CHEERS!

To be printed in the last home game of the season v Welling United 20th April 2024

photo by Scott McNeish

Well that was a fun season.

Yeah, we didn’t make the play offs but come on. Everyone's favourites to go down, rookie manager, new owners. Someone pass the smelling salts. A thoroughly enjoyable season and an FA Cup run to boot where we made friends and even raised a song about those nice fish faces from Grimsby, who’ve been having a slightly less enjoyable time.

And what about our manager Scott Davies. You can see his class in the post match interviews when emotions are often very raw. He doesn’t throw players under a bus. He praises the opposition. Even the officials. He has time for everyone. In fact I think he's the perfect role model for supporters. Look, I get things get heated during a game and we are all up for a bit of banter but sometimes it’s embarrassing. Does being abusive to the opposition players and supporters give your team an edge? I’m sure for most players it’s water off a ducks back. And to be honest if you want to attract new fans, then language and behaviour matter.

At the St.Albans game, a couple of youngsters approached me with their mum – I gave them some sticks and their joined in on the wheelie bin then they went off with tambourines and shakers (they did bring them back at the end of the game). Maybe its the new Ultra fan - ultra nice? But I bet that family will be back.

Having fun at football has got to be up there - well and winning games - cos surely at the end of the day, what we all want is to have a laugh (well that and home terracing where we can actually see the goals going in). Pack up all your troubles in an old kit bag and smile, smile, smile as they say.

Still its great to get some justice with the League deciding to give us the 3 points against the Bath City Roll-overs. Their manager soured our big Thames Hospice day, with his spoilt brat antics but hey I’m sure we wont mention it to him again. ‘We beat Jerry Gill, nil, nil, nil, nil. We beat Jerry Gill nil, nil...’

Like Dr. Foster I went to Gloucester in a shower of rain, I stepped in a puddle right up to my middle and I hope I never go there again. Mind you, I doff my hat to the ingenuity of raising the ground 4 metres to stop it flooding. It was like Glastonbury mudbath behind their far stand. Infact the whole surrounds had a Steptoe and Son feel to the place when Gloucester itself looks a delight. As for Truro its probably been a bit less fun, but suppose they’ve got to see more of the country. I’m also impressed with Hemel Hempstead who balanced out their delightful old town by building a carbunkle modern shopping centre next to it. Ying and Yang and all that.

So while we all catch our breath and refresh our depleted football away day bank balances, I’m sure behind the scenes there’s already been lots of plotting and scheming, forward planning and strategies. I can’t thank the new owners enough for the injection of ideas and passion they have bought to the club. What any organisation periodical needs. The ideal for me would to take over the running of Arbour Park from the council and open a bar 7 days a week a la Havant and Down with the Dover-ville. (it felt good to type that). Mind you Dartford being relegated as well – I didn’t see that coming, and just goes to show you what a competitive league the National League South is.

So enjoy the summer, I’m off to water our community garden and hunt down some snails.

HISTORY OF SLOUGH

Next season we are going to delve into the history of Slough post swamp era. If you’ve got any Slough photos you want us to share, let us know with the story behind them. Maybe starting with what Arbour Park used to look like?

ONE SLOUGH BEYOND

Printed in the National League South game v St.Albans City Easter Monday 1st April 2024  We drew 2-2 in front of  1162

Photo Scott McNeish 

Who doesn’t like the Easter weekend. The clocks go forward, the sun shines (well, maybe) it’s the first Bank Holiday of the year and we can gorge ourselves on Easter eggs, hot cross buns and football. The Wheatsheaf Pub holds its annual Bobstock music festival and long lost sons and daughters come back to their town of birth like mating salmon.

But let’s rewind to the last home game against Eastbourne Borough, who despite going full time are staring relegation in the face. It was Non League Day a genius idea now in its 14th year that encourages those who support a league team to go and watch their local non league sides when there’s an international break (I really don’t like the term Non League, like we all play in some fluid jazz quartet).

To be honest with crowds of a thousand plus since the new year, every home game feels like Non League Day at Arbour Park and we’ve got more pay-less deals than a supermarket. And in any case, post covid people are flocking to lower league football with crowds up across the pyramid.

The National League is in reality Division Three and Oxford City have already found out to their cost that its impossible to compete without serious financial resources. This isn’t helped with just two going up to the Football League. Surely it’s time for three up, three down which will reduce the bottle neck that then ripples down to our level and makes clubs spend money they haven’t got (something I will no doubt do over this weekend). With the Football Governance Bill finally going to become law let’s hope footballs disaster capitalism model is going to change and no more clubs go bust.

Anyhow, I digress. After a bit of a slow burner in the first half – well apart from two disallowed Slough goals – the second half was a cross between a basket ball match and an FA Cup tie; end to end with Slough nearly finding a winner with a power shot from Trae Cook-Appiah which smashed into the right post and bounced just wide.

The officials were in the spotlight with their first half display – the worst ones ever apparently and they looked like they got at least one of our chalked off goals wrong. After tasting a season or three of VAR with Brighton that’s not the route I want to go down and another reason to ditch that Premier League season ticket as VAR sucks the joy out of the moment. Maybe that’s why I prefer the lower league jazz ensemble vibes.

Officials will make mistakes, just like players and managers do. Years ago I would have been fuming but we had no social media then to vent our spleens. Which was probably a good thing and we still managed to do that with our fanzine. I’ve always said there should be a breathalyser that stops your words being published if the computer smells alcohol on your breath. And after checking Eastbourne's social media – guess what? Borough supporters complaining about the worst officials ever.

So onto Good Fridays football which was proving to to be a logistical nightmare but at least I hadn’t booked myself into hotel rooms in Plymouth like a few keen Slough fans where Truro had originally settled for the season. They were of course now playing 4 counties away from home at Gloucester City which has got to be some sort of you-must-be-lost-playing-here record. Oh and the fact they still have to play 25 games in a matter of minutes.

Going 20 games unbeaten at home is some feat – the 6th best run in the clubs entire history – and we all want it to continue till the end of the season. (*Just for the record Gary the Stat pointed out that the best is a staggering 54 in the 1973/74 season).

Slough used to have a massive musical scene but now the Wheatsheafs BobStock promoter Buzz struggles to find non covers bands to play. Infact he was getting so desperate he was going to book the Slough Town Behind The Goal Orchestra but our instruments were all being polished for today and he couldn’t fit the bin into the pub. Or afford our bar bill. So lets get Nick the Trumpet to serenade everyone a few more times with One Slough Beyond for the penultimate home game of the season.

ROAMING REBELS

 

Printed in the National League South game v Eastbourne Borough Saturday 23rd March 2024  Non League Day. We drew 1-1 in front of 1085.

Its fair to say there’s no love lost between Slough and Havant – probably not helped by us singing ‘Going Down with the Dover’ to remind them of their predicament second bottom of the league.

As I walked into their pub next to the ground (Arbour Park needs a pub open every night like this) one guy was still moaning about that abandoned game a few seasons back where the ball wouldn’t bounce on the bog of a pitch. They just wont let it lie. They said they had no sympathy for our Bath abandonment and reckoned our joint managers at the time had threatened the ref if any of the Slough players got injured. To be honest they were more likely to drown. I was the lone Rebel in sea of Slough hate, so changed the subject to our mutual respect for their former manager Steve King who worked wonders rooting a full time club to to the bottom of the league.

As our play off push looks a little too far, it’s that time of the year when I can’t help looking at who we might be facing next season.

No one wants to see today's opponents Eastbourne relegated as it’s a proper seaside trip and from a selfish geographical perspective, if we lost them and Worthing I would actually cry.

Welling are groundsharing at Tonbridge next season while their place gets redeveloped, which is a shame. Not for the ground, which does need a revamp but Welling is still a proper high street with shops that sell stuff and you can even do a pub crawl if you’re that way inclined. This seems so rare nowadays I'm surprised the High Street is not on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

You got to feel sorry for Taunton – well I did until I heard they sacrificed infrastructure and pitch improvements to spend money on players to keep them up. With the wettest winter ever, that decision is coming back to bite them – with no income at all over the past few months.

We’ve still got to play Truro but god knows where that will be. If we saw the back of those two West Country teams I wouldn’t shed a tear – especially as that might soak their pitch even more.

There was an interview in the Non League Paper about how ground grading is becoming computerised to help the Premier League Stadium Improvement Fund identify best where to support clubs. There was a lot of talk about clubs becoming more financial sustainable with an emphasis on pitches. Alliance chair Mark Harris said ‘Everyone knows that the weather has wreaked havoc with fixtures in some regions...Neither the FA nor Leagues can control the weather, but by working together we can focus clubs minds on the importance of investing in their pitches to ensure they are of the highest possible standard, and that pitch maintenance is fit for purpose.’

No one would miss Chelmsford's running track but it’s very likely that we will be playing at the Hornchurch one. The mind boggles where that name came from. And I had the same thoughts when I got off the train at Braintree. Must be an Essex thing.

Selfishly I want Hastings promoted – its a great weekend place to visit. I’ve never been to Enfield Towns new ground and I’ve got a lot of respect for the first fan owned club in the country. But how about Wingate and Finchley – punching well above their weight on tiny crowds and a listed art deco stand.

From the Southern Premier – well we’ve all been to Chesham whose ground could do with some TLC. Salisbury is a public transport pig to get too so how about Gosport – where I have to get a boat too. Admittedly by the time you sit down on the boat its time to get off, but still – crossing the sea for a football match is always a novelty.

Its bloody miles away but I’ve got a soft spot for Merthyr who are also fan owned. And there’s a shop in the towns market that just sells Welsh cakes. I hired a van last time to bring hundreds back.

Looking at the National League and apart from Oxford who will probably end up in the north – its seriously tight with 14 clubs still in the relegation mix. It would be funny if Dorking got relegated and everyone likes to get vertigo in Woking's big stand but really its got to be Maidenheads time to finally take the tumble and treat us to some proper festive derbies that we’ve seriously lacked recently.

I never got to visit Yeovil's new ground which is a shame as they still look nailed on to go up. I also want to salute our quick thinking management team who gave Yeovil fans the chance to go behind the goal in the second half. There was lots of complaints from their supporters that they couldn’t see in the first half and we’ve gone to quite a few places this season where we’ve felt like second class citizens. It meant for one of our biggest ever home league crowds there was a cracking atmosphere even if the game was more a war of attrition. From playing Sunderland to now Slough Town as they say, but Yeovil turned up in numbers and fair play to them. Perhaps they were only here for the Mars Bars?

Like Slough they have travelled up and down the leagues which does give you an opportunity to visit new places and meet new friends – and hopefully wave goodbye to a few waterloo ones who crossed you off their Christmas card list a long time ago.

ZEN FOOTBALL

 

Printed in the National League South game v Yeovil Town Saturday 16th March 2024  We drew 0-0 in front of 1533

Blimey just were to begin….

Well let’s start by saying that one of the really enjoyable things about this season is there’s no pressure.

Once any threat of relegation had eased, the only way was up – and no one gave us a cat in hells chance of being within touching distance of the play offs.

So now we can watch games in a Zen like state – assuming Budhists drink and don’t get distracted by hundred miles an hour heavy metal football. So but we shake our bells and rattle tambouries like some relgious ritual to ward off ever losing at home again.

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks – culminating in the Bath City manager refusing to let his players go back on the pitch cos they’d been such a big pause, two of his players had ingrown toenails. Anyone would think he’d never heard of half time and keeps his players jogging round the pitch rather than resting.

The fact that the guy who fainted was ok, sitting up in the physio room and speaking to his wife didn’t matter to him. Bath still trailing by two goals and with just one sub on the bench mattered a whole lot more.

A few years back, when our goal keeper Mark Scott suffered a broken neck their was an ambulance on the pitch and a lengthy delay. Slough didn’t even have a stand in keeper so one of our outfield players went in goal but the game restarted.

As people shuffled out the ground, it left a sour taste on what was just a brilliant day – yes we had put in one the best first half performances I can remember in front of our biggest home league crowd for six years but it was more than that.

Talking to a clearly deflated Ade who had spent months helping pull the day together the big fundraising day for Thames Hospice just made me angrier – the Bath fans were good as gold but I hope their club choke on their play off ambitions and their manager is made to scrub that Twerton Park outside toilet block for the rest of eternity.

So can we do it? At the Dartford game I said to some of their supporters that I didn’t want promotion – and they asked if that showed a lack of ambition. Maybe, but also a sense of realism of what it would entail. But also how you measure ambition. I measure our community pub not just in the pints poured and the cash through the tills – just as well given our recent circumstances - but how we can bring people together and change lives. I got chatting to one lady after our Friday seniors club. Struggling with her health, she said it’s the only time she leaves the house and spends the rest of the time home alone, never seeing another human just speaking to her dog. She’s started to stay a bit later and likes to laugh and joke with everyone and in a short space of time everyone knows her name. The other day when her cab didn’t show, one of the regulars whizzed her in his car home.

So what’s that got to do with football? To my mind, ambition for Slough Town means increasing crowds and their diversity, becoming the number one place that people meet in a town that has the least places to go for a pint or a dance – using that negative as an opportunity (Christ, I sound like one of those Amerian self help word soup gurus). More teams under the Rebels umbrella, players coming through the ranks to the first team and beyond. Improving the stadium so we can actually see behind the goals. I know ultimately everything for football teams gets measured on the pitch but you have to have the infrastruture, the support to push on so when times are hard you have a loyalty that sticks with you. A football club that is more than just about ninety minutes on the pitch, that needs to continually generate income and support the team when things aren’t going so well.

The Bath City game was the culmination of all that is good about the club, about doing things the right way. Yes winning is fun but meeting mates and having a good laugh, well that too me is also what its all about. And showing a bit more class than some we won’t mention. I reckon that matters as well.

BRAZIL OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE

Printed in the National League South game v Bath City Saturday 2^nd March 2024  We were winning 4-2 until game was abandoned in front of 1401 - biggest league crowd for years. 

Slough being Slough it wouldn’t be long before a Brazilian came along to Arbour Park. Being nosy one matchday I decided to introduce myself and find out who was this stylish man behind the goal.

Tell us about yourself

“I'm Matheus Pinto, I was born in Brazil in a "small" town of a hundred thousand people called Barra do Piraí, about 60 miles uphill from Rio de Janeiro. I also spent 12 years of my life in Lisbon, Portugal, my second home, before coming to Cambridge in 2018 to work in the booming video games industry – firstly as an English to Brazilian Portuguese translator at Jagex Ltd, one of the biggest British-founded studios in the industry, then as a tech lead and project manager at the same company.”

How did you end up in Slough?

“After the COVID pandemic hit, my company switched to a hybrid work style for a while before ultimately deciding to allow us to work fully remote from anywhere within the United Kingdom. So after a while I decided to escape the soaring housing costs in Cambridge and try and find a place closer to London, where I already spent a big part of my free time visiting friends and attending events, and Slough ticked all the boxes, being relatively more affordable and so well connected via public transport.”

How did you end up in Arbour Park?

“Ever since I was a kid, I have always been connected to non-league football: my late grandfather was an honorary president of Royal Sport Club, where former Chelsea midfielder Ramires started his footballing

career; my uncle used to be my youth coach at their rivals Central Sport Club (where I quickly found out a footballing career was not on the cards for me) and my father has been a lifelong supporter of Bangu Atlético Clube – once a major force in Brazilian football back in the 80s, but long since removed from the big stages.

So when I felt the football itch starting to come up at the pre-season, I looked no further than my local Slough Town to scratch it, a decision I do not regret – Scott's team have provided us with many remarkable moments in this season so far, and seem on track to continue to do so!”

What's the best thing about coming to the football?

“Undoubtedly the atmosphere – I have been extremely well received by everyone in Arbour Park, from club (and bar!) staff to players, management and fellow supporters, and it is truly beautiful to see people from all ages and backgrounds getting behind a club with such a great history and such strong ties to its community. I feel naturally more drawn to the "loud crowd", so during the games you will usually find me behind the opposition's woodwork, chanting, playing tambourine (thanks Warren!) and cheering on our Rebels no matter what the scoreboard says, trying to play a little part in what makes Arbour Park this fortress that other teams don't relish a visit to.”

Anything you think that could be improved?

“Not at all, I think everyone at the club is doing a fantastic job and that is reflected in the rise in attendance numbers and our slow-but-steady climb through the league table. Everything is done with a level of professionalism that is often not found in semi-professional clubs, and any improvements shall come naturally as a result of all the hard work that is being put in the club. COYR!”

HORLICKS, HORLICKS, GIVE US A SIP

Printed in the National League South game v Dartford Tuesday 20th February 2024. We won 3-2 in front of 659. Unbeaten in 18 games at home now!

When I watch any football on the tele one thing that always strikes me is the lack of originality in terrace songs. The same old tunes are pumped out to match the identikit stadiums.

Surely, football fans can do better than that?

This lack or original songs is a bit like league opposition programmes. I know programmes are a labour of love, hard to put together and probably more a financial burden than a money maker but there’s hardly any original text apart from maybe the chair and managers notes; the rest is just stats and historical archives that anyone can get from trawling the internet. I'm not sure they’ve got much of a future if they continue in that vein.

Slough might be the endless butt of jokes but once it rose from the swamp, it’s been a place of invention and ingenuity. The Zebra Crossing and Thunderbirds song was a celebration of that. More upbeat than the Come Friendly Bombs dig – and something to sing while still giving a nod to the Office.

We might not be able to match Oxford City for their pomp and history but ‘They’ve got dreamy spires, we’ve got Marsbars, I just need to think of a second verse.’ The ‘we invented the wheelie bin so its in my Slough DNA’ falls on death ears to humourless stewards who seem to get very upset about hitting something that people put rubbish in. They must be fun at parties – that’s assuming they get invited to any.

Nick the Trumpet has added a whole new genre and upbeatness to behind the goal and who can forget his ‘Message to you Grimsby’ ska classic. It helped build a bond on social media between the two clubs. Singing ‘Same old fish-faces, always stinking’ would have just been rude after becoming friends. Now Luca Blister has used the inspiration of Bob Marley to write a song about Jammers and its a corker. This is more like it. See its catching. Just don’t make it too complicated; it took me ages to remember the zebra crossing song and that’s only four lines.

Which brings me onto Horlicks. ‘Horlicks side, give us a a song’. Or maybe it should be give us a sip (actually that would be better aimed at the bar). I'm not sure I’ve ever had a cup of Horlicks. Is it still a product? Who drinks it? Bit like asking if anyone watches Coronation Street or has a home phone number anymore – although thanks to Erika Maracas I’ve now got some chocolatey Horlicks to try once I pluck up the courage. 

I always thought their big imposing building must have been a workhouse at one point, but no, it was built to produce the frothy stuff. Now they have gone and its been developed as part of Sloughs ever expanding housing stock. The developers even put out a booklet - '40 things you probably didn't know about Slough.' The original chimney is a still a distinctive landmark but while the Horlicks War Memorial is Grade II listed the request to list the iconic factory was rejected by Historic England. 

Horlicks was invented in 1873 by William Horlick and his brother James. After returning from America where they had set up their company, James bought a green field site in Stoke Poges Lane from Eton College. By 1908 the sound of the factory hooter was a key time signal for everyone who lived nearby. Horlicks, apparently makes you sleep soundly and they coined the phrase “night starvation.” In 1935 a mountain range in Antarctica was named Horlicks by Admiral Byrd in recognition of the company’s support of his expedition. It is now a brand within Glaxo SmithKline.

Did the Amber and Blues - as we were known then - ever play them in a competitive game? It was time to set Slough Town detective Alan Smith some homework. “Slough Reserves played them in the Windsor, Slough and District League in two seasons. Horlicks FC probably paid their games at Elstons Meadow near Salt Hill as most clubs in the area did."

1911/12 Slough Reserves 1 Horlicks 0

Horlicks 6 Slough Reserves 0

1919/20 Slough Reserves 6 Horlicks 1 played at Slough Cricket ground

The return fixture due on the 27th March was not played

"The league table for that season finished up very percular. First of all Horlicks did not finish their fixtures. The teams they did not play received two points each including the Royal Albert Institute. Furthermore Windsor and Eton Reserves had 4 points deducted for misdemeanours. Slough reserves also did not meet the Royal Albert Institute or Slough YMCA.” See I told you if there is every a Slough Town quiz, you need Detective Smith on your team.

So pick a player, pick a place, pick an invention, rearrange a well known song, and knock it into something new. ‘Slough Bus Stations on Fire.’ You get the gist.

I’m just hoping that ‘Biggest Trading Estate in Europe? You’re never sing that’ is turned into a t-shirt sometime soon.

WESTWARD HO!

 

Printed in the National League South game v Chippenham Town Saturday 17th February 2024   We drew 2-2 in front of 906

Slough supporters have been spending so much time heading west this season, we are starting to develop accents and humming along to The Wurzels.

Nearly twenty years ago we did spend a few seasons in the Southern League South and West. I lost my big rattle in Bridgewater, nearly got Sue thrown out at Winchester and jumped on the train then supporters coach getting halfway down the M4 when one game was called off en route. I ended up watching Lewes – just 8 miles from my house - after five hours of travelling! I also remember driving past Cheltenham's ground who we used to play, to the nearby village of Bishops Cleeve where more sheep than fans saw us lose. In one of those South & West seasons we should have been relegated to County League football for the first time ever, but got a reprieve. Those were the days eh.

I could see why Rishi Washy wants to make maths compulsory – he must have tried to buy a train ticket online and realised its impossible to work out. Or maybe my confusion was because I couldn’t believe they wanted £91 one way to Torquay. The helpful ticket office lady said trains were even worse in Romania which was comforting but probably not a marketing gimmick.

Good time to play them? Yeah why not and it was a game I couldn’t miss staying at my mums to cut journey time but still having to get the stupid o’ clock from Slough.

I hurtled towards the west, past the flooded fields, winter making way for spring with cherry plum blossom and primroses replacing the snowdrops. The country changes as you leave Exeter – the topography, the houses, the feel of the place. I love the train skirting along the sea in-between Dawlish. So picturesque but a risky route in a storm.

Talking of flooded fields, Truro decided the best way to extend their season was to groundshare at Taunton who are skint and under a transfer embargo. I’m not sure this will benefit anyone – apart from relegation rivals – and its particularly annoying for those of us who had planned a weekend in Plymouth. Apparently Plymouth Parkways ground was wet, but blimey talk about out of the fire and into the duck pond (Oh and there ‘home’ game against Eastbourne was already off because of a you-know-what pitch).

As you approach Torquay and step out of the train station and its genteel surrounds you think it must take some effort to get the hump living round here, but things are toxic at Torquay United. Mind you, the most I got to see of the English Riviera was 5 minutes by the Grand roundabout before I was whisked off by Caz and Mitch for a breakfast then into the pub opposite not far from the ground.

I know Torquay fans don’t want to be sharing the same pitch as Slough but here we are. Their social media is a toxic but an entertaining read. As one put - ‘we used to be playing Sheffield Wednesday now we are playing Slough.’ I didn’t particularly like going to AFC Hayes or Bishops Cleeve or other village sides where if you criticised their facilities some smartarse would reply – ‘at least we have a ground’ which was a fair point. At the time all we could mutter was it was a miracle we still had a football club. But I don’t remember us moaning that we had a God given right to be in any league.

It’s fair to say the Torquay owners and managers aren’t very popular. Their fans are revolting, there’s protests every week – so obviously the best way to hand out an olive branch is to ban unaccompanied minors and flags that haven’t had a fire check. Although I’m pretty sure the ‘Gary Out’ bedsheet being passed around by their supporters didn’t have the required certificate. Crowds are seriously down (although there was still 1,700 in attendance). The pitch is a bog and they keep losing. Still, they thought it was fine to charge away fans £22.

But what a game we were served up – coming from behind 3 times against full time opposition – what’s not to like. Well apart from the fact that if you celebrated too much you might have tumbled down the steep seated terraces. Afterwards I drank in their fans after match bile on social media. ‘Just can’t match the fitness levels of these part time regional teams. Absolutely shocking’ was one of the more printable ones.

In fairness, every Torquay supporter we spoke was good as gold – but they are where they are and the club have got to act like a National League South side cos I can’t see them even reaching the play offs let alone winning them.

As for me, after a mammoth 17 hour day the majority of it spent travelling, I crawled into bed hallucinating on the lack of sleep – but thankful for being sped home by the McNeishs and the Elizabeth Line.

In Ruben Clarks brilliant new book ‘Winner Stays On’ that follows each round of the FA Cup, he paraphrases a quote that perfectly sums up following a football team. ‘It's entertainment, but it isn’t like going to the cinema or going out for a meal. You don’t know what you are going to get. You are risking having the worst day of your life for a chance at having the best day.’

I know what sort of day Slough fans were having in Devon. Made all the more sweeter for the years when it wasn’t such a footballing laugh. As Ian Lathey put it on twitter ‘When we were struggling at Step 4 in front of 200 people at Beaconsfield I never imagined a day like this possible. Taking over 100 fans and winning at a club like Torquay.’

Maybe I’m being greedy but all I ask is that the Football fixture computer be a bit kinder next season and give us a late summer trip so we can bask not just on the terraces but also on the beach. After what we had to go through for so long, to get to where we are now; well it would be the sunburnt icing on the cake.

CRACK IN THE SKY

 

Printed in the National League South league game v Weston-super-Mare Saturday 3rd February 2024  We won 2-0 in front of 935

I’m really enjoying being a Slough supporter at the moment but it wasn’t so very long ago that we were a homeless basket case. So I’ve got every sympathy for supporters whose clubs are in free fall or at risk of disappearing altogether.

Reading are the latest league club to suffer and they’ve mounted an impressive campaign of direct action. ‘Sell Before We Dai’ is a fan-led pressure group trying to get Reading owner Dai Yongge to sell up. Lateness for paying wages has resulted in 16-points being deducted in the past two seasons, so supporters have come together to protect the stadium by making it an Asset of Community Value, disrupted games with tennis balls and got one game abandoned after refusing to leave the pitch.

Fans often feel powerless to do anything but it will always be them that have to sort out the mess. STAR (Supporters Trust at Reading) chair Sarah Turner said that the “one good thing” to come out of the entire situation was the solidarity shown by supporters at other clubs. “We are not the only club that are suffering under an incompetent owner and we are aware that we unfortunately won’t be the last,” she said. “We will use what we have learnt to try and raise awareness and make changes that will have a positive impact for all clubs going forward.”

Which brings us to the promised Football Governance Bill outlined in the Kings Speech which aims to "safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans". Is this happening any time soon?

Taunton Town have been shedding players to steady the financial ship, with a winding up petition from the taxman. Players even issued a joint statement saying they have been consistently lied too. The financial crisis has not been helped by their ground seemingly always being under water - although one of their fans told me it wasn’t just their ground that suffered from flooding but the whole town. The clubhouse doesn’t open unless there is a game on, so they have lost thousands of pounds of income with all these postponements. There’s even talk of voluntary relegation but the chairman has come out fighting and believes they can survive and keep their National League status.

Nuneaton Borough couldn’t reconcile their differences with their landlords and have withdrawn from the Southern Central Premier League. Plans are already afoot for a phoenix club to rise from the old ashes. Lower down the pyramid clubs have folded or asked to be demoted to save costs and safeguard their future.

While many clubs are in financial trouble, let’s raise a glass to Maidstone who have done the impossible and got to the 5th round of the FA Cup. It should be remembered that Maidstone were one of the last clubs to get chucked out the Football League. In 1993 they started again in the Kent County League Division 4 West playing games at the old clubs training ground and were homeless for 24 years. The cup run will now ensure their financial security for years and no doubt add even more people to their already impressive home crowds.

 

photo by Bob Lilliman 
                                            

Still, as was mentioned relentlessly by the Slough supporters watching the Ipswich-Maidstone game in the Dover clubhouse - we had beaten Maidstone just a week before.

The Maidstone home game was something I really didn’t want to miss but getting to Slough wasn’t looking promising. I asked the woman in the ticket office why trains were going to take so long – ‘engineering works - I wouldn’t bother if I was you’ came the reply. I can see why the Tories and train companies wanted to close ticket offices – the amount of money they have saved me giving me better deals than you can get from a machine. Then my little ‘uns development team, announced they had a game. I really don’t like missing him play football but jack frost put paid to that one.

I’ve started bumping into people in Slough scarfs at train stations and around the town that I don’t know and while over a thousand Maidstone supporters were queuing for the last FA Cup tickets, some older ones found there way to the Wheatsheaf. One of Lencys mates had seen the google image of the pub with a Slough scarf draped behind the bar and decide to pay a visit. It felt like a big game.

Postponements, a decent away following and a 14 home game unbeaten run at home meant there were just over a thousand in attendance. Which is really what we should be aiming for at every home game. We were meant to join in the nationwide clapping for Reading at 16 minutes but I will hold my hand and say we forgot, so caught up in the game.

There’s something brewing at Slough Town – and the stars might again be aligning. Representing a town where places to meet have been decimated, where the councils financial plight gives the perfect opportunity for the club to step in and run Arbour Park better than any council official ever will and offer more than just a place where the football club play.

Just before covid I wrote about their being moments in time when anything seems possible. Primal Screams Bobby Gillespie summed this up 'From time to time, there's a crack in the sky and light gets through it; a lot of great people come along and make people feel good and connect people.’

So is that crack in the sky once again opening and shining an amber and blue light on our little old club? There’s no harm in dreaming.

SCOTT DAVIES - THE ONE YEAR (AND A BIT) ANNIVERSIARY INTERVIEW

Printed in the National League South game v Maidstone United Saturday 20th January 2024  We won 2-1 in front 1054

                                       Pic by https://twitter.com/darthscrote

He's the highest placed player-manager in the pyramid, saved us from what looked like nailed on relegation last season and took us to the first round of the FA Cup. Not bad for first year as a manager.

Have you enjoyed the past year and a bit as a manger?

"It’s certainly been a huge change in my day to day life since taking over as the manager of the football club. There was once upon a day when my phone didn’t ring and all I had to think about was my Monday to Friday job and turning up at training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Now it’s a lot different.

“The phone is constantly ringing, on average I would say between 40-50 calls a day, but at its worst it was 110! Constantly thinking about our next opponent, watching games, figuring out who we are going to pick to play, talking to the management team with regards to their opinions. It’s very full on so when we do achieve 3 points on a Saturday afternoon or a Tuesday night it’s a great feeling that the hard work has paid off.

“For me, I expected to become a manager in a few years time at a much lower level where I could earn my stripes and hopefully progress, so this has fast forwarded all of my plans. I’ve realised since day one what a great opportunity this has been for me, hence why I try and do it to the best of my ability with no stone being left unturned.”

Where does Slough Town rank in your football achievements

“It’s very different looking at my career at Slough because now I look at it in two ways, as a player and as a manager. As a player I’ve loved being at the club under Bakes and Unders, all the way through to this present day.

“With it being my first managerial role, when I look at this seasons FA Cup run, that ranks extremely high in my career highlights so far. It was a proud moment for us all which created some fantastic memories for everyone and it’ll be something that I won’t forget.”

You mentioned Slough saved your life in one FA Cup radio interview – can you elaborate a bit more for those that don't know your story

“Sure. It’s quite straightforward and not too complicated. Having been a full time footballer for a period of time, I felt as though as I was playing football without really enjoying it, it became more of a job than something I loved doing. I’d played for a number of non-league clubs before Slough but never really had the ‘buzz’ like I do now and that’s thanks to Bakes and Unders. I really enjoyed playing under them and it allowed me to love football against like it was a hobby. At one point I felt as though the love I had for the game had completely fallen away but fortunately now, that couldn’t be any further from the truth as I’m obsessed by the game these days. People make football enjoyable, staff, team mates and fans, and at Slough it’s full of brilliant people who enable that to happen.”

There seems to be a real bond between the players, management and the supporters - how important is that to the success of the club

“Huge. I’ve never been one to shy away from conversations with people at football clubs. I hate the thought of it being ‘us’ and ‘them’, we need to be united. I often remind the lads that we are the fortunate ones who get to represent the club on the behalf of the supporters so we have to represent it with pride, which I believe we do more often than not.

I’m a massive people’s person and always have been so I like to think there’s no hierarchy at the club where people see myself, the staff and players as unapproachable. I doubt there are many other clubs at this level where the players know a lot of the fans by name, and that’s great!”

Favourite game you played in

“My favourite game would have to be Ebbsfleet at home or Kings Lynn away. Ebbsfleet for different reasons now that I am managing, so to get through to the FA Cup First Round was special, but Kings Lynn was some day!”

And best free kick?

“Would have to be Grimsby because of the occasion but from a technical point of view, I would say Farnborough was the most difficult.”

Who in the Slough team would you choose to be stuck on an island with

“Yella is a really emotional person so if I didn’t pick him, he would have a go at me! I think we would have a laugh so that would be good fun! Out of the players I’d go with Josh. He’s intelligent enough to start a fire, catch some food and cook it for me. I think the rest would struggle!”

And finally, Sue asked whose your favourite club shopper manager

“Definitely Sue. What a diamond she is!”

Thanks Scott for a very entertaining first year. Here’s to many more.