The Blueprint

Mickleover Sports  3  Bedworth United  0

Northern Premier League Cup

If there was ever a blueprint as to how to build a club and take it forward, then you need look no further than Mickleover Sports.

When I first started to watch non-league football as a teenager in the mid-eighties, I’d never heard of Sports, and believe me, I wasn’t called Rainman for nothing, I knew my stuff!

Not only that, every Saturday we used to drive down Station Road, where the Sports Club is situated, to get to my Grandma’s house in Mickleover, yet still I had no idea. I knew all about Mickleover Royal British Legion who played off Western Road, and indeed used to have a wander round and watch them from time to time, but Sports? Nah!

Station Road

The club history tells us that they were formed in 1948, playing in the Derby Senior League, but it wasn’t  until 1992 when they joined forces with other members of the Mickleover Sports club to acquire the site on Station Road that things really started to ramp up. This lead to the development of the facilities and by the start of the 1993-94 season they had been accepted into the Central Midlands League.

Two seasons later and promotion had been secured to the Supreme Division, where they remained for four seasons until the championship arrived in 1998-99 and with it promotion to the Northern Counties East League. It was during this season that they were involved in a controversial FA Vase tie with big spending Bedlington Terriers, where a mysterious floodlight failure saw them denied a famous victory (must be a North East thing, didn’t that happen at South Shields last season?).

They came close in the First Division of the Northern Counties East League with finishes of fourth third and fifth, before finally under the stewardship of Martin Rowe they won the title in the 2002-03 season.

The Premier Division experience saw various mid-table finishes until the arrival of former Derby County centre half Dick Pratley, and then in the 2008-09 they went on the clinch the championship and make it to the Northern Premier League for the first time in the clubs history.

The Food & Drink End

No one could have envisaged what happened next, under Pratley’s astute leadership they went on a sixteen game winning run in the middle part of the season, which ironically I witnessed come to an end at Belper Town, and that proved to be the platform that saw them deservedly clinch back to back titles. To have reached the third tier of non-league football seventeen years after arriving from what was effectively parks football, was one hell of an achievement.

The first season in the Premier Division saw them finish 15^th, but disaster was to strike in the 2011-12 season when they finished next to bottom and were relegated for the first time in the clubs history. However, the club were deducted three points during the course of the season due to an ineligible player, and that ultimately did cost them.

The cynics argued the bubble had burst, and now it was just a case of how far they would fall to what would be their natural level? And yes, they did finish next to bottom of the NPL First Division a year later but relegation was avoided, however, the club re-grouped, and finished in the play off places the next season, only to lose to Belper Town in the final.

Then as Belper were having a disaster and finishing bottom, Mickleover were going again and this time made no mistake by winning the First Division championship for a second time, and on this occasion with 98 points.

Three seasons later and Sports sit mid-table in the Premier Division, the first season was a bit tight in terms of staying up, but last year they finished 15^th. To respond to the cynics, maybe Mickleover have now found their natural position?

So how have they done it?

A Promotion Requirement!

On the field, in my view, they haven’t been silly by throwing ridiculous cash about. They do focus very much on local players, utilising great relationships with Derby County and Burton Albion to bring in young players, while at the same time it has proved a masterstroke to appoint the vastly experienced John McGrath as manager who himself has an array of contacts and is renowned as a superb coach. Not only that, McGrath has made a significant contribution towards developing a very successful Academy structure of the club, and that’s starting to reap benefits.

Shrewd managerial appointments have been the norm at Sports, Martin Rowe arrived after a successful spell at Belper Town, Dick Pratley was without doubt the right man at the right time, while in Glenn Kirkwood and Craig Hopkins they bought in two young manager’s who were very ambitious.

Off the field though it’s equally important to get it right. Every club needs a bedrock, and at Sports that man is Tony Shaw, the Secretary and General Manager, who has been with the club pretty much since day one. The current Chairman is Don Amott, a very wealthy man in his own right, but more importantly he’s a visionary man and he has great plans to develop Station Road in conjunction with the major housing developments taking place in the locality. Cynics may argue that it’s easy to have a plan, but how often do they get executed successfully? Well, I have absolutely no doubt that under Amott, Sports will be successful in their plans and will have facilities that will be the envy of many.

So what about the facilities? Well they are absolutely fine, plenty of seats and cover, a nice clubhouse albeit a bit on the small side, and an impressive boardroom / sponsors area. The pitch is excellent and the burgers are immense! If you were being critical, one of the things holding the club back in terms of ground development is the fact they share the ground with the cricket, and that effectively puts one side out of bounds.

I have a ride down to Sports two or three times a season, I love going, the welcome is always friendly, and for me it’s just a really nice place to watch good football at a club that actually cares and wants to progress.

Some Football

Tonight they were playing Bedworth United who operate a league below, and to be fair it was a game Mickleover won without having to hit top gear. Mickleover were that bit more physical and that bit quicker moving the ball, and ultimately that was what led to the 3-0 victory.

Bradley Grayson scored in the first period, Oliver Mulders then scored a cracking goal ten minutes into the second half before Lewis Belgrave notched the third in the closing minutes. Only 73 spectators paid to watch the game, but this is a club that can be impacted by Derby County home games, and with Ipswich Town at Pride Park tonight, that was always going to adversely affect matters.

The average crowd this season at Station Road is 223 which is modest for the division they are in, but they deserve more, and with a growth in the population of Mickleover starting to happen through house building, the club will be desperate to capitalise on that to increase support.

But until then, if anyone is looking for a model of what a football club should look like, then they should go no further than Station Road in Mickleover, the answers are all there, and you won’t need a degree in rocket science to understand them.