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2020-21 Yearbook     


As expected, the start of the 2020-21 season was delayed because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It was confirmed that the non league season would only start when fans were allowed to attend. The FA produced a plan for the safe return of fans to grounds which included many conditions that every club had to adhere to. This was eventually accepted by the Government but conditional on a reduction in covid-19 transmission to safe levels. On 24th July a proposed start date of 19th September was announced for the Northern Premier League.  It was then suggested that pre-season matches could be played from 1st August but without fans.  

During the close season numerous improvements were happening at the NMG and several new signings were made. At long last we had owners with long term plans and willing to spend money upgrading the ground and bring in players capable of making a serious promotion challenge. Expectations were never so high before a ball was kicked. 

Pre-season friendlies were finally given the go ahead but without fans. On Saturday 15th August Ilkeston travelled to Borrowash Victoria and the game ended 1-1 with Alex Troke the goalscorer. The following Tuesday night we played again, this time at Dunkirk. Goals by Zak Goodson, James Reid and Mason Lee gave us a 3-0 win.  On 19th August the FA announced that non-league fans could now return under phased conditions. From 22nd August, Step 4 clubs could admit up to 200 fans and from 31st August 400 fans. However, each club must host at least one game with 200 fans. On 22nd August Ilkeston played their third friendly at Gedling MW which produced a 7-1 win. Brown-Hill, Reid, Troke 2 (1 pen), Goodson, Watson and Lambert scored the goals. Next up was Clifton away who surprised us with a 5-4 victory.  Lambert, Troke 2 i1 pen) and Goodson were the scorers. We then travelled to Newark on 29th August and were beaten 4-0. Bank Holiday Monday was open day at the NMG and over 700 fans turned up to see the improvements to the ground. Our first home friendly with ground capacity reduced to 200 ended with a single goal defeat against Grantham. We then entertained Notts County with a 400 attendance limit and a 2-0 reverse meant we had lost four friendlies on the bounce. Jack Thomas signed for us before the Notts County match. The final pre-season game against Eastwood ended the losing run with goals from Goodson, Brown-Hill, and Render in a 3-0 win.          



 START OF SEASON 2020-21    FIRST COMPETITIVE MATCH : 12th SEPTEMBER 2020 

On Friday 28th August the Northern Premier League published the long awaited new season’s fixtures. The start date for league matches was 19th September 2020 with the FA Cup to start the week before. With attendances still limited to 400, our first competitive game was at home to Shepshed Dynamo in the FA Cup Preliminary Round. It was a much improved Ilkeston performance which resulted in a comfortable 3-0 win. Alex Troke opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Zak Goodson added a brace. Goodson had an opportunity to record a hat-trick but his penalty was saved by the Shepshed keeper.Saturday 19th September was our first league match at Cleethorpes and demand to see the game was so great that the Supporters Group took two coaches of supporters. It turned out to be a perfect day, lovely sunshine and an excellent Ilkeston performance against the highly rated promotion hopefuls Cleethorpes Town. Nat Watson scored his first goal to give us a half time lead and second half goals by Alex Troke and Zak Goodson gave us a hard fought 3-2 victory. The following Tuesday night we travelled to play Coventry Sphinx in the FA Cup 1st qualifying round. Sphinx defended stubbornly but two goals in the final ten minutes by substitute Mason Lee and a “worldy” by Jack Thomas enabled us to progress to the 2nd qualifying round. Friday’s draw gave us a home tie against Hanley Town of the North West Counties League to be played on Saturday 3rd October. Before then, on Tuesday 29th September we were home to promotion favourites Stamford in what would be a real test.  It turned out to be cracking game with Ilkeston twice behind. Stamford went ahead after just 4 minutes and put the Robins under severe pressure. Ilkeston equalised through an Alex Troke penalty but were fortunate to go in level. Stamford regained the lead in the second half only for Troke to equalise again from a second penalty.                     



 OCTOBER 2020   

The month of October would see us playing Saturday and Tuesday every week. Saturday 3rd October we were home to Hanley Town in the FA Cup 2nd  qualifying round. Hanley included former Stoke City player Ricardo Fuller and they visited the NMG full of hope and with a big following. Hope turned to expectancy when they went ahead but goals by Zak Goodson and Nat Watson gave Ilkeston a half time lead. Half way through the second half came the moment the Hanley fans had been waiting for. Ricardo Fuller came off the bench and immediately won a penalty. Unfortunately the former international’s spot kick was brilliantly saved by Ross Durrant. Zak Goodson and Alex Troke ensured that Ilkeston progressed with two late goals. Next up was an evening visit to Spalding. Ilkeston got off to a flyer with a Zak Goodson goal but after only 10 minutes they were reduced to ten players when Charlie Marzano saw red. Despite the handicap Goodson made it 2-0 after the break. Ilkeston were then forced to defend but they held out for a 2-1 win. Saturday 10th October we visited Market Drayton and won comfortably 5-1 with Troke and Goodson each getting a brace and James Reid completing the scoring. The following Tuesday we met Alvechurch in the FA Cup. We progressed further with a 1-0 win thanks to an Ollie Brown-Hill strike a minute into the second half. We then opened our FA Trophy campaign with a 2-1 win against Kempston Rovers with Alex Troke scoring both goals. Our unbeaten start came to an end the following Tuesday night in an away match against also unbeaten Newcastle Town. We were not at our best and went down 4-1. Our only goal was an Alex Troke penalty. It was suggested that some of our players had their minds on the FA Cup match against Hartlepool United which was to be televised by the BBC. The Hartlepoomatch was made all ticket with preference given to season ticket holders and away travel supporters. When the tickets went on general sale there were big queues and inevitably many people were disappointed but the club were even more disappointed because it may have been a 2000 plus attendance had the gate not been restricted. Hartlepool gave us a 6-0 beating which was rather harsh but a lesson in converting chances. After two defeats we bounced back with a 2-1 home win against Chasetown. We were behind at half time but second half goals by Alex Troke and Joe Maguire turned it round despite James Reid seeing red and leaving us a player short for the final 30 minutes.Next up should have been Rushden and Diamonds in the FA Trophy but after Rushden had said they had a player tested positive for covid, Ilkeston took the decision not to go there. Despite the obvious risk to our players, we were deemed to have withdrawn from the fixture and Rushden were given a bye into the next round. Many Ilkeston supporters thought that Rushden should have pulled out rather than Ilkeston.On 31st October Boris Johnson announced a 28 day total lockdown from Thursday 5th November meaning that our fixture on Tuesday 3rd November against Leek Town would be our last for at least a month. Our league record at the end of October was P6, W4, D1, L1. We were 9th in the table having played less games than other teams due to our FA Cup and Trophy runs.               



NOVEMBER 2020

 Against Leek Town, Ilkeston finished on the wrong end of a five goal thriller. Alex Troke gave us the lead with his 12th goal in 13 competitive games but Leek equalised with a ridiculous goal from the half way line then added two more. Joe Wilson pulled one back but Leek held out for a 3-2 victory and went top of the league while Ilkeston slipped to tenth.

 This was the league table at 5 Nov ’20, the commencement of the 28 day lockdown 

BetVictor Northern Premier League :  South East Division

                                       P   W   D   L     F    A     GD   Pts
1  Leek Town                 8    6    1    1    26     9    17    19
2  Loughborough D      8    6    1    1    16     9      7    19
3  Newcastle Town       8    5    2    1    17     9      8    17
4  Kidsgrove Ath          7    5    1    1    13     7      6    16
5  Chasetown                9    5    1    3    18   13     5    16
6  Worksop Town          7    4    2    1    20     9    11   14
7  Belper Town              9    4    2    3    25   15    10   14
8  Stamford                    7    3    4    0    20    6     14   13
9  Lincoln United           7    4    1    2    21   11    10   13
10  Ilkeston Town          7    4    1    2    17   14     3    13
11  Carlton Town            9    3    2    4    13   14     -1   11
12  Sutton Coldfield       8    3    2    3    13   22-    9    11
13  Frickley Athletic       8    3    0    5    14   14     0      9
14  Stocksbridge P S     9    3    0    6    16    25    -9     9
15  Cleethorpes Town    8    2    2    4    14   14      0     8
16  Glossop N E              9    2    2    5     7    21   -14     8
17  Spalding United        8    2    1    5    11   14    -3      7
18  Sheffield                    6    1    1    4     4    10    -6      4
19  Wisbech Town          8    1    0    7     5    26    -21    3
20  Market Drayton         8    0    0    8     2    30    -28    0             


On Monday 9th November, it was announced that the an American multinational pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, had produced a vaccine for Covid 19 and it had passed initial trials with a success rate of 90 per cent. The Government warned that there was still some way to go before the vaccine would be available.But plans were being made for the vaccine to be available for the most at risk groups before Christmas. People would need the injection of vaccine twice. The second injection would be needed between 21 and 28 days after the first.On Monday 16th November it was announced that a vaccine produced by Moderna had also passed the trials stage so the search to end the covid misery was starting to look more hopeful. The success rate for the Moderna vaccine was claimed to be 94.5 per cent and it was easier to store than the Pfizer vaccine. A third vaccine developed at Oxford was next to be revealed. The Government announced that following the end of the 28 day lockdown on 2nd December the country would be divided into a new three tier system. The whole of Derbyshire was put into the highest Tier. In Tier 3 areas no fans could attend matches at non league levels 3 to 6. All leagues then had to decide whether to restart as planned on the 5th December without fans or delay the restart.     



 DECEMBER 2020  

After a consultation with clubs and a vote on 2nd December it was announced that the restart be delayed until after the 19th December meaning the new possible restart date was now Boxing Day. It was next announced that clubs in Tier 3 areas could have fans again, albeit in lower numbers. For Step 4 teams such as Ilkeston, the crowd limit at home games would be 200 and no away fans allowed. Following this, the Northern Premier League told clubs that fixtures would resume on 26th December but if both clubs agreed they could restart fixtures on the 19th December. Ilkeston and Kidsgrove took advantage of this and agreed to meet at the New Manor Ground with just 200 in attendance. Before the match, on 17th December, Ilkeston announced the loan signing of 23 year old Keaton Ward from Barnsley. This followed the departure of Riece Bertram who rejoined Belper Town. A waterlogged pitch and the threat of more rain overnight prevented the match against Kidsgrove from going ahead but after being contacted by Step 3 side, Gainsborough Trinity, Ilkeston played in a hastily arranged away friendly. New signing, Keaton Ward scored in an impressive  2-0 win with Mason Lee scoring the other goal.The NPL then decided that clubs could postpone their Boxing Day and New Year Day games if they wished. This resulted in all games in the NPL South East Division being cancelled for these two dates. The new earliest possible date for the re-start of fixtures was then 9th January 2021 and the risk of not being able to finish a full season was becoming very real having not played since 3rd November. A new strain of covid was announced just before the new year. This strain was much more contagious and hospital admissions and deaths started to rocket again. This caused the Government to put most of the country in the new Tier 4 and  this put the stop to any hopes of football restarting. The Northern Premier League immediately cancelled fixtures scheduled for January 9th. Out of the blue, on 29th December, Ilkeston investor David Hilton announced that he had been in discussions to buy Bury FC. His statement on the Club’s website said that his commitment to Ilkeston Town FC was unaffected. However the revelation caused a degree of consternation among some supporters even though Mr Hilton said the talks had stalled and he couldn’t proceed.


      
JANUARY 2021  

On 8th January, the Northern Premier League announced that all fixtures were now postponed up to the 6th March. They also stated that all three Trident leagues were of the view that the season should cease immediately and be declared null and void. A questionnaire was sent to all clubs asking for their thoughts on how the season should proceed from here, ie another null and void declaration or some alternative scenario whereby promotion might be decided. These included the carry over of this season’s results to next season, promotion based on points per game over the last two seasons or (if the season could be re-started by Easter) some form of competition with a reduced number of fixtures. All teams playing each other once was one suggestion.  Fearful of another null and void season Tommy Brookbanks, manager of Carlton Town, came up with the idea of involving teams local to our area in a tournament. It would only go ahead if crowds were permitted and if the FA gave permission.  The second wave of Covid infections turned out to be far worse than the first wave and another lockdown was announced which included the closing of schools. The number of hospital admissions was much higher than in the first outbreak and the total number of deaths from Covid exceeded 100,000 on 26th January. The Government set in motion an ambitious plan to have everyone aged 70 and over given the vaccine by mid February 2021. People were originally to be given two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart but because of the worsening situation it was decided to delay the gap between the first and second injections to twelve weeks so that more people could get receive their first jab which should give 90% protection.     


FEBRUARY 2021 

The tournament proposed by Tommy Brookbanks moved a step closer after receiving a sponsor and the sixteen clubs to take part were revealed. On 21st February it was announced that Ilkeston manager, Martin Carruthers had signed a new two year deal.On 24th February it was announced than the 2020-21 season was to be curtailed with immediate effect for Non League steps 3-6. In a statement the FA, they hinted that the planned non-league reorganisation might still go ahead. Mark Harris, chairman of the NPL said that the league would not be bringing in an “end of season competition” so there would be nothing in the way of the Tommy Brookbanks tournament going ahead as soon as fans are allowed back. This could be around April or if not then, it could be played as a 2021-22 pre season tournament.    


MARCH  2021  

As the immunisation programme in the UK bought down hospital admissions and deaths, the Government were put under pressure to produce a road map out of the lockdown.  This was eventually done but with great caution and the return of non-league football was not specifically covered. There was to be road map reviews every two or three weeks based on how well the vaccines were reducing infections.    


APRIL 2021 

On 12th April The FA’s Alliance and Leagues Committees announced that they were considering the feasibility of carrying out the Non League restructure at Steps 4-6. The planned and previously delayed restructure would create one additional division at Step 4, two additional divisions at Step 5 and a reduction of divisions, from 20 to 17, at Step 6.The one new division to be created at Step 4, will be administered by the Northern Premier League; Teams to be promoted from Step 5 to Step 4 would be decided by points per game over the last two curtailed seasons providing they meet ground grading and financial requirements. On 20th April it was revealed that the Tommy Brookbanks tournament was now likely to take place in July after the government indicated they were not yet prepared to lift restrictions to enable spectators to attend.  Tournament President Dick Durrant was to write to clubs to find out how many of the 16 committed still wanted to be involved. It now seemed unlikely that Ilkeston would take part as they had their own plans for the 2021-22 pre-season. On 23rd April the FA approved the restructure plans meaning that it would definitely go ahead and on 27th April they produced a list of clubs who would be invited to apply for upward movement.  


MAY 2021

On 5th May Ilkeston Town FC published the following statement : 

OFFICIAL CLUB STATEMENT  May 5, 2021 
 In October 2019, certain promises were made to the supporters by the new regime at the club. Stage one was to completely eradicate the significant debts the club had accumulated and create an infrastructure with heavy community involvement.  
The second phase was to completely refurbish the stadium and create an atmosphere to be proud of and one that would also help attract a younger generation to the NMG.  Both phase one and two were completed despite working through an unprecedented pandemic, with no revenue being generated by the club or the investors’ own businesses.  
Phase three is of course the 4G FIFA Pro playing surface. The completion of this phase will allow the club to compete at a much higher level whilst maintaining a sustainable budget, protecting the club’s future forever. The facility will also create a fantastic all weather playing surface for all our junior, academy and ladies teams, along with providing a key venue for our local community in becoming a full-time operation, open seven days a week.  
We are now excited to announce that the commencement date of phase three is confirmed as May 24 and the installation will be completed in time for the new 2021/22 season.  
Everyone at the club would like to thank Dave and Andrew for their considerable and continued investment in the club and the community and for honouring their promises despite some really testing times behind us and potentially still ahead.  
Phase four, which is planned for the spring of 2022 or sooner, is currently at the planning stage with Erewash Borough Council and no delays are expected with this.  This phase is for a new stand with LED scoreboard, a new two-storey club shop, offices and a boardroom, along with 15 industrial units and further alterations and improvements to the bar and function rooms.  We would like to thank you for your continued support and to assure you all that the investment is not limited to the facilities alone. 
Martin Carruthers, Kelvin Wilson and Wayne Hallcro will be given excellent levels of support and finance to ensure that success and winning football matches will always remain our priority.  We look forward to seeing you all soon.  Mark Clifford  


 On 10th May 2021 Boris Johnson announced that fans could return to grounds from 17th May subject to limits. For Ilkeston the limit would be 50% of capacity. Also bars and clubhouses would be able to re-open with indoor service. Two days later on 12th May, eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that Nat Watson had joined Carlton Town. Soon after Ilkeston announced their retained list which showed that Watson, Jack Thomas and Joe Wilson had left. Two new signings were then announced: Charlie Wakefield and James Carvell. On Tuesday 18th May, the FA announced the makeup of the new Step 4 Northern Premier League divisions. The previous North West and South East divisions were replaced by a West Division, an East Division and a Midlands Division. Ilkeston were placed in the Midlands Division which included eleven new teams. The following 20 teams comprised Ilkeston’s new League for the 2021-22 season: 

9 teams from last season’s SouthEast Division :
        Belper Town,
        Carlton Town, 
        Chasetown, 
        Ilkeston Town 
        Loughborough Dynamo, 
        Spalding United, 
        Stamford,
        Sutton Coldfield Town, 
        Wisbech Town

 2 teams promoted from Step 5 :
         Shepshed Dynamo
         Sporting Khalsa 

 9 sideways moved teams  :
          Bedworth United
          Cambridge City,
          Coleshill Town 
          Corby Town
          Daventry Town 
          Halesowen Town
          Histon,  
          Soham Town Rangers
          Yaxley 

On 24th May work commenced on the new 4G pitch.
On 28th May Ilkeston announced a third signing, former Notts County and Grantham Town player Remaye Campbell.  

 

Last edited by Matchman (12/11/2021 8:35 PM)