Canvey Island

Canvey Island FC is a non-league football club from the town of the same name, located on the north bank of the River Thames in Essex, around thirty miles east of central London. The club was formed in 1926, starting life in the Southend & District League at their Park Lane home.

Much of the club history information was lost during the devastating East Coast floods of 1953, but it is known that they moved on to the Thurrock Combination, going on to complete the league and cup double in 1955-56. Further progression came when ‘The Gulls’ joined the Parthenon League in 1957, where they ended as runners-up in 1959-60. 

A switch to the London League followed in 1963, before the competition merged with the Aetolian League to become the Greater London League in 1964. The Islanders were placed in the A Division, with Denis Neville, a manager who found success with Sparta Rotterdam and the Dutch national team, as well as at Atalanta and Odense Boldklub, at the helm in the 1966-67 season.

Canvey won the Division One and League Cup double in 1967-68; a feat that was repeated the following season. The Greater London League merged with the Metropolitan League in 1971 to become the Metropolitan-London League. Canvey took up a place in Division One, finishing in the top five for a couple of successive seasons. 

The league merged with the Spartan League in 1975, at which point the club joined the Essex Senior League, finishing as runners-up in 1978-79 and going on to be crowned champions in 1986-87. The club was drifting towards possible extinction when former player and local caravan park businessman Jeff King took over the club in 1992. 

He installed himself as manager and poured investment into the club from his and other businesses. The move paid immediate dividends as the team won a second league title in 1992-93 and went on a tremendous FA Vase run before eventually going out on aggregate in the semi-finals against Tiverton Town. Canvey were promoted to Division Three of the Isthmian League.

A runners-up place in 1994-95 secured promotion to Division Two, from where they won the league title the following season to achieve a rise to Division One. The same campaign saw the side reach round one of the FA Cup before going out to Brighton & Hove Albion after a replay.

The first game at Park Lane attracted an attendance of 3,400 to see the 2-2 draw, before a slight blip occurred in 1996-97 as Canvey were relegated back to Division Two. King and his team weren’t to be perturbed, winning the Division Two title at the first attempt to return to Division One.

The rise continued as the Gulls won Division One twelve months later to reach the Premier Division. The 2000-01 season saw the Islanders finish as league runners-up, but it would be in the cup competitions that the club really excelled. In the FA Cup, the side battled through the qualifying rounds to face Port Vale in round one. 

The sides drew 4-4 at Park Lane before Canvey won the replay 2-1 at Vale Park after extra time, thanks to goals from Neil Gregory and Wayne Vaughan. Canvey were drawn at home to neighbours Southend United in the second round. The game was switched to Roots Hall, which drew in a crowd of 11,402. Andy Jones bagged a late consolation as Canvey were defeated 2-1.

The FA Trophy brought even greater rewards. Wins against the likes of Stevenage Borough and Telford United and then Chester City in the semi-final saw a final appearance against favourites Forest Green Rovers. The final was played at Villa Park in front of 10,007 fans. 

Canvey lifted the trophy thanks to a goal from Ben Chenery after fourteen minutes, with Mark Stimson, Steve Tilson, and Mick Bodley playing starring roles in the success. In 2000-01, Canvey again finished as league runners-up. Their interest in the FA Trophy ended in the fifth round against Yeovil Town, but again it would be the FA Cup that brought the club to national attention.

A solitary Gregory goal was enough to win the away first-round match against Wigan Athletic. Northampton Town were defeated 1-0 at Park Lane in front of the live BBC TV cameras thanks to another goal from hero Neil Gregor. Lee Boylan’s goal wasn’t enough in the third round at Turf Moor against Burnley, who won the tie 4-1.

A third successive runners-up Isthmian League Premier Division finish ensued in 2002-03, with the side also reaching the fourth round of the FA Trophy before going out to Northwich Victoria. However, the 2003-04 campaign was not to disappoint.

Canvey Island became Isthmian League champions, winning promotion to the Football Conference. The 2003-04 season also saw another FA Cup run to the first round and a rematch with Southend United. 9,234 saw a 1-1 draw at Roots Hall before United won the replay 3-2 at Park Lane. Boyland and Jeff Minton scored the goals for Canvey.

The FA Trophy Final was reached for a second time, following wins against the likes of Stalybridge Celtic and Telford United. Canvey went down 3-2 in the Villa Park final against Hednesford Town, with Lee Boylan and Chris Brindley scoring an own goal for the Gulls.

Canvey just escaped relegation in their debut Conference season, as well as reaching the first round of the FA Cup before losing to Aldershot Town. In 2005-06, the team finished in mid-table, but King decided that the attendances did not justify the investment. King departed as the club took a voluntary demotion to Division One North of the Isthmian League with John Batch as manager. 

In the 2007-08 season, Canvey finished in the play-offs, where they defeated AFC Sudbury and then Redbridge on penalties to win promotion to the Premier Division. Glen Alzapiedi took over as manager in January 2012, with Batch moving ‘upstairs’ into a director's role. 

Former club skipper, Steve Tilson, was appointed as team manager in the summer of 2012 before he was replaced by Danny Heale twelve months later. Heale’s side finished towards the lower half of the table before being relegated at the end of the 2016-17 season. Heale was replaced by Mark Bentley in September 2018 after his side finished in sixth place in Division One North in 2017-18. 

They defeated Bowers & Pitsea in the playoffs before going down in the final to Haringey Borough. A run to the second round of the FA Cup in 2020-21 brought in welcome revenue as Banbury United were defeated before Boreham Wood ended the run at Park Lane. 

Bentley was replaced by Brad Wellmen in October 2021, who took the side to the playoffs a few months later. Felixstowe & Walton United and then Brentwood on penalties were defeated as Canvey returned to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. 2022-23 saw a penalty defeat to Aveley in the semifinals of the playoffs. 

The side consolidated and then narrowly avoided relegation in 2024-25, with Peter Taylor replacing Wellmen as manager. Garry Kimble was appointed as the new manager in October 2025, but was unable to keep his side away from relegation, as they went down to the North Division.

Canvey Island FC will play in the Isthmian League North Division in the 2026-27 season.

My visits

Canvey Island 3 Hendon 1 (Saturday 22nd September 2001) Isthmian League Premier Division (att: 522)

Canvey were just embarking on their most successful spell after being promoted to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, so I decided that it was about time that I headed east to see what all the fuss was about.

The train dropped me at South Benfleet, from where I took a bus onto the island before getting out in the town centre of Furtherwick Road. I was hoping there may have even been somewhere with the FA Trophy on display?

Instead, I made my way to the waterfront and walked along before cutting across some fields to the grounds entrance. I forget what the admission charge was, but I do recall Hendon having decent support and the clubhouse being a bit small. The ground was pretty basic, with a couple of small covers along the very narrow far side and a low Main Stand for seated spectators opposite. 

The sea end was narrow terracing, with the entrance end having two separate sections of open terrace. Fortunately, Hendon FC has a very good archive, which has assisted my recollection of the game. The visitors gave it a good go in the first half, which ended goalless, before Chris Duffy put the hosts ahead just after the interval.

In the seventy-fifth minute, substitute Paul Cobb doubled Canvey’s lead as he fired past Dons keeper David Hook. Three minutes later, the home side put the game out of reach when Wayne Vaughan broke clear before slotting home.

Rene Street headed home a stoppage-time consolation for Hendon, which was the least that their efforts deserved against a fast, powerful outfit who were obviously heading for greater success. At full time, I ventured over the road to the Admiral Jellicoe pub to await my bus.

The pub was definitely an experience, and I wasn’t too upset when it was time to head off. I had an appointment in the West End as I met my friend Liz Robson as we went to the theatre to watch comedian Ed Byrne live.

Canvey Island 1 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 17th September 2005) Football Conference (att: 744)

My Mum and Dad were heading to Southampton via London to pick up their cruise ship for a wonderful time at sea around the Mediterranean. It was always great to see them, so I naturally headed to Kings Cross to assist them across the city.

We took a cab across town to Waterloo, with Mum being especially impressed at her street-wise son telling the driver that he lived in the city, meaning don’t take liberties with the route. With my parents sent on their way on the train, I set out for the match.

I took my first ever ride on the Waterloo & City line to Bank before heading to Fenchurch Street for the ride to South Benfleet. Time was getting on, so I took the bus straight to the ground. I recall some confusion over the entrance, ascertaining whether the game was segregated.

Boro fans were given their own little bar at the sea end of the ground, complete with a TV. I didn’t realise it at the time, but I spent time in the company of future touring mates Fred Firman and Tony Rudeforth while our dark humour helped us assess our team’s malaise.

It said something about the time that Canvey were looked on as being a really small club in the non-league elite league. Boro fans should have been used to disappointment with all the mismanagement at the club, but there was something bad really setting in.

It really did feel like the beginning of the end to me. The promised security from the Chelsea FA Cup money was looking like pie in the sky, and the form on the pitch wasn’t any more reassuring. Nick Henry had been replaced by Neil Redfearn, and the authorities were looking to nail the club.

It was no surprise when Canvey took the lead in the seventeenth minute as John Kennedy slotted home. Boro looked clueless as Mitch Cook shouted out from the bench as Redfearn did his best on the pitch, with what, in reflection, wasn’t a bad set of players.

Dominic Sterling had a header over the top and then an effort saved by Leigh Walker as Canvey looked to double their lead. Redfearn had Boro’s best opportunity but fired his shot well over the bar before he was replaced by local youngster Michael Coulson.

Park Lane had been improved with the earlier mentioned provisions for segregation and extra away fans facilities, along with a brand new open terracing at the entrance end of the ground, which stretched the full length behind the goal.

I headed back to London as depressed as been a Scarborough fan, as I could ever remember before or indeed since, and that included the time the club folded. Indeed, Fred and I often point to this visit as the nadir in Boro’s history.

Tuesday 14th July 2009

With a day free from work, I headed along the banks of the Thames back to Canvey. I’d got lost in looking for the home of Concord Rangers before taking a bus towards the town centre and then following my previous footsteps along the waterfront to Park Lane. The ground was locked, but I managed to take some photos for my collection through the gaps in the fencing. 

Unfortunately, my work would later be in vain as I lost lots of photos due to issues with my laptop. It was still a good day out as I clocked up the miles walking in a nice environment and then heading on to Southend for a look at Roots Hall and the Southchurch Park home of Southend Manor, as well as enjoying a couple of beers before the train home.

Thursday 31st January 2019

I'd wanted to replace my lost photos for quite some time, so I decided to spring into action with my day off work. It was bright and bitterly cold as I headed on the usual train and bus route, which dropped me by the Park Lane ground. The gates were locked, but the clubhouse was open. I half-shocked a poor lady stocking the bar to death. 

Fortunately, she was friendly and welcomed me to go through the door and out into the ground to snap away. The cold had frozen a part of the terrace, which went unnoticed to me until I nearly had a bad accident on it. Not to be put off, I did a lap of the smart arena before thanking my kind host and heading off for a good stretch.

It was the opening day of the Second Test between the West Indies and England, so I listened as I walked along the path by the sea wall. I was in good form and enthused by the friendliness of other locals who acknowledged each other as they passed. The overtures of the Windjammer and Haystack pubs were tempting, especially with cricket on, but I had an evening appointment with ale awaiting me. 

Instead, I sat out of the wind and enjoyed excellent battered sausage and chips from Islanders on Furtherwick Road. The 21 bus took me back to Benfleet station, from where I had a pint and watched a bit of the Test in the Windsor Fenchurch pub, and then a good walk through the city, appreciating some of the stunning buildings, including the always beautiful St Paul's Cathedral.

Jeff Cards was meeting me at Temple Brew House. My mate had come up trumps. It brewed its own good ale at a fair price, showed the cricket, and had friendly service. We also took in fine beers at the Nell Gwynne Tavern and The Harp before Jeff had a bit of a shock.

He agreed to watch a bit more cricket with me and was adamant that the Empire Casino had a dedicated sports bar. It did indeed, and they put the match on a huge screen, but it was my pals' shout. It was £6 for San Miguel, the best option on offer. We didn't spill any!

Harrogate Town

Harrogate Town AFC is a football club from the Yorkshire spa town of the same name that was formed in 1914 as Harrogate AFC. It was decided that the club would play at the County Ground and enter the Northern League, but the outbreak of World War I put an end to the plans.

Once peace was restored, the club joined the West Riding League, playing at the Starbeck Lane Ground. The club became a founder member of the Yorkshire League for the 1920-21 season, playing at a new ground on Wetherby Road.

Harrogate entered the Midland Football League three years later, keeping their Yorkshire League place for the reserve side. However, after just one season, the club resigned their Midland League membership with the first team playing in the Yorkshire League.

Harrogate were crowned as Yorkshire League champions in 1926-27 as Bob Morphet hammered in the goals. Despite the success, the club disbanded in 1932 before being reformed in 1935 as Harrogate Hotspurs.

After World War II, the club changed its name to Harrogate Town AFC and entered the West Riding League before re-joining the Yorkshire League for the 1957-58 season, where they were placed in Division Two. Promotion to Division One followed in 1960-61, finishing runners-up in 1962-63 before the 'Sulphurites’ went back down in 1966-67. 

They then suffered further relegation to Division Three in 1969-70 under manager Pete Gunby. Promotion to Division Two followed in 1971-72 before going down again in 1977-78. The 1980-81 campaign saw Town return to Division Two, where they won the league title the following season with Alan Smith as manager. 

Town became a founder member of the Northern Counties East Football League in 1982, where they were placed in Division One North. A friendly against Leeds United saw floodlights being turned on for the first time at Wetherby Road.  A runners-up position in 1984-85 saw promotion to the Premier Division. 

Harrogate progressed to the extended Division One of the Northern Premier League in the summer of 1987, where the club finished regularly in the middle of the table. Former Leeds United chairman Bill Fotherby took over the same position at Town in 2000. Promotion to the Premier Division came in 2001-02 as the team finished as Division One champions with John Reed as manager and Neil Aspin as his assistant. 

Town also reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time before going out 5-1 to Farnborough Town. A fifth-place finish in 2003-04 meant Harrogate were placed in the newly formed Conference North with a returning Aspin as team boss. In 2005-06, Town reached the Cup first round again, going out to Torquay United on penalties after a replay. 

The side also qualified for the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the semifinal by Stafford Rangers. Town finished just outside the play-offs in the following two seasons before a downturn in form saw them finish bottom of the table in 2009-10 under manager Simon Wheeler. The club was reprieved from relegation owing to the financial irregularities of Northwich Victoria. 

Owner Fotherby sold Harrogate Town to Irving Wheeler, father of manager Simon, in the summer of 2011. Town stayed up thanks to a final-day victory over Corby in 2011-12 before an upturn of form, including a fine FA Cup run in 2012-13, as revenge was exacted over Torquay United. Town went out in the second round in a replay away to Hastings United. 

A sixth-place league finish was also achieved. Harrogate ended in ninth position and then fifteenth in 2014-15. The 2015-16 season saw Town reach the playoffs before going out to AFC Fylde in their semifinal. A disappointing 2016-17 campaign saw the club go full-time. The move paid dividends as Town finished runners-up in the retitled National League North.

In the playoffs, Chorley were defeated, along with Brackley Town 3-0, in the final at the sponsorship-named CNG Stadium to secure promotion to the top flight of non-league football. The run continued with a playoff place in 2018-19, where old rivals AFC Fylde once again came out victorious.

They returned to the playoffs in 2019-20 to defeat Boreham Wood and then Notts County 3-1 at Wembley with goals from George Thomson, Connor Hall, and Jack Diamond in a game played behind closed doors owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Remarkably, Harrogate Town were promoted to the EFL.

The Weaver family partnership continued to deliver results, with the goals of Jack Muldoon helping to consolidate the new status. Luke Armstrong top scored in 2022-23 as the Sulphurites coped confidently in their surroundings, with thirteenth place in 2023-24 their best return to date.

Harrogate Town were relegated from the Football League on the final day of the 2025-26 season after a home defeat to Barnet, with the club returning to the National League.

Harrogate Town AFC will play in the National League in the 2026-27 season.

My visits

Tuesday 4th November 1986

My Cardiff supporting pal, Gary Griffiths, was heading to Deepdale to watch his side on a freezing winter's day and asked if I fancied tagging along. This seemed a good opportunity to visit a new ground, with my pilot deciding to go via Harrogate to take a look at the Wetherby Road ground.

It was a pretty basic venue in those days, with both sides open and a covered stand with bench seats at the Hospital End. The changing rooms and clubhouse stood behind the other goal.

Friday 7th August 2009

With time to kill before meeting brother Nick and family in York, I took the train through to Starbeck, where I couldn’t gain access inside the home of Harrogate Railway Athletic, before taking the walk to Wetherby Road to take a look at the home of Town.

The old cover and clubhouse facilities still stood behind the goals, with the far side having a covered seated stand and a low cover down the roadside for away fans. I took photos, but I would later lose them when I had laptop issues.

Harrogate Town 1 AFC Fylde 2 (Saturday 29th December 2018) National League (att: 1,603)

It was time to head north and spend some family time at Christmas. Nick and Stan were to take Simon, a visiting friend from Norwich who was up with his family, to a game. Harrogate ticked the boxes with Leeds United wanting a king’s ransom for Hull City tickets at Elland Road, and Scarborough not having a game.

I was picked up at York station by Nick before we picked the others up and took a taxi back through streets packed with shoppers to catch our train. The journey went by in no time as Stan got his Owzat table cricket game out.

It was cold and blustery as we got out and headed to The Alexandra via Greggs. I’d come up trumps with research to find a pub showing the ‘Auld Firm’ Rangers v Celtic game. Fine ales from Leeds and Ossett Breweries were among the offerings in the fine Nicholson’s establishment.

The pub was getting loud as Rangers headed towards their first win in the game for many years, as the pub seemed to be the local branch of their supporters’ club. We had our hands shaken and offered seasonal greetings as we left to head towards our game. It took us nearly twenty minutes to walk through town, across The Stray, and down Wetherby Road to the entrance. 

Nick had purchased and printed our tickets online in advance. Adults were £14 including booking fees, with Nick and Stans fantastic combined value all in at £18. The match wasn’t segregated, so we could go where we wanted. We opted for a place on the new Hospital End covered terrace. 

The pitch was artificial with the surface levelled, creating natural banking in parts to give the viewing a slightly elevated view for the clash between two sides occupying play-off places.

Another new covered terrace was down the roadside, while an extra seating stand had been placed between the existing structure and the changing rooms. 

Plans were afoot to rebuild that end of the smart mini stadium. Fans of both sides, including several, imbibed mixed, without any issues. A visiting fan bought his drum near us, but in a quirk of fate, collapsed through overexuberance to save us a racket. He was fine but unable to continue his cacophony.

Skipper Josh Falkingham saw his effort for Town hit the foot of the post in the third minute. Kelvin Langmead came close to converting a Dom Knowles cross ten minutes later as the hosts made the early running before the visiting Coasters got a foothold in the game.

Fylde top scorer Danny Rowe was a handful for the Harrogate defenders. Just before the half-hour mark, a low free kick came off the leg of the Fylde captain, Neil Byrne, and smashed against the post.

Andy Bond went on a good run for the visitors and supplied Rowe, who saw his shot come back off the bar with keeper James Belshaw beaten. The front man also saw an effort go just over the bar as half-time approached.

Nick and Simon retreated to the far end to have a pint at the break, showing all the signs of two blokes desperate to enjoy their free time. I stayed in position with Stan, who’d got a good place down at the front and was thoroughly enjoying himself being close to the action. Rowe opened the scoring a couple of minutes into the second half with a brilliant thirty-yard free kick. 

Joe Leesley responded for Town as he provided a cross which saw a header from Warren Burrell go over the bar. The terrific Nick Haughton broke through for Fylde with just over twenty minutes remaining, only to be brought down by Falkingham. Rowe’s poor penalty was kept out by Belshaw, which seemed to add life to Harrogate.

Pressure was applied to the visitor’s goal, which led to an equaliser with eight minutes remaining. Substitute James Beck swivelled in the box before firing home past Jay Lynch into the roof of the net. Unfortunately, at that point, we had to make a move to catch a bus so we could connect with the last train back to York.

It came as no shock to hear that we’d missed Fylde’s winner. Apparently, Serhat Tasdemir had been upended by Burrell, with Rowe making no mistake and showing great confidence in taking the resulting penalty. Our bus dropped us at the station, where we just had time to grab a quick half in The Harrogate Tap before jumping on the train. 

I was ready to alight at York just in case my connecting service to Scarborough was running a minute or two late. I was in luck as I said goodbye to the lads before jumping onboard to meet up with Karl, Donna, and Crusher for some very enjoyable beers in my hometown before I turned in for the night in the North Riding Hotel.

The beer and fresh air certainly did their job as I had a good sleep before meeting the family for lunch on the seafront the following day. It was a really enjoyable couple of days in North Yorkshire.

Basingstoke Town

Basingstoke Town FC is a non-league football club formed in 1896 following a merger of Aldworth United FC and Basingstoke Albion FC, who play in the town of the same name in North Hampshire, around fifty miles south west of London. The club initially played at the Castlefields ground.

The club became members of the Hampshire League in 1901, being placed in the North Division, where they made a most inauspicious start over their first few years in the competition before being crowned champions in 1911-12.

A further North Division title followed in 1919-20 before league re-organisation in 1929 saw ‘The Dragons’ being placed in Division One. A new ground on land belonging to Lord Camrose was opened in 1945, with the venue initially being called Winchester Road.

Town reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup in 1959-60 before finishing as league runners-up in 1965-66 and 1966-67. The Hampshire League title was secured in 1967-68 before ending in second spot the following season.

The excellent spell continued as further championship seasons arrived at The Camrose in 1969-70 and 1970-71, which led to election to Division One South of the Southern League. The 1971-72 season saw Basingstoke reach the first round of the FA Cup before going out to Northampton Town.

League restructuring in the summer of 1979 saw the club placed in the Southern Division of the Southern League, from where they won promotion to the Premier Division in 1984-85 following a title-winning campaign.

The 1987-88 season saw Basingstoke make the move to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. Their debut season in new surroundings ended in relegation, but an Isthmian top-flight spot was secured with promotion at the first time of asking.

In 1989-90, Town reached the first round of the Cup once again, defeating Bromsgrove Rovers before going out in round two at home to Torquay United. They returned to the first round in the following campaign, eventually beating Wycombe Wanderers on penalties after a replay.

The Wycombe tie attracted a record home gate of 5,085, before the second round tie against Northampton Town went all the way to penalties in a Camrose replay. The Cobblers went on to win the shoot-out.

The 1998-99 FA Cup run also reached the first round. AFC Bournemouth defeated the Dragons at The Camrose. In the meantime, the team's league form had been steady in unspectacular, with third place in 2000-01 their best return.

Non-league football was restructured at the end of the 2003-04 season. Town lost a play-off to Lewes for a place in the newly formed Conference South. However, the club was still promoted after Hendon declined a place in the new setup with Ernie Howe as head coach and striker Sergio Torres starring.

Howe departed in April 2006 after a spell of thirteen years with the club, with Francis Vines replacing him. In 2006-07, Town defeated Chesterfield at Saltergate in the first round of the FA Cup before going out in the next stage in a local derby replay to Aldershot Town.

Vines resigned in March 2008 before former Leeds United and Scotland star Frank Gray came in as permanent manager, arriving in the close season of the same year. Gray departed in February 2012 after another FA Cup first round appearance; this time ending in defeat at Griffin Park to Brentford.

Jason Bristow took over from Gray, with the new man taking Basingstoke on a tremendous run to reach the play-offs in 2011-12 where they were defeated in the semi-final by Dartford. The play-offs were reached again in 2014-15 before being beaten in the semi-final by Whitehawk.

In 2015-16, Bristow was replaced by Michael Gilkes as Town lost to Cambridge United in round one of the Cup, in a season that ultimately ended in relegation to the Southern League, with Gilkes departing a couple of months before the drop was confirmed.

Experienced boss Terry Brown was unable to save the side from relegation, but he reignited enthusiasm at the club as a young, vibrant squad was introduced. However, long-standing chairman Rafi Razzak announced plans to leave the club at the end of the 2016-17 season and reclaim his investment through the sale of The Camrose.

Razzak was to be frustrated as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council turned down a plan for the club to leave their home and move to a proposed new stadium at Old Common Road. On the pitch, Brown’s side finished in twelfth place in 2016-17 in the Southern League Premier Division.

Meanwhile, the Hampshire FA looked to develop a site at Winklebury to include a stadium to enable Basingstoke Town to become anchor tenants and to redevelop The Camrose. The plans were given the all clear by the local council.

Razzak had become an unpopular figure by this time among supporters who didn’t want to leave their spiritual home. Plans for the club to become community-owned were drawn up in readiness for the ground move and Razzak’s departure.

The Dragons finished in tenth place in 2017-18 as Brown moved to a Director of Football role before the club was placed in the Premier Division South of the competition for the 2018-19 season. Bristow returned for a second spell as boss before departing in November 2018.

Brown had a spell as caretaker before the appointment of experienced Football League midfielder and coach Martin Kuhl in December 2018. The side was relegated at the end of the 2018-19 season to Division One South of the Southern League.

The club was forced to leave The Camrose as former owner Razzak tried to press forward with plans to redevelop the ground. The club decamped to share the City Ground with Winchester City, as Kuhl departed to be replaced by his assistant, Dan Brownlie, not long into the season.

Basingstoke returned to their hometown and moved into Winklebury Sports Complex for the 2020-21 campaign, before the club was transferred to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League in 2021-22. They reached the play-offs but were defeated by Chertsey Town in the semi-final. 

The previous club crest

However, the league title was lifted in 2022-23, prior to the club being moved once again to the Southern League as members of Premier Division South.

Basingstoke Town FC will play in the Southern League Premier Division South in the 2026-27 season.

My visit

Basingstoke Town 2 Hendon 1 (Saturday 8th December 2018) Southern League Premier Division South (att: 283)

The fixtures fell nicely for me during my spell of night shifts, with Basingstoke being one of the nearer Southern League destinations for Hendon. Lee Cousins offered me a lift, coming straight back after the game, so all was good.

Bob was already waiting at Harrow-on-the-Hill as I arrived just before 12.30. Lee was not long after, as we chatted about the usual football stuff and rumours. Our mood was good after the Dons' fine home win the previous week.

While some of the away match distances were a bit of a pain, we were visiting some proper football grounds by way of compensation. I was looking forward to seeing The Camrose after seeing images and hearing good reviews from mates who’d been in the past.

The journey down was smooth and easy, arriving in the car park well over an hour before kick-off. The fella on the car park gate immediately heightened our good mood with his reposte to Lee, jokingly telling him that we were the team when asked for £1 to park up.

The clubhouse was outside the ground with friendly fans manning a pop-up real ale bar just outside serving a selection from two local brewers. The choice was three different bottles from Andwell Brewery or Longdog Brewery Red Runner, straight from the box, which we opted for, at £3 a pint.

The spacious area inside was showing the live lunchtime game, and we joined other Hendon fans to discuss the decline of local Sunday football among other subjects. I had a chat with the host real ale gents about their club.

They confirmed that the fans were to take over and they were to leave their ground at the end of the season. They were sad about it. As one said, “It might be a s**thole, but it’s our s**thole.” The feeling was that they thought they had been let down by the current owner.

Admission was £12. We’d already bought our programmes in the bar for a quid, and once inside, I opted for a good portion of chips and curry sauce for £3. The weather was beginning to get worse, with a strong wind and rain beginning to fall.

The Camrose had certainly seen better days, though in mitigation, the end had been on the cards for a few years, so any investment would have been dead money. It was certainly large and offered three sections of covered standing as well as a raised seated Main Stand.

My only criticism was that the standing areas down the sides were a bit of a way from the pitch, with flat open standing in between. Nevertheless, the areas proved to offer us good protection from the biting gusts. The pitch had a slope from side to side.

My fear was that Town would profit from the boost of a new manager, which was a regular occurrence at clubs. Unfortunately, at least for Hendon supporters, this proved to be the case. After a tight opening, the Dragons looked to take the initiative

Dean Stow put in a dangerous cross which nobody could get on the end of before Basingstoke went ahead in seventeen minutes. Sam Deadfield crossed following a short corner for Dan Bayliss to rise unchallenged at the back post to head home.

A couple of minutes later, Ricardo German capitalised on a home error to get through on goal, but Colm McAdden made a good stop. Halfway through the opening period, it was 2-0 when Deadfield whipped in a corner. It somehow found its way into the net via the hands of keeper Danny Boness.

There was a suspicion about how weather-worn and dogged one or two individuals were in the Hendon squad. The sort of non-league equivalent of how would a ball-playing foreign star go on a Tuesday night in Grimsby, in old parlance. Here was an opportunity to find out.

Basingstoke continued to look dangerous when attacking before the Greens were given an almost comical lifeline on thirty-seven minutes. German latched onto a pass. From our angle, he slightly overran it and fell over the diving keeper McAdden.

Remarkably, referee Adam Baker pointed to the spot. We were howling with laughter at the decision. It’s fair to say that the home fans were not as amused and rightly so, at least from our angle. The man in black conferred with his linesman and stuck with his original decision.

German stroked the penalty home down the middle of the goal to make it 2-1. I reasoned that it made up for the stone wall penalties Hendon had turned down at Dorchester and Salisbury. Surely, they would grab their fortunate opportunity of a leg up?

Approaching the half-time whistle, Zidan Akers cut inside from the left and sent a curling shot past the beaten Boness, which came back off the post and away from danger as Town came desperately close to restoring their two-goal advantage.

As a man of nostalgia, I was grateful for a trip into the gent’s toilets underneath the stand at the break to take me right back to my primary school years. A Basingstoke fan mentioned that he feared that Hendon would take advantage of the conditions after the break.

While I’m no Pep Guardiola, as my past record as a Sunday League manager would testify, I thought it was fair enough to mention to the subs warming up that getting some shots in might be an idea if they got on, considering the increasing wind and rain at their backs?

Lee Chappell obviously agreed, but his thirty-yarder went high, wide, and not so handsome. At the other end, Ben Wright had an effort deflected for a corner. The game was stretched as Hendon pushed forward, with Sam Argent seeing an effort go close.

Diminutive striker Sam Smart had impressed throughout and was now having an increasing influence on the game. Half chances continued to fall to the Dragons, who were managing the conditions better than their visitors.

With fifteen minutes remaining, Akers somehow headed wide when set up beautifully by Smart. Seven minutes later, German missed a gilt-edged opportunity when he headed a fine delivery from substitute Shaun Lucien over the bar when unmarked.

I must confess to becoming more and more frustrated at some of the decisions made by certain Hendon players. The conditions were poor, but were there to be taken advantage of. Smart ran full-back Taishan Griffiths ragged to earn a penalty just before the board went up for stoppage time.

Stow sent his spot kick over the bar, to offer a final possible hurrah for the visitors. It wasn’t to be. We left the ground extremely frustrated, but ready to dust ourselves down for the visit of Metropolitan Police to Silver Jubilee Park a few days later.

The Basingstoke fans' forum match reporter described Hendon’s performance as dismal, no fight, no character, no ability to handle the conditions, and an undeserved goal. Probably a bit on the harsh side, but certainly along the right lines on the day.

The Dragons fully deserved their win. Hendon had a "bad day at the office", but they'd come again. All the home fans I came across were fair, friendly, and knowledgeable, and I certainly wished them all the best in their forthcoming adventure in new surroundings as a fan-owned club.

Our particular adventure was far from over, as the back left tyre of Lee’s car punctured the London side of the Fleet services on the M3. Our pilot sprang into action with Bob on the jack and me on the torch to run repairs in the dark and cold. It probably wasn’t Ferrari F1 standards, but bloody impressive under the circumstances.

We were deposited back at Harrow in time for me to take a siesta before night shift. Some sensible Tweets from Hendon team boss Jimmy Gray put things into perspective. Bring on the Met and car park duties. Up the Dons!