Retro Action at Hitchin Town

The Canaries of Hitchin Town are a club I have written about a few times on the blog over the years especially during the battle to save their historic Top Field ground.

In existence since 1928, Hitchin have also moved with the times, offering online tickets for example.

I've always liked the regular updates from club secretary (and treasurer) Roy Izzard, on the official website, as they give a clear account of events both on and off the field and lots of detail, for instance on how the 'Pay What You Want' matches tried previously have compared to normal attendances and gate income.

With no date as yet as to whether and when the 2020/21 season will begin, Hitchin are looking to keep things ticking over during the 'normal' close season period and are showing a series of classic matches over the coming weeks.

The first game is a clash with Enfield Town from 1993 which will be screened from 7pm on Tuesday 16 June with tickets available at £5 and £2.

Local newspaper The Comet also seems to enjoy a good relationship with the club and reported recently on a financial boost given to the Canaries by their Top Field landlords.

Hitchin Town FC

Very much regulars on Affordable Football and our Twitter page, Hitchin Town FC continue to look for ways in which to make watching a match at Top Field as light on the pocket as possible.

What I like more than anything about the Canaries is the regular communication with supporters, manager Mark Burke and secretary Roy Izzard writing weekly columns for the club website.

And Roy's notes for this week make for interesting reading as he talks about attendances and the constant battle to improve them, a battle Hitchin seem to be winning with Monday night football, Theme Days and, of course, Pay What You Want which has become a staple part of any season at Top Field.

Each Pay What You Want fixture that the club have held has produced more than the budgeted admission on the gate although they are wary about overdoing it and keeping it for special occasions.

One such is Non-League Day 2017 and Hitchin's home fixture with Stratford will be Pay What You Want, as is their trip to Biggleswade United this Tuesday (August 22) for the 'Top Field Trophy' which has become an annual event between the two clubs.

Take Two For Hitchin Town And Eastleigh

Two very worthwhile offers that featured on the pages of Affordable Football recently but which both fell victim to the weather will still be taking place in February.

Our match at #TopField on 4 Feb v @FCKingsLangley will now be #PayWhatYouWant & we'll be collecting for @SandsUK

— Hitchin Town FC (@HitchinTownFC) 23 January 2017

Hitchin Town had originally intended for the home game against Cirencester on 21 January to be a 'Pay What You Want' fixture and also took the commendable decision to collect for Sands, the neonatal and stillbirth death charity after being unwittingly caught up in a social media 'storm' following ill-judged tweets sent by a player registered (not contracted) to the club.

The National League match between Eastleigh and Macclesfield Town, meanwhile, has been re-arranged for Tuesday 21st February at 7:45pm and the Spitfires will once again be offering free admission to all spectators.

Pay What You Want is Back at Hitchin Town

Currently being kept off the top of the Southern League Premier Division on goal difference alone, by Leamington FC, who have a ‘Pay What You Want’ fixture of their own this Saturday against St Ives Town, Hitchin Town will allow spectators to pay an admission charge of their own choice when Cirencester visit Top Field on Saturday 21 January.

This will be the third time this season the club have offered ‘Pay What You Want’ after the games against Biggleswade United and an Arsenal XI which marked the switching-on of the new floodlights at the ground.

Since the offer was announced, Hitchin have experienced that most modern of sensations, a social media ‘storm’ after tweets from a footballer registered (not contracted to, and having appeared only briefly as a substitute for) the club, Alfie Barker, that were aimed at Bournemouth’s Harry Arter.

An excellent article by secretary Roy Izzard on the official club website sets out what the club had to deal with when the story broke and how quickly it disappeared as the media went looking for other fish to fry.

Hitchin will be collecting for SANDS UK, a charity that supports those who have experienced the stillbirth or neonatal death of a baby, at the Cirencester game.

One other line from the Non-League game and I think this tweet speaks for itself...

Free football is coming back to The Silverlake... Tuesday 24th Jan Vs @thesilkmen #Spitfires pic.twitter.com/Kfjxr7Ztcl

— Eastleigh FC (@EastleighFC) 12 January 2017

Banbury United FC, Hitchin Town FC

Banbury United FC are back on these pages again after a ‘Football for a Fiver’ offer attracted 589 to the Spencer Stadium for the recent game against Winchester City. 

That was the Puritans highest home attendance for almost six years and the club have decided to repeat the offer (which is a halving of the usual adult admission price) for their next two home matches, against Shortwood United on March 19th and Tiverton Town on March 26th. 

Admission is £5 for all Adults with Under-16’s admitted free for both games with some fun activities planned for the Tiverton match on Easter Saturday. 

Saturday's 3-1 victory at Slimbridge kept Banbury on top of the Southern League Division One South & West, ahead of Cinderford Town albeit having played a number of games more.

And a welcome return to the blog for Hitchin Town as they plan another ‘Pay What You Want’ fixture when St Neots are the visitors to Top Field on April 23rd in the Southern League Premier where Hitchin currently occupy a play-off place.

The Canaries are hard at work raising funds for new floodlights at their fine old ground and, as at the recent ‘Pay What You Want’ match against Frome Town, any monies received over and above the club’s budgeted figure for the game will be put into the fund.

A short while ago, the fund stood at nearly £14,000 with the target being £30,000.

Update: Hitchin Town, Inverness Caley Thistle

Hitchin Town held a 'Pay What You Want' game against Frome Town recently with the aim of kick-starting the club's new Floodlight Fund.

Secretary Roy Izzard, in one of his weekly updates on the club website, wrote recently that a season's best league crowd of 572 had come through the Top Field gates and that many of those paid more than the usual admission prices.

This enabled £1,500 to be transferred to the Floodlight Fund after the deduction of the budgeted match expenses and another 'Pay What You Want' game may be in the offing before the end of the season.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle, meanwhile, say they are ‘pleased’ with the reaction to their ‘Pay What You Can’ game against Partick Thistle recently.

An attendance of 3,556 was over 800 more than the last time the two teams met at 3pm on a Saturday in Inverness.

Commercial Manager Iain Auld told the official club website: "The data from this, and other initiatives, will allow us to better understand how many more Caley Thistle fans are out there just now and how much they are willing to pay.

"We'll run that information alongside what we know of existing fans and then look to see what we can do to increase attendances on a more regular basis without jeopardising the club's financial position."

Hitchin Town FC

A welcome return to the pages of Affordable Football for Hitchin Town after their battle to keep playing at the Top Field ground featured heavily last season.

Although the club are looking into the possibility of a new stadium, their stated wish is to remain at Top Field and a Floodlight Fund is to be launched at the game against Frome Town on Saturday 16 January to start the process of raising enough funds to match a grant from the Football Stadium Improvement Fund and replace the 50-year-old floodlights currently in use.

For that reason, and to encourage more people to come along and see what the club is all about (building on the community involvement that was to the fore in the fight to stay at Top Field), the Frome fixture will be 'Pay What You Want' at the gate with all money raised above the budgeted figure going into the Floodlight Fund.

Update: Hitchin Town FC

Hitchin Town FC's battle to remain at their historic Top Field home has featured on Affordable Football this season with a 'Pay What You Want' fixture following on from a march through the town that was supported by well over 1,000 people.

And the campaign has been successful, as a recent statement on the official club website confirms, with a 25-year lease now in place until 2039.

As an aside, Slough Town are the visitors to Top Field this coming Saturday for what has been designated as 'Ladies Day' with all female fans able to attend the match for free.

Update - Hitchin Town FC

Back in November we looked at the battle to save Hitchin Town's historic Top Field ground, boosted by a 'No Pay Day' for their home game against Poole Town on 6 December which attracted a crowd of 1,606, the majority of whom marched peacefully through the town beforehand to state their case.

Putting local rivalry aside, Biggleswade United (whose director of football, Sky Sports analyst Guillem Balague, lives in Hitchin and is part of the movement to save Top Field) hosted a special friendly against Hitchin on Tuesday night.

The 'Save Top Field Trophy' saw a healthy crowd through the gates of Second Meadow,  attracted by admission prices of £5 and £2.50, with all money raised passed to Hitchin Town to assist in their battle.

Hitchin Town FC secretary, Roy Izzard, offered grateful thanks to Chris Lewis the chairman of Biggleswade United FC and Guillem Balague. "This is a magnificent gesture and Hitchin Town are overwhelmed by such a show of solidarity by one of our neighbouring non league clubs.

"It shows how clubs at our level help one another in times of crisis and it is so gratifying to know we are not alone and indeed it makes me even more determined to win the battle to stay at Top Field."

Update: March for Hitchin Town Before Some Free Football

We looked last month at a planned 'No Pay Day' in the battle to save Hitchin Town and their historic Top Field ground from plans to sell up to property developers.

The 'No Pay Day' will now take place on Saturday 6 December for the game against Poole Town which kicks off at 3pm. It will be preceeded by a march to raise awareness of the campaign.

Save Hitchin Town FC - 'No Pay Day' 29 November

Usually when I write about 'Pay What You Want' matches that are taking place around the country it has a positive air to it as the clubs involved are generally looking to increase awareness and goodwill in their local area and generate some extra support that then stays with them over the months and years that follow.

Hitchin Town's 'No Pay Day' which is scheduled for Saturday 29 November against Frome Town in the Southern League Premier Division (cup commitments not withstanding) has a slightly different but no less important aim.

The club's existence is under threat as the trustees of their Top Field ground, in use since 1865 and beautifully described as a 'welcoming if somewhat archaic place to watch the game', the Cow Commoners, have proposed to sell up to a property developer.

Chairman Terry Barratt said: “We are aware of the enormous groundswell of emotion around the issues of our ground. We want the support of everyone – not just our loyal fans, but the town of Hitchin, the non-league community and local businesses and enterprises. We urge them all to come along and show their support for our cause. We need the help of everyone to secure the future of senior football in Hitchin.”