NO SLOUGH TOWN FAIRYTALE

Printed in the National League South game v Dorking Wanderers 20th December 2025  We lost 2-1 in front of 815

photo by Scott McNeish

There’s only one story to tell and it didn’t end in the fairytale we had all prayed for. To rub salt into the wound, our victors got the FA Cup holders at home. Fiddlesticks.

To be honest it was a bloody miracle we got to the second round in the first place. Losing and being a man down for over an hour when our keeper was sent off against Bedfont Sports. Wellings last minute equaliser, down to the bare bones against Enfield before a late, late goal. A Slough performance to savour against Altrincham.

We packed out the park – a record 2,500 and the media started running positive stories about Slough the Town. I haven’t been that nervous since, well the last time we were in the second round but it wasn’t to be. In the cold light of day Macclesfield deserved it, scored a wonder goal after a dubious penalty (for both teams) but ours unfortunately resulted in a sending off. I left straight after the game, totally dejected. Not even the sight of a sparkly new Station Jim could cheer me up.

But on reflection the cup run done the club proud. No doubt we will pick up a few more supporters from it and the club as a whole will benefit from new exposure. The hardcore Rebels behind the goal were joined by a man whose gaining legendary status at the club, with other players joining him. Our injured captain Henry Ochieng grabbed the bin sticks and even climbed on them a few times much to the frantic, worried looks from supporters who didn’t want him falling and compounding his injury. You can see why Scotty picked him as our captain.

We shouted down the obligatory idiots who turn up at big games who were throwing stuff on the pitch and giving grief to the Macclesfield player who was obviously badly injured. I lost my temper at shouts of how bad Macclesfield support was. They sold out their allocation of 600 on a televised match on a Sunday morning. I’d say that’s pretty decent.

The amount of organising and volunteering that goes into days like these is truly monumental. I asked our community manager Ade about the build up to the game. “We had around 5 coming in during the week, doing some small maintenance jobs and putting signage in stands for new sponsors. We then had a working party on the Saturday, all events and matches were cancelled, which saw about 20 people come in. Jobs included setting up bars and tea bars, cleaning stands and setting up the segregation. On the actual day there were over 40 volunteers all were onsite by 10am and most didn’t leave until after 4pm.

“Whilst I know the club can’t run without our fantastic volunteers, we should also give a shout out to board and matchday committee. Everything from tickets, sponsorship, safety plans, stewarding, policing, external relations such as scaffolders, the FA and TNT Sports and food deliveries, all required a huge amount of work. Every person worked so hard in the 4 weeks from the draw happening.

“On the day there was no real dramas off the pitch and the feedback from everyone, including Slough and Macclesfield fans was that the day was really well run. Everyone really did ‘Serve With Honour’ and showed just how fabulous this football club is.” Amen to all that.

It was also good to see former chairman Steve Easterbrook who I thanked and reminded him that we are where we are today because of all the work he did getting us back to Slough and building a financially sustainable football club. Financially sustainable – words you don’t often hear in football.

Now the priority is staying in this league. It’s frightening how much money is being thrown around, having nearly half of our opponents full time is economic madness but it is what it is. Every game we must now treat like an FA Cup. Of course after the defeat a few started having a pop at Scott Davies on line. I thought his reply as ever was class. “Genuine question… what would we have to do as a management team for you to say that we’ve kicked on? 10th and 16th placed finishes. Went a year unbeaten at home. Scored the second most goals over the last two seasons combined. 1st and 2nd round of FA Cup. Sold 5 players in less than 12 months. 11 players gone full time. Our best players taken year on year. Been in the relegation zone for 3 weeks over a 2 year period as a part time club when 40% of the league are full time. Fair enough I’ll make mistakes along with my management team but we aren’t magicians.”

Maybe in the New Year we should all take a breath, stop shaking our fists at clouds, stop thinking we can do better while we scroll through our phones lying on the couch. And remember, as that proverb goes; before you complain, have you volunteered yet? Cos fairytales are usually built on the backs of peoples hard graft.

 

Photo by Sarah Peplow

THE DOERS AND DREAMERS

Printed in the FA Cup 2nd round game v Macclesfield Sunday 7th December 2025  We lost 3-1 in front of 2,500 - our biggest ever crowd at Arbour Park

Photo by Scott McNeish

In any rational world neither Macclesfield or Slough Town football clubs would exist. Basket-cases that any sane person would have put out of their misery. Thankfully football and life, isn't completely dictated by money and logic and there’s always the doers and dreamers who refuse to give up. Who refuse to take no for an answer and listen to their hearts rather than their heads.

The fall and rise of Macclesfield has been well documented, less so that of Slough Town. But the Rebels were homeless for 15 long years as they plummeted down the leagues, fighting the council to find us a new ground while trying to keep a competitive team on the pitch. But a hardcore group never stopped believing or supporting them; driven by people like Chris Sliski, who is sadly no longer with us and former chairman Steve Easterbrook who grabbed the club by the scruff of its scrawny neck and finally got us back in the town we represent.

We recently lost another one of those doers and dreamers - Phil Ashford. I had only really started getting to know him. He’d moved to Reading a while back and was supporting the Royals, but was slowly being pulled back to the Rebels including our last FA Cup game. Our politics aligned but rather than just shouting from the sidelines, he lived those politics supporting people who’d fallen on hard times for whatever reason. You can tell the measure of a man by the outpourings after their passing. One of our supporters Sarah posted “The world is a darker place since the light that is Phil Ashford went out. Don’t have enough words to describe how much difference he made to so many people, both through his work and his kind, generous and giving nature in his personal life. Rest in peace Phil You have touched so many hearts and lives.”

Another, Nada wrote “Wonderful human being who had an infinite amount of kindness and belief that every person had the right to live with dignity and justice, and access to good times, too!”

Phil was good fun to be around. He introduced me to the Facebook sensation that is Non League Bins, its cover page now our very own Welly waving one of our bashed bins in the air in celebration. Phil played his last gig at Arbour Park which was outside and bizarrely while a match was going on. He said he couldn’t stop shouting ‘offside’ on the mic. They were even thinking of changing the bands name simply to Slough’. He’s going to be missed by so many.

I recently arrived at Arbour Park with BBC Breakfast in tow; parents with their children were turning up in droves, there was a busy gym and 150 business leaders attending for a conference. The journalists have promised a positive article about the town and the club – knocking Slough is like shooting fish in a barrel. And they delivered. They had started their filming at Slough Museum and the truth is Slough the Town has always been a place full of doers and dreamers - like an industrial Silicon valley with all its inventions. As the song goes – Zebra crossings, Thunderbirds, Mars Bars and Bins, Biggest Trading Estate, David Brent – these are all Slough things. Then there’s – Roundabouts, Cox's Orange Pippins, Infrared, snooker, first ever community centre and so much more that I just can’t get to rhyme.

Once our new owners took over the Arbour Park lease from the council, the club has been turbo charged. Not just new infrastruture but new iniatiatives as well as hundreds of people playing on the pitch – from youngsters, ladies team, walking football, men v fat, disability..there's hardly a spare second on the artifical turf. The club have become the glue that binds communities together – even more important in a town like Slough.

But there’s always so much more to do and why so much is riding on this game, that I feel physically sick. I don’t have bucket lists but if I did, right up there would be Slough Town in the Third Round of the FA Cup after eight glorious second round failures.

I don’t want to over egg this game, but the riches from being in their Third Round, the spotlight it would bring to the club, wont just define this season, but potentially the next decade. It would be like winning the lottery and then some, but sharing that win with thousands of others.

So I dedicate this match to the doers and dreamers. We need more of them in this world. But first things first - today we need to win. So let’s make some noise Rebel Army and put our town on the map for all the right reasons. Let’s be part of making history for our club.