Ilkeston Town FC supporters really are spoilt for choice when it comes to provision of up to date information.
Ilkeston Town FC coverage must be one of the best in non-league football and the envy of many higher ranked clubs.   

As well as the Club’s official website and twitter account there are several independent websites and facebook pages which are regularly updated by passionate contributors.

These include : 
Ilkeston Town Supporters Community Facebook page  (administrator, Duncan Payne)
Ilkeston FC Supporters Group forum   (administrator, Lee Francis)
Unofficial Ilkeston Town FC 2019-20 Facebook page  (owned by Scott Fletcher)
WhiteBallProject -The Independent voice of Ilkeston Football  (owned by John Shiels) 

 

Last edited by Matchman (03/3/2020 8:48 AM)

Matchman wrote:

From Scott Fletcher’s superb “Unofficial Ilkeston Town FC 2019/20” Facebook Page
Ilkeston Town FC:  A vision for the future by Callum Jackson 
It has been quite the decade for football fans in the Derbyshire town of Ilkeston, they’ve seen 2 liquidations of their club and faced all manner of problems, but as the 2020’s arrive, things are on the up; after back-to-back promotions, the club are aiming their sights a little higher…Callum Jackson looks at what all the noise is about and where Ilkeston fans can hope to find themselves in the not too distant future, with inside opinion from club media assistant and photographer Danny Draper, and support from MP for Erewash, Maggie Throup.Just 30 months ago, the club had been liquidated for the second time in just 7 years, leaving the town without a club and fans without their football. Luckily, local businessman Alan Hardy founded a replacement: Ilkeston Town F.C. Since this rebirth the club has tasted nothing but success, as the team managed to get promoted two seasons in a row, finding themselves in the BetVictor Northern Premier League Division One.So, after a couple of successful seasons on the pitch, the board are looking to add some more quality to the club, and two announcements in late 2019 suggested there are more good times to come for the Robins.The club announced that as of 2020 they will be upgrading their Academy for school leavers by offering an education alongside their training; all players will study for a BTEC in Sports Level 3 Qualification alongside their footballing commitments.The clubs’ media assistant and photographer Danny Draper seems delighted with the academy announcement:“This looks to be a really good project, being offered a top-class education alongside football means people don’t have to give up on their education for a chance to play and progress to the highest level they can.”From someone who works at the club, to the fans, everyone seems to have nothing but positive feelings towards this announcement, including MP for Erewash Maggie Throup, who expressed to me her excitement at the announcements:“It is an exciting time at the New Manor Ground, there seems to be a comprehensive long-term plan to ensure a ready supply of young talents progressing through the ranks in order to put the club on sustainable footing for the future.”“Sustainability” seems to be the most important thing for the Ilkeston Town board, after an up-and-down decade, they want to bring success and make sure it stays for any years.This news comes after a consortium headed by former head coach Mark Clifford purchased the club from Alan Hardy in late 2019, with Clifford stepping down as head coach to become Head of Football.There will also be a £2 million revamp to the New Manor Ground, rebuilding all 4 sides, installing a new 4G pitch and introduction of a full-time sports bar. The restructure will aim to accommodate for a larger capacity of fans and the new pitch will decrease the amount of games that are called off due to bad weather. Initial planning meetings with Erewash Borough Council have been held and the club hope to begin construction over the summer, with a new car park set to be added in 2021.Danny can only see positivity for the future with this announcement:“ The new artificial pitch will be a new and brilliant source of income for the club as they will no longer have to worry about finding somewhere to train; the junior teams, women’s team and first team can all use it without worry of cutting it up.”This will be music to the ears of fans who have had a rough decade with the club, and they have shown their appreciation by flocking to the ground at every opportunity, with the club’s attendance being between 500-650 for most home games. This could potentially increase after the stadium restructure as more space is set to be added.The club clearly means a lot to many residents of the town, which MP Maggie Throup commented on:“The towns football club is at the heart of the community here in Ilkeston, and I look forward to doing anything I can to support them as both a fan and as their Member of Parliament.”There will also be a change of the club badge to incorporate a few pieces of the town’s history, most notably its history of mining, while also keeping the symbolic Robin from the old badge.For a small club in a small town, the backroom staff clearly have big plans, the consortium takeover has taken no time at all to start making moves since their arrival in 2019.Currently sitting in the eight tier of English football, Head of Football Mark Clifford is setting the National League as a target to reach within the next 5 years, a feat that would leave Ilkeston just one league away from becoming a Football League Club. To get there they will need to continue their run of promotions to achieve 3 promotions in 5 years, but with the commitment of a board who want to improve every aspect of the club, there is a lot of confidence. This is a prospect that will no doubt bring excitement to the fans and residents of the town.Danny told me that:“The club has real ambition, we can see the passion that the owners have, and with Mark Clifford as Head of Football, I’m sure that great things will happen. As a fan of the club since I was a child, I can think of nothing better than becoming a stable National League club.”So, after a difficult beginning to the last decade, everyone connected to the club seems desperate to make sure that the beginning of this decade lays foundations for a successful future. Whilst time will tell if the team can climb the league, one thing for certain is that financial worries are a thing of the past, and the fans can dream of a brighter future.  

Despite one or two inaccuracies a decent positive article! Onwards and upwards!!