Mickleover
Sports 3
Bedworth United 0
Northern
Premier League Cup
If there
was ever a blueprint as to how to build a club and take it forward, then you
need look no further than Mickleover Sports.
When I
first started to watch non-league football as a teenager in the mid-eighties, I’d
never heard of Sports, and believe me, I wasn’t called Rainman for nothing, I
knew my stuff!
Not only
that, every Saturday we used to drive down Station Road, where the Sports Club
is situated, to get to my Grandma’s house in Mickleover, yet still I had no
idea. I knew all about Mickleover Royal British Legion who played off Western
Road, and indeed used to have a wander round and watch them from time to time,
but Sports? Nah!
Station Road |
The club history
tells us that they were formed in 1948, playing in the Derby Senior League, but
it wasn’t until 1992 when they joined
forces with other members of the Mickleover Sports club to acquire the site on
Station Road that things really started to ramp up. This lead to the
development of the facilities and by the start of the 1993-94 season they had
been accepted into the Central Midlands League.
Two seasons
later and promotion had been secured to the Supreme Division, where they remained
for four seasons until the championship arrived in 1998-99 and with it
promotion to the Northern Counties East League. It was during this season that
they were involved in a controversial FA Vase tie with big spending Bedlington
Terriers, where a mysterious floodlight failure saw them denied a famous
victory (must be a North East thing, didn’t that happen at South Shields last
season?).
They came
close in the First Division of the Northern Counties East League with finishes
of fourth third and fifth, before finally under the stewardship of Martin Rowe
they won the title in the 2002-03 season.
The Premier
Division experience saw various mid-table finishes until the arrival of former
Derby County centre half Dick Pratley, and then in the 2008-09 they went on the
clinch the championship and make it to the Northern Premier League for the
first time in the clubs history.
The Food & Drink End |
No one
could have envisaged what happened next, under Pratley’s astute leadership they
went on a sixteen game winning run in the middle part of the season, which ironically
I witnessed come to an end at Belper Town, and that proved to be the platform
that saw them deservedly clinch back to back titles. To have reached the third
tier of non-league football seventeen years after arriving from what was
effectively parks football, was one hell of an achievement.
The first
season in the Premier Division saw them finish 15th, but disaster was
to strike in the 2011-12 season when they finished next to bottom and were
relegated for the first time in the clubs history. However, the club were
deducted three points during the course of the season due to an ineligible
player, and that ultimately did cost them.
The cynics
argued the bubble had burst, and now it was just a case of how far they would
fall to what would be their natural level? And yes, they did finish next to bottom
of the NPL First Division a year later but relegation was avoided, however, the
club re-grouped, and finished in the play off places the next season, only to
lose to Belper Town in the final.
Then as
Belper were having a disaster and finishing bottom, Mickleover were going again
and this time made no mistake by winning the First Division championship for a
second time, and on this occasion with 98 points.
Three
seasons later and Sports sit mid-table in the Premier Division, the first
season was a bit tight in terms of staying up, but last year they finished 15th.
To respond to the cynics, maybe Mickleover have now found their natural position?
So how have
they done it?
A Promotion Requirement! |
On the
field, in my view, they haven’t been silly by throwing ridiculous cash about. They
do focus very much on local players, utilising great relationships with Derby
County and Burton Albion to bring in young players, while at the same time it
has proved a masterstroke to appoint the vastly experienced John McGrath as
manager who himself has an array of contacts and is renowned as a superb coach.
Not only that, McGrath has made a significant contribution towards developing a
very successful Academy structure of the club, and that’s starting to reap
benefits.
Shrewd
managerial appointments have been the norm at Sports, Martin Rowe arrived after
a successful spell at Belper Town, Dick Pratley was without doubt the right man
at the right time, while in Glenn Kirkwood and Craig Hopkins they bought in two
young manager’s who were very ambitious.
Off the
field though it’s equally important to get it right. Every club needs a
bedrock, and at Sports that man is Tony Shaw, the Secretary and General
Manager, who has been with the club pretty much since day one. The current Chairman is Don Amott, a very wealthy
man in his own right, but more importantly he’s a visionary man and he has
great plans to develop Station Road in conjunction with the major housing
developments taking place in the locality. Cynics may argue that it’s easy to
have a plan, but how often do they get executed successfully? Well, I have absolutely
no doubt that under Amott, Sports will be successful in their plans and will
have facilities that will be the envy of many.
So what
about the facilities? Well they are absolutely fine, plenty of seats and cover,
a nice clubhouse albeit a bit on the small side, and an impressive boardroom /
sponsors area. The pitch is excellent and the burgers are immense! If you were
being critical, one of the things holding the club back in terms of ground
development is the fact they share the ground with the cricket, and that
effectively puts one side out of bounds.
I have a
ride down to Sports two or three times a season, I love going, the welcome is
always friendly, and for me it’s just a really nice place to watch good
football at a club that actually cares and wants to progress.
Some Football |
Tonight
they were playing Bedworth United who operate a league below, and to be fair it
was a game Mickleover won without having to hit top gear. Mickleover were that
bit more physical and that bit quicker moving the ball, and ultimately that was
what led to the 3-0 victory.
Bradley
Grayson scored in the first period, Oliver Mulders then scored a cracking goal
ten minutes into the second half before Lewis Belgrave notched the third in the
closing minutes. Only 73 spectators paid to watch the game, but this is a club
that can be impacted by Derby County home games, and with Ipswich Town at Pride
Park tonight, that was always going to adversely affect matters.
The average
crowd this season at Station Road is 223 which is modest for the division they
are in, but they deserve more, and with a growth in the population of
Mickleover starting to happen through house building, the club will be
desperate to capitalise on that to increase support.
But until
then, if anyone is looking for a model of what a football club should look like,
then they should go no further than Station Road in Mickleover, the answers are
all there, and you won’t need a degree in rocket science to understand them.
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