Retford United – Remember The Name

A trip to Stoke Bardolph on a cold Tuesday night in March 2006 started with a quick pint in the Ferryboat Pub before heading down the muddy tyre tracks to pay a couple of quid entrance on the gate where I would watch my local side Gedling Town play against Retford United in the Northern Counties East League Division One.

“This lot are top of the league” somebody told me “They’re paying their striker 300 quid a week”.

I didn’t know much about non-league back then, but even back then I thought ‘that’s a lot of money’… True or not I didn’t really care, but I was certainly keen to see how good this striker was…

Vill Powell had helped Retford to a Central Midlands league and cup treble two years earlier, scoring 72 goals in a season which included six hat-tricks. Powell moved to Grays Athletic in a lucrative deal but re-joined the Badgers for ‘big money’ in November 2005 after a spell at Havant & Waterlooville, he already had eleven for the season and opened the scoring against Gedling, a quick powerful striker who looked head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

Another forward in form at the time was Powell’s strike partner Neil Harvey who was already on 19 goals by then, a future Barbados International, a young Harvey one season later became the first player to play for Retford and be capped internationally whilst at the club, his goalscoring almost as ridiculous as Powell’s scoring 76 goals in 134 matches during some real golden years at Cannon Park. Both would go on to become household names at Non-League grounds due to their goalscoring exploits.

Retford, under the stewardship of Mark Shaw, beat Gedling 3-1 that night, the left-sided Steve Woolley made it 2-0 to the away team just after half time before a young un-bearded Bobby Norris gave the spirited hosts managed by Jimmy Albans some hope, only for that ‘hope’ to be short-lived as Haydon Zaccaria finished things off late on.

The Badgers would eventually fall short of Carlton Town in the league title race, but it mattered not as promotion to the NCEL Premier Division was secure, and a season later they would wipe all beneath them (including Carlton who finished third) to win the championship eleven points clear of Sheffield in second.

By then, Mick Godber was star of the show. An old-fashioned centre forward and perhaps more of your typical non-league striker compared to the ‘dynamic & pacey’ Powell & Harvey, big, physical, loved a battle, some would even go as far to say he was a ‘bully’ but boy could he score goals too.

At the end of the 2006/07 season Peter Duffield replaced Mark Shaw in charge as Manager and twelve months later Retford were champions again. This time in the Unibond Northern Premier League Division One South finishing with 99 points to dominate the division.

Left annoyed with how it all ended, Retford however couldn’t go up because of ground grading but a year later, in 2007/08 they won the league again. This time on goal difference over Belper Town. This time they did go up.

United since 2004 had climbed up from the Central Midlands Supreme League to the Northern Premier League with four league titles and a Nottinghamshire Senior Cup amongst other trophies to significantly boost the cabinet of a team founded only in 1987, that had previously won ‘nothing’ but local love and admiration the other side of the Millennium whilst playing largely in the old Notts Alliance.

In 2009 they were in the Northern Premier Division, two leagues off the Conference, three off the Football League. A meteoric rise and one which looked to be continuing as they finished a respectable sixth just outside the playoff places.

The honeymoon period however ended as funding eventually dried up and a season later the Badgers would be bottom of the division. By then David Lloyd was in charge. I went to watch them as FC Halifax Town including a young Jamie Vardy would celebrate their Northern Premier League title at a packed Cannon Park. The Badgers only lost 2-0 and on the day, in the sunshine, they dealt with a future England International and Premier Division winner pretty well. But by then the damage was done, 17 points from 42 games with 111 conceded. It seemed the Retford bubble had well and truly burst.

Not totally the case perhaps as Retford in 2011/12 bounced back. The club decided to drop two divisions following relegation from the NPL and in doing so won the NCEL top flight under Brett Marshall with a young Warren Hatfield alongside Karl Slack amongst others in fine goalscoring form, but the clubs request for promotion back to the NPL was declined, thereafter so did the form of Retford United Football Club.

A fourth-place finish in 2012/13 wasn’t all that bad but a year later Retford finished ninth in the NCEL Premier Division, in 2014/15 the club dramatically fell in form and finished 20^th of 21 teams in the division but picked up in the following campaign finishing 15^th.

A three point deduction in 2016/17 lead to relegation and the club followed that with a second bottom of the table finish in 2017/18 with the side falling down to the Central Midlands League, almost back to where it all started, ahead of the 2018/19 campaign.

Since then, the club has looked to rebuild its reputation finishing fourth in the Black Dragon North Division in its first season back before last season having their campaign cut short positioned third place in the league all be it twenty points behind leaders Newark Town at the time.

One thing for sure is that Retford are in a good place right now, with good players, good management, good owners and great fans, the club continues to be at the heart of the community and as we remember the days of the Northern Premier League fondly, we can also dream that one day, another run up the ladder won’t be too far away.

United’s most recent match saw the team head into a lockdown break with a win against last seasons run away leaders Newark as the Badgers go second in the CML North table behind Clay Cross Town. With only six matches played so far this season and with plenty still to play for it seems this current crop of players could have what it takes to take Retford to even more better times ahead.