The Little Village in the Non-League Paper again
Long Melford FC was the star of a new photo feature called ‘Thru The Lens’ in the Non-League Paper as journalist David Bauckham brought his camera to Stoneylands.
The Villagers had been on a brilliant run of games, seven wins and one draw that put them in second place in the table, when Thetford Town were the visitors.
But despite a below-par performance from the home side that saw Thetford leave with the points, off the pitch it was a good day for the club.
For the second time in two seasons Long Melford FC featured in a double-page spread in the Non-League Paper after a previous FA Cup article. More great publicity for our club and our supporters.
Along with the article, Bauckham also featured a more in-depth piece on his own website, delving a little deeper into ‘The Little Village‘ and its non-league football team.
Check out David Bauckham’s website feature here.
WE’VE COME SO FAR
A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF SUFFOLK CLUB LONG MELFORD
They be second in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division after an eight-match unbeaten run, but Long Melford manager Jamie Bradbury is refusing to get carried away.
“This time last year we were in the middle of a two-month run without actually winning a game, and we got ourselves into a relegation battle because of it,” he says.
“So we’re just trying to enjoy winning football matches as much as possible.”
Bradbury is right to remain cautious, after all it is unusual to find a club with a negative goal difference occupying such a lofty position.
“Stanway Rovers, who put nine past us, have a lot to answer for,” he laughs. “They battered us, and we had as good a side as we could have put out that night.
“It was just one of those games where nothing went our way. But they were on fire and cruising. Thankfully we’ve put it behind us.”
Up until my visit for the game against Thetford Town last Saturday, Long Melford had not lost a league game since
September 21, and have arguably been punching above their weight since winning promotion in 2015.
A recent ground assessors’ visit identified a few minor issues, but grading would be the least of the problems to be faced if promotion became a possibility.
“We’d need to improve, and we just don’t have the finances to do it,” Bradbury admits.
“We’re lucky that we’ve got lads who are all local and last week we averaged 117 appearances across the squad. So
we’ve got a loyal bunch and I’d love to be in a position where we could give them some money.
“But we just don’t have it to give unfortunately, and we would need that to step up.”
One has only to walk through Long Melford, past its Georgian houses and windows of numerous small art galleries
and boutiques, to realise that it remains as affluent as it was during the 19th century.
The club dates back to at least 1868, and during the 1950s when it dominated the Essex & Suffolk Border League, crowds of several hundred were not unusual.
These days the average attendance at Stoneylands struggles to reach three figures.
Bradbury is unsure whether he would want a major investor though.
“There is no point chucking loads of money in and stepping up, because then you need more money and so it goes on,”
he added. “You’ve got to know your place in the pecking order. Eventually you reach a plateau and if that money disappears you’re scuppered. I’d rather help the club grow organically.”
In the clubhouse are the Three Wise Men of Melford.
Last year, secretary Richard Powell received a long service award from the Suffolk FA. He has only been at the club for a mere 14 years but was a founder member of Cornard United back in 1964.
Around the same time, president Richard Kemp, and chairman Colin Woodhouse were playing alongside one another for Long Melford and have never left.
Colin shows me a photograph of a victory parade through the village following the 1953 Suffolk Senior Cup final, with him just visible behind his father.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Debra Rowe is preparing a postmatch curry for the players and opening up ‘Deb’s Diner’ ready for hungry punters later. A school dinner lady during the week, Debs clearly enjoys her work.
Today’s visitors Thetford were the side Melford beat on the final day of last season to assure their own survival. They are also on a good run.
“We’ve got momentum but so have they – they won’t fear us one bit,” Bradbury warned.
His team enjoys plenty of possession early on but it is Thetford who take the lead through Michael Campbell, slightly against the run of play midway way through the half.
After the break, Melford again see a lot of the ball without troubling keeper Jamie Humphrey. At the other end Matt Walker pulls off a fine double save but is beaten by an Elliot Smith header.
With less than 15 minutes to go, Jacob Brown pulls one back, but as the Villagers press for an equaliser, they leave themselves open at the back.
Inevitably, Thetford break away and Tanner Call puts the result beyond doubt a minute from the end, although not before Brown rattles the visitors’ crossbar in the dying moments.
The official attendance is 95.
Philosophical Bradbury adds: “It was going to have to come to an end at some point but if you’d told me eight weeks ago that we were going to go on an eight-game unbeaten run I would have taken that. So we’ll brush ourselves down and see if we can crack on next week.
“It’s very important now that we don’t let it slip.”
