Now we last spoke to Tom back in August 2024 where we discussed how he came to build his club from what was originally a group of friends playing in a 5-aside team together. He had seen promotions and cup wins already, so the bar has been set pretty high going into our follow-up chat.

For those of you who want to read the full chat we had with Tom before this one, you can head right here: https://tttonlf.com/2024/08/02/from-5-aside-to-non-league-football/

Now we are all up to speed, let’s find out how things have been going from the very busy main man himself!

Q) What has happened since we last spoke Tom?

So last time we spoke we were coming off the back of our first win and promotion to Division 3 of the Thames Valley Premier League System, It was always going to be a hard debut season in division 3, but considering the resilience we showed towards the end of last season in the cup final we had all the momentum going into it.

In our first 10 games we managed to win 7, draw 2, and take our first loss in over a calendar year.

Then we had quite a few setbacks just before and after the Christmas break, we kept drawing games we should’ve won, and took a couple of losses that really shouldn’t of happened.

It had been a year and a half of more or less winning every game until that point so as you can imagine tensions were pretty high in the squad which caused a few issues along the way, but as has been the case the last couple of years when we find ourselves up against it and we have an ultimatum to contend with, thats when we start to play our best football.

Looking at the remaining 5 fixtures, we knew we realistically had to win our next 4, we had the majority of our squad away/injured for the final game, and it would’ve been a huge ask for our reserves to beat a team technically 2 divisions higher than them.

Of these 5 games we also had to beat top of the league Marlow United, a side that had only dropped 2 points all season, and had beaten us 3-0 prior.

Fortunately when it really mattered we found our form, beating Goring twice, SB Phoenix (last years winners of our division and cup finalists) Cookham Dean (former non league big hitters and over a 100 years of history behind them) and most importantly a 4-3 win against top of the league Marlow..

So thats it.. i can proudly say we’ve secured back to back promotions .. would a 3rd next season be too much to ask?

Q) What are you planning/doing during this off-season?

So I’ve already had my rest period for the season, I spent some time away in France with the family which was great, but in reality when you run a club, holidays (if you’re lucky) are really the only time you’ll have off, our reserves teams season finished really early, so they’ve already started training again, so I’ve been helping out with their sessions and even joining in a bit which has been brilliant.

I want to invest as much time as i can into our reserves next season because its such a great group of lads, they struggled for results in their debut season (as our 1sts did) but most importantly they kept showing up and managed to get a few decent results along the way.

We’ve got a couple of brilliant players dropping down, and hopefully a few more joining them this season, so it would be great to see them get a promotion or a cup win for their efforts.

The rest of my time in pre season will be spent fundraising, we’ve set a target of £11,000 which i doubt we will get anywhere near 😅 but ultimately thats the cost of football even at our level!

Q) Do you feel you have a bit of a target on your back now due to your success?

We’ve got a few friendly rivalries and teams we enjoy playing, there’s also a couple of managers ive had a few spats with over the years, but i wouldnt say we have a target on our back, we go into every season knowing were the underdog, we dont have 100 years on infrastructure, we dont have the luxury of having youth teams to develop and draw players from, and ultimately our club isnt as well known and definitely operates on a much lower budget than the other clubs. But i think that suits us, as i said, we play our best football when were up against it, so for me the best thing we can do is remember were a 5aside team making a go of Saturday league football and keep that underdog mentality, that way, any targets or pressure to succeed is coming from us.

Q) Has there been any more discussions with looking for a permanent base?

So if we get another promotion, we will need to start a groundshare with a bigger club to have access to floodlights for midweek games, not because division 1 requires it, but the rules state the division above the(Thames Valley Premier League) does, so whilst it wont necessarily be ours, depending on what the club wants from a ground share it might become a joint home. obviously this could take a few years, and with my club owner hat on, i hope it does, because that would require a huge amount of money i would have to find, but having said that, should we gain back to back to back to back promotions I’m sure that’ll put us in a better position to secure the investment to do so.

In terms of building a home from scratch… unless i win the lottery or find a couple million under a park bench, i think we’re a long way off.. but never say never, its not impossible we secure literally any piece of land, and through FA grants, crowd funding and maybe a generous donation from ex pro player or 2 we make it happen.. all i know is, if we ever have the opportunity to secure a site, ill put every fibre of my being to make the above happen.

Q) Are you still ordering food from Uber eats during the game…?

Ive been pretty good this year Christian, unfortunately as the pitch at our new home ground is far away from the car park i cant get it delivered pitch side anymore, ill ensure when we draft the plans for our new ground, ill include a road for Uber Eats and deliveroo drivers to be able to pull up right next to my technical area 😅

Q) Have you thought about documenting your rise in video form – Welcome to Finch…?

Any amateur videographers out there who fancy giving it a go are absolutely more than welcome to get involved. We’ve definitely got a few characters in the team who would make great viewing. I don’t think clubs like SE Dons, Dorking with Bunch of Amateurs, or Hashtag United get enough credit for what they’ve done with football. They’ve made Sunday league and non-league football more appealing than ever and paved the way for a new generation of non-league fans.

Q) Do you plan to record and release highlights of your games in the future?

Yes – we’re planning to get a Veo camera for next season. I honestly think it’ll be one of the most useful things for us as a club – not just for generating content, but also for analysing games and improving. Any businesses interested in helping fund the purchase would, of course, have full visibility on our website and socials in return.

Q) Are you on the lookout for help in the shape of volunteers at all?

This season we’ve had a brilliant response from people offering help across all areas – from social media to events to coaching – and it’s all been hugely appreciated.

If anyone else is interested in getting involved in any way this season, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I do also have to just give a big shoutout to Chris Agutter, the manager of Worthing FC in the national league who let me shadow him earlier on in the season, its a great example of how volunteering doesnt have to just be directly helping out in sessions or matchdays or even with any direct involvement, it can also be people high up in the game volunteering their time and access to area’s of football most of us will never get to experience.

This season im happy to also announce Marc White (my non league hero) has also said i can go in for a session or two at Dorking.. I cant really put into word how beneficial it is for managers in my position when people like Marc and Chris are willing to give you an arm up.

Q) And finally how can companies or individuals look to get involved and help you grow as a club?

For us, it’s essential now to start partnering with businesses and like-minded individuals to help propel the club forward. If anyone is potentially interested in sponsoring either of our teams or any of our players, please feel free to reach out to me at finchutd@gmail.com

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It was great to catch up with Tom and his merry band of winners!

I will of course be keeping a close eye on what happens next season and beyond for ‘The Finch’. If you too want to keep an eye on how they are doing you can follow them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/FinchampsteadUnitedFC

We will be back in touch with Tom to see how their next promotion charge goes, but until then – UP THE FINCH!

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