A Recent History

Gresley  0  Newark Flowserve  1

Midland Football League – Premier Division

I was browsing the match day programme in the social club at the Moat Ground when something struck me.

In Gresley’s club history, they make no mention of the proud yet turbulent record of their predecessor, Gresley Rovers.

Ordinarily, when a club rises from the ashes of an entity that has gone before, especially when the fall and the rise dovetail with each other, it’s often the case that the new club assumes the history of the old club.

I don’t for one minute think the officials and supporters of Gresley FC, who came to being in 2009, made a conscious decision to disassociate themselves from Rovers, indeed you only have to look on the walls of the social club to see the memorabilia to see that’s not the case.

It got me thinking though, about the story behind football and Gresley, of what was, and also, what could have been had plans come to fruition. It’s also a pertinent story of what can also happen when a club chases the dream and it’s custodians are allowed to take huge risks with it’s mere existence.

I suppose I first became aware of Gresley Rovers in the early Eighties, listening to the match reports from West Midlands Regional League games on Radio Derby, where I seem to think the late Brian Spare was the correspondent.

It was in the mid to late Eighties when things started to take off at the Moat Ground. In seven seasons from 1985 onwards the club achieved two fourths, a third, two seconds and two successive championships which took them into the Southern League.

They became something of a household name in the 1990-91 season when they reached the FA Vase Final at Wembley. The game against Guiseley finished 4-4 and was widely regarded as the best game ever seen at the stadium, until of course Charlton Athletic and Sunderland had an epic Play-Off Final a few years later.

The replay at Bramall Lane finished in a 3-1 defeat for the Moatmen, but the disappointment was tempered somewhat with the first of the two championships.

In the clubs first season in the Southern League they came close to Vase glory once again, going out in the semi-final stage to big spending Bridlington Town, but in the league a second placed finish, saw them promoted to the heady heights of the Premier Division, the highest level the club had ever played at.

A rivalry with neighbouring Burton Albion was now very much on the table, and in the clubs fourth season in the top flight, having finished higher up in every season than the previous one, they were crowned champions, with Paul Futcher at the helm. This was a title that Burton had been trying to win for years without success, the young upstarts had very much put one over on them. How different that picture looks now.

But, the title was the beginning of the end in many ways. Talk at the time was of a new stadium in nearby Albert Village, with the club having been refused promotion to the Football Conference due to the facilities at the Moat Ground. A huge amount of money had been spent in winning the league, and the legacy of this spending, and what followed, ultimately saw the end of Gresley Rovers.

Two years later and they had been relegated back to the lower divisions of the Southern League, where they stayed for five seasons before being moved laterally to the Northern Premier League. That spell also lasted for five seasons, before a next to bottom finish, and the club ultimately folding. 

It was as inevitable as it was sad, but with a strong supporter based, the newly formed club were accepted into the East Midland Counties League for the following season. They finished second, before winning it the year after and with it gaining promotion to the Midland Football League which they went on to win at the very first attempt. Suddenly Gresley FC were back in the Northern Premier League, three years after the old club left it.

A dalliance with the play-offs in 2015 was as good as it got, plus a Vase quarter final against Whitehawk in 2009 reignited the memories, but ultimately at the end of last season, they finished bottom and were relegated back to the Midland Football League, where right now, they sit bottom of the pile.

I first went to the Moat Ground in 1988 and saw them lose an FA Vase Fifth Round tie against Emley in front of a very big crowd. While later on that year I also saw a lively League Cup tie against rivals Tamworth and also a Derbyshire Senior Cup Final against Alfreton Town where me and my mates from Alfreton did well to avoid a very good kicking from the locals!

I saw Burton Albion succumb 2-0 in the championship season, and on that occasion the crowd were hanging from the rafters. In fact, between 1994 and 2007 I used to get down a couple of times a season, often with Belper, whereas when the club re-formed, again, maybe once a season I’d make the journey down the A38 and the A444, but to be fair, until tonight I’d not been since New Years Day in 2017.

The Moat Ground is wonderful in its mixture of structures and hemmed in ramshackle nature. I typically head in through the turnstile behind the goal, which is quite literally behind the goal. To the left of this is a low area of cover, while moving clockwise around the ground you come to another small area of covered terracing that then becomes a low seated stand.

Behind the opposite goal used to be further areas of cover, but this end is now inaccessible to spectators as the pitch was deemed too small and now runs right up to what is the perimeter wall. Moving further clockwise still is another small area of cover before some open terracing with the tall hospitality area up some steps sat behind. The main stand is adjacent with the dressing rooms behind, along with the famous tea bar renowned for its delicacies.

Beyond the seated area is some uncovered standing with offices, a shop and the social club behind. It really is a fantastic arena, but, in terms of progression, they can do nothing with it, and I would imagine maintenance costs are not cheap. The pitch has always been known for its undulating nature, and all things considered, as unpopular decision it may be with the loyal fan base, they need a new stadium and the talk is that plans are progressing.

What about the game? Well Gresley lost 1-0 to an in form Flowserve side who are rumoured to be splashing the cash, and for the first half they looked very much second best. To be fair though to the young Moatmen, they battled incredibly hard in the second period and had the visitors on the back foot for large spells, but didn’t really look like making a breakthrough.

As I drove back from Church Gresley I did wonder what it must have been like to have been a follower of the club over the past thirty odd years, a real rollercoaster I would imagine. But, consider this, you have two choices.

Choice One – Stability, financial security, longevity, peaks and troughs, but nothing spectacular. A steady existence

Choice Two – Five championships, four promotions, Wembley, FA Cup First Round, three relegations, folding and re-forming

I know what I’d take, and I don’t honestly think the vast majority of Moatmen would swap what they’ve had, despite the lows and the catastrophes.