From 1977 to 1987 I was Director and Chairman of Nuneaton Borough Football Club. My aim was to give excitement and passion to the people of Nuneaton, the town my father settled in when he brought my family over from Dublin in 1952.
In 1979, under my chairmanship, NBFC was a founder member of the Alliance Premier League (which became the Football Conference and now the National League). When the Alliance was formed, I was proud to personally donate the trophy given to the winners at the pinnacle of non-league football.
I had ten great years. But in 1987, my dream was whipped from under my feet. And I’ve fought for justice ever since.
My fight is for the people of Nuneaton, who were robbed of a higher standard of football, and a better football club. And what happened in Nuneaton could happen to any club.
I had been chairman at Nuneaton – “the Boro” – for 10 golden years, in which time the Boro’s achievements included the following:
- Founder members of the Alliance Premier League (APL)
- Twice APL runners up
- 13 players graduating into the Football League
- 7 appearances in the first-round proper of the FA Cup
- 3 times FA Trophy quarter finalists
- After 1981 relegation, runaway Southern League champions, gaining immediate re-promotion in 1982
- Twice winners of the Birmingham Senior Cup
- Won several Midland Football Cup titles
- Three times invited to play in Europe in the Anglo-Italian tournament
- Instigators of non-league football’s first YTS scheme
- Chosen to stage an FA Sunday Cup final and England v Eire semi-professional international
- Hosted Muhammad Ali and George Best – two of the world’s most famous sports personalities – at Manor Park
- Ian Botham also visited as a member of the Scunthorpe FC squad in an FA Cup game
- Purchased our ground, erected new floodlights and terracing
The APL became the Football Conference. Nuneaton Borough were Conference runners up in 1984 and 1985. Following years of persistent negotiation, Scarborough were the first Conference winners to gain automatic promotion to the Football League after winning the Conference in 1987. They were exciting years indeed.
I saw Nuneaton as capable and deserving of League status too, and I had a plan to be ready when we earned our place.
You can read more about these golden years in this Objective Appraisal by club secretary Dr John Evans.
Plan X
I had negotiated the purchase of Manor Park from Nuneaton Council some years earlier, but I always knew the ground could never be of an adequate standard for League football. Adjacent to a canal, Manor Park didn’t have enough exits for larger crowds. I had looked into building a bridge across the canal, but we were quoted £150,000.
The alternative was to sell the ground and use the proceeds to move to a new home. We referred to this ambitious plan – years ahead of its time – as Plan X.
I struggled to envisage watching Boro play anywhere other than Manor Park. I thought of our staunch fans, who had their own little spot where they stood for every home match. But eventually I began to think that Plan X could be the salvation of the club. I could see big advantages in us having a marvellous new ground, complete with ready-made stands, plenty of car parking, additional sports facilities and even conference rooms.
I made discreet enquiries, got first refusal on an ideal site, 17 acres in a prime position on the outskirts of Nuneaton and received an offer of £3.8m for Manor Park from a developer, on condition of planning consent. If the Council agreed to this, I proposed to offer the town a £1million donation – and still have more than enough left to buy a new ground and even a new team.
At the time such a move would have been quite revolutionary. Since then, of course, very many football clubs have done exactly that – and have not looked back.
Looking back, I have to wonder is this when the rot set in? Were people concerned that I was seeking to line my pockets? I wasn’t, of course. Any profits made by a club through a developer have to be ploughed back into football. This is in the FA rules. In any case, all I was interested in was the future progress of Nuneaton Borough FC and making sure we had suitable facilities ready for when we could stake a claim for a place in the Football League. This was my dream.
I’d had ten fantastic years in charge of a wonderful semi-professional football club. I had big dreams, and big plans, to continue to grow the club, to entertain the fans, and to put Nuneaton on the map by getting Borough into the Football League.