Home for Christmas

Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC, last Saturday when the home side took on Quorn in the Midland Division of the Northern Premier League.

'The Valley' are my home town team and I spent many years as I was growing up coming to Butlin Road whenever Coventry City were not in action or away from home.

These were very much the glory years in the history of the club, then called VS Rugby but now back to the name that reflects their original formation.

Jimmy Know made sure that his name would forever be a part of football's rich folklore, the Scot who had spent most of his adult life around the footballing scene in Coventry and Warwickshire, took VS to Wembley glory in the 1983 FA Vase Final and to within a whisker of promotion to non-league's top tier.

With the Sky Blues having left Highfield Road in 2005, that comforting familiarity, of somewhere you were happy as a youngster and that largely remains as you remember it, comes from Butlin Road nowadays in footballing terms.

While the layout is mostly the same, it now boasts an excellent main stand, comfortable bar and all-weather pitches behind one goal, improvements that have allowed the club to become more of a part of the local community and insure themselves against some fallow years on the pitch and a wider apathy in the town itself.

Despite promotion last season, attendances still tend to hover around the 200 mark and there were less than that watching as Quorn overcame the loss of an early goal to run out comfortable 4-1 winners as the 40th anniversary year of that Vase triumph draws to a close.

On a day when the retail parks were busy (the town centre retains the layout I grew up with but, alas, has been hollowed out as shops have decamped further out) I sincerely hope that the current period of stable, secure ownership can last for many more milestones to come.

Kings For A Day

 

A view from the smart main stand at Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC, taken in 2016.

'The Valley' are currently sitting at the top of the United Counties Premier League Division South and host second-placed Coventry Sphinx this coming Saturday (admission £8/£4) at 3pm.

They don't begin their FA Vase campaign until the 2nd Round Proper in a few weeks time but it would be a fitting season in which to land some silverware as next year will mark 40 years since a famous Wembley triumph for the club, then known as VS Rugby.

I was in the stands on that day as Jimmy Knox's side defeated Halesowen Town by a single goal, a landmark occasion that is rightly celebrated every year by the surviving members of the team, while, as the Rugby Observer reported in 2020, paying tribute to Knox and others they have lost as they do so.

It's a great reminder that playing both the Vase and FA Trophy finals at Wembley means so much to those players, officials and supporters from the teams that make it through so many rounds to get there and that, hopefully, the current policy of both matches taking place in a double-header at the national stadium can continue.

In another 40 years time I'm sure there will be get-togethers for those who played their part in Newport Pagnell Town FC lifting the trophy earlier this year.

The First Round proper of the Vase takes place this weekend and there are 103 ties taking place in total. You'd be hard-pressed to find any that will cost more than a tenner to watch so get along to see your local side if possible.

Northern League Brandon United, for example, have a Family Fun Day around their tie with Thackley AFC on Saturday. Admission is just £5 adults, £3 concessions and free for accompanied Under 16's 

A Big Night at Butlin Road

                             

A big achievement for the youngsters of Rugby Town FC to make it to the Second Round of the FA Youth Cup and a home tie against the Under-18's of League One club Morecambe.

Admission at Butlin Road, a second home for me as a youngster when the Sky Blues were away, for a 7pm kick-off on Wednesday 17th, is priced at £3 for adults, £2 concessions and free for Under-16's.

Footage of the celebrations that followed Aylestone Park FC as they defeated Lincoln City on penalties has been widely shared on social media and the second round sees the club host Sheffield Wednesday, also on the 17th but with kick-off at 7.45pm.

Admission to this one is priced at £5 adults and £3 concessions.

Tickets Please...

It's a long time since you have needed a ticket to watch a match at Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC, probably since some of the big FA Cup games during the reign of Jimmy Knox when the club were still known as VS (Valley Sports) Rugby.

But 'The Valley' are one of many clubs adapting to the new reality of restricted numbers of spectators being allowed in to grounds and the requirement to keep a record of everyone who comes through the turnstiles, Tuesday evening's friendly against Barwell Town being a ticket only affair.

It's a strange situation, befitting the strange times that we are in but selling tickets, not just online but in person, is one of many ways in which clubs have stepped up to the mark in recent weeks in order to get fans back in, track and trace apps, one-way systems and plenty of information on social media all contributing to what seemed like a successful return of supporters over the weekend.

Many of next week's FA Cup extra preliminary round ties are all-ticket given the limits on capacity but it is great that spectators will be watching the first competitive action of the season.

Rovers Return With 3 Points As Rugby Hopes Fade

Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC and a place where I spent many Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings as a youngster watching VS Rugby as they were then known when the Sky Blues were either away or not in action.

Under the stewardship of Jimmy Knox in the 1980’s ‘The Valley’ won the FA Vase at Wembley and came within a whisker of reaching the Conference as well playing host to the likes of Northampton Town and Brentford in big FA Cup ties.

There has been a gradual decline since those heady days and the club currently ply their trade at Step 5 of the pyramid system in the United Counties League.

In terms of facilities the ground could pass for a much higher level with covered accommodation on all sides, a smart main stand and a very nice bar (which is open throughout the week and hosts a number of functions).

Only 177 watched a see-saw 4-3 defeat at the hands of Eynesbury Rovers, a reverse which probably ends Rugby’s hopes of winning the league, and it’s sad to see such apathy in a growing town in the face of the hard work of those in charge of the club and the volunteers who help out every week.

Much is made of Rugby's links to the oval ball game but you would be hard-pressed to find even a signpost directing you to Butlin Road. If you do make it there however you will get a warm welcome and a competitive game of football.

A free admission offer earlier in the year saw 450 through the turnstiles and the visit of Cogenhoe United on Saturday 6 April will also be free entry to all.

Rugby Town FC

If Highfield Road was my second home when I was growing up then Butlin Road was a close third as I would watch VS Rugby whenever the Sky Blues were away or not in action.

From the 1983 FA Vase triumph at Wembley onwards they were good times to watch the Valley as Jimmy Knox moulded a squad that rose through the Non-League ranks to within a whisker of reaching the Conference.

After a name change to Rugby United in 2000 the club became Rugby Town five years later but are still known as 'The Valley' to many and although fortunes have dipped sharply in recent years the Butlin Road ground has gradually been improved to the point where it wouldn't look out of place in the top-tier of the Non-League game.

This Saturday's United Counties League fixture against Kirby Muxloe has been announced as free admission for all.

Friendly Focus: The Midlands

Rugby Town (the main stand at Butlin Road is pictured above) have two home friendlies scheduled, against Banbury United on Tuesday 25th July and Nuneaton Town on Monday 31 July. Admission to these fixtures is priced at £5 Adults and £3 Concessions. Matches on the adjoining 3G pitch on Saturdays 8th, 15th and 22nd July are free to attend.

Two Northamptonshire derbies are pencilled in at Brackley Town with Kettering Town on Tuesday 18th July and AFC Rushden & Diamonds the following week both set to visit. Admission prices for these games and the one against Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday 11th July (7pm) are £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and free for Under 16's.

Fixtures against Hereford (Saturday 22nd July) and a Wolves Under-23 side (Saturday 15th July) at AFC Telford United are priced at £5 Adults, £3 Concessions and £1 Under 16's.

A busy summer for Paget Rangers with admission to the home matches against Bromsgrove Sporting (Tuesday 11th July) and Alvechurch (Saturday 22nd July) priced at £3 Adults, £2 Concessions.

Paget are also involved in the Sutton Charity Cup with seven other sides from the Birmingham area. Admission to each match in the competition is by a suggested £2 donation which goes to help local good causes.

Meanwhile, Champions League qualifiers Hoffenheim provide attractive opposition for a friendly at Pride Park and, having seen a number of friendlies at league clubs priced at £15 this summer, fair play to Derby County for making tickets just £5 (£1 Under 12's).

Butlin Road, Rugby Town FC

A trip down memory lane for me on Saturday afternoon as I watched Rugby Town take on Northwich Victoria in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League 1st Division South.

I was a regular at Butlin Road throughout the 80's and 90's before moving away from my home town, Jimmy Knox's side (then playing as VS Rugby - Valley Sports) winning the FA Vase at Wembley and coming within a whisker of reaching the top-flight of Non-League football.

Times are harder on the pitch, Saturday's 2-0 defeat in front of 167 spectators leaving The Valley rooted to the foot of the table and in danger of a return to Step 5 football.

That would be a shame given the warm welcome on offer at the turnstiles and the quality of a ground that has a modern main stand and cover on all four sides of the pitch.

The next scheduled home league game is against fellow strugglers Market Drayton Town on Tuesday 18th October.