Droylsden vs Market Drayton Town. 26.12.23
Joe Marshall - @joemarshall_
One of the most intriguing stories in non-league circles ahead of the 2023/24 season was the return of one of Manchester’s oldest semi-professional sides. Back in 2020, Droylsden FC became a sporting casualty of the financial burdens of the Covid-19 crisis, and withdrew from their position in the Northern Premier League and had remained dormant for several seasons since. In the spring of 2023, however, news emerged that the Tameside club would be re-entering the non-league pyramid. With their Butcher’s Arms home being one of the few remaining Greater Manchester grounds I had yet to visit, I planned a Boxing Day trip for Droylsden’s North West Counties First Division South game, against Market Drayton Town.
Droylsden
The town itself lies around 4 miles east of Manchester city centre in the borough of Tameside. With a population of around 22,000, it is slightly smaller than neighbouring Ashton-under-Lyne. Situated on the Ashton Metrolink line, the town is accessible by public transport, with the town’s distinctive red lampposts providing an obvious clue that you have arrived. The town centre is typical of a gritty east Mancunian suburb, densly packed with pubs, but bearing the scars of lack of investment and multiple financial crises.
Droylsden FC History
The town’s football club has roots which can be traced back to 1892. Joseph Cropper, the landlord of the Butcher’s Arms pub, invited the team to play behind his premises. Initially participating in local leagues and in friendlies, they played competitively in the Manchester League at the end of the First World War.
Known as “The Bloods” for their red kits, they won the Manchester League championship in 1931 and 1933, before moving to the Lancashire Combination in 1936. The 1930s also saw club record goalscorer Ernest Gillibrand net 275 goals in just four seasons, as well as being the decade in which Droylsden became a nursery club to Manchester City. The Maine Road club were reigning First Division champions when the arrangement began, and used the Butcher’s Arms ground for their A team fixtures.
Droylsden would later enter the Cheshire League, and record their highest ever position of 2nd place in 1945/46. The Butcher’s Arms ground was sold to Belle Vue FC just a few years after the war, a club which then renamed themselves as Droylsden United. After a period of ill feeling between the two sides, which included a spell seeing the Bloods playing away from their long-standing home ground, a merger was eventually completed which enabled the club to return to the Butcher’s Arms in 1952.
The Bloods spent several years in the Combination before returning to the Cheshire League in 1968. The 1970s saw a period of local success, securing the Manchester Senior Cup on 3 occasions and going on decent FA Cup runs, making the First Round proper in 1976/77 and 1978/79.
When the North West Counties Football League was inaugurated in 1982, Droylsden were one of the competition’s founding sides. Placed in Division Two initially, they secured promotion under the stewardship of Mark Fallon in 1986/87. Incredibly, this title allowed Droylsden to jump up two divisions, as their promotion coincided with the expansion of the Northern Premier League, as a new First Division was added. They completely bypassed the NWCFL First Division and began the 1987/88 season in the First Division of the NPL.
They achieved promotion the the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 1990, but struggled for the following seasons, eventually suffering relegation in a disastrous 1995/96 season, in which they conceded 100 goals. They didn’t remain in the First Division for long, as Dave Pace guided them back to the Premier Division in 1999, whilst serving as both manager and chairman of the club. Their upward trajectory under Pace continued when they were invited to join the North section of the new expanded Football Conference system. The Bloods were immediately a force in the Conference North, with a third place in their debut year followed by a fourth place and playoff heartbreak a year later. They made it third time lucky in 2006/07, when they were crowned champions and earned a place at non-league’s top table.
Droylsden reached the Conference Premier in 2006. Photo credit: The Wycombe Wanderer
Although their time in the Conference Premier lasted just one season, Droylsden enjoyed some success in the FA Cup in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This included a run to the Second Round proper in 2008, a run which only ended due to fielding an ineligble player in their second round tie versus Chesterfield. Another excellent cup run in 2010/11 took them to the second round, in which they were eventually defeated by Leyton Orient of League One.
Sean Newton is carried off the pitch following Droylsden’s FA Cup victory over Chesterfield. Ironically, he was the ineligible player, costing them their place in the competition.
Credit: Joe Giddens/Empics
Droylsden’s time in the Conference North came to an end in the 2012/13 season, with relegation to the Northern Premier League as well as financial troubles creeping into the club. This meant that further relegation would follow a year later, before financial stability was finally found ahead of a 2014/15 season in the Northern Premier League First Division.
This is where the Bloods would remain throughout the latter stages of the 2010s, occupying the status of mid-table regulars. This was until the nightmare of the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the club once again struggling for funds. The painful decision was taken in August 2020 to withdraw from the league, and this period of inactivity remained during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.
The Bloods returned to action at the beginning of this season however, beginning at step 6 of the non-league ladder. They applied for a spot and were placed in the NWCFL Division One South. An indifferent start to the season has recently made way for some excellent form, and they went into this game as one of the most in-form sides in the whole division.
Over 1000 fans packed into the Butcher’s Arms for the team’s first game for over 3 years. Photo credit: Tameside Correspondent.
Butcher’s Arms Stadium
Located just a short walk from the Droylsden Metrolink stop, the Butcher’s Arms is a central landmark in the town. A lack of football over recent years meant a stagnant ground, leaving a gaping hole in a town in need of a boost in optimism. Now renovated after a period of neglect, the ground has a capacity of 3000, and boasts a variety of both seated and standing areas.
Driving to the ground conjured a mental image of touring nearby streets for parking, however arriving around 40 minutes before kick off meant we were able to secure a spot in the club car park. The most striking feature of the ground is the 500 seater William Pace Stand, which provides a decent view over the pitch. Opposite this, there is a covered stand which provides a space for a couple of hundred supporters. The largest terrace is located behind the goal to the left of the William Pace Stand. This stand spans the full width of the pitch with around 10 rows of terracing.
Butcher’s Arms Experience
One of the standout features of the stadium is certainly the outstanding clubhouse. Providing welcome respite from the December chill, it has plenty of seating and is adorned with memorabilia and mementos from bygone days. The clubshop is also housed inside the clubhouse, selling badges and various merchandise. There didn’t appear to be a Boxing Day sale though!
Just outside the clubhouse is the snack bar, stocked to the brim with outstanding pies. The delicious balti pie, chips and gravy came in at a reasonable £5, and was certainly one of the best football meals I’ve had this season.
No football fixture is complete without the matchday programme. Credit has to be given for any club who show a commitment to keeping the physical copy alive, and Droylsden are one such club. Priced at £2 as you enter the turnstile, the programme contains match previews, league stats, opposition information as well as manager and player notes.
The Match
Droylsden’s opposition were Shropshire-based Market Drayton Town. With (in my opinion) the greatest nickname in the league, the Gingerbread Men, are also newcomers to the NWCFL Division One South, after relegation from the Midland League Premier Division at the end of the 2022/23 season. They began the season strongly, but found themselves entering the festive period in awful form, with 8 consecutive defeats in all competitions going into their visit to the Butcher’s Arms.
However it was the visitors, sporting a bold orange and black kit, who defied the form book by taking an early lead. Daniel Parker found himself one on one with the Bloods’ goalkeeper and finished smartly in just the second minute to the delight of the visitor’s bench below us in the main stand.
The whirlwind start to the match continued, and the second goal of the contest came on the ten minute mark. This time it was Droylsden who found the net through leading marksman George West. The Bloods’ number 10 was on hand to get the final touch after a moment of pinball in the box. This goal seemed to spur the hosts on, and they began to assert control in the game. Their early setback was long forgotten when Fuad Kasali controlled the ball beautifully with his chest and slid it underneath the onrushing Market Drayton keeper to give Droylsden a 2-1 lead after 18 minutes.
It wasn’t long before a game which started so well for the away side began to slide rapidly out of control. Two minutes after Kasali gave Droylsden the lead, the referee awarded them a penalty for handball, which West tucked away to double his goal tally for the afternoon. Droylsden’s number 10 then completed a 19-minute hat trick in stunning style. West burst into the box in a tenacious manner, wriggled past a couple of challenges and finished confidently for his third, and his side’s fourth of the afternoon.
The leaky Market Drayton defence was breached again in the 37th minute, and once again it was that man George West. For his fourth goal of the game, he was the benefactor of a defensive mix up and latched onto the ball in a dangerous area. He demonstrated his versatile finishing, this time lifting the ball delicately over the ever-frustrated goalkeeper. Despite carrying a devastating 5-1 lead as the half time whistle approached, the Bloods continued to push for more, and Caelan Kilheeney was next player to add his name to the scoresheet when he finished off a Droylsden move right on the stroke of half time.
After the ruthless attacking show of the first half, I was intrigued to see if Droylsden would adapt their style in the second period, or whether they would continue to push for further humiliation of their visibly shaken opponents.
The second half began in a slightly more even manner, with the Gingerbread Men enjoying more possession of the ball than they mustered in the first. Droylsden continued to have chances but were more wasteful than they were earlier in the game. The only Droylsden goal of the second half came from the penalty spot. After substitute Joe Nield was fouled on the right hand side of the box, he stepped up to convert to spot kick to make it 7-1.
Further chances came and went for Droylsden, but the score remained at seven. Market Drayton had long been playing purely for pride, and began to show more fight, but this manifested itself in a couple of ugly-looking tackles, one of which may have seen a red card brandished on another given day.
Despite the brutality of the scoreline, the game actually ended in a similar manner to how it began; with a Market Drayton goal. This time the ball was bundled home by Lewis Brown from a corner kick which Droylsden failed to defend.
As scorelines come, 7-2 is definitely on the more unusual side, but in this particular match, it was hard to make a case for it not being a fair reflection of the gulf in quality between the two teams. There will be a tinge of frustration amongst the Droylsden contingent that they allowed themselves to concede two sloppy goals, but their attacking prowess, especially in the first half, more than made up for their brief defensive lapses.
The Butcher’s Arms is certainly an impressive ground, and it is easy to see how a team playing further up the non-league pyramid once called it their home. More than anything though, it was heartwarming to see nearly 500 people reconnecting with their town’s football team. A sense of local pride is one of the key facets of football support. Whilst in many cases, this pride can lead to the types of behaviours that give football fans a negative reputation, what I witnessed at Droylsden was a largely positive community that appeared genuinely grateful to have their club back, a community that demonstrated their gratitude by contributing to the club in a constructive, purposeful way.
The clubhouse was impressive, the food was outstanding, and with 9 strikes for £6, the goals-for-money ratio wasn’t too bad either!
Final score: Droylsden 7-2 Market Drayton Town
Admission: £6
Programme: £2
Attendance: 495