I am sitting writing parts of this blog while watching Aston Villa Women play West Ham at Keys Park. That feels like a big moment for this football club.
We have put an enormous amount of work and investment into improving the stadium over the last couple of years, and having a Women’s Super League team choose our home as a place they want to play football is real recognition of how far those standards have come.
There is still plenty more we want to do, but sometimes you have to look around and appreciate the progress already made.
Incredible Support
Five games into our first season in the National League North, one thing has already blown me away.
The support.
Our average league attendance is now 2,476. Only Hereford, averaging 3,351, are above us in the National League North, and at the time of writing we are 12th across the whole of non-league for average attendance (source: https://www.thelinnets.co.uk/turnstile.php?s=2025).
The growth we are seeing is genuinely special and I want to thank you all for continuing to turn up in record numbers.
When I first took over, I often had a line from Field of Dreams in my head:
“If you build it, they will come.”
You certainly have.
We have even had directors from other clubs visit Keys Park specifically to see what we have been doing because they have heard something special is happening here.
Nearly two and a half thousand people coming through our gates every week is something I never want us to become accustomed to.
And it isn’t just attendances.
Our club shop has already sold 1,086 shirts this season. We are still in August and that is already more than half of the total number we sold throughout the whole of last season.
Every shirt, every ticket and every person who travels away or brings their family to Keys Park represents somebody choosing to support this football club.
We see it and we are truly grateful for it.
You could see that support away from home too. Telford especially sticks in my mind.
When the final whistle went, I loved the reception the players received from our supporters.
We hadn’t won the game. It finished 1-1. But I think the fans recognised what the players had put into it and responded to that.
Those are the moments that forge a real connection between players and supporters.
Growing Together
When I look at this team, one thing really stands out.
It is much younger than we’ve had probably for a long time.
The average age of this squad is just 26.9. We made a conscious decision in the summer to bring the age profile down and build a younger group that can grow together.
There is experience within it, of course, but around that we have assembled a younger, hungry group of players who we believe can improve and who have ambitions of playing higher.
Kelvin is also still relatively early in his managerial career.
He hasn’t even managed 100 competitive games yet.
This season will bring plenty of learning experiences for him and his staff, but one of the things that really impresses me is his commitment to improving.
His commitment to the cause is relentless. Whatever the result, the analysis often starts immediately after the final whistle and can continue long after everyone else has left the stadium.
He reflects, he learns and he keeps his composure in what can be a pressure cooker of a job.
The same applies to us as a board. Other than Terry, none of us have decades of experience running football clubs. We will make mistakes and learn along the way, but the ambition and motivation across the club is enormous.
There are a lot of people here who are hungry to improve.
I’m trying to learn personally too.
Last season I wasn’t particularly good at switching off from football. There is always another decision, another message, another problem or another game to replay in your head.
This season I’m trying hard to give everything when I’m at the club, but also switch off more when I’m away from it, spend time with my family and enjoy life outside the club.
I’m not sure I’ll ever completely master it, but I’m trying!
Finding Our Feet
We have now experienced the jump from the Northern Premier League to the National League North first-hand.
The jump in quality is massive.
Teams are stronger. Players are quicker. Mistakes are punished more ruthlessly and games can change very quickly.
Bar Merthyr on the opening day, I think there have been periods in every game where we have played some really good football.
There have also been periods where we have looked a little nervous, or made decisions we probably wouldn’t make once we become more settled at this level.
What has encouraged me though is that I think we are getting better.
We are starting to understand this league, the players are learning each other and we are beginning to find our rhythm.
There will probably be some inconsistency along the way. We shouldn’t get too high when we win and we certainly shouldn’t get too down when things don’t go our way.
That doesn’t mean lowering our expectations.
We want to compete this season.
But we are also building for the long term, and those two things don’t have to contradict each other.
Starting to See It
There was a comment after Friday night’s game that really pleased me.
Harborough manager Mitch Austin spoke afterwards in his post match interview about our fitness levels. He said that although they have already faced a few full-time teams this season, this was the game where he really felt the difference.
As the game went on, our fitness began to tell and we took the game away from them.
That was particularly satisfying to hear.
Moving to full-time football this summer was a huge decision because we believed it would raise standards.
More time on the training pitch. Better preparation. Better conditioning. More time for Kelvin and his staff to work with the players.
Those benefits aren’t going to appear overnight, but Friday felt like one of the first occasions where you could really see them.
As the game progressed, rather than fading, we seemed to get stronger.
For an opposition manager to recognise that afterwards was one of the clearest indications to me that the decision is beginning to show its value.
The First Win
And after 96 minutes on Friday night came the final whistle.
Our first win in the National League North.
I don’t normally go onto the pitch at full-time.
But after this game it just felt right.
One thing I’ve learned over the last couple of years is that you only get a few moments during a season when you can really stop and enjoy what has just happened.
Win and almost immediately you’re thinking about the next game. Lose and you’re analysing what went wrong.
Sometimes you have to allow yourself to enjoy it.
Our first win at this level, at home, under the lights at Keys Park, was one of those moments for me.
I wanted to soak it in.
I wanted to be with Kelvin, the staff and the players, look around the stadium, see the supporters celebrating and make it a moment I could remember.
However many games we go on to win at this level, nobody can ever give us our first one again.
For once, I didn’t want to immediately think about what came next.
I just wanted to enjoy it.
One Club
While there has understandably been a lot of focus on the first team, I also want to congratulate our Women’s team on their start to the season.
They began with a draw away at Port Vale before following that with two really impressive wins against Coventry Sphinx and Solihull Moors.
A huge well done to everyone involved.
It has been a really positive start and another part of the club we want to see continue moving forward.
Spennymoor
Now attention turns to Spennymoor.
Another tough game and another opportunity to continue the progress we have started to show.
We are still finding our feet at this level, but there are plenty of encouraging signs.
The support has been incredible. The team is beginning to settle. The benefits of full-time football are starting to show. And Friday gave us that important first win.
I’m really looking forward to heading up there on Monday.
See you at Spennymoor.
