First Played: 1981-2
Win Rate: 50% (from 4 games)
A near neighbour and pre-season regular, we haven’t met St Neots Town in a competitive match since our UCL days. The Saints remained in the UCL when we left, which is one of the reasons for the lack of meetings. So too is the fact that, between 1988 and 1990, the club disbanded due to cash problems. And it wasn’t until 1994 that they returned to senior football. In more recent times, the Saints have scaled the ladder; playing in the Southern League.
Rowley Park
Kester Way, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 6SL
If we hadn’t looked, we’d never have known. Technically, we probably should view the St Neots Town of today as a different club to the one originally formed in 1879. This is because The Saints disbanded at the end of the 1987-8 season; a dramatic step taken in order to clear some substantial outstanding debt. Back from the ashes, the club reformed in 1990 after a two-season break. It is a technicality that we’ve largely ignored; treating the current and the previous incarnations as one club and the same. It’s just extra paperwork otherwise.
So, let’s get started for real.
After forming, St Neots Town competed in the Biggleswade & District League and the Bedfordshire & District League. The latter changed its name in 1929 to the South Midlands League, with the title clinched in 1933. In 1936, they joined the United Counties League for the first time. Once the Second World War Two was all done with, however, it was back to the South Midlands League. It wasn’t for long, though. In 1949, the Metropolitan League came a-calling; the league and cup double claimed in their first season.
The Saints are down in the history books as the first-ever winners of the Metropolitan League as a result. Not that the competition held their attention. Just two years later, it was back to the United Counties League for a second stint. And still the merry-go-round didn’t stop. There was *ready for it* Division One South of the Central Alliance (1956); Metropolitan League Part Deux (1960); the United Counties League Part Trois (1966); and the Eastern Counties League (1969). In 1973, the club picked the UCL a fourth time… and stuck with it!
It’s worth pointing out for no real reason that St Neots Town reached the FA Cup First Round Pwopa in 1966 for the first and only time, before losing at Walsall. It wasn’t a bad showing, either, eventually going down 2-0.
| Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts* | WR% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 50% |
| Home | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1 | 0% |
| Away | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 100% |
| League | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 50% |
| Cup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0% |
* league points only
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The revelation that we will be going north on the A1(M) is hardly going to be a surprise. At the end of the motorway section, it’s another 14.5 miles before you need to do much else.
Leave the A1 at the A428 exit for Cambridge just after the Black Cat roundabout; taking the third exit at the roundabout to stay on the A428. Go over a roundabout and continue for three miles, before taking the first exit at the roundabout by Tithe Farm for the B1428.
Before you reach the railway, it’s right at the roundabout onto Dramsell Rise and continue up past the station to the stadium.
Tools: AA Route Planner | Highways Agency
The stadium car park operates on a first-come, first-serve basis for those who arrive in good time. For certain games (and that might include us), there are restrictions brought into place. An overflow car park at the nearby school is available, however, as is local street parking.
One other alternative is the station car park, which costs £2 for 24 hours on a weekend.
Station: ST NEOTS
Services to: STEVENAGE
The good news is that the station seems to be right next to where the stadium is. Turn left out of the station and go to the bottom of the hill. Pass under the bridge and then make an immediate left into Dramsell Rise.
Tools: National Rail | TfL Journey Planner
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