The modern day Towcester Town FC were formed back in 1988 when a group of local parents set about providing competitive football for the Northamptonshire town. In 2014 Towcester Town Junior Football Club change names to just Towcester Town and with came the return of a men's first team to the town - It ended a long period of over 20 years of Towcester being one of the biggest towns in England not to have a men's football team. However the new team had to play home games at Pattishall (4 miles North of Towcester) as the town didn't have the right facilities. Lots of hard work behind the scenes saw the team return to Towcester in 2017 (see below). All the teams now play at Towcester Recreation Ground and the Sponne School playing fields but unfortunately the club doesn't own any land or it's own premises.
The old Towcester Town club played on a ground just off the A5 in the town and were members of the South Midlands League and United Counties League in the 70's, 80s and 90s'. Their last season in the UCL saw them finish rock bottom the Division One table winning one, drawing one and losing thirty-two of their thirty-four games conceding 204 goals in the process.
When the adult men's team reformed in 2014 it began life in the North Bucks Football League Division One with a squad composed mostly of young players - In their first season they achieved promotion!
The Cold End recently caught up with George Parker who is currently assistant manager of the first team to see how the club's season went for 2020/21.
What's you job at the club and what's your footballing history?
I was reserves manager at 28 and played for Towcester since I was 4-5 years old with my step dad being my Towcester manager from about 12 years old.
How was the 2019/20 season even though it was curtailed?
Very good, at the end of 18/19 season a lot of lads including the manager of local rivals Silverstone firsts moved to our club which then created a very good first team and allowed us to create a reserves too. Both teams in second place of their respective leagues pre the covid lockdown. I am confident the firsts would of won the league for the first time as they had only dropped points in two games all season. The Reserves were having a little bad spell losing points on the bounce - this was due to a number of injuries and commitment issues.
We was also within the chance of lifting four cups between both teams. We were in three semi-finals and the final of the Northamptonshire County Cup. The other cups were both league cups and Buckingham Charity Cup. As you can imagine Covid couldn’t have come at a worse time for the football club, it was a lot of hard work from all the players and management that seemed to be wasted.
NORTH BUCKS FOOTBALL LEAGUE - PREMIER DIVISION
PRE COVID LOCKDOWN
| POS | TEAM | P | GD | PTS |
| 1. | HANSLOPE | 13 | +43 | 33 |
| 2. | TOWCESTER TOWN | 12 | +28 | 30 |
| 3. | POTTERSPURY | 14 | +23 | 29 |
What was the best result for the team last season?
The game everyone was most looking forward to was the big final of the County Cup against local rivals Potterspury. We beat them 2-0 in the league earlier in the season
Who are your main rivals?
Potterspury and Hanslope for the Firsts and Tattenhoe for the Reserves
Who were the best team you played last season?
Roade FC in the Gorrell Barnes cup (Roade play in the Northants Combination)
What are the aims for Towcester Town for the forthcoming season?
There is a good feeling around the club and both teams will be looking to carry on how they finished….. Both teams play their home games at the local recreation ground and we are currently trying to find a permanent home in the town. It's a struggle to make the recreation ground which our own due to the nature of the land it is used for various other entities. We had a contact with the new owners at Towcester Racecourse which were initially positive and we submitted proposals to undertake works and make the venue our own home but this fell at the final Hurdle (Excuse the Pun). We are still keen to try and make this happen but need to reengage with the owners when they have a clearer picture on their racing schedule. Currently with both teams and the juniors there will be around 7/8 games on the one pitch every weekend, you can imagine the state it gets in through winter.
Are all the players from Towcester or do some travel from further away?
I'd say 95% live in Towcester with a small handful from local villages around the area. I’m the furthest with a 45 min journey one way.
Do you have a club house, is it any good?
At the end of the 2015/16 Season the management of Towcester Town were made aware that there was a barn at the peacock Public House that had potential for being used as a changing facility unlocking the chance to then return to Towcester to play our home matches.
After some funding from South Northants Council and by help from Ex and current players along with local tradesmen, we were able to make this dream happen and on Saturday 14th January 2017 we were able to finally play back in Towcester at the Recreation Ground. We utilise the Peacock Public House as our Club House, who kindly sponsor us each season. The Peacock is predominantly a sports pub which plays music on the weekends.
What have you and the team being doing to get by and pass the time since lockdown came in?
I guess not a lot like everyone else! Its been difficult for all of us, we have a good mix of players of youth and experience, some owning their own businesses so focussing on keeping them going, others are younger and loved every minute of being paid whilst not doing any work. Some have comeback and are fitter than they have ever been, others not so and very much looking forward to being back at pre-season.
With Towcester having a population of around 9,000 people there is no reason I can see why it can't support a Step Six or above football club - there will be a huge amount of hard work behind the scenes but it could be done! Towcestrians Rubgy Union Club played in the 2019/20 Midlands 1 East division which is on Step Six of the rugby pyramid.
I wish the best of luck to George and all involved with Towcester Town for the 2020/21 season.
NORTH BUCKS LEAGUE 2020/21 CONSTITUTION
Premier Division
Aylesbury Vale Dynamo BD
Bletchley Park
City Colts
Clean Slate
Great Horwood
Hanslope
Marsh Gibbon
Olney
Pottesbury
Stewkley
Stoke Hammond Wanderers
Towcester Town
Intermediate Division
AFC Santander
Buckingham United Reserves
Deanshanger Athletic
Great Linford (new)
Grendon Rangers
Hanslope Reserves
Milton Keynes Irish Athletic (new)
Mursley United Development
New Bradwell St Peter Reserves
Tattenhoe (promoted from Div 1)
Twyford United
Willen
Division One
AFC Santander Reserves
Clean Slate FS10
Great Horwood Reserves
Milton Keynes Wanderers
Newport Pagnell Athletic
Pottersbury Reserves
Silverstone
Steeple Claydon
Syresham
Towcester Town Reserves
Westbury (promoted from Div 2)
Yardley Gobion
Division Two
Bletchley Park Reserves (relegated from Div 1)
City Colts Reserves
Deanshanger Athletic Reserves
Marsh Gibbon Reserves
Milton Keynes Wanderers Reserves
Newport Pagnell Athletic Reserves
Olney Reserves (new)
Silverstone Reserves
Steeple Claydon Reserves
Stewkley Reserves
Twyford United Reserves
Yardley Gobion Reserves (new)
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