Club Background
Few clubs will be feeling more relief at promotion to the National League Premier Division than Brackley Town. They made it to the National League North play-offs six times in a seven-year period between 2018 and 2024 without winning promotion, only missing out on a clean sweep due to the cancellation of the National League North season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Also their longest trip of last season saw them make the 500-mile round journey to Spennymoor. Located in west Northamptonshire, roughly between Northampton and Oxford. Regional football has not been kind to Brackley.
When they were founded in 1890 they were a relatively big fish in their local pond and even played Tottenham Hotspur in their formative years, the Great Central Railway opened at the end of the 19th Century making north London a short journey away. However, the first 80 years of the club’s history was largely competing at a junior level with fairly obscure moments in the North Bucks League, Oxfordshire League and then the Banbury & District League, the latter seeing them headquartered in a local pub.
It was not until 1974 with the move to their current home at St James Park (yes, another one) that they started to make any headway up the football pyramid. The ground has a modest clubhouse and changing rooms in a tranquil rural setting and has not really changed a lot in the intervening 50 years. On the pitch, they team moved up the local league – Hellenic and United Counties League – structure, but in 1992/93 had the ignominious record of having the worst playing record of any senior side in the country. They were only spared relegation due to those in the lower divisions not having the facilities to make the step up.
The real moves up the division began in mid-late 1990s with promotion to the Southern League in 1997, but with finances at full stretched they were forced to file for voluntary liquidation with debts of £100,000. They were saved when Mike Bosher and Ray Styles stepped in to buy the club’s assets and the club was reborn under the same name. They failed to survived in the southern end of the Southern League and were eventually relegated back in to the Hellenic League.
It took until the 2003/04 season for Brackley to return to the Southern League reaching the Premier division three seasons later under the management of Roger Ashby, a well-known face in local football in the Northamptonshire area. In 2008/09, The Saints reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time and were able to improve on St James’ Park with an all-seater stand and a small covered terrace constructed. They also appointed former Rushden & Diamonds (remember them?) midfielder Jon Brady as manager in 2009 and in 2011/12 they won the Southern League Premier Division moving them in to Step Two and the Conference North.
The 2012/13 season after promotion came with further ground improvements including new changing rooms, terracing, improved parking and the upgrading of the floodlights. On the pitch things were successful as well with the club finishing third and making the play-offs, losing out to FC Halifax Town in a final played at St James’ Park. They reached the first round of the FA Cup the following season playing League One side Gillingham in a televised match and spent the money on installing an artificial pitch (deep joy) – and yes, it remains today.
The next two seasons were less successful with final day escapes from relegation which eventually spelled the end of Jon Brady’s time in charge in October 2015. He was temporarily replaced by former Chelsea defender Frank Sinclair before former Wrexham (before the money) manager Kevin Wilkin was appointed and it was not until their fifth season at Step 2 level that things began to look up again, finishing a point outside the division’s play-offs, but reaching the second round of the FA Cup beating Gillingham in a televised replay and reaching the quarter finals of the FA Trophy.
2017-18 proved to be a remarkable one with a play-off place and lifting the FA Trophy. The play-offs proved to be unsuccessful – the first of six attempts before eventually making it – as they lost to Harrogate Town, but a penalty shoot-out win over high division Bromley in front of a crowd of more than 30,000 at Wembley made it a season to remember for Saints’ fans.
The seasons that followed were marked by ultimately unsuccessful attempts at winning promotion to the National League Premier via the play-offs as follows:
2018/19: Finished third, lost to Spennymoor in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals.
2019/20: Finished fourth, lost on penalties to Gateshead in the eliminator stage, a match played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020/21: Sat in fourth place after 16 games when the National League North season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2021/22: Finished second, lost to York City in the play-off semi-finals.
2022/23: Finished fourth, lost 2-0 to Kidderminster Harriers in the final.
2023/24: Finished third, lost 2-1 to Boston United in the final.
2024/25: Champions – promoted at last!
There were some other highlights in those seasons. These included a fine FA Cup run in the ultimately abandoned 2020-21 season, losing to Tranmere Rovers in the second round inside an empty Prenton Park, and the following campaign seeing them rack up a record points tally, losing just five matches and conceding just 23 goals. They eventually missed out on the title to Gateshead and fell to York City at the semi-final stage of the play-offs.
The 2023-23 season saw the club in eighth place after ten games and an FA Cup exit at the hands of Northern Premier League side spelt the end of Wilkin’s seven years at the club. He was replaced by former Cardiff City and Birmingham City defender Roger Johnson, who had been in the Bromley side beaten by Wilkin’s Brackley in the FA Trophy final back in 2018. Johnson’s tenure proved brief as he arrived in September 2022 and parted company with the club in April 2023 with the club in fourth place. Legendary club captain Gaz Dean stepped in to the breach and led them to the final, losing to Kidderminster Harriers.
Current boss Gavin Cowan took over at the start of the 2023/24 season following success at National League North level at AFC Telford United. After a third-placed finish in his first season and the almost inevitable play-off final defeat, Cowan guided the club to the National League Premier last season as champions. Fittingly, Dean, now aged 35, captained them to the title and made the division’s Team of the Season.
Off the pitch, former Royal Mail and Asda boss Allan Leighton, a man whose worth is valued in the tens of millions range, is a co-owner of the club alongside Ray Styles (the man who saved the club from liquidation in 1999) and therefore it is safe to say Brackley are a well-financed club. Oh, Scott Pollock is there as well. Yes, that Scott Pollock who was born and played for Northampton.
We’ve Met Before
We have not met before. The 2024/25 season will see the first meeting between Brackley Town and Yeovil Town.
Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| XX/XX/20XX | XXX | H/A | NLP | X | X-X | XXXX | Scorers | |
LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance:
Lowest League Attendance:
Average League Attendance:
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | Games Without A Home Win: | |||
| Games Without An Away Win: | Games Without Defeat: | |||
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | Games Without An Away Defeat: | |||
| Games Without A Draw: | Games Without A Score Draw: | |||
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | Games Without Scoring: | |||
| Games Without Conceding: | Home Results Sequence: | |||
| Away Results Sequence: | Overall Results Sequence: |
Club Information
Address : St James Park, St James Park, Churchill Way, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 7EJ (click for map)
Tel. 01280 704077
Chairman: Francis Oliver
Co-owners: Allan Leighton and Ray Styles (Pleasure Media)
Club Secretary : Pat Ashby
Press Officer: Tim Carroll
Manager: Gavin Cowan
Capacity : 3500
Seated : 300
Covered Terrace : 1500
Surface : Artificial (‘Tiger Turf’)
Record Attendance : 3,074 (vs Boston United – National League North play-off final, 04/05/24)
Colours : Red and white stripes, white shorts, red socks.
Nickname : The Saints
Programme : £3.00
It is not often that games are segregated at St James’ Park (this season may be different), but when they are visiting fans are housed in the South Bank End. It is directly behind one goal with both covered seating and open terracing available either side.
Ticketing
Details to come when made available.
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Brackley Town on XXXday XXX XXXX, XXXp.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adult £XX; Concession £XX
Non-Members: Adult £XX; Concession £XX
Coach departs Huish Park: XXX
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 (after 6.00 p.m. please).
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Directions To The Ground
General
Brackley is a small market town with St James’ Park located at the southern end about a 20-minute walk from the town centre. There is no train station in Brackley, see below for further details.
By Road
It is probably around a three-hour journey from Yeovil to Brackley, depending on how kind the traffic is to you, of course. Take the A303 until just after Amesbury and then it is the A338 towards Swindon, after that it is the A346-A419-A420 until you hit the A34 and subsequently the A43.
Follow the A43 towards Northampton. (The road is a dual carriageway all the way to Brackley – 9 miles). At the large roundabout at the bottom of the hill as you approach the town, take the 2nd exit signposted Brackley (South). After approximately 100 metres, take the 2nd exit at the mini roundabout (Tesco store on the left, Mercedes / Petronas Formula One Racing on the right), and follow the road towards the town. The New Locomotive public house is almost immediately on the left hand side and Churchill Way is the next turning on the right as you go up the hill. (Signposted Football Club). Turn into Churchill Way and follow this road which leads directly into the Club car park.
Parking
The car park at St James Park is limited and spaces cost £3 per car. Please note that car park spaces cannot be reserved and are on a first-come-first-served basis.
There are a limited number of Blue Badge spaces for disabled supporters. If you would like to reserve a space, email Mike at mike@brackleytownfc.co.uk. The club will require your car registration number to reserve your blue badge space. Please allow at least 24hrs notice to book your Blue Badge space, after this time Brackley cannot guarantee your space. Cannot be arranged on the day at the ticket office. Car park space is only reserved up to half an hour before KO. Carers ticket supplied free of charge once ticket for Blue Badge holder is purchased online.
By Rail
There is no train station in Brackley, the nearest one is Banbury, which is around 10 miles away. Banbury bus station is a five-minute walk from the train station and from there you can catch a Stagecoach No 500 bus to Brackley which takes around 30 minutes. A taxi rank is located at the front of the station.
Return to this page when further details of our fixture at Brackley are confirmed, but it is between three to three-and-a-half hours from Yeovil Junction to Banbury. Take South West Trains as far as Basingstoke and then change on to the CrossCountry service which gets you to Banbury.
By Bus
The nearest bus stops to St James Park are on Bridge Street or around the Market Place which are around a 5 to 10-minute walk to St James Park.
By Taxi
Taxis are available in both Banbury and Brackley.
Web Resources
Web Sites
Brackley Town – Official Site
Social Media
@brackleytown – Official X/Twitter account
Brackley Town – Official Facebook account
Brackley Town Official – Official YouTube channel
Local Press
Banbury Guardian
Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Northampton Telegraph
Food & Drink
General
Details to follow
Club Bar
There’s a great range of food and drink on offer at St James Park, from great burgers and pies from our refreshments kiosk to a wide-range of soft and alcoholic drinks on offer in our clubhouse “The Venue”.
Local Pubs
For anyone attending this using trains it will be very much like the joys of Forest Green Rovers, so included are four decent pubs in Banbury which might be a better option than drinking in Brackley. If you take this advice, you will need to factor in either a ten-mile bus journey on Stagecoach 500 or shell out for a taxi to get to the ground.
Rumours Sports Bar: Located about a ten-minute walk from St James’ Park, as the name suggests it is a sports bar with eight screens, pool tables, darts and snooker. There are no details of exactly what drinks but lager, cider and ale (London Pride) are all mentioned in reviews of this place.
Address: Rumours Sports Bar, 12 Banbury Road, Brackley, Northamptonshire, NN13 6AU Tel: 01280 820 597. Map.
The Locomotive Inn: Located about a five-minute walk from the stadium, describes itself as a small, friendly pub. It is housed in an 1860s oak-beamed building with a roaring fireplace and railway memorabilia on the walls, as you’d expect from a place called The Locomotive. Drinks are pretty standard line-up of lagers and ciders and include Shipyard American pale ale and real ale from one hand pump.
Address: The Locomotive Inn, 43 Bridge St, Brackley NN13 7ER. Tel: 01280 703301. Website
The Red Lion: Recently refurbished with a balance of classic coaching inn and updated touches—stone exterior, open-plan interior, exposed beams, and a revamped courtyard/beer garden. Pool, darts, live music, open fire, Wi‑Fi, dog‑ & child‑friendly areas. Two regular cask ales—Brewpoint “Anchorman” and another Brewpoint beer—plus a third rotating guest ale with the usual roll call of cider (Strongbow) and lager (Moretti, Fosters, etc).
Address: The Red Lion, 11 Market Place, Brackley, NN137AB. Tel: 01280 309430. Website
The Plough: Another former coaching inn with thatched roof and original beams—now offering a stylish open layout, cosy stove, and plenty of seating inside and in the heated, covered garden with sports screens (Sky/TNT). CAMRA lists two regular cask ales—Ruddles Best Bitter and St Austell/Hook Norton (“Hooky”)—plus a rotating guest (e.g., Wadworth 6X) and cider with one reviewer mentioning Rosie’s Pig. Standard pub food and lighter bites both available – see menu.
Address: The Plough, 9 High Street, Brackley, NN137DW. Tel: 01280 7099919 Website
The Bell: About a 20-minute walk from the ground, a Grade II-listed building, over 400 years old, dating from the 16th–17th century, there are several screens showing live sport and a spacious beer garden with covered gazebo with heaters and more TVs. Some reviews do mention cider, but others say ‘no cider’, but generally a good range of your standard beers, ales and wine.
Address: The Bell, 103 High Street, Brackley NN13 7BN. Tel: 01280 702489 Website
Good for what Ales Ya: A small bottle shop/tap room serving ales and ciders. Six craft keg taps and a range of cans. Opening times: Saturday: Midday-11pm, Tuesday: Closed.
Address: 24 High Street, Brackley, NN13 6JR. Website
Pubs in Banbury – if you choose to take our advice
Coach & Horses: A popular town centre Hook Norton brewery pub with three to four cask ales usually on tap, plus ciders. Opening times: Saturday – Midday-Midnight (Kitchen – Midday-3pm), Tuesday: Midday-Late (Kitchen closed).
Address: Butchers Row, Banbury, OX16 5JH. Tel: 01295 266993. Website
The Exchange: The town centre Wetherspoons formerly a Post Office and telephone change – hence the name. Regular Spoons’ range of up to nine ales sourced nationally. Opening times: Saturday – 8am-1am Sunday, Tuesday – 8am-Midnight.
Address: 49-50 High Street, Banbury, OX16 5LA. Tel: 01295 259035. Website
Ye Olde Reine Deer Inn: Another Hook Norton pub with a wide range of cask ales. Pub dates from 1570s and played a part in the English Civil War. Oak panelled Globe room was where Oliver Cromwell is thought to have planned the Siege of Banbury Castle. Opening times: Saturday – Midday-10pm, Tuesday – 11am-11pm.
Address: 47 Parsons Street, Banbury, OX16 5NA. Telephone: 01295 270972. Website
White Horse: Community-run pub named Local Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub of the Year in 2024. Everards and three cask ales sourced nationally, plus ciders. Opening hours: Saturday – Midday-11pm, Tuesdays – 2pm-10pm.
Address: 50-52 North Bar Street, Banbury, OX16 0TH. Tel: 01295 277484. Website
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: More Midlands than West Country with a dash of “ay up” rather than “ay up me duck.”
Top-Tip: It’s pretty quiet in Brackley, so pack a good book because after the third round of polite nods from the locals, the most excitement you’ll get is spotting a rogue pigeon doing laps around the market square. But at least the silence means you can hear your own thoughts — whether that’s a blessing or a curse is up to you.
Local Amenities: If you like ducks, the smell of freshly cut grass, and overhearing pensioners complain about potholes then try Brackley Town Park and Egerton Hall, there’s an antiques centre with some terrifying porcelain dolls, all priced somewhere between “reasonable” and “they’re having a laugh” or a church. Come for the history, stay for the vague sense of medieval doom.
Other Points Of Interest: Mercedes’ Formula One team has its main development site headquartered in Brackley, in fact they are neighbours of the football club. The car park at St James’ Park is used by staff at the F1 team during the week.
[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]