Pedigree

Stafford Rangers  2  Atherton Collieries  0

Northern Premier League – Premier Division

Admission / Programme – £13 / £2

I waxed lyrical recently about Frickley Athletic, and how they are what I would describe as a ‘Proper’ non-league football club, with history, tradition, an iconic ground, and, a knowledgeable and passionate fan base.

Well, you can add another club to that last, Stafford Rangers, one of the giants of Midlands non-league football, and a club I first visited in 1994, for what was only my second ever game in the then GM Vauxhall Conference, or, the top tier of semi-professional football.

I have pretty good memories of the day, it was a home game against Yeovil Town, another non-league giant at the time, and a club, when compared to Stafford, that went on to have a very different journey altogether.

I remembered how impressed I was with the ground, how vocal both sets of fans were, and on the day how Rangers smashed Yeovil 4-1. I actually saw the corresponding game later in the season at Huish Park (I was friends with a Yeovil fan from my recently ended University days), which Yeovil won 1-0. By this stage Stafford were looking in deep trouble and did eventually end up getting relegated after finishing next to bottom.

I’ve been a few times since, I took my Dad once to see a pre-season game against Hednesford Town, whereas more recently I went on New Years Day in 2015 to see Leek Town defeated 1-0, and then again a couple of seasons ago when I turned up at Madeley White Star only to find the game was off, so opted for a Plan B which was Rangers against Bamber Bridge.

It’s one of those places though, close enough to visit as and when it takes your fancy, but just far enough away for it not to become somewhere you go three or four times a season. Stafford from Belper is a touch over an hour, so having arrived home from a lovely morning and lunchtime in Salford to celebrate my daughter’s graduation, I decided to take a ride over for the midweek game against Atherton Collieries, and as it turned out, the battle of the bottom two in the top flight of the Northern Premier League.

Rangers, or ‘Boro’ as the locals call them, have one hell of history. After being a Cheshire League club from the early fifties, they became founder members of the NPL in 1969, before then winning it in 1972, beating giants like Boston United, Wigan Athletic, Scarborough and Altrincham to the crown. The NPL era (the first one), saw Boro consistently finish in the upper reaches, and as a result they were invited to become founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979.

They found the step up tougher, lasting four seasons before being relegated, but two years later and they were back again after claiming a further NPL crown in 1985. A ten year spell in the top flight followed, with a best finish of sixth place, but then as I mentioned earlier, they were relegated again in 1995, and following that the club had a tough period.

Another relegation immediately followed and they spent a further four years in the regional divisions of the Southern League, finally getting back to the Premier Division in 2000. Another four years later they finished high enough up to be invited to become founder members of the Conference North, and within two seasons they had beaten both Harrogate Town and Droylsden in the Play Offs, to make it back to the top table again.

It lasted two seasons, then three seasons came and went again in Conference North, followed by three more n the NPL Premier, before a relegation to the fourth tier of non-league football came in 2014. The club were now at their lowest point, and it two took seasons to get back to Step 3, courtesy of a comfortable league title winning campaign, but for now, they remain at the third tier, and haven’t really threatened to make another leap forward.

It’s been a real rollercoaster of journey for the club, but notwithstanding what’s happened in the league, what about the cups?

Wow, let’s start with the FA Trophy. They beat Barnet at Wembley in 1972 courtesy of a 3-0 score line to win it a first time, they then lost in the semi-final to Wigan Athletic the next season before going to Wembley again in 1976, this time losing 3-2 to Scarborough.

A third visit to the Twin Towers came in 1979, and in front of a then record crowd, Kettering Town were beaten 2-0, whereas in 1990 they reached the semi-final again, only to lose over two legs to Leek Town.

In the FA Cup they’ve reached the First Round Proper numerous times, but a best season came in 1974-75 when three Football League clubs were beaten (Stockport County, Halifax Town, Rotherham United), before losing 2-1 at home to Peterborough United in the Fourth Round. Who did they beat in the First Qualifying Round, needing a replay? Belper Town of course (and I have both programmes!)

So, taking all of this into account, you can clearly see why I would describe Stafford Rangers as a ‘Proper’ non-league club, but what of Marston Road these days? The ground is located to the North of the town centre, in an area dominated by both housing and industry, and coming from the Uttoxeter area, you nip round the ring road and approach it from the North, avoiding having to go into the centre of town. Parking though, isn’t that plentiful in the area, or if it is, I’ve never been able to find it!

If you want to get in the car park, you need to be an early bird, which I was. The car park sits behind the North end of the ground, with the large clubhouse contained within it. The clubhouse is made up of a numbers of rooms, with one of them, a large area, backing onto the terraces, and if you so wish, you can choose to view the game out of the windows.

The turnstiles are in the North West corner, with the dressing rooms immediately on the right had side as you enter. Following the ground round in an anti-clockwise direction you’ve then got a club shop and a burger van before you get to the steep seated stand that straddles the half way line.

Beyond the stand is some terracing which extends round the South goal, with an area of cover to the rear of the steps, this end is known as the ‘Shed End’. I can recall back when I first went, this end was more of a cinder bank, albeit still covered.

Moving round to the East you have more terracing, which extends the length of the side, with some low cover running along around two thirds of it. This side has gates and fences that would allow for segregation as and when needed.  You then come round to the North end, where again you have a couple of steps of terracing, which sit right in front of the aforementioned clubhouse.

Boro had appointed a new manager prior to the game, the chap who had success with Nantwich Town, Dave Cooke. It’s doubtful he would have had much time to influence matters, but his presence certainly saw the hosts put on a performance that earned them a deserved three points.

The impressive Ethan Stewart slotted home from close range virtually on the stroke of half time, and then not long after the restart the same player flicked the ball over the Colls goalkeeper with the outside of his foot. That was pretty much game set and match, with Colls having plenty of effort, but no end product, whereas Rangers could have gone on to extend their winning margin.

With the cold starting to bite, the crowd of 422 made their way into the Stafford night, hoping that the change in manager will see them pull clear of the relegation zone. A club like Stafford Rangers, on so many levels, should not be plying their trade at Step 4 again, under any circumstances.