakes came out after the interval with all guns blazing, but they could not find a way through.

On sixty six minutes Town doubled their lead when an excellent free kick by James Dobson beat Tony Breeden from twenty five yards out. Mark Scott in the home goal was kept busy until the final whistle as Leamington continued to press.

The visitors must have travelled back to Warwickshire scratching their collective heads as to how they didn’t take anything from the game. We had really enjoyed our fist visit to Arbour Park.

Slough Town 1 Hendon 1 after extra time. Hendon won 3-0 on penalties (Tuesday 28^th November 2017) FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round Replay (att: 626)

Each season a groundhopper or fan of a particular club gets one or two outstanding days out or evenings. The 2017-18 season was being kind to me. I’d experienced the elation of Hendon’s victory at Dulwich Hamlet and then Scarborough Athletic’s FA Cup win at Stratford Town. This would be another very special occasion.

The first game, a few days earlier, had provided a really good competitive match, with plenty of top quality on show. Hendon were perhaps fortunate to escape with a draw thanks to Kezie Ibe’s last minute leveller. I was really looking forward to the replay.

After several texts and arrangements, I met Steve Barnes at Kingsbury, before we headed to Ealing Broadway to meet Mick Devereux in the Sir Michael Balcon Wetherspoon pub. We enjoyed a couple of fine pints before trying another stronger ale in the North Star.

The busy train to Slough took around twenty minutes. Time was getting on and poor Mick had a bad knee and was hobbling worse than one of his afternoon tips at Lingfield Park, so we took a taxi to Arbour Park.

The driver was hardly a bundle of fun, muttering to a steward of the stupidity of blokes travelling to watch such a low standard of football, as he dropped us off. If only he had a clue? Mick raised a laugh by asking where the away end was. I presume he was joking?

Admission was £11; while a decent looking programme cost another £2; more of which later. Queues were forming at a temporary marquee to purchase tickets for Slough’s forthcoming FA Cup tie with Rochdale. Remarkably some “fans” then left after handing their cash over.

We made our way up the steps to the rear of the impressive Main Stand; which had been completed since my previous visit. The Council run bar had no ‘proper’ ale and stopped serving at 7.30pm until after the match. We declined to contribute to the takings.

Outside Rob Morris and some other Hendon fans were in rather a lather. They pointed me to a bloggers article in the programme about their visit to Silver Jubilee Park for the first game. It’s fair to say that they were unimpressed by the piece.

The Rebels fan had basically complained about the state of the pitch and its poor maintenance, the standard and waiting time of the catering and the lack of passion shown by the Dons fans. The manager’s column also mentioned what they considered to be a poor pitch and how it took their side time to get used to it.

The gloves were off, especially when the tireless grafting Tom Stockman had a read and then realised he couldn’t buy a beer after being stuck in a queue for a limited food options for the previous ten minutes!

To add to the mood, Hendon’s ace keeper Tom Lovelock was in bed with flu, meaning that under 18’s custodian Dan Purdue was to make his debut; just twenty four hours after playing for the Youth Team. Confidence in the young man was not high. How opinions would change!

We went behind the Town End goal the Greens were attacking in the first half. I must admit to the youngster giving me a few nervous moments as we laughed along and expecting a long evening. Any keeper would look poor alongside Lovelock; but a debutant who’d just turned seventeen?

The home fans got on his back as he sliced the first kick out of his hands. Hendon goalkeeping coach Dave Smalley stood behind his goal among the crowd to offer advice and encouragement in an extremely underrated move.

The Hendon defence, who were hardly packed with old head’s, were fantastic in their protection; as were Dave Diedhiou and Michael Corcoran in the middle of midfield. The forwards also did their part as they played with skill and invention as the Rebels defence were put under pressure.

The Rebels came close to taking the lead, when a long range shot came back off the foot of the post, before Hendon began to take control of the game and took the lead with a fantastic goal on thirty two minutes as Niko Muir cleverly flicked the ball past his marker to collect again and squaring to Daniel Uchechi to slot past impressive Slough keeper Jack Turner.

Purdue was gaining confidence at the other end. He looked nervous and a little suspect with high balls, but he did what was required to keep his goal intact. He took every available second before kicking the ball out; to the increasing frustration of the home fans.

Turner made an excellent stop from a Muir shot; which was at a good height, as Hendon continued to press and looked the more likely side to score before referee Alex Rayment; who gave plenty of close calls in favour of the home side; blew his whistle for half time.

The mood among the visiting fans was very good; at least with proceedings on the pitch. There was plenty of negative feedback regarding the queues and lack of available food at the two catering outlets. Football and catering is apparently all about opinions!

The second half saw a brilliant Hendon performance; apart from the finishing. If that aspect had been close to the rest of the play, the game would have been dead and buried as a contest by the hour mark.

This was after a major scare as Purdue delayed his clearance; which then cannoned towards goals off a home forward. The rookie keeper scrambled back to claw the ball away before being helped by the resolute defence.

Zak Joseph hit Turner’s legs when put clean in on goal by Muir; who was perhaps guilty of trying to be a bit too cute when attempting to place a shot past the home keeper. Ashley Nathaniel-George also missed a decent chance.

                                                                                           

The Rebels management pair of Neil Baker and Jon Underwood rung the changes with three substitutions. Gary McCann replaced Nathaniel-George with Casey Maclaren to add protection to the defence. Young Purdue’s confidence was increasing by the minute, making a brilliant diving stop.

We were all too aware that the possibility of missed chances in front of goal could cost the Dons dear. Despite only an occasional scare, Slough equalised in the final minute when substitute Manny Williams hooked home past Purdue.

Mr Rayment, who was mysteriously taking stick from Slough supporters, added four minutes of stoppage time. Hendon couldn’t force a winner, so the game went to fifteen minutes each way extra time as the temperature dropped another few degrees.

The Rebels looked the more likely side to secure a win in the first period of overtime as the gas seemed to be running out of the Greens front line. We swapped ends for a third time for the final section of the game as Hendon picked up the pace once again.

Muir fired just wide of the post, before sub Keagan Cole got into a good position before failing to deliver or get a shot on target. The game ended in stalemate as Steve, Mick and I looked at the train timetable.

The penalty shoot out was to be played out at the Town End near the exit gate, so we made our way round in readiness. I was reminded that I’d made a tongue in cheek prediction before kick off of Purdue becoming the penalty shoot out hero. I was only trying to lift a bit of negativity.

The home fans were giving young Purdue even more stick. “You’ve got school in the morning” they sang from behind the goal. The noise went up even more decibels as Turner saved Sam Murphy’s first penalty. I was not amused.

Purdue immediately lifted the gloom as he saved from Matthew Lench. The youngster stopped the ball while around three yards off his line, but the few Greens fans were elated and couldn’t care less. The excellent Corcoran kept his cool to make it 1-0.

Purdue produced more heroics to push away the attempt from James Dobson before Casey Maclaren scored and taunted the rapidly quietening home fans to make it 2-0. Williams stuttered and never lacked confident as he hit the top of the crossbar with his attempt.

Up walked scoring hero Uchechi to slot the ball into the bottom corner and spark off euphoric celebrations. The Greens players went wild grabbing Purdue who must have been waiting for someone to awake him from his dream.

Unfortunately at least one Slough fan overstepped the mark with his behaviour. Dave Diedhiou was incandescent with rage and had to be restrained by teammates and stewards or else he’s have gone for the culprit. I’m not sure what was said, but it was obviously very upsetting.

An old lass was wittering on, saying there was no way Slough could win playing against the officials as well as Hendon. She was laughed down rapidly. As I remarked; if young Dan had school in the morning, perhaps the home penalty takers should go in for further education as well.

It really was one of those ‘I was there’ moments, and a fitting tribute to Dons legend Dermot Drummy who had passed away at a far too early age a day earlier. Drummy went on to become a top class youth coach. I hope he’d have appreciated young Purdue’s efforts.

We now had problems of our own. We really needed to catch the 10.42 train and we had a one legged seventy year old Irishman with us. We encouraged and laughed along the way and did all we could to help Mick; short of carrying him. There was no hope of that happening!

Fortunately, I spotted a side entrance to the station to save us a couple of minutes. We made the train with more ease than we deserved before settling down with Dean and another delighted Hendon fan to chat before three of us alighted at Ealing Broadway.

The 423 and then 204 buses got us back to Kingsbury just before midnight. My pals event caught last orders in Wetherspoons. I headed for a sandwich and bed with only just over five hours before the alarm call for a work.

What a night. Great company, a top match and a wonderful traditional football club. The Road to Wembley was still alive!

Many thanks to Nathan Plenty of the fans website www.rebelsonline.co.uk for his massive help in me writing this post as he assisted me in the research, sending me a programme cover after many false starts from me, and giving me permission to use the pictures from the website of Wexham Park Stadium.