Back For Good: Droylsden FC come home

Words: Mike Bayly

Images: Mike Bayly

Saturday 3pm, in Droylsden, Greater Manchester. A long queue lines Market Street, waiting to enter the Butcher’s Arms, home of Droylsden FC, for a pre-season friendly.

Kick-off is delayed to accommodate the large turnout. A casual observer might believe City or United had sent a representative XI down for the afternoon.

Not so. Today’s opposition are Stretford Paddock, a fan-owned club in the Cheshire League. By 3.15pm, over 1,000 people have filed into the ground.

Singing, applause and red smoke carry on the breeze as the teams emerge from the tunnel.

Balloons nestle around the side of the pitch. The feverish levels of passion can be explained in the simplest of terms: some supporters wait three months after a season ends to see their club play again. Droylsden fans have waited three years.

©Mike Bayly/ Terrace Edition. Droylsden FC.

In March 2020, football shut down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For non-League clubs dependent on matchday income and sponsor revenue to exist, prospects looked bleak.

Rather than navigate potentially perilous waters, Droylsden FC, a stalwart of the community since 1892 and members of the Conference National as recently as 2008, resigned from the Northern Premier League Division 1 North West (Step 4 of the non-League pyramid) before the 2020-21 season and went into hiatus.

Protecting a history that dates back over 130 years was a priority. Speaking at the time to the Manchester Evening News, owner Dave Pace said “The club may hopefully survive this crisis and continue into the future in less challenging circumstances than we find ourselves in during the present”.

That future has finally arrived, thanks to the determination and support of volunteers, fans and the wider community.

Revival discussions began in January 2023, leading to a successful application to the North West Counties League (NWCL) Division One South, two levels below the Northern Premier League.

Off the pitch, supporters and well-wishers have been instrumental in fundraising to ensure the ground and club are ready to start the new season at the end of July, including a gig ticket donation from Take That’s Howard Donald, one of the town’s most famous sons.

On the pitch, a squad is taking shape from the initial 150 trialists who wanted to be part of The Bloods’ next chapter.

Today’s game was billed as the Tony Downes Memorial Cup, an annual match played in honour of a young fallen soldier who grew up with his parents at the nearby King’s Head pub.

The trophy was presented to Stretford, winners on penalties, by his parents. It was, in every respect, an important and emotional day for the community.

It is this community that are the key to the future of the club. Given Droylsden’s average home gate in the 2019-20 season was around 210, today’s attendance of 1,088 is a remarkable statement of solidarity.

Although part of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, Droylsden is a former mill town with its own identity, spinning out to the east of Manchester’s Cottonopolis along the Ashton canal.

Football has always been a fulcrum for channelling identity; in an era where top-flight football support increasingly transgresses regional boundaries, Droyslden are well-positioned to embrace and celebrate the town they represent.

While there are significant numbers of City and United supporters living here - the 20-minute tram journey from Piccadilly passes the Etihad Stadium, a mere 2.5 miles from the Butcher’s Arms – Droylsden can coexist rather than compete with their illustrious neighbours by offering something different. NWCL Season tickets are priced under £100, a pint can be taken onto the terraces, and the squad will likely consist of predominantly local lads.

It is an attractive proposition for those unwilling or unable to regularly watch Premier League football. With the right backing, there is no reason Droylsden can’t return to the Northern Premier League and rekindle Tameside derbies against the likes of Hyde United, Mossley, Ashton United and Stalybridge Celtic.

In a wider context, Droylsden’s story of cautious preservation and triumphant return highlights the visceral realities of lower league football support.

The hundreds of thousands of fans who turn up every week to watch their local non-League side do so out of generational loyalty or to feel part of something bigger than 90 minutes of football. It is primarily about belonging, collectivism, an expression of the self through a revered institution.

Few, if any of these fans, have expectations of reaching the Football League, never mind the Premier League. Success is far more subjective: an occasional promotion challenge; victory against a local rival; a good FA Cup run.

In the final analysis, all most supporters want is a well-managed transparent club that lives within its means. Risking everything to end up another liquidation statistic is in nobody’s interest. As Saturday afternoon demonstrated so well, having a club to support, regardless of the level they play at, is infinitely preferable to having no club at all.

You can follow Mike on Twitter and Instagram: @Mike_Bayly

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