The Non League Football Show

This week we focus on those magic people who make non league tick. The ones who run the clubs, maybe not in ownership terms but certainly in operational terms, not alone, as they both admit, but people who ensure their club not only survives but thrives in a difficult world, effectively the biggest fans of their clubs and in turn of huge fans of non league.

First up, Nigel Osmond, from a dad on the sideline he now finds himself in a full-time job helping oversee the rise of Portishead Town pushing for back-to-back promotions and a Step 4 dream, whilst reaching a historic Round Three in the FA Vase, ironically or perhaps due to the magic of non league with that same son that drew him to the club, now featuring as a stalwart in that historic men’s first team, just one of over a thousand locals benefitting from this club at the heart of the community.

Then we return to the club we last spoke to when competitive football was banned. Roydon are probably outside the football pyramid we usually cover, but the stories are real and the issues they face, are relevant to clubs up and down the land. Danny Adderson is Secretary of Roydon FC and much more, helping share the load of Chairman Alan Banks who has now done seven decades helping at the club. Less than half his age, Danny himself has done over two decades keeping the club thriving and he has big plans to keep that and the club going and get the club progressing up the pyramid.

Jon Couch is our man from The Non League Paper this week. the weather may be looking to play a part this weekend but that won’t mean a lack of non league news. We round up some of the same and preview what lies ahead.

The Step 2 sides enter the FA Trophy as it hits Round 2. Wearing his @FATrophyFacts hat Phil Annets gives us the insight, the knowledge, and all the things we need to know about the 40 ties taking place this weekend.

One of those in the Trophy with an away tie at a club a level higher, are Macclesfield. The in-form team in the non league pyramid with a current 16-game unbeaten run in the league and the now Gaffer Robbie Savage explains he doesn’t see his side going into the game as underdogs. Promotion is the main priority but a club formed from the ashes of a former two-time winner of the competition, and who made last term’s semi-finals, he knows how important an FA Trophy run could be and what it means for those so fundamental to the club. 

Matt Badcock helps round up the week’s news at the end of the show, including more bizarre results, a Goal-Scoring legend, and the ever-spinning managerial merry-go-round. 

We’re back on the FA Vase trail this week and what a bumper show we have. The Vase hits Round 2 and there are no more exemptions - the winner of this year’s competition will be competing this weekend 

Phil Annets is back with his @FaVaseFactfile and helps guide us through the stats, facts, records and the downright bizarre. 

Then I get to speak to one of those managers looking to make history with his side in the Vase this weekend. Myles Hook is a bit different from most managers in national cup competitions and plying his trade at Step 5 however. Hands on doesn’t give justice to the work he and the small team at Spelthorne Sports put in week in and week out. A club born from the community still with that community at its very heart. His tale is heartwarming and a contrast from some of those from the top level of over-inflated budgets and egos. A win against fellow step 5 club Holmesdale at the weekend would not only see the club’s best FA Vase run but also put the club on the map and bring in some essential funds. 

Rounding up the news of the week, Jon Couch  of the Non League Paper. He’s back with news from around the beautiful game ahead of another bumper weekend of non league football.

The FA Cup hits the first round proper; no replays but hopes and dreams for 32 Non League clubs this weekend

Phil Annets is back with his @FACupFactfile and helps guide us through the stats, facts and records and the chances of a cupset this weekend.

One of those managers setting up to try and achieve an FA Cup upset this week, is an old friend of the show and he’s preparing for a trip to one of his old clubs. Micky Mellon takes his Oldham Athletic side to Tranmere Rovers in this weekend’s FA Cup First Round. Whilst there’s much excitement and just a handful of places in the pyramid between them, he admits promotion would probably be a priority over an FA Cup run.

Rounding up the news of the week, Matt Badcock  of the Non League Paper is back ahead of another busy weekend for his team.

FA Trophy Round 1 this weekend and we speak with Phil Annets wearing his @fatrophyfacts hat, to find out the interesting, the unusual and the downright bizarre facts about the 32 ties and the clubs involved.

One of those clubs hoping to make history and match their best-ever Trophy run is Brentwood Town. It's 6 months since we last spoke to Chairman Jez Dickinson and lots has gone on since then as he reveals, ahead of their Trophy tie.

Jon Couch is back with us offering insight in The Non League Paper round-up this week. Trophy, Vase, FA Cup managerial moves, and plenty of reasons why we love non league.

It is FA Vase First Round time, and Phil Annests has his @favasefactfile hat on, detailing the debutants, the record breakers, and the downright bizarre. He is the man with the stats for every occasion.

Those stats make for great stories but my next guest and his club have more stories than most. They are the kind that make me love non league. Real football, run by real football fans. Founded by a D-day veteran who is now 100 and still plays a part in the club he formed 75 years ago, they have a new progressive manager who celebrates the club, the people, and the ethos surrounding them. Steve Scott is an enthusiastic young manager who has served his apprenticeship lower down the pyramid with great success and plans to continue at Step 4 Ashville FC. With two massive games ahead he’s neither fazed nor over-confident, but ready to enjoy being part of a club I think everybody will want to be part of when they hear his sell.

The Non League Paper’s, Matt Badcock is our man in the know in and around the week’s news. There’s FA Cup, FA Vase, Managerial moves, Club departures and non league making inroads at the highest level. All in a day’s work for nonleague’s finest media gurus.

It is FA Cup front and centre this week. The Fourth and final qualifying round. The last full-on celebration of Non League before that other lot gets involved. Of course, we look forward to that First Round draw and all the drama that will create plus Phil Annets is here with his @FACupFactFile hat on to guide us through the stats, facts and records ready to be set and broken this weekend 

Old fans of the show will know Rich Luffman is a manager who still under 40, has learnt his trade in the lower levels of non league with much success. With over 500 games as a manager under his belt, he admits having never been with a club that doesn’t win most weeks. In his opening months at Step 3 with Taunton Town he has helped turn the Somerset club around, progressing in both the FA cup and FA Trophy and currently on a 10 game unbeaten run. As ever he’s great value as a guest.

With the weekly news round-up and flagging some of the features of this weekend’s Non League Paper, Matt Badcock is another welcome returnee. 

We are in the Third Qualifying of the FA Trophy this weekend. The Step 3 clubs are the big boys and big scalps to be taken; 88 of those clubs and the 40 clubs from Step 4 have progressed from the last round. Phil Annets is on hand with some thoughts and insight wearing his @FATrophyFacts hat.

Our manager this week, is another at a club built on camaraderie and a place people want to be. Ian Rowe has been the gaffer of Sporting Khalsa for 10 years now but the club is more than just the men’s first team, it’s very much about the people, as Ian explains.

Helping with the weekly news round-up Jon Couch is back. Another packed issue of The Non League Paper ahead but first we discuss the FA Cup draw, clubs in trouble and of course, more managerial moves.

It is the FA Cup Third Qualifying round this weekend. 80 clubs, 40 ties in the penultimate qualifying round and the one where victory puts them in the hat potential to face National League clubs. Plenty of stories, an array of stats and some interesting insights from our man in the know Phil Annets @FACupFactfile.

Craig Davis last came on the show this time last year before bowing out of the FA Cup in the Third Qualifying Round. Hoping for a different outcome this time around, his side face second tier opposition so a cupset could be on the cards but there’s already reason to celebrate with his club Winchester City returning home, to a refurbished stadium with a new 3G installed over the summer and they are all ready for this big weekend. 

Matt Badcock is on hand rounding up the news of the week from The Non League Paper. Managerial moves, tables taking shape and a non league rap. Usual non-league fayre.

It is FA Vase and FA Trophy Second Qualifying round time. Nearly 400 non league clubs from Steps 2 down to 6 take part this weekend in their respective competitions  this weekend and Phil Annets is on hand to help us understand the most interesting stories behind the ties. 

One manager leading his side into the FA Trophy for the first time in a number of years is Chris Ayres. His Flackwell Heath side took the Combined Counties Premier North by storm last term and they have started off well at Step 4 too in the Southern League Central Division One. He thinks he may have the best dressing room around, and we are not talking decor, but the camaraderie of a group of players, many of whom he has known for over a decade.

With The Non League Paper round up this week is Jon Couch. Some big managerial moves, some big cup games and the National league beginning to take shape.