Football without fans is nothing, Fans, support, love, cheer and tear about their club as they have found a community where they are accepted in which they translate that passion on the terraces on a Saturday where the 3 points mean everything to them. All the fans live for Saturdays, meeting up with friends, away day travels where it is socially acceptable to crack open a can of Stella at 7 am and lastly to watch their team put on a show. Every Fan has their story, With this in mind, this blog is to encapsulate the Banbury fans' story from the lows of the Hellenic League to our first season in Step 2.
First game/year.
@Petertustain: My Dad took me to my first game in 1969, sadly I can't remember the opposition.
@Fromthetownend87: First game would be about 1985 in the Beazer homes midland division. God knows who against.. probably someone like Willenhall or Bilston!
@meadows_Liam: First game/year: Can’t remember the exact game but 2013 and we lost as seemed to be the case every week back then.
@Townendreds: Well I've always been told my dad bought me to one of the first home games after I was born in September 86. but my earliest vivid memory of watching a Banbury game was at the Oxfordshire senior cup final at the manor ground. I think it was in 92 and we lost 2-1. My main memory of that game was being sat in the main stand with my grandad.
@Mikeseat: 2007, soon After moving to Banbury.
@CWetherall1999: Attended the last few games of the 2013/14 season, the 2014/15 relegation season was my first full season.
Favourite ever game:
@Petertustain: My favourite game was Wantage away in 2000. That was the night we confirmed promotion from the Hellenic after 10 years in the wilderness. What a night!!
@Fromthetownend87: Beating Wisbech 2-1, scoring with the last 2 kicks of the game. Both from Matty Gooderick.
@meadows_liam: So many incredible ones especially the past few seasons but for me the 2014/2015 game vs slough is just one that sticks out in my memory as very special to me. It was replayed for let’s just say reasons and nobody expected us to put up much of a fight but we turned them over 3-0 on a Tuesday night and gave ourselves a chance of staying up in my first full season going home and away as a Banbury fan I particularly remember Local lad Leam Howards running through on goal and slotting it over the keeper and me and my friends running down the Townend towards the players to celebrate the moment with them.
@Townendreds: That's a very hard one to narrow down. it would be easy to pick one of the playoff wins or title-deciding games. But the one game I will never forget was away at Brackley in 2009 when David Stone scored a late goal to win us the game 2-1.
@Mikeseat: Taunton in the play-off final May 2016, biggest attendance I'd seen down the Spencer and what a result. Honourable mention to 3-1 vs Fylde this season for our first home win at step 2.
@CWetherall1999: I have to go with Tamworth last season when we sealed the title just for the absolute scenes post-game. However honourable mentions to Slough at home in 2014/15 which gave us a chance to stay up going into the final game and the Playoff Final vs Taunton.
Best moment:
@Petertustain: Well two really, the Wantage game mentioned and gaining promotion to the National league.
@Fromthetownend87: Promotion last season.
@meadows_liam: extremely difficult to choose but I think Landers' huge winning goal in the FA cup just about loses it to Morgan Roberts last minute goal vs Hednesford as Landers played a fantastic ball over the top to Morgan Roberts who was through on goal, I remember looking at the linesman and Tapping my friend on the arm in excitement saying “he’s on” before he buried it in the corner of the net with just seconds left of the game and sent the travelling fans and Coaching staff into pure Mayhem. The reason I think it’s my favourite moment is that the emotion I felt was surreal as that felt like the goal that means we were going to go on and win the title
@Townendreds: it's hard to look past the Tamworth game that confirmed our southern league title. But after spending my whole life hearing the stories about the FA Cup first round games, the moment that 2nd goal went in against bury to take us to the first round for the first time in my lifetime, and being able to share that moment with my dad and brother was a moment I'm not sure will ever be beaten.
@Mikeseat: The winner vs Yate Town November 2015 (my stag do!)
@CWetherall1999: So many I could mention but the Landers winner vs Bury to send us to the FA Cup first round for the first time in 40 years is one of the best moments I’ve ever witnessed.
Best player to ever play for the club:
@Petertustain: I am lucky enough to have seen loads of great Banbury players. Jacques, Foster, Pollard, Svenson and more recently Sylla. But without a doubt, the best I have seen was Kevin Wilson. He was a class above, as he went on to prove. I remember his last game for us against Witney, he really did beat them on his own. A wonderful player, and a Banbury boy.
@Fromthetownend87: Norman Sylla. He was unplayable!
@meadows_liam: For me, I have to go with Jack Harding he has Two promotions. He’s seen us at our lowest and stayed with us and seen us at our best. On top of that, he’s One of the nicest people I’ve met as well as being the best keeper I’ve seen in non-league football. A local lad being this good and seeing this much success at their local non-league club is so Rare and we are so lucky to have him in our side for as long as he has been.
@Townendreds: If we're talking individual seasons then it's Norman Sylla. absolutely no question. But in terms of overall contributions, If you had asked me this 2 seasons ago I would likely have told you, Andy Baird, probably the most complete player I have ever seen play for us. But after the last couple of seasons, I couldn't pick between Gio Rasulo and jack Harding. 2 Banbury lads who have achieved more in their time at the club than any other players in our history.
@Mikeseat: Tough question but in my time watching Jack Harding is probably that guy. But my favourite player was promotion-winning captain Andy Gunn.
@CWetherall1999: So many talented players to have played for the club such as Jordan Green, Zac McEachran, and Gio Rasulo but for me just for sheer longevity and legacy it’ll have to be Jack Harding. Loyalty, longevity and some of the greatest saves you’ll ever see at the Spencer.
Funniest moment: (can be about fans or players or anything about a day trip you entailed)
@Petertustain: Bilton Social player high jumping the fence to confront the Banbury supporters giving him some stick in a Birmingham Senior Cup game.
@Fromthetownend87: Seeing Kev Preedy roll down the aisle of the coach on the way back from somewhere, when he was doing the raffle and the driver braked quick. Also helping the great Steve Jenkins try and find a pair of matching boots from his car boot, from the 30 he had hoarded in there.
@meadows_liam: The funniest Moment has to be When we played Cambridge and out of nowhere two Cambridge players ended up squaring up to each other and one Headbutted the other! We all watched on in complete disbelief laughing hysterically as one of the players had been sent off for a fight with his own teammate.
@Townendreds: Adam Varney's stag do weekend while we were away at Weymouth was an extremely entertaining weekend. But I don't want to get anybody in trouble. so the one that has stuck with me for years is the time we were on the coach travelling down to Newport isle of white. Big Kev Preedy was at the back of the bus collecting money for that day's football card, while doing this the driver had to suddenly slam his brakes on, which then sent big Kev flying all the way to the driver's seat without his feet touching the floor. Looking back now it could have actually ended quite badly, but Kev being Kev jumped straight back to his feet with a big smile on his face and the whole bus was in stitches from laughing.
@Mikeseat: Wasn't funny at the time- but when we were on our way to relegation under Paul Davies- one of our defenders gave away a penalty for picking up the ball before it had gone out of play for a goal kick!
@CWetherall1999: There’s quite a few again but would have to be away at Alvechurch last season, fellow Puritan Liam rising above a fence, with a chorus of “We’re the red and gold army” ringing out, Morgan Roberts scoring as this happened and Liam crowd surfing across the many Banbury fans that were stood in that small area behind the goal, incredible.
Worst game you have seen:
@Petertustain: Well 10 years of Hellenic football produced literally dozens of dreadful games.
@meadows_liam: Birmingham senior cup Vs Coleshill town. Where to even start with this one? We got battered 6-1 to a side in a lower division. Arrived at the game 15 minutes late due to traffic. Only 41 people attended the game And our starting Centre back turned up late to the game (Not sure how true but the rumour was he’d been involved in a road rage incident where he’d chased a guy down the motorway) 😂. The only positive of the night was the Free cheeseburger I’d got because the women in the van thought I’d already paid
@Townendreds: Getting pumped by Wroxham in the fa cup in the early Naughties was pretty bad, but thankfully the bar staff weren't asking for I.D so it was made slightly more tolerable. I could probably pick any game under stein or davies but that feels like cheating. The game that probably stands out the most was losing at Corby, which at the time relegated us. thankfully we got a reprieve over the summer, but that was a horrible feeling leaving that place that day.
@Mikeseat: Chesham away April 2015, needed to win to have a chance of staying up, were awful all game and ended with 10 men.
@CWetherall1999: Coleshill away in the Birmingham Senior Cup, we were 3-0 down to a side two leagues below within 10 minutes, our starting centre back at the time Tom Fishwick was late as he’d chased someone down the motorway for scratching his car, a testament to the clubs place in the mid-2010s
Favourite ever manager.
All participants: Andy Whing no explanation needed (Special mention to Kevin Brock)
Worst ever manager.
All participants: Edwin Stein and once again no explanation is needed
Favourite current player:
@Petertustain: Jack Harding. Although last season it was Chris Wreh, a quality striker.
@meadows_liam: Hard not to pick Jack Harding for this again for the reasons stated why I think he’s our greatest ever player
@Townendreds: I cannot explain just how much I love every single one of these lads playing for us now. But if I had to pick one it would be Connor Roberts. An absolute workhorse of a player who leaves everything on the pitch every time he plays. He's also someone who just "gets it". Jay Williams is a very close 2nd though.
@Mikeseat: Gio Rasulo, long-serving, hard-working, and an absolute baller.
@CWetherall1999: Jack Stevens, hugely talented, puts in 100% every week and has been key for us since he came in.
Lastly and why do you love Banbury so much….
@Petertustain: Banbury United are my team, my club. I have supported the team since 1969. I don't support any other team, Banbury are my club through thick and thin.
@meadows_liam: Ever since I’ve come as a child in school with my friends I’ve just felt a love and a passion for the club that you don’t find at the highest levels of football. So many memories of my friends' dad driving us up to away trips right after school and then hiding our laptops the next day as we watched the highlights in ICT and try to convince other students to come down and watch us play. Seeing us get relegated and then seeing the smiling Faces of some of the older fans some of which have been supporting this club since before I was even born after securing the title gave me a warm feeling I can’t describe. Banbury United and the people involved with making this club so special and taking it to the ridiculously good position it is in now will always be a huge part of my life ❤️💛
@Townendreds: Where do I even begin? over my life there have been many changes, people come and go, and situations change. But the one thing that has remained a constant has been standing on the Townend every other Saturday watching my home town club. Because of this football club, I have made friends for life who I would never have met if it wasn't for football. I have had a purpose. I have been given opportunities to contribute to something I truly love. I have seen us go from getting crowds of less than 100 in the Hellenic league to now regularly seeing crowds of over 1000 in the national league. I've seen us play in obscure villages in the Daventry charity cup and also in stadiums like St Andrews against premier league opposition. When we were at an away game and the news came through of my dad's heart attack. it was the fans and people of this club who surrounded me picked me up off the floor and made sure I was ok. Things like that mean more to me than I will ever be able to put into words. Football is my escape. that one day of the week where nothing else matters, just me and a bunch of mates travelling up and down the country sharing this experience. I really cannot put into a short paragraph exactly why and just how much I love this club. The only way I can really sum it up is that Banbury United is just an extension of who I am and always will be.
@Mikeseat: since moving to the area it's always been a welcoming place, I've volunteered for the club and made some amazing memories, and friends and seen some brilliant (and horrendous!) Football, I've been to games with 50 other people and 2,500 other people. It's an amazing club
@CWetherall1999: I’m Banbury born and bred and love that we have such a good club to represent our little town and represent it in the right way. Also, I started coming with a group of friends from school and we still all go today, having made a huge amount of memories since.
It's a long blog today, but for us at Spencer reds we love hearing fans stories and we will be doing more of these sort of blogs. Thank you for reading you wonderful Puritans.
Spencer Reds
Comments