Get behind your local football club! My Hadley FC story

I've really got to share something with you.  On Saturday, I got told off. I went off to watch Hadley FC for their 3pm kick off. My good lady wife was expecting me home for dinner around 6pm, I got back at ten. She was not chuffed, but sometimes you have to enjoy the moment. It was a special moment, let me explain. 

If you don't know who Hadley are, they play in the Pitchings Southern League, Central Division one. This is at step four of the non league pyramid, so eight leagues down from The Premiership. They are the oldest and best supported club in the London Borough of Barnet (now Barnet FC play in Harrow). Back in 2018, my nephew decided to write a blog about non league football in the London Borough of Barnet. He was looking for a project to keep him entertained. One of the first clubs he visited was Hadley FC. He liked the setup and suggested that I join him for a game. I did, towards the end of the season. I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. I used to go to a lot of non league games in the 1960's, when my Dad's business sponsored Edgware Town and then later when Barnet were at Underhill. I fell out of love with Barnet when they moved to The Hive, finding the experience soulless. I saw a few Wrexham games in the conference, before American millionaires bought them. I'd go with my Welsh mates, when they were playing and we'd do a pub crawl and grab a curry. However Hadley were step five, lower than Edgware were in the 1960 and five steps down from Barnet and Wrexham. 

I didn't take to much notice of crowd sizes. There were probably around a hundred people at the first game I went to, which I believe was 27 April 2019 against Stotfold. Hadley won 3-1. It was the last game of the season and Hadley finished third in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. They were moved sideways to the Essex Senior League. The season was cut short due to the pandemic. 

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and decided to get a season ticket for the 2019-20 season. Sadly, the Pandemic ended this early. The last home game before lockdown was declared, Hadley won 7-0, little did we know what was around the corner!

What a team. @hadleyfc seventh goes in 7-0 pic.twitter.com/u3EKvgf1hx

— Roger Tichborne/Rog T (@Barneteye) March 7, 2020

 In 2020-21, I again got a season ticket. The second lockdown started at Xmas, we attended the match on the 19th December, as it was one of the only public places you could get a beer with your mates legally. The season started again in April, with two games in the FA Vase, Hadley losing to Binfield on penalties in the fifth round. In 2021-22, Hadley were back in the Spartan League, obtaining promotion after a fine season and winning the Gladwish Challenge Trophy against Stotfold. I thoroughly enjoyed the season, the first full one for me as a fan. 

In 2022-23, they were playing in tier four, the highest ever league that Hadley had appeared in. To my horror, their best player left before a ball was kicked in anger. The season was a baptism of fire, with Hadley not winning until October. Our hope was to simply avoid relegation, but as the season wore on, new players came in, the team adjusted and by the end of the season, Hadley had a very respectable mid table finish. I thought the team had massively over performed, given the difference in quality between step 5 an step 4. I had started to make quite a few friends at the club, and was delighted that one of them, Tom Hammond, who organises the half time tennis ball challenge was a Trumpet player. He joined our band, The False Dots in the Autumn and has been a real breath of fresh air. That is what non league football is like though, you stay after the game, have a beer and a chat and get to know people. 

For the 2023-24 season, I had reset my expectations. Not to a ridiculous extent, but it was clear to me that the club would do better than just survive. The season however started with a tragedy. Manager Anthony Clark's son lost a battle with cancer. A huge shadow descended over the club. It seemed that football wasn't terribly important. The team didn't win until the last day of September and there was, in truth, a muted feeling around the place. We all went and supported the team, but it was hard to get too animated. By December, it seemed that the team were in for a relegation struggle, but in January, with a new year and new players coming in, the team found its mojo, losing only four games in 2024. New striker Isaac Stones became the league's top scorer and the team finished a very respectable ninth. The season ended on a real high, with a trip to San Marino to play a friendly against Juvenes Dogana, a team that has several San Marino international players on their books (sadly on duty that night). Hadley won 9-1 and a great weekend was had by all. 

9-1 to the @hadleyfc boys!#Sanmarino @HadleyBricks #hadleyontour pic.twitter.com/fBbvdXxKdF

— Roger Tichborne/Rog T (@Barneteye) June 9, 2024

Hadley Super Fan Chris Nash had arranged the whole thing. It is a measure of how good a fan base the club had developed to see so many make the trip.

The new 2024-25 season started with high hopes. Perhaps for the first time, we could realistically dream of a top half finish. I am not quite sure any of us expected what we got! The team have reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA trophy for the first time in the clubs history. They are also unbeaten, having won six out of seven league games, sitting top of the table as I write this. It is early days and we all need to be realistic, but beating Berkhamsted on Saturday to go clear was a magical moment. The fact that it was club President Tristram's birthday was the icing on the cake. I stayed in the clubhouse, celebrating for far too long with a bunch of hardcore fans. Football is fickle and I know that there will be all manner of challenges, but I felt I had to put pen to paper to chronicle my journey whilst we are on a high. When I first went to Hadley, I had no real expectations. I thought it would be a good way to spend an afternoon, but had no plans to get a season ticket or go to San Marino as a supporter. But the truth is that the club, and the other clubs they play in the lower leagues are the beating heart of football. Where else do the fans have a beer with the club president and chairman after the game? 

Hadley FC have a massive game tomorrow (Tuesday 1st October) at Brickfield Lane (opposite The Gate pub on the  107/384 bus route). They are playing Aylesbury United who are three points behind. We lost our top scorer, Isaac Stones to injury on Saturday and he's very doubtful for the game, against a key rival. It is always a great night under the lights, so if you are not doing anything come along. Say Hi and have a beer! It is a very different experience from the Premiership. You can grab a beer and watch the game. The fans mix and the referee will often join us in the clubhouse, where we usually tell him how bad he was in a friendly manner! The supporters of the opposition also join us and swap tales. It is how football should be.