The Independent Voice of Ilkeston Football
1 of 1- Matchman
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On a personal note
My involvement with Ilkeston Town FC
I first started watching Ilkeston Town around 1958 when I was about eleven years old. When the other kids went to the Saturday afternoon matinee at the Kings Cinema on Bath Street I started to go to the old Manor Ground. I did go to the cinema to start with. They showed several cartoons, a newsreel, and a film which was usually a western. I was different from the other kids as I always wanted the indians to win but it was always the cowboys that won. Anyway, I was starting to get interested in football so I decided I would use my cinema money to watch Ilkeston. I was soon hooked and went every Saturday. There was always a match. It was either the first team playing or the reserves. Whichever team was playing there was always a decent crowd. I loved going through the turnstile and up the many steps before finally appearing, as if by magic, behind the bottom goal. I can still remember the players who I became fixated with over the years. Some of my favourites were Dave Baker, Terry Swinscoe, Ken Johnson, Ken Ledger, Terry Blount and Rex Osman. I can’t remember how much it was to get in but I always had enough of my cinema money to buy a hot dog from the hut in the top corner of the ground. This became how I would spend my Saturday afternoons from then on. I always took an interest in Ilkeston’s fortunes but it was much later that a got involved. My first serious involvement was when Dave Mantle took over the Club following it’s going into Administration. The Club was not allowed to re-start as Ilkeston Town FC so it was renamed as Ilkeston FC. Nigel Harrop was the Chief Executive. My involvement started when I asked Mr Harrop if I could sponsor James Reid in the matchday programme. Following on from that, Mr Harrop gave me the opportunity to get more involved and I took on a few responsibilities on a voluntary basis. I helped out with book-keeping and other things in the office and helped in hospitality on match days. This continued after Dave Mantle sold the Club and it’s liabilities to Nigel Harrop for a pound. The Club eventually went bust again and unfortunately I made a few enemies because of my association with Mr Harrop and the fact that I tried to defend him. It was then that I stopped posting on the Supporters Group Forum and began posting as Matchman on WhiteballProject. I also started contributing to the Club Matchday programme. The Club was then taken over by Alan Hardy and the Club name reverted to Ilkeston Town FC. I continued to work in matchday hospitality and worked with Margaret until she left and Kelly took over. We had two successful years under Alan Hardy’s ownership. Two promotions were achieved but it came at a high financial cost and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Redwood was made redundant when Mr Hardy could no longer continue to finance the Club. Mr Hardy appointed Nick Hawkins as a last ditch effort to raise funds and cut costs. Under Nick Hawkins, matchday hospitality was changed somewhat but I continued to look after match officials and visiting directors. Nick Hawkins’s involvement came to an abrupt end when it was announced that Team Manager Mark Clifford was the new owner. So the 2019-20 season began with Mark Clifford the owner and with the backing of two investors Dave Hilton and Andrew Nally who had big plans for the Club. I continue to work in hospitality and also act as Matchday Club Secretary when Liam is unavailable. Ilkeston Town FC is now an important part of my life and I love my involvement.
Last edited by Matchman (24/3/2020 12:09 AM)
- kevilsonlad
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Re: On a personal note
Great post mate .
My first recollection was I was around 14/15 . Myself and few other mates use to go mainly in the Kenny Burns era. We use to sit in either top corners corner of the stand. I am sure I use to sing then.
Then I got the bug to start watching Derby . Eventually I got married then we had the kids , so I never really got back into any football really .
I kept saying I would come back to Ilson but by then it was too late as we went bust the first time.
But I got my chance by supporting Ilkeston FC which I loved , I got the bug back. The singing came back as well which I loved even up to now , but I must admit I don't sing as much now.
When Ilson FC went bust I thought that's it again , no Ilson football. But in a way I was relieved it did go down the pan as I felt so sorry for the young kids being exploited and ripped off.
This came to a head when we due to play Workington away . I was ready with my beers , sarnies and the flag. But sadly but I well understood why they did it , the players didn't turn up .... A very sad day.
But they were the only reason myself and other fans kept going .....to support the kids . We always gave them a standing ovation at all the games they deserved it .
Then came the next era of Mr Alan Hardy .... I actually thought with many other fans in thinking this is it . But how wrong did that turn out to be . Yes we got two promotions but at what cost. Yes it was great to see football back at the NMG especially though the last away came of last season. That was one amazing day , a day that it actually brought a year to my eyes . Well I haven't ever seen the Ilson promoted before . It felt great , emotional just brilliant plus many of us got to hold the cup .
But sadly the next season most of us just knew it wasn't going to be the same especially with the Notts County saga . This came to head before the year even ended as the Ilkeston Town FC got took over as we all know today.
If this hadn't had happened we would have certainly gone bust again.
The future looks very Rosey now with the new owners with their plans for the future of the club and just as important the community of this town.
Here's to the future of Ilkeston football. ..
- Matchman
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Re: On a personal note
I remember the day of the Workington away match well. I remember being at the ground waiting for the players to arrive. Matt and Danny were there and they must have known about the planned "no show" by the rest of the players. They kept quiet, maybe hoping that the other players might have had a change of heart. The bus was waiting and supporters were waiting. As time went by it became clear the players weren't coming and Andrew was forced to let Workington Football Club and the League know that we were not going to be able to complete the fixture.
While most supporters were sympathetic I was really disappointed with what I saw as a juvenile prank. To just not turn up caused the Club real embarrassment, a massive fine and a big compensation claim by Workington. I did have sympathy for the players who were owed wages but in my opinion they should have at least told the Club that they were refusing to play.
After the Workington fiasco, the players did agree to carry on playing but seeing out the remainder of the season was to become a nightmare. The money had dried up and the electric had been cut off. We only had the dwindling gate money coming in from which to pay expenses and it wasn't enough. Little was seen of Mr Harrop after threats against him and it was left to Andrew to see us through to the end of the season and to complete our fixtures.
With no electricity we had to use a couple of generators to power the floodlights. Everyone will remember the night matches when the lights would occasionally dip causing great stress to Andrew and his helpers. We didn't always have enough money for the generator fuel and had to be rescued by people who were prepared to help the Club in it's hour of need. It should always be remembered that we made it to the end of the season and completed our fixtures thanks to Andrew who worked tirelessly in unbelievably difficult circumstances.
Last edited by Matchman (24/3/2020 8:22 AM)
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Thread Starter- kevilsonlad
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Re: On a personal note
Matchman wrote:
I remember the day of the Workington away match well. I remember being at the ground waiting for the players to arrive. Matt and Danny were there and they must have known about the planned "no show" by the rest of the players. They kept quiet, maybe hoping that the other players might have had a change of heart. The bus was waiting and supporters were waiting. As time went by it became clear the players weren't coming and Andrew was forced to let Workington Football Club and the League know that we were not going to be able to complete the fixture.
While most supporters were sympathetic I was really disappointed with what I saw as a juvenile prank. To just not turn up caused the Club real embarrassment, a massive fine and a big compensation claim by Workington. I did have sympathy for the players who were owed wages but in my opinion they should have at least told the Club that they were refusing to play.
After the Workington fiasco, the players did agree to carry on playing but seeing out the remainder of the season was to become a nightmare. The money had dried up and the electric had been cut off. We only had the dwindling gate money coming in from which to pay expenses and it wasn't enough. Little was seen of Mr Harrop after threats against him and it was left to Andrew to see us through to the end of the season and to complete our fixtures.
With no electricity we had to use a couple of generators to power the floodlights. Everyone will remember the night matches when the lights would occasionally dip causing great stress to Andrew and his helpers. We didn't always have enough money for the generator fuel and had to be rescued by people who were prepared to help the Club in it's hour of need. It should always be remembered that we made it to the end of the season and completed our fixtures thanks to Andrew who worked tirelessly in unbelievably difficult circumstances.
I thought I heard Matty did say the players were talking on Friday of not turning up for the game.