Football is the constant in most peoples lives, it is often something which offers an escape from the reality of the world in which we all live in. It is often labelled as just a game but for many it is so so much more than that. Football is one of if not the biggest and best things in society that not only brings people together but offers a place of safety and sanctuary that can be and has been for so many a lifeline that has meant the difference between giving up and carrying on. Football really is that important.

Now when I was younger I often thought about how it would be to own my own football team and take my bunch of mates who I used to play with and storm up the leagues. Now spoiler alert…that didnt happen for me but I have been talking to someone who has made that leap and is looking to do just that.

With what started as a five a side team, Tom and his friend Nathan Standing have taken the idea of becoming a ‘proper’ club and move up the leagues. So without further ado lets have a little sit down with Tom and discuss just how this all come about and what the future looks like!

Name – Tom Savage
Age – 27

Favourite Team – Liverpool FC
Occupation – Business Development Manager
One thing I love about football is – It gives you the opportunity to forget about everything else, you get to spend time with friends and make memories on and off the pitch.

Football pet hate – The amount of red tape at the lower levels for teams to progress, stadium requirements, money, badges.. if a teams good enough, let the progress, or even better yet help them progress.

Best player you have ever seen play in real life – In non league Lee Trundle, just an absolute wizard on the ball, and a fantastic goal scorer, still going in his mid 40s putting up ridiculous numbers, I think over a goal a game an Lanelli town a few years back and I think they normally sub him on around the 60th minute.. ludicrous numbers.

Still playing at 46 at a fairly decent standard, nothing but respect for him.

If we’re talking in the professional game then I would have to say Messi, which probably doesn’t need too much explanation.

However I do think the most complete footballer of all time, who had absolutely every attribute is Zidane, most notably his performances against Brazil in 98 and 2006 are probably the best solo performances I’ve ever seen. Definitely worth a watch on YouTube.

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Q) So why Finchamstead United?

I’ve been involved in football for 22 consecutive seasons, and nothing has been more special and unique than the season we’ve just had. I’ve played at a higher level (not by much), won leagues, been relegated, scored goals and own goals in cup finals…but nothing compares to watching what was essentially a 5-a-side team a few years ago, beating teams with, in some cases, over 100 years of infrastructure behind them. The buzz around the team is brilliant; we have a real family feel to the club, and ultimately, we’ve only just taken our first step on what will be a very exciting journey. We are incredibly motivated to achieve better things and reach new heights, and anyone who joins us on the journey will have a lot of fun in the process. I would be very surprised to learn of any Step 7 club that has turned away a pair of helping hands or volunteers, so whether it’s with us or your local team, just reach out.

Q) What makes Finchampstead United a special club to you?

The club represents where I’ve lived my entire life. It’s helped me secure jobs, it’s improved my home, personal and social life, and I like to think, to some degree, my players would think the same. It’s a club that I personally created, alongside co-founder Nathan Standing. It was just an idea a few years ago on the way back from a 5-a-side game, and now we are really doing it. We absolutely have a long way to go, but I’m so proud of the platform we have built so far and so grateful for those who believed in me enough to stick around and help allow the club to still exist.

Q) What does a Finchamstead United matchday look like and what does your day look like?

Sitting at Step 7, a matchday could mean a variety of things: we could be playing in a park, a small ground, or, if we are super lucky during a cup run, a stadium. Next season, hopefully, we have another brilliant cup run and get to play at Madjeski Stadium (I’m not calling it ‘the Select Car Leasing Stadium’).

As a team, we have made a habit of arriving before every team that we play (home or away). As a player, I recognized there is something a little intimidating about rolling out of bed (probably with a hangover), getting to the car park, looking around, and seeing two of your players and maybe your coach, and the other team is already at your ground warming up and preparing for a game. Probably a bit overkill at this level of football, but we’re not spending a whole day playing football to go home empty-handed…every little helps! During the game itself, we are blessed to have so many supportive family members, players’ girlfriends and wives, and people involved with the club turn out to cheer us on. Every voice counts on the sideline, especially at our level.

For me personally, a matchday consists of planning the pre-match session…although I’m a little superstitious, so our routine hasn’t changed in our last 13 games as we have only lost one game after being at the bottom of the table five games into the season. I will likely have ongoing chats with the refs, managers, and at least five of my players who have forgotten something or need something last minute from Sports Direct. Team sheets, final changes and bits of prep if needed, checking kit, training equipment. Speaking with the groundsman to ensure the pitch hasn’t been destroyed overnight. A mild panic attack trying to find the keys for the ground and, inevitably, my pre-match ritual of a can of Monster and a burger from my local.

With so much to do, of course things get a little stressful, but managing a matchday is a skill in itself, one which I think I’m improving on as the years go by. I’m extremely competitive in nature, so of course the nerves are paired with excitement and enthusiasm for the game ahead. But more importantly, I just look forward to getting to the ground and seeing all the players and people around the club. For me and a lot of people who work 40+ hours a week, it can sometimes be the most refreshing part of the week, essentially going to meet 20 of your mates to play and watch football. For me, there is nothing better in life than that! Then, of course, the result defines a lot of the matchday experience too. If we win, I’m happy for the rest of the day, and there’s not much that would be able to knock that. A draw or a loss would normally ruin the rest of my week! So, in short, a matchday for me is stress, anxiety, happiness, gratitude, and other result- and performance-defined emotions. But whatever happens on a matchday, it’s always time well spent.

Q) What is the main challenge in managing a team in non-league?

Ensuring the right culture is in place is absolutely paramount; players won’t stick around if they don’t enjoy it, and a club can’t survive without players! But I’d say above all it probably has to be the financial challenges. Many will disagree that this is the right thing to do, but I have personally funded the club through hard times with a few thousand pounds over the years for kit, insurance, ground costs, unpaid fees, equipment. But for me, it’s a no-brainer and money well spent. Other managers will say, ‘You shouldn’t have to do that,’ and ultimately, they are right. But seeing this club succeed and do well, even at the low level we operate at, is well worth every penny, and I’d hate to let down those who have stuck by me because at times the club struggles to financially sustain itself.

Q) How important are your fans to you and the team?

All of our fans are close family members and friends of the players, and we are super grateful for all of them. People are quick to forget that it’s not just the players that are giving up an entire Saturday to play football; it’s often their partners and family members too. To have so many of them come down, watch, and support us is truly brilliant and a stepping stone to making our club have a family feel and environment to it, which will serve us well when we move up the divisions and need wider support to progress. To anyone that has come and watched, thank you so much!

Q) What are your hopes for the upcoming season?

Before beginning my coaching journey, I had played football for various teams for 22 years and still occasionally play now despite being double the weight of when I entered men’s football. Any team I have been a part of before that has seen promotion, the instructions were more or less always the same: ‘Don’t get relegated, figure out the standard, and we make a push the season after.’ For this group of players, it’s a little different. We’ve put away our fair share of higher division opposition last season, we haven’t lost a single player, and everyone continues to improve individually and as a team. So, in short, we’re aiming to win the league, and failing that, a promotion will suffice. On a wider level, we are adding a reserve team to our ranks, who we are very excited to see take their first step on the pyramid, and behind the scenes, we are expanding our committee and volunteers to help us progress.

Q) What keeps you coming back?

For me personally, this club is my baby. We’ve nurtured it from a 5-a-side team to a team on the FA pyramid, albeit a small team. It’s absolutely everything to me. The club has improved my personal life outside of football; without it, I’d be a miserable *******. The club has helped me get jobs I had no business even applying for without the wealth of experience running a football club has given me, and it’s the reason why I wouldn’t dream of living anywhere other than Finchampstead. I also know what it means to some of the players. For some, it’s a kick-about; for some, the football is probably secondary to the socialising (which is absolutely fine), but more importantly, it’s a window twice a week where you can spend time with friends and block out all the outside noise. When you’re playing football or watching a good game on the sidelines, work and life’s challenges don’t matter for a few hours, and I think we all need that from time to time.

Q) Your favourite moment as a fan?

The obvious answer would be the cup final, but to be honest, we’ve had a lot of defining moments. When we first started the team, we didn’t win a game for an entire year. Before our first training session, I was sat in the pub with some friends, some of whom played football in the league we were joining. When I said I was starting a club and everything it entailed, of course, I got laughed at and told not to bother. Well, in our first season, they were proven right, by way of a 14–1 loss against one of the lads who was sat in the pub at the time. That was a tough one to take. However, in our second season, still chasing our first win, we had the same team again. Their results had slipped a little; we had managed a draw the week before and a win in a friendly. It’s about as confident as I had been since forming the club in terms of walking away with a result.

We took the lead early on in the game and held on for dear life. They eventually netted a goal around the 60th minute of the game, and we thought that was probably going to be the beginning of the end. Fortunately, thanks to the goalkeeper, the crossbar, and both sets of posts, we managed to keep it goalless for another 20 minutes, and then ended up scoring the winner with a beautiful free kick with minutes left on the clock.

Q) What are you most proud of to date from behind the scenes?

This season is by far my proudest season as Chairman, manager, and now third-choice goalkeeper (I recruited myself out very quickly). We gained promotion on the final day of the season, beat a team that had already beaten us twice in the league, in the semi-final of the BTC Cup on penalties after being 3-1 down with 10 minutes to go. And then we managed to turn around the final, in which we were 3-0 down at halftime against a team that had won the league. We took the game to 3-3 and then eventually won the game on penalties to gain the club’s first piece of silverware. For me, football doesn’t get much better than that. It wasn’t just the results that made me so proud; it’s the fact that the results embodied our hard work and dedication over the last few years, and the players who stuck by me when we only had, in some cases, 9 or 10 showing up to a game finally had their day in the sun and got to lift a trophy in a Finch UTD shirt. Accompanied by some absolutely brilliant players that joined the club at the start of this season.

Q) Best food item in the ground?

Unfortunately, there are no permanent food places at our park pitch. However, I am fortunate enough to have a few car park spaces behind the subs bench for easy Deliveroo access. A Kokoro Chicken Katsu Curry would be an easy option.

Q) Best player you have seen play for Finchampstead United?

This is an incredibly hard question to answer when taking all things into consideration about a player, but if we are talking about one of our most valuable and dedicated players, it has to be one of our latest signings, Alfie Powell. Since he’s come into the club, I don’t think he’s ever really had an off game. Like many others, he has played a vital role in gaining our first promotion and piece of silverware. He’s a very game-intelligent central midfielder who has a brilliant all-around understanding of the game. He won’t score you three goals a game or beat six players before playing the ball into a striker, but he does the little things and the basics right 99.9% of the time. If we are talking about raw ability (best player on their day), then it would have to be club veteran Macauley Bleasdale. I would say he’s perhaps not our most consistent player and boasts an incredible yellow and red card collection, but on his day, he really can walk through five or six players and score multiple goals a game.

Q) Does being a former coach/manager mean you are now tied to the club forever more?

Absolutely, the Liverpool or England job might turn my head. But I don’t think they are accepting applications from an overweight, sweaty Step 7 coach. But in reality, I’m absolutely tied to this club for as long as I can keep it alive…hopefully, I get to pass it on one day, and it will survive longer than I do. I’ve turned down jobs and opportunities abroad and further afield just to remain closer to the club, and I really can’t ever see that changing and have never had second thoughts or regretted any of those decisions! One plausible thing I absolutely could see happening, however, is stepping down as manager or chairman and assuming a different role within the club, perhaps the U5s girls coach when my daughter is old enough to play. I only want to do what’s right for the club, and if I feel I’m personally hindering them at any step, by all means, I would consider bringing someone much more experienced than me in to take us to the next level. I’m only 27 years old now, and I was 21/22 years old when I started the club. Most people are just beginning to play men’s football at 22 and not even thinking about coaching. So, I can’t be naive and assume I’m always going to be the best person for the club, but I will always remain involved to some degree.

Q) Non-league football is special to many, but why do you choose non-league over EFL/Premiership?

The EFL/Premiership continues to alienate the average person more and more as the years go on. Ticket prices are going through the roof, oil states owning football clubs, pints over £8…it’s all very far from what the game once was. Don’t get me wrong, I will always still watch it, love it, and support my team, but for me, the charm of non-league and pursuing my own ambitions within football is so much greater, and gives me so much more than watching the Prem. Seeing what is essentially a group of mates claw back a 3-goal deficit in a cup final in front of friends and family drinking pints under £4, against a well-established club with multiple coaches, staff, youth teams, and facilities we are probably 30 years away from ever owning if we’re lucky. For me personally (and probably no one else), that tops any Premiership or EFL game I’ve ever seen.

Q) Is it value for money in your opinion?

Well, the only games we’ve played that have had a gate fee are the cup games we played at the Rivermoor Stadium. I think it was £2 a ticket, and we came back from two goals down in the semi with 10 minutes to go, and three goals down in the final. I’d say that’s pretty good value for money.

Q) How much does the club do for the local community?

We try our best to engage with local businesses to build partnerships. Any pub that sees us walk in after a matchday is certainly doing well that day. We keep an eye out for any charity tournaments like the Ollie Cup we just played in, and we’re always on the lookout for more ways we can help and integrate with the local community. After all, I hope we are the ones who will represent them in sport for years to come.

Q) Non-league football is…

Can I swear? It’s fu**ing brilliant. Keep supporting it, watching it, playing in it, just get involved if you really love what football is all about. It takes a little while to ‘get’ non-league football, especially if you’ve only ever watched the big leagues, but once it’s gripped you, you’ll find yourself missing Champions League group stage games you’ve watched a thousand times, to see if Chatham beat Canvey Island. And it will be time well spent.

Non-league football is the pillar that holds up the best league in the world (the Premier League) and everything more to those involved. We should be immensely proud of our non-league system and pyramid in this country. It encapsulates everything brilliant about our game and is a melting pot for everything new, everything that once was, and everything that is yet to be in the beautiful game played in this country. We should be proud of all of those involved, from players, coaches, and volunteers, who are the cornerstone of this game and rarely ever get a mention. The inner workings of the pyramid are extremely extensive and not something that has been able to be replicated to this level in football or any other sport in any other country.

Q) And finally what are your future plans for Finchamstead United?

This is a huge question. I can often come across as maybe talking about my club like it’s a premiership team when I’m speaking to someone for the first time about it, but that’s only because I’m so proud of what it’s become. We still have a long, long way to go, and I certainly have some big plans going forward.

I’m always very reluctant to share plans because people always can’t help themselves but be negative and tell me why it’s not a good idea! But let’s hope we do this interview in 10 years’ time and I’ve ticked some of the boxes off.

We need to expand our number of teams. We are adding our first reserve side this season that will take the place of the team that’s just been promoted, so I’m super excited for that. On a wider spectrum, we need to make our way into the women’s game. It’s all well and good having a strong men’s outfit, but every big club needs to fight on all fronts, and having an established women’s team is certainly a part of those plans.

Which brings me nicely onto youth football. My daughter was born in February of this year, and I can’t bear the thought of her wearing the shirt of another club, so in the next four years, we absolutely need to add youth teams to our ranks to provide something a little more for the community and to cement a solid foundation and bolster the adult teams, which will hopefully have kicked on massively by the time those kids reach adult football.

It probably goes without saying, but we need more volunteers, specifically in finance, fundraising, and administrative roles, anything that will just really help us professionalise and kick on. I think once we’ve built that solid platform, the results and, more importantly, club security will surely follow. The biggest task and medium- to long-term goal I have is to get out of Step 7 and into the County divisions. The running costs will, of course, skyrocket, and we will need to have all of the above plans in place to do so. Not to mention, if ground sharing isn’t an option, should we ever be in a position to move up a step, we need a place to call home…and that will cost quite literally a few million quid.

But of course, I look at running this on a day-by-day, week-by-week, and game-by-game basis. People will absolutely point the finger and say that will never happen, and the reality is it might never happen, but I will continue to keep working on achieving these goals. I’ve never been one to listen to people when they say something is impossible or a waste of time. For me, the process of even trying is enough fun anyway!

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Well what a story so far! It is a story which I personally will be keeping an eye on and monitor how they get on. I am impressed and inspired by the work that has already gone into the club achieving what it has already but also for the ambition of where Tom wants to take the club in the future.

It is a story which encapsulates all of the things which are so great about non-league football and shows that whatever it is you want to achieve you can go out there and do it.

Drop the guys a follow on social media and why not pop down and watch them on a matchday, Tom knows exactly the Deliveroo order you need to make! Kokoro Chicken Katsu Curries all round!

https://www.facebook.com/FinchampsteadUnitedFC

Until next time!