Basford United | Manchopper's Ventures

Result: Basford United 1-2 Marine (FA Trophy 1st Round)

Venue: Greenwich Avenue (Saturday 29th October 2022; 3pm)

Att: 229

Another week, yet another FA competition. For this one, I originally thought I’d be heading a little more West than East Midlands, but trains and the like in those parts didn’t look to be all too confidence-inducing and so, as a result, I began to allow my gaze to wander elsewhere. Eventually, one game stood out over the rest, this being Basford United vs Marine. A clash between sides in the top division of the Southern and Nothern Premier Leagues respectively definitely held an attraction and so to Nottingham I was to be headed.

As I’d expected, Paul was travelling over to Basford also, but was more on the bias train for this one, with Marine being his local outfit and his go-to side more often than not. As such, my day in Basford would be a solo one, but it seemed to be an easy trip over – a direct train from Manchester into Nottingham, then making use of the plusbus ticket to take the tram up towards Basford – the area located to the north of the city centre. Everything was going smoothly too…until Sheffield came into view.

Delayed by a late departure out of our switcharoo platform, we duly picked up a delay of 15 minutes, of which we made up no time whatsoever come our arrival into Nottingham station. Luckily, though, the walk up and over to the tram stop comes with no barriers or anything and so I was able to get there in time for a tram just ten minutes later than the one I’d originally planned to be on. As a result, I was able to arrive in Basford for just after 1pm, with this being more than enough time to have a look around the area’s watering holes.

Immediately heading for The Lion!

A failed attempt at the Horse & Groom.

The first of these was The Lion, which I’d helpfully detrammed in the shadow of. Entering in, you’re immediately met by an imposing well structure, as well as a few ghoulish sights, if you head here at this time of the year! The pub is also proud of its awards for dog-friendliness too, and one of its canine regulars came and said hello to me as they brought their owner in with them! I had a quick pint of Moretti, which the guy next to me at the bar was intrigued by – as he’d never seen it on draught before; where has he been living?!!

Quickly finishing up in The Lion, I made haste towards my planned next stop of the day – this being a pub by the name of the Horse & Groom. However, as I approached it along the main road, it looked a bit too dark to ever be a good sign…and so it proved. This was shut, as was another pub – The Star – I passed on my now enforced long route around to my next port of call. This next pub was the Royal Oak and I was the only punter in at this point in time. It definitely had the feel of a locals pub, but the (I assume!) owner was friendly and ensured my pint of Becks was lively, as the first that came out wasn’t the best. The reason being that whoever had set the bar up had put the wrong taps on!

Royal Oak

Willow Tree

From the Royal Oak, I grabbed the bus a few stops down the road to outside the next stopping point, this being the Willow Tree. I entered what looked to be a rather smart-looking hostelry and found it largely set-up for food, with the tables all set with cutlery and napkins. As such, I did feel a tad out-of-place, being the lone functioning alcoholic amongst families having a Saturday roast! As such, I did ask the guy (who I again assume owned the place) where was best for me to sit and he pointed out a large table in the corner, which he said was the best place to chill out. Nice!

Basford is a suburb to the north of the city centre of Nottingham. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Baseford and derived its name from the Old English name Basa and ‘ford’ (crossing) so basically its name just means Basa’s ford. Despite having been incorporated into the city in 1877, it also gave its name to the Basford Rural District – and before that the Basford rural sanitary district – which was in existence from 1894 to 1974, when the Local Government Act reforms led to the end of the Rural District.

However, strangely, despite having given the Rural District its name, urban Basford wasn’t a part of it, instead being part of the city as outlined above. The town is split into two parts, these being Old and New Basford. New Basford is largely Victorian and lies close to the River Leen, a tributary of the River Trent. Basford was once the site of a workhouse, which was used for those unfortunate peoples of Basford and its neighbouring parishes who’d ended up in such hard times that it was their only refuge. The workhouse later became a maternity hospital and latterly psychiatric hospital.

Basford

Basford was once home to large soap manufacturers, with Gerard Bros. factory being opened in the 1890’s, before being bought up by Cussons Sons and Co. – the manufacturers of Imperial Leather. The factory remained open until 2005 when manufacture was moved out to Thailand…because of course it was. The town was also host to three breweries – the best known of these being Shipstones. The others were the Basford Brewery (which later was taken on by Shipstones) and the Prince of Wales brewery in Old Basford, of which the buildings still remain as Murphy’s Chemical Works.

At the time of the soap factory’s opening, Basford was well served by rail and once hosted three stations bearing its name. Basford Vernon was the earliest station to appear here, on the Midland Railway line, and was later joined by the Great Northern Railway’s Basford North (originally Dob Park) and later renamed Basford & Bulwell. Finally, New Basford was opened on the Grand Central line. Basford Vernon was closed in 1964, with the line later initially re-opening for freight operations, before being re-introduced to passenger service as the Robin Hood Line. The site of the station is now taken up by Basford tram stop, whilst the stations at Basford and Bulwell and New Basford disappeared completely.

Basford

The area is now largely served by the Nottingham Express Transit tram line, linking Basford to the city and to Hucknall and Bulwell to the north, alongside numerous bus routes which also run into the city centre and around the locality. Basford now hosts no less than three business parks, whilst its Vernon Park is home to a community football and sports hub – including tennis courts and a bowling green- whilst there is also the local Bulwell and Basford Rotary Club.

I sat down at said table with a pint of Heineken and initially reckoned that this would be my final public house before heading off to the ground. However, I soon reckoned I could just about squeeze in a brief, whistle-stop visit to the bar across the road. This went by the very catchy name of the Stadium Leisure and Premier Steak House. No, me neither!! Anyway, the girl working the bar here was another friendly face, so that’s my abiding memory of Basford – the pubs are all highly welcoming and provide a decent alternative outside of the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

A quick bottle of Bud was enjoyed out in the unexpected warmth of this late October afternoon, before I caught the bus up to Greenwich Avenue. I was dropped at the foot of the road with around ten minutes to kick-off and was in time to grab one of the programmes issued for today’s game. If you are an aficionado of the paper bible, I was told that Basford only issue these on ‘big game’ occasions – otherwise they are largely on-line only. So be warned! Anyway, I paid my dues and with bible secured, I headed on inside for my long overdue visit to Basford’s home.

Final stop at the Stadium…

…before heading to the, er, stadium

For a 3G community-centric ground, I think Basford is one of the better ones. It still kind of has the look of a ground before these ‘improvements’ were installed, with a few of the stands looking like they’d survived the upheaval and so the ground still felt like, well, a ground. There are three stands here, one is a small all-seater affair that is located to the immediate left of you as you enter – whilst the clubhouse/dressing room building is to the right. Further beyond the clubhouse and just the other side of half-way is another seated stand, though this one looks a little more modern than its sibling. Opposite, but more towards the near end, is a covered terrace, whilst the far end is open, hard standing. That’s the ground in very short order and this is the story behind Basford United…

History Lesson:

Basford United Football Club was founded in 1900 and initially played at the finely named Dolly Tub pitch in the Notts Combination League. After moving to Catchem’s Corner in 1903, they won the Notts Combination League Cup in 1904, before moving to the Notts Alliance for the next season – where they won the title at the first time of asking. They added to that success with another league title in 1907, whilst also finishing as runners-up in each of the 1908, ’09, ’12 and ’13 seasons, prior to the outbreak of World War I. Basford’s club secretary at this time was Wallace Brownlow, who served in the position from his appointment at 19 right through until his death – his being in the post setting a world record of 63 years (1907-1970).

After the end of hostilities, Basford returned to the Notts Alliance and won the league title for a third time in 1920. However the club would later be relegated(?) to the Notts Alliance’s Division 2, although they did eventually win that divisional title too, with this success coming in 1930, their final season at Catchem’s Corner prior to a move to Vernon Avenue. They again won the league cup in 1939, before an enforced league move during the Second World War saw them playing in the Notts Amateur League, before returning back to the Notts Alliance at the war’s end.

The 1946-’47 season saw the club lift the Notts Senior Cup, but silverware proved to be rather elusive from then on in. Indeed, the club were relegated to the Division 2 in 1971, but were promoted to the ‘Senior’ Division in swift fashion. However, they would be relegated again in 1982, but finished as Division 1 runners-up in 1985 to earn a return to the Senior Division once more. In 1988, Basford again lifted the Notts Senior Cup, which was the last silverware won during their time at their long-term Mill Street home.

BUFC

After moving to Greenwich Avenue in 1991, Basford would suffer relegation again in 1992, finishing second-bottom of the Senior Division to be relegated back to Division 1. However, another runners-up finish in 1994 saw them return back to the top table once again, although this return proved to be the next stop in something of a yo-yo existence during the 1990’s. After being relegated again in 1996, they won the Division 1 and promotion in 1998, only to again suffer the drop in 1999.

After settling in the Notts Alliance Division 1 for a time, this would later mean that Basford would be part of the 2004 merger of the Notts Alliance’s lower divisions with the Notts Amateur League. This merger formed the Notts Amateur Alliance and it was within these ranks that Basford now found themselves. In Season 2005-’06, Basford won both the Notts Amateur Alliance title and the Notts Intermediate Cup, prior to the club joining the Notts Senior League for the following season, where they quickly established themselves as a force towards the top of the table.

After finishing as league runners-up in both 2010 and 2011, Basford switched to the Central Midlands League and played in the South Division. Here, Basford won a league and cup double at the first time of asking, lifting the South Division title and the league’s Floodlit Trophy, thus earning promotion to the East Midlands Counties League. After winning a second successive double at the close of their first EMCL campaign, consisting of the EMCL title and the EMCL League Cup (becoming the first club to achieve this feat) – Basford were duly promoted to the Premier Division of the Northern Counties East League.

After the club finished their first season in 5th, they would again see a league change ahead of the next season, with the club switched into the Midland League for that competition’s inaugural campaign. It proved to be a successful one for Basford, as the club lifted the first ever Midland League title in 2015 and so were promoted to the Northern Premier League’s Division 1 South, and rounded off the season with a third Notts Senior Cup crown – the club’s first for 27 years.

The clubhouse

Season 2015-’16 saw Basford record a 4th placed finish and this was enough to secure them a place in the NPL Division 1 South play-offs. However, it proved to be a step too far as the club bowed out to Coalville Town in the semi-finals. However, they did again lift some silverware at the end of the season, successfully defending their Notts Senior Cup title. In 2018, Basford won the Division 1 South title and so were promoted to the NPL’s Premier Division; and the season ended up being another double-winning year, as this success was joined in the trophy cabinet by another Notts Senior Cup crown.

The Notts Senior Cup was again successfully defended in 2019, to secure four Senior Cup wins in five years, before the outbreak of the you-know-what put paid to the majority of the next couple of seasons. Back on the field last season, Basford struggled in the NPL Premier Division and eventually ended up 20th out of 22 clubs. However, this was enough to avoid any relegation problems and the club was switched ahead of this current season, now finding themselves in the Southern League’s Premier Division Central.

The game got going with Marine having a golden chance to take an early lead, but #9, Freddie Price, missed his one-on-one with Basford ‘keeper Kieron Preston, when it looked nigh-on certain he’d find the net. Basford responded with #3, Josh Barnes, firing in a shot which flew wide of the upright, before #10, Anthony Dwyer, also went close on a couple of occasions for the hosts, but couldn’t quite direct either of his close-range efforts on target and beyond visiting stopper Bayleigh Passant.

But the opener would soon come and it allowed for a fair amount of atonement, as it was Price who would grab the first goal of the tie, making up for his early miss. On this occasion, his chance came via an aerial opportunity and he took it with aplomb from the centre of the penalty area. Basford responded with Tyreace Palmer seeing a chance well saved by Passant almost straight from the restart, before a Dwyer free-kick also saw the visiting stopper called into action to pull off another good stop.

Match Action

At full-stretch

Match Action

Just before the break, Marine grabbed their second of the day when #11, Hayden Campbell, fired in a low drive which found the bottom corner and allowed the visitors to head into the dressing rooms with the tie well and truly in their favour, with their second coming ever so slightly against the run of play. As for me, I headed for the food hut at the far side of the pitch, something I don’t think I’ve seen before, in that a refreshment area is so far removed from the other facilities. Regardless, the chips were very decent and a good portion for the price of around the £3 mark.

The second-half began with Marine almost grabbing an early third, but #2, Josh Solomon-Davies, was desperately unlucky to see his rasping drive from range cannon back off the crossbar – the woodwork left gyrating in its wake. However, this was the only real ‘chance’ Marine saw come their way in the second period, as they looked to sit back on their lead and soak up the pressure Basford were to put upon them.

View from the ‘Main Stand’

From the clubhouse terrace

The pressure began in fine style from a Basford perspective, as #19, well-travelled striker Gregg Smith’s low drive was deflected on its way into the back of the net. However, despite being on top in terms of attacking play for the vast amount of the time, Basford never really held an imminent threat to the Marine goal for the majority of the half. However, this may have changed had Solomon-Davies been given his marching orders when stopping a Basford counter-attack in not-so inconspicuous fashion, but he escaped with a just a yellow to his name. In my opinion, he was more than a little lucky.

And the last few minutes saw even more drama and controversy as Basford looked dead-set to grab a late equaliser when, after Smith had struck the bar with a well-hit volley, the effort from the rebound from Dwyer was blocked on the line by a Marine defender – with the desperate claims of handball being ignored by the referee. I was down the far end at the time and so admittedly didn’t have the best (or closest) view, but it did look like it came off the top of his chest more than the arm. But, as I say, I wasn’t in a great spot to call it.

Stand(s) and deliver

Match Action

Despite the goalkeeper coming up for a late, late pair of corners and #2, Brad McGowan, heading the latter of these the matter of a lick of paint wide of the left-hand post, Marine held on to secure a place in the third round of the FA Trophy and with a dream of a trip to Wembley still on the cards. For Basford, they were unfortunate (as many of the Marine fans were overheard to admit) to not get a bit more from the game, but so is football, as we all know far too well! Full-time; 1-2.

Post-match, I headed back out and to a pub I didn’t know about but spotted on the bus just before I hopped off outside the ground. This was called The Mill, although it did have a HGV in the car park, so I wasn’t too sure what the situation was. I headed inside to find a room all done up as for a party, so decided this wasn’t the right room and looked a bit further on. I turned around to find that the owner had been one of the group of fellas sat out front and pointed me back towards the aforementioned party room, from where I was soon in possession of a pint of Amstel.

Heading for the Mill

The park where I made people nervous!

I reckoned I’d sit outside too, as this seemed to be the only ‘pubby’ bit about and supped away at my pint of Amstel although it was another to have a bit of a weird aftertaste – although this one wasn’t of the pickly kind on this occasion, thank God. To be fair, it was probably just me and my taste pallet, as it was all good otherwise. Anyway, I soon had to depart and make my way across the tram tracks, although I did find an interesting wall in a small park area on my way which I wanted to take a picture of.

Unfortunately, my arrival tied perfectly with a mother and son heading across the park too and I certainly got some ‘weirdo’ looks as I hung around with my camera out, hoping they’d get out of the shot so I looked a little less weird at least! However, the more I did, the more weird I must have appeared so, if by any miracle you come across this, please be assured I’m not weird…at least not in this kind of occurrence. Footballing wise, people would definitely say otherwise – as well as just in general, probably!

Catchem’s Corner

Heading through Vernon Park

Fearing an imminent citizens arrest, I settled for a pretty shit picture and continued on my route towards the ‘other side of the tracks’ and a pub in this area which went by the name of the Catchem’s Corner. I’ve no idea (as at time of writing anyway) how that name was thought of, although there was a steam train on the sign which might point to it being from these origins? Whatever the case, I headed in to find that a Hallowe’en party was just being set up, complete with DJ, although the pub was open to all. I opted for a swift Strongbow in here, as I didn’t want to leave as the guy began – it’s never a polite look.

From the Catchem’s Corner, I had a ten-minute walk or so over to my final planned stop, The Fox. This walk would take me through the town’s Vernon Park, which is a rather large park which comes complete with lake. Sadly, the light had gone too much to really get a useful picture of said water, although I did get a pic of the park gate, so that’s some consolation, right? I told you I was weird in other ways!! Anyway, I soon arrived at the Fox, which was just a few minutes away from Basford tram stop, from where I’d head back to Nottingham station from. A nice, easy return trip home was in the offing…or was it?

Final stop – The Fox!

Bye-bye Basford

I settled into the bustling Fox with a pint of Budweiser and wasted away a good 45 minutes before getting the tram which would drop me back at Nottingham station with about ten minutes in hand before the train back to Manchester. Unbelievably, yes, the return journey did go smoothly – even if the train back was just as packed as the one there. Apparently, there was only two carriages due to a “lack of rolling stock”, although I’m pretty sure that, more often than not, EMR run these services in such a way. So who knows the truth in this regard. Anyway, summing up time!

Basford as a town is a fairly standard suburb, with not much to really shout home about. However, it’s a decent place to spend an afternoon around and the ground is one of the better ‘new-breed’-style places, as I said earlier. The game was pretty decent, with the result up in the air until the very last moment and chances coming pretty frequently at both ends. The food was good and the programme a decent read – plus it’s good that they have returned, somewhat, to the printed club! Anyway, another week, another strike and another enforced local game is on the cards. I might have to ‘old ’em up for it…