A SLOUGH TOWN CONUNDRUM

To be printed in the National League South game v Farnborough Tuesday 18th November 2025

Photo by Scott McNeish

So a first ever visit to Horsham’s new ground – or to give its full title: The Fusion Aviation Community Stadium. Slough had played Horsham plenty of times before but that was at their old Queen Street ground. Bang smack in the middle of town where all football clubs should be. But the place which had its charm, was falling to bits and they finally left in 2008 for a nomadic existence that lasted 11 long years.

Now Horsham is a very well to do place. The sort of place that looks down their noses at football with local residents and councillors throwing up all kinds of obstacles and excuses to block a new football stadium.

The irony of this wasn’t lost on one supporter – if it were new houses or to knock down an old building it would get the nod from planning. In fact the town is expanding at such a rate it might be married to Crawley soon, which are two starkly different places. Think Slough and Windsor.

The first pub I went into was far too posh for the likes of Slough so I headed to the Car Max which sounded like some dodgy car wash but has origins from the mists of time. For centuries people drove livestock to sell, meeting with traders along other tracks; the Carfax began as a clearing around the junction of these tracks. Over time it developed into a thriving market; a focal point for people to meet – be it for food, drink, entertainment, commemoration and of course public punishment and execution. I was thirsty after learning about all this and found The Stout House a bit more suitable for the Rebel Rabble.

The bustling market town centre is in stark contrast to Slough which has won another of those awards – this time most unhealthiest high streets in the UK. I think this one is unwarranted with plenty of amazing food to be scoffed. The relentless rise of online shopping and out of town supermarkets means high streets have to reinvent themselves or die – you need to become a destination to attract people, and Slough High Street definitely ain’t that. But the thing is with a bit of imagination you could transform the place – playing to its melting-pot-of-people strengths, with cheap stalls offering up food from around the world, it could become a magnet. Far fetched? Broadway Market in Hackney was on its knees and although gentrification has caused major upheavals by greedy property  developers it is a thriving, trendy go-to place on a Saturday. Brighton Open Market in one of the less trendy places offers cheap stalls, making it affordable to small traders, which alongside the butchers, bakers, cafes and fruit stalls means its the place to head to on a Saturday.

As we supped our beer and Deano told tales of European tours with Manchester United, Alan the Shirt Brown told of how he managed to hurt himself doing first aid training. Which is impressive. Like being run over in a hospital carpark. Deano also left us with this riddle. ‘Would you rather Slough get to the fourth round of the FA Cup but get relegated.’

The only problem with Horsham's new ground is its miles out of town. Like park and ride miles out. So we managed to get a seven seater taxi. The ground has a lot of character for a new venue, and is surrounded by trees. But another stadium with no musical instruments because, well to do neighbours have already complained about the sound of bouncing balls, shouting, and whistles. I really hope a group of woodpeckers set up in a tree near their houses and drum their heads on the trunks looking for insects.

I also really like the clubs honesty spelt out in a series of articles about how the club is run. Chairman Kevin Borrett wrote “In 2017-18, Horsham’s turnover was around £117,000. This season it’s projected to exceed £1.2 million – a tenfold increase in less than a decade. The problem is, we haven’t suddenly gained the staff or the money that people expect to help counteract that kind of rapid growth.”

“People see a packed stadium and automatically assume we must be raking it in, says Development Director Matt Ide. The trust is, the costs of competing at the previous level were difficult enough, but at the level we’re at now, with increased travel costs, wages, security and maintenance for example. Every penny we make goes straight back into keeping the club alive in an attempt to make it a sustainable business and community asset, but it’s not easy."

"The easy route would be to find a wealthy investor and hand over control, says Commercial Director Sam Borrett. "But that's never been Horsham's aim or intended direction. That ethos means doing more with less, but it also means something deeper ; the club belongs to the town. Every pint poured, every shirt bought, every ticket sold keeps the lights on and the dream alive. We know there are still rough edges, but they are growing pains of a club that has outgrown its skin faster than anyone expected. Horsham FC's success isn't an accident, it's the product of thousands of hours of hard work by some truly dedicated people. "

We left Horsham impressed with what they’ve achieved but pointless. Our fifth straight league defeat. On the way home I couldn’t stop thinking about Deanos conundrum. ‘4th Round of the FA Cup but relegation. What would you choose?’ Answers on a postcard.