FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

I should start by laying my cards on the table: I am a born and bred Leeds United fan. I was a season ticket holder up until the 1999-2000 season, when the club was riding high under Manager David O’Leary and Chairman Peter Ridsdale.

In 2000 I moved to the Droitwich area and it was no longer practical to keep my season ticket. The following year Leeds had a great run in Europe and reached the Champions League semi final but the rot had already set in. Subsequent failure to qualify for the Champions League revealed the perilous nature of their financial status. The following decline has been well documented.

The shenanigans in boardrooms up and down the EPL and EFL came under closer scrutiny and it became clear that professional football had become more about big business than it was about sport. Disillusionment set in; I gave up on football and started watching Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. After all, rugby is a gentlemen’s game, rich in tradition, which could never fall victim to chancers and speculators! But, prices rocketed and it became increasingly clear that supporters were seen merely as a means of income to be exploited at every opportunity rather than a valued part of the club.

I jumped ship when I saw the club rearranging the deckchairs while its stern sank deeper into icy waters.

What I wanted was something I could feel part of. Where my admission money made a difference. Where people were genuinely pleased to see you at the game. Where the club wants to add something of substance to the community. Where the directors and officials are real football people rather than here today, gone tomorrow spivs.

Fortunately, the present Mrs FTS is a Droitwich girl and as we walked the dog past the almost completed redevelopment work going on at Kingys, she suggested I go watch the Saltmen when they returned from their exile in Stourport. Initially, I had reservations. I expected Step 6 to be like my experience of Sunday morning Tetley League football of my youth, where the only prerequisite was that each player had to have drunk at least 10 pints of the sponsor’s products the night before the game. Passing a pre-match breath test resulted in suspension, if I remember correctly…

My fears were, obviously, unfounded. I attended the first game at the ‘new’ Kingys (a comfortable win against Cradley Heath) and was delighted by the standard of football and individual abilities of the players.

I attended most of the home games that year and was also impressed by the hard work and dedication shown by the club officials, players and coaching staff. Above all, I felt like I belonged there and that my attendance made a difference. The games are far more entertaining than many at the top level of English football and the sheer effort shown by the (mostly unpaid) players is often quite humbling. I have now been a season ticket holder for two years.

If you haven’t tried non-league football yet, give it a go! The football is good, the experience is enjoyable and you won’t have to sell a kidney to get in. I reckon you’ll love it!

See you there.

FTS