Rocester FC

The Roman Road

by Barry Smith

PART FIVE - MODERN ROMANS (1992-2008)

Many changes took place within the club after the 1991-92 season including the departure of Alan Beaman as team manager, but the team consistently maintained a top-ten league position before becoming founder members of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994-95. The new league had been formed from an amalgamation of the leading sides in the West Midlands League and the Midland Combination.

Rocester finished in second place behind Bloxwich Town at the end of the 1997-98 season and narrowly missed out on promotion to the Southern League.

Behind the scenes work had been carried out on the ground (now renamed Hillsfield in memory of Don Hill who died in December 1994) so the facilities now met the grading required for the next level up, and a year later under the management of Terry Greer the Romans finally achieved their ambition by being promoted as Midland Alliance League Champions.

The step up to a higher level proved to be a difficult one, but despite struggling in the league the team reached the final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup for the first time in 2000-01. The experience was soured somewhat by Port Vale's insistence that they weren't able to play the final at the end of the season, and against Rocester's wishes the game was re-scheduled for the following pre-season when many of the players that had helped the club into the final had moved on. When it was eventually played, Port Vale had no problem in sweeping aside a makeshift Rocester side 6-1 at Hillsfield.

Warren Campbell was appointed manager at the start of the 2002-03 season which gave the club a fresh impetus, but his input was still not enough to avoid relegation back into the Midland Football Alliance by one point. Only 34 goals scored in the 42 league matches told its own story.

Belper Town won 2-0 at Hillsfield in the next match, but that was followed by three successive league draws and an emphatic 4-1 win away at Arnold Town in an F.A. Cup Preliminary tie. There were signs that the players were beginning to warm to their task, but a miserable run of seven straight defeats left them lacking in confidence and rooted to the foot of the table.

Results failed to improve, and by Christmas manager Warren Campbell had left the club and so had several of the players. including top scorer McMahon.

It was downhill all the way. A new manager, Bob Sykes, was appointed in January, but in truth he had a hopeless task in attempting to turn fortunes around. Only three more draws were achieved all season and the Romans officially became the worst team ever to have played in the Northern Premier League, finishing with just six points and not a single league victory all season.

Relegated back to the Midland Alliance, the 2005-06 season began as miserably as the previous campaign had finished. Manager Sykes departed at the end of August following a 3-1 defeat at Bedworth United in the F.A. Cup, and he was replaced by former Chasetown boss Michael Rowe in September.

Although performances improved under Rowe it wasn't until the end of January that the team finally recorded it's first league victory - a surprise 3-1 success at Quorn - which ended a run of 67 league matches without a win. Three more wins came before the season's end which gave the team a slight chance of climbing out of the relegation zone, however six defeats in the final eight matches ensured a second successive last place finish. Luckily, Rocester avoided another relegation thanks to league restructuring.

A new era began in May 2006 when local businessman and ex-player Peter Douglas took over the running of the club from former chairman Alf Hawksworth. Douglas's first action was to appoint former player and reserve team boss Damian Grocott as first team manager, and during the summer of 2006 the successful Uttoxeter-based club Elkes Eagles were encompassed to form a new junior section with teams ranging from U-8s through to U-16s.

Two months into the season, manager Grocott succeeded in bringing in highly rated coach Andy O'Connor to partner him as Joint Manager. Results and performances began to improve as new players came to the club, while narrow 1-0 home wins over Oldbury United and high-flying Leamington, along with an impressive 2-0 win against Gedling Town set up a money-spinning F.A. Cup Qualifier away to Kettering Town. Against all odds the team put up a brave performance at Rockingham Road but were eventually beaten 2-1 in front of over 1000 spectators, Chris Rowley scoring the Romans goal from the penalty spot just after half time. The cup run had earned the club around £10,000 in prize money and gate receipts which eased the mounting financial difficulties at the time.

Just five days before the game at Kettering, Chairman Peter Douglas had shocked the club by resigning from his position, which led to another former player - David Price - taking over the role. Price had only recently joined the board as chairman of the Elkes Eagles juniors, and his links with junior football were pivotal as the club began to plan for the future by emphasising the importance of bringing young. local talent through the ranks. Within two years an U-18s youth team had been formed which bridged the gap between the junior section and the reserves, and young players now had a natural progression all the way through to the first team.

Meanwhile, Grocott and O'Connor continued their good work in the Midland Alliance and took the team to a respectable 12th place in the table by the end of 2006-07, confining memories of the disastrous year in the Northern Premier League well and truly to the past. Hopes were high that the team could push for a place in the top six as several more new signings bolstered the squad in time for the 2007-08 campaign, and those hopes proved to be well-founded when the Romans went on a 16-match unbeaten run that saw them climb into the top three.

Five straight defeats over the Christmas and the New Year period more or less ended any hopes of topping the table, but two excellent results against Hednesford Town who were beaten 2-0 at Hillsfield, and Rushall Olympic, beaten on penalties after a terrific 3-3 draw at Dales Lane, paved the way to the semi-final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup.

Having seen off two higher-ranked opponents in Hednesford and Rushall, Rocester found the roles reversed when they were paired with North West Counties League Division Two side Eccleshall in the last four. Much-travelled striker David Shaw netted the only goal of the game from the penalty spot at Pershall Park to send the Romans into the final for only the second time ever, but the celebrations were muted and somewhat overshadowed when the two managers resigned immediately after the final whistle over the Board's decision to axe the playing budget in a bid to pay off mounting debts.

A meeting was called at the White Hart Hotel in Uttoxeter where the Board outlined the club's financial position to the players, and stated that their intention was to clear the debts and re-introduce a playing budget for the start of the following season. Although some of the players had already received offers from other clubs, after a very positive meeting they all pledged to continue playing for Rocester at least until the end of the season. Reserve team manager Steve Swanwick agreed to take over the first team on a 'caretaker' basis, but after an impressive run of results in the league he soon accepted the role permanently.

With a top six place in the Midland Alliance assured, Rocester went into the Senior Cup final against old rivals Kidsgrove Athletic at Vale Park in a confident frame of mind. The team had been well-prepared, and had even been taken on a tour of the stadium a week before the game to make them feel more at home on the night. Yet despite the fact that Kidsgrove had endured a poor season in the Northern Premier League, as cup holders and from a level above the Romans they were still most people's favourites to take the cup again.

It turned out to be a memorable night for Rocester. David Shaw headed his 34th goal of the season midway through the first half, and second half strikes from Tommy Smith and Martin Heath secured a famous 3-0 win for the Romans, who were cheered on loudly by their supporters who numbered well over half of the 560 attendance.