What you learn as a non-league football fan Nige Tassell, author of The Bottom Corner: A Season With The Dreamers Of Non-League Football, describes the realities of supporting a low-ranking […]

Nige Tassell, author of The Bottom Corner: A Season With The Dreamers Of Non-League Football, describes the realities of supporting a low-ranking football team

The glass has to always be half-full for a dedicated follower of non-league football.

No stranger to the vagaries of the motorway network, there’s no state-of-the-art stadia awaiting them at journey’s end with home comforts galore, unlike their Premier League-supporting brethren.

They’re lucky if there’s a roof over their heads at most places. But they look on the bright side, regardless.

But while the likes of Solihull Moors or Billingham Synthonia might not seem glamorous destinations, for the non-leaguer they hold a deep, deep attraction.

This is the sharp end of football, but it’s the human end too.

The die hard-fans are there for life

The hardest part of being a non-league football fan is arguably the uncertainty.

If you’re a Chelsea fan, you know you’ll be watching Premier League football for the rest of your days.

But down in the darker corners of the pyramid, there are no such givens.

Down here, financial margins are ridiculously tight and one poor season that ends in relegation can precipitate a longer-term decline.

Attendances lessen, income drops off and the better semi-pros gravitate towards clubs that can pay a half-decent part-time wage.

It’s a cycle that’s hard to break through. But the die-hard fans are there for life, despite the reality.

Burgers, chips – and craft beer

Thankfully, the prawn sandwich brigade has yet to infiltrate the non-league scene.

That said, there are some notable culinary experiences to be had.

In Gloucestershire, Forest Green Rovers have been both praised and derided for their exclusively vegan menu.

“Thankfully, the prawn sandwich brigade has yet to infiltrate the non-league scene.”

Lewes down on the south coast, have stepped up their gastronomic offerings, serving up pulled pork in a brioche bun, washed down by an award-winning craft beer.

But, for the most part, traditional fare still dominates – burger, chips and a polystyrene cup of greasy tea.

There’s a common bond between fans

There is a distinct lack of tribalism as you descend the football pyramid.

There’s no mandatory segregation below Conference level and people generally behave accordingly, in a mature, friendly fashion.

There’s banter, yes, but respect too. Everyone there has chosen to turn their backs on the top flight, after all.

There’s a common bond. The cliché is to talk of ‘the non-league family’, but clichés become clichés because they’re largely true.

The best support I experienced was when Tranmere – playing non-league football for the first season in their 94-year history – travelled to the aforementioned Forest Green for the first time.

The absence of meat products proved rich pickings for the visiting fans, whose spur-of-the-moment songwriting skills were undeniably impressive.

They kept us entertained throughout. My favourite was sung to the tune of When The Saints Go Marching In:

“Oh Birkenhead / Is full of beef / Oh Birkenhead is full of beef / It’s full of beef, beef and more beef / Oh Birkenhead is full of beef.”

Being a supporter means more to the club

Non-league fans need to show a level of commitment that Premier League fans don’t. If a Man United fan decides not to go to a match, the club won’t notice his or her absence – that ticket will still be sold.

Non-league fans’ support is more vital to their club.

Fans of clubs around level nine or ten of the football pyramid are more financially valuable to their club.

The seven quid they hand over for their ticket, tea and Kit-Kat goes much further and means much more.

You’re not an anonymous fan in Row Z

A Premier League fan might catch a glimpse of their club’s star striker as his supercar screams off into the distance.

In non-league, certainly below the Conference, players will eat their post-match meal while chatting to the fans in the bar. There are few boundaries.

Plus, fans can be tremendously hands-on if they so choose. Every semi-pro club is reliant, to differing degrees, on the goodwill and free labour offered by its hopelessly devoted volunteers.

They might be marking out the lines or selling raffle tickets or running the club shop or putting together the match-day programme.

But, whatever their role, they have an impact on their club that no Premier League fan, sitting in anonymity in Row Z, can ever claim.

Nige Tassell’s The Bottom Corner: A Season With The Dreamers Of Non-League Football is out now