Long Melford in the Non-League Paper

Ahead of our FA Cup second round qualifying fixture with Haverhill Rovers, the Non-League Paper spoke to manager Jamie Bradbury about his association with competition.

Here’s the full spread, and you can read the interview below.

A LONG LOVE AFFAIR

There can’t be any other managers in this season’s FA Cup who have interviewed the competition’s winning manager on the pitch straight after the final.

But then Long Melford boss Jamie Bradbury did work at the Football Association for 18 years.

The 40-year-old used to work in the communications team and edited nine Cup Final programmes as well as being responsible for producing the content on their digital platforms.

He’ll even help with this season’s final programme, but first there’s the small matter of trying to create history with the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division club.

On Saturday they travel to Suffolk rivals Haverhill Rovers with a place in the FA Cup second round qualifying at stake. And Bradbury, who also travelled away with the England senior team, knows just how special English football’s
top knock-out competition is.

“At our level, those FA Cup weekends are what people really look forward to,” Bradbury told The NLP.

“There’s always an extra buzz. You can’t take anything away from the league because that’s always the most important part, but the FA Cup no doubt always forms part of every manager’s objective at this level.

“Wherever you are in the pecking order, you want to get a little Cup run going because of the prestige of the
competition and the financial rewards – especially this year with the FA investing even more into the grass-roots game through the FA Cup.”

Bradbury joined the FA in 1997 and was originally in the competitions and registration department, which saw him work on the FA Cup as well as on final days where he would look after the mascots.

Then he moved onto the media side as he continued his run of never missing a final during his employment at HQ.

“It was a privilege,” Bradbury said. “You never take it for granted that you get the opportunity to go to these big games. It’s part work, part fun, if you like! I’m a Liverpool fan so 2006 was a major one for me with Steven Gerrard
scoring that great goal against West Ham.

“And the first one at the Millennium Stadium was Liverpool v Arsenal (in 2001) and I went as a fan with some mates. All the fans mixed together and it was a great day around the stadium. As we say, ‘1-0 down, 2-1 up, Michael Owen won the Cup!’ It was a great day and they are two massive memories.

“But just being involved in the FA Cup for so many years was extra special. I remember going on the pitch to interview Carlo Ancelotti after one of the finals. The noise coming down from the fans on the pitch, you’re standing a foot away from him and can’t even hear what he’s saying! There’s lots of good memories.”

Bradbury left the FA in 2015, which has allowed the former Basildon and Bowers United player to move into coaching.

After a spell as assistant to Jules Mumford, he took the top job last season and is enjoying the challenge.

“When I left the FA it freed up a lot of time to get involved in my true passion, which is football,” he said. “I run a coaching school on Saturdays for kids and I’ve set up an Under-11s and Under-8s team.

“I played under the former manager Jules for Sudbury Athletic and said I’d love to go in and help. At the time I’d just got my UEFA B Licence, and it was great to get back involved at the level I used to play.

“It’s hard to not play every week, but I enjoy it. We’re a small village club and players do it for the sheer love of being part of a team together. It took a little while to get them to understand actually they are also good players and rather than just be a village side they can push on and prove themselves as a solid Non-League outfit.

“We had really good form from the end of October onwards last season and it became a lot easier as a manager. When you’re losing you always question yourself but we came up with an answer to win points. We’ve continued that this season and it’s looking positive at the moment.”

But Bradbury knows the challenge of overcoming Rovers, who knocked out Maldon & Tiptree in the preliminary round having come out on top in the Haverhill derby against Borough in the extra preliminary round, a game streamed live on BBC.

“We’ve done ever so well to win two games, the club has only been in this position once before in the FA Cup, as far as I’m aware,” Bradbury said.

“If we can beat Haverhill it will be a massive day for the club. But Haverhill are always a strong side to play.

“They got a magnificent win in the last round – Maldon & Tiptree are no pushovers. So we know we’ve got to be at our very best to get anything out of the game.”