Hanley Town - Potteries Park

Hanley Town FC

Potteries Park

Abbey Lane

Bucknall

Stoke-on-Trent 

ST2 8AJ

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1385

Friday 24th January 2025

Hanley Town 0-2 Vauxhall Motors

NPL D1 West

HANLEY TOWN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Although various versions of Hanley Town can be traced back to 1882, the current club was established in 1966, following England's World Cup win. It was born out of a pub team called The Trumpet, an establishment on Parliament Row, torn down in the 1980s to make room for the present-day McDonalds. They won the Longton League in their first season before moving to the Staffordshire County League. They won Division 2 in 1968 and Division 1 in 1969 to make it three titles in their first three years. Following three runners-up spots in the Premier Divison, they won the title in 1973 & 1976. They then joined the Mid-Cheshire League Division 2, winning promotion to Division 1 in 1978 following a 3rd place finish. Hanley Town were league champions in 1982 but finished bottom in 1994.

After going back to recreational football for a couple of years, they rejoined the Mid-Cheshire League in 1996, staying for a couple of seasons in Division 2. In 1998 they joined the Midland League which they won in 2006. A merger with the Staffordshire County League then happened and Hanley won the newly formed Staffordshire County Senior League in its inaugural season.  After finishing as runners-up in 2007 & 2011 before winning the title in 2012 & 2013. After years of being unable to take promotion due to lack of facilities, they were finally able to take promotion to the North West Counties League in 2013. After two 4th-place finishes, the club won Division 1 in 2016. Following five seasons in the Premier Divison, they moved sideways to the Midland Premier in 2021 which they won in their first season. They've been in the NPL D1 West ever since.

Hanley Town have reached the 3rd Qualifying Round twice, taking National North sides to a replay - Brackley Town in 2021 and Chester in 2022. They've also reached the same stage of the FA Trophy on two occasions. In the FA Vase, 2020 saw their best run as they beat Eccleshall, Deeping Rangers and Loughborough University before losing to Long Easton United in the 3rd Round. Local competitions won include the Staffordshire County Senior League Cup in 2013, four Mid-Cheshire League Cups and the Staffordshire County League Premier Cup in 1970. Famous players to have turned out for Hanley Town include Ricardo Fuller and Ryan Shotton with the latter being player-manager. The record attendance for the club came earlier this season when 1,750 turned up for a friendly against Wrexham.

They initially played on a pitch on Victoria Road which was leased from the Copestick & Farrell engineering company. Changing rooms were built at the site once the club joined the Staffordshire County League. However, the club was forced to leave the Victoria Road ground in 1971 when developers took over the site and moved to Eastwood Hanley's Trentmill Road ground. However, when Eastwood Hanley attempted to increase the rent in 1974, the club relocated to Leek Town's Harrison Park. They played there until 1976 when the club moved to its current Potteries Park ground. Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. The town is the main business, commercial and cultural hub of the wider Potteries area. It has a population of just over 20,500 and the most famous person from the area was footballer Stanley Matthews.

MY VISIT

This was decided in September while we were at the reverse fixture. We had a good time that night in good company but crazily Hanley Town was the nearest ground in the top eight levels of English football that I had not done. I'd rather have stayed overnight but Colin was keen to get back for Bath City v Chesham United. It was just about doable concerning the drive home after as I was only going to Wycombe the next day. The only thing that could stop us was the weather. When I looked earlier in the week, it was looking OK with thankfully no return to the frozen temperatures we have had recently, and not too much rain.

Monday wasn't the best start to the week as I awoke sleepy despite a full night's sleep. Then, when I got to work, I discovered the earbuds were missing out of their case, a pain as they were one of the better pairs I've owned, even though they were only a few quid on Ali Express. I've got spares as they go missing quite often. Dropped in a crowd coming out of Wycombe Wanderers v Bolton Wanderers, left on a bus in Belfast, dropped in Downham somewhere or two pairs accidentally put through the washing machine, I've found that cheap is perfectly decent and certainly less painful than if I lost a ridiculously overpriced Apple pair. In the end, though, I found them on my bedroom floor. I started looking towards the South West Hop although trying to organise things with Colin was like trying to play I Spy with Stevie Wonder. With a lot of the hotel prices obscene and many non-refundable, I went for a Premier Inn for £93 for one night. A lot more than was ideal but with free cancellation and no need to pay until we arrived.

 

On Tuesday, it was an hour's walk each way to Penn & Tylers Green for their game against Brook House. The hosts won 4-0 to return to the top of the league. It was quite enjoyable but I was tired the next day. I did my research for my planned visit to Hanley on Friday, However, by the time I finished it, the weather warnings had been 'upgraded' to look a lot worse. I just hoped an early decision would be made if there were any issues. Thursday saw the Hanley Town Twitter account come back to life after weeks of hibernation and also the news that internet issues meant it would likely be cash only. From what I heard, the club was not in the best place, but the chairman had recently been changed. An upcoming yellow weather warming threatened to ruin our plans, but there was no indication of a postponement. Just in case I had an England U18 game at Hednesford as backup, a revisit and not the greatest game but better than a wasted journey.

 

The day of the game came and it was work as usual. I got petrol and cash before work, before finishing at 1, and I had 90 minutes at home. I again explored flights for mid-March but found nothing satisfactory. I fancied Dublin and had seen a good price. But they only played on Friday and flights were very limited to go elsewhere on Saturday morning. I also looked at what point we had to come off to make a diversion to Hednesford and was disappointed by the greed of the local council when looking at parking in Hanley itself - hardly encouraging people to visit with 24/7 charges. Colin's bus was delayed, so it was 3.20 by the time I left. Thames Water and Cadent, the usual roadwork merchants were out in force and it was nearly 4 by the time we got out of Wycombe. Thankfully, the rest of the journey was great, aside from a small delay on the M6, it was plain sailing. We were in Hanley at 6.25, thankfully finding some street parking which stopped charging at 7. I decided to chance the five minutes paying a quid up until 6.55. It was a five-minute walk to the Reginald Mitchell Wetherspoons for my annual Caledonian Burger. A nice pub, though no box cider, not that I needed it. The burger was excellent and the service was great. From there it was a ten-minute drive to the ground with us parking outside. It was nice to see Paul Non-League Rover and have a chat pre-match. Sadly, there were no oatcakes though the food did look excellent. And the storm that the Met Office warned us about - thankfully absent.

I'd seen the reverse fixture on Merseyside, with the hosts triumphing 3-1. Hanley Town were second-bottom and had not won in six games. Vauxhall Motors were in 3rd but could move top with their games in hand. They were unbeaten in five and had won their last four. It was great to see Kevin Ellison lining up for the visitors at the ripe old age of 45. Sadly never played for Wycombe but a thorn in our side a few times. It was a fiery game with plenty of hard tackles, and Vauxhall was not surprisingly on top. Nick Rushton bundled home on 37 minutes to give them a deserved lead. Hanley were better in the second half, they saw a lot of the ball but created few chances. The game was sealed on 58 minutes when Connor Rankin headed home from a corner. Hanley did force a few saves from the keeper but it was too little, too late. The attendance of 175 was a positive for them though, the highest of the season outside of the Staffordshire derbies. It just proves that Friday night-football works. It was a good drive home with me dropping off Colin at 12.20 and getting home 20 minutes later.

THE GROUND

POTTERIES PARK is a decent venue for the level;. It has cover on all four sides comprising of around 200 seats and 500 standing spaces. The overall capacity is around 2000. A good selection of food and drink is available at decent prices although I saw no merchandise. The ground has parking for players and officials but there is plenty for fans outside. I am unsure of public transport but the ground is in Bucknall. The town of Hanley is 40 minutes walk or 10 minutes drive away and has a Wetherspoons amongst other places.

Hartpury University - Hartpury University Stadium

Hartpury University FC

Hartpury University Stadium

Hartpury House

Gloucester 

Gloucestershire

GL19 3BE

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1384

Sunday 19th January 2025

Hartpury University 1-0 Fareham Town

FA Vase 4th Round

HARTPURY UNIVERSITY FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

Hartpury University is one of the game's newest clubs, formed in 2020. They have certainly come a long way in a short time, During the pandemic in 2020, they entered a team in the Hellenic D2 West. Due to the early curtailment of the season, they played just five games here, winning three of them. The following season, they joined the Herefordshire County League Premier Division, enjoying an incredible season, winning all 20 of their games and scoring 117 goals. Their debut season at step 6 saw them apart well to life at the new level as they finished as runners-up to Pershore Town. They navigated the playoff semi-finals, beating FC Stratford 4-0 but lost out on penalties to Milton United, following a 2-2 draw. Last season, Hartpury United lifted the Division 1 title, losing just twice all season. This earned them a promotion to the Premier Division where they remarkably led the way again.

In their second season in the FA Cup this season, Hartpury University reached the 1st Qualifying Round. After beating Risborough Rangers and Fairford Town, they lost out to Nailsea & Tickenham. They've also a great record in the FA Vase, reaching the 4th Round in all three campaigns so far and looking to beat that on my visit. Hartpury University started out as a college in 1947, gaining University status in 2018. It describes itself as specialising in the "agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing" sectors. The institution has academies for sports including rugby, football, modern pentathlon, equine, rowing, netball and golf. In June 2017 the college expelled one student. It suspended several others following a police investigation into images circulated online and on social media depicting students from Hartpury College apparently killing a fox cub and posing with a dead cat. The College and Gloucestershire police both issued statements concluding they were satisfied the killing of the fox was not an act of cruelty, and that one of the students, who was training as a gamekeeper, had killed the animal to end its suffering after it had been hit by road traffic. The police declined to take further action. Hartpury is a civil parish in Gloucestershire. It has about 270 homes and a population of about 700 people, increasing to 1,642 at the 2011 census. The village is about 5 miles north of Gloucester.

MY VISIT

When Hartpury University moved ground, it was more of an annoyance at having to re-complete the Hellenic Premier as opposed to the excitement of visiting a new ground. Maybe if I'd had the chance to take the train and have a few pints in Gloucester town centre I'd have been more up for it, but it was expensive to get there on the train and Hartpury was well out of the way.  I was also looking forward to visiting the excellent pizza van too. I'd have preferred a bigger break between visits to Hartpury, but it couldn't be helped. I first considered revisiting back in November but the frozen temperatures put me off. I went to Moneyfields instead and was surprised that the game went ahead with the temperature being zero degrees at kickoff. It would also have been a late night with work at 4 am the following morning. Therefore, this Sunday, the perfect opportunity came along for the FA Vase game against Fareham Town. It would be a bit tight leaving work at 1 but it was preferable to a late night and it was a game on one of my favourite competitions.

As I have had to create two blogs this weekend, I have decided to cover both of my revisits here, having had plenty to talk about in yesterday's blog. On Tuesday, I made my 29th visit to Watchet Lane, my most local ground. It took me top of the visit list on the Futbology app. In a thrilling game, Holmer Green beat Hillingdon Borough 5-4 in the Combined Counties D1 Challenge Cup. Going up there and having an economical night out after a pricey Saturday was always a pleasure. My second revisit of the week was to Sutton United. I was happy with my blog for there but wanted to revisit to get some pictures of the changes to the ground that they'd made for the Football League. It would also give me a chance to tick off the second Wetherspoons in the town that I'd missed out on last time. I originally intended on hopping on the train to save money. But after a hectic day at work, it would have meant just half an hour at home. So I decided to drive for convenience and stick to the one pint at Spoons if I had time. Despite the roads being their typical Friday night self, I found a parking space near the ground and walked to the Moon On The Hill. Not the greatest Spoons, but excellent service and a nice Ribeye steak which was a lot larger than their sirloin. It was nice to visit Sutton again as RB Leipzig won 2-1 in a bit of a dead rubber of a game. Driving cost me around £6 more than the train, but I got home at a decent hour.

Saturday's game at Kensington Dragons saw me directed to the wrong venue but it was a good day. I wound down in the evening, hoping that I'd get a reasonable amount of sleep before a busy day. As I was asleep before 10, my body clock wakes me up 90 minutes before my alarm. After attempting and failing to get to sleep, I finish off watching the latest GeoWizard video. Unusually for a Sunday morning, I am well organised and leave for work with plenty of time to fill up with petrol and clock in on time, something that rarely happens on a Sunday. The store is closed and peaceful aside from my frustration at the inefficient picking system with language that would make a tourettes sufferer blush. Due to work being all but done, I go at 11 and have a bit of time at home. It allows me to leave for the game at 12 rather than rush. I picked Colin up from the bus stop. It was a fairly decent journey with minimal delays and we were there at 2.10. There was tons of parking available and it was pretty busy with a women's match going on outside. We went in, Entry was £8 and a programme £1. Food wise we were spoilt with Pepperoni Pizza £6 and a Rocky Road £3. Both were superb and freshly made.

 

Hartpury University were flying high at the top of the Hellenic Premier. They had a bye to the 2nd Round and had beaten East Cowes Vics and Wells City 1-0 in previous rounds. Fareham Town were 6th in the Wessex Premier. They'd beaten Cowes Sports 4-0 and Bitton 3-0 before beating Branstaple on penalties and winning 2-0 at Downton. Fareham had brought a good few fans and they were in decent voice. Hartpury University took the lead on 15 minutes, a sweeping move down the right was shot home by Manning. It was all Hartpury in the first half, but not many chances were created. Fareham gave it a good go in the second half, a good few chances around the hour which pleased their noisy support. Hartpury then had a good spell, heading narrowly over and also hitting the bar. Fareham had a shot cleared off the line in the dying embers but  Hartpury had it sewn up.

 

We'd got chatting to several hoppers during the game, all great people. We agreed to give Paul, a Gillingham fan, a lift back to Amersham in return for a tenner which I used to bring the cost of the cost of the day for Colin and I down. Greatest Hits Radio provided the soundtrack on the way home and Colin let me know that his Dad said the bird I saw yesterday at Wormwood Scrubs was a Hyacinth Macau. It was all going great for Paul to get an earlier train until we got to the M40 near Thame. We suffered 45 minutes delay thanks to a 'rear end shunt' both in terms of the accident type, and the driver who caused it. I dropped the guys off at Amersham Station around 7.30, Colin forgetting to close his door until I called him back. I was home 15 minutes later, having dinner before typing my blog. It had been a decent day out again and it re-completed the Hellenic Premier for me.

THE GROUND

HARTPURY UNIVERSITY STADIUM is a decent venue which just needs some minor changes to take them up to step 4.  There is just the one seated stand for cover, which holds around 500. The rest of the ground is open but has lots of space for expansion. The bar offers a standard range of drinks, nothing spectacular. The real highlight is the food, the pizzas are freshly cooked and delicious. The adjacent coffee shop offers a range of hot drinks and cakes from a local baker. Prices are very fair indeed. There is a ton of parking and there is public transport, even if it won't be the most regular due to the isolated location.