Welcome back everyone, this time we are sitting down and speaking with Adam who is one of the members of the Crosender Way supporters group, an independent supporters group for Marine AFC. The group initially had the objective of bringing a social media presence to the club, with YouTube vlogs, player interviews and podcasts.
Now that has been achieved the group focus on growing awareness of the club and trying to attract new fans, along with tons of great community activities.
Let's dive in to find out more!
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Name – Adam Bretherton
Age – 38
Favourite team – Marine AFC
Occupation – Finance
Thing I love about football – for 90 minutes nothing else matters but the colour of the shirts and the spirit of completion. All the ills of the world are left of the other side of the turnstiles.
My football pet hate – Feigning injury and diving.
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How did The Crosender Way first come about, and what was the original idea behind it?
Marine AFC was a very different club in 2016 when I first started going. Disillusioned Evertonians and Liverpudlians started watching Marine whose attendances on a good Saturday was 350-400. A few guys had got together and called themselves The Crosender Way with an aim to be an independent voice of supporters of Marine fans who did not align with the then supporters association. The aim was to grow Marines fanbase. I joined the group which over the years went from 10 of us to now around 50 of us who identify themselves under the TCW banner which remains an independent supporters group.
You’ve played a big role in modernising the club’s media—what was that journey like in the early days?
Amateur at best. We were conducting player interviews after several pints. A classic being Hednesford away congratulating a player who was not even playing in the position we thought. We've grown and matured since then. Marine did not have any social media presence. The same few people would go to the club house at full time. Segregated small groups of fans. We sought to connect everyone including those who just went home and use social media tools for their proper intention; to connect people. I think we have been very successful making this happen.
Do you think Non-League clubs underestimate the power of social media and content?
100% but the tide is turning now as more and more clubs throughout the pyramid are utilising tools to connect to football fans being increasingly disenfranchised and Disillusioned by top flight league football. When used properly, you can connect across a variety of demographics in society to showcase what the power of football is really about, bringing us together as communities.
What kind of content—vlogs, interviews, podcasts—has connected most with fans?
Our biggest viewership and click through comes from player and manager podcasts. Certainly this season our viewership has increased. We dont do many matchday vlogs but the ones we have done are well received.
You mentioned reaching disenfranchised fans—how important is that to what you do?
It was the core aim of the group at the beginning when I came into Marine AFC and saw a group of guys same age demographic as me who all had similar thoughts regarding the premier league. That belief has continued and been at the heart of TCW since it was formed in 2017 to show football fans in Merseyside there is an alternative. The support has swelled on average now to 1400+ per season since 2021 after Marines FA Cuo run. Not only was their a large interest, Marine have pretty much retained it and grown. The support now is sensational.
The foodbank work is brilliant—how did that partnership with Fans Supporting Foodbanks come about?
It was the core aim of the group at the beginning when I came into Marine AFC and saw a group of guys same age demographic as me who all had similar thoughts regarding the premier league. That belief has continued and been at the heart of TCW since it was formed in 2017 to show football fans in Merseyside there is an alternative. The support has swelled on average now to 1400+ per season since 2021 after Marines FA Cuo run. Not only was their a large interest, Marine have pretty much retained it and grown. The support now is sensational.
On matchdays, how do you balance creating content with actually enjoying the game as a fan?
TCW seldomly creates Matchday content during the game. We focus primarily before and after. We do pre match recordings from the ground prior to kick off and podcasts approx every 2 weeks so we have plenty of talking points to work through. Marine now produce their own matchday content as well as there being an independent vlogger on YouTube (Matchday Mariner) and the occasional YouTube Vloggers who come to visit Marine to create their own content.
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Away days sound like a big part of what you do—what’s been your most memorable trip?
Mine personally was Dover away, purely because of the distance and the fun we had. Beating Macclesfield in the play offs in their own back yard seeing 1300 Marine supporters there was something else. Also brilliant to see recently the number of Marine fans all coming together to take 600+ to Tamworth. There is a great picture of a sea of Marine fans disembarking the train at Tamworth. A scene TCW had always hoped for back in the early days. Now we see images of vast numbers of Marine fans on away days becoming common place.
How has your role changed now the club runs more of its own media and travel?
I can enjoy the game more now without worrying what I am going to be asking the manager and players. It means should I accidently overindulge myself at the bar, I have no burden to shoulder. As a fan, I can enjoy myself. The early days of TCW YouTube content is amateur at best, we really didnt know what we were doing. Everything was done on a wing and a prayer. Marines media team who are all volunteers do a brilliant job. I can finish watching the match and just be a fan. I go and have a pint, talk to friends about the game and enjoy the live music post match entertainment on offer. Arranging coach / minibus travel was often a pain to organise and on occasion left us out of pocket. Now with Marine offering their recourse to organise coach travel. It frees us up to being fans and occasional discuss railtravel for those wanting an alternative travel arrangement.
What’s the long-term vision for The Crosender Way and its impact on the club and community?
The long term vision for TCW is to continue being independent of the club. To support their goals and ambitions but also challenge them when we think something is wrong. Most recently pressing for concessions for children's coach travel ahead of the FA Trophy semi final to Tamworth. Whilst some people with roles at the club pushed back regarding cost travel to London, Marine to their credit listened and reduced the cost for U16s which resulted in a feel good vibe and many more people took up the coach travel with some fans thanking us for pushing this. We will continue to make Saturday and Bank Holiday home games the norm for foodbank collections until the day living standards are raised so that foodbanks are no longer needed and confined to the past. We will continue our work to provide content for Marine and football fans to enjoy along with raising awareness of the club so those tired of being ripped off by the premier league clubs on Merseyside know their is an exciting alternative available they can come and be part of.
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Huge thankyou to Adam for his time and also for everything that he contributes to the world of Non-League Football as a whole.
Keep up the great work!
Until next time!
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