FOUR titles, four promotions and two levels above target at the end of a five-year plan – Northfield Town’s comeback reads more like a Hollywood script than reality.
Weave in the plot twists of four changes in the dugout and not being able to take promotion having won MFL Division Two in 2025 and it sounds more fantasy than true story.
And the beauty of the reality behind this series of happy endings is its simplicity – a grassroots set up with a desire to grow offering this mainstay of the MFL and Midland Combination the chance to flourish once more.
Having stepped up to the plate with the separate junior set-up in 2016, chairman Alan Jones and secretary Matt Onions frequently pondered whether, how or when to bring together the senior and youth elements, and opportunity knocked in the summer of 2021.
The comeback
Northfield’s resignation from the MFL brought to an end to a 55-year association with the league and its forerunners.
The departure of the 1976 and 1995 Midland Combination champions was a shock for many but those behind the now-burgeoning youth set-up stepped in quickly to enter a team in Birmingham & District Football League (BDFL) Division Two.
Dave Hopkins initially came in from Bournville Colts but the baton then passed to Chris Fox and Lee Horton.
With BDFL Division Two and One titles secured – just two points were dropped in that second season – an application to return to the MFL was granted with Town finishing runners-up to AFC Solihull in Division Three, netting more than 100 league goals along the way.
Other commitments brought the Fox-Horton era to an end – although Fox now manages the under-8s – with Ryan Smith and Harris Jackson taking on the task of being competitive at a higher level.
Town flew out of the traps with 14 wins out of 17 yet Knowle looked imperious, dropping only four points as of January 25 to lead the way by 14 points.
Undeterred, Northfield put together nine straight wins to turn up the heat and a 1-0 win over Knowle, Josh Roberts etching his name into the history books with the only goal, sealed back-to-back championships in a title decider watched by 393.
The champagne corks popped but some of the fizz was taken away when the club discovered it was unable to take promotion to Step 6 with the planning application for floodlights unresolved.
Jackson left but the bulk of the squad stuck together with Smith and new assistant Jack Gauntlett overseeing a campaign where Northfield hit the front and never looked back, dropping only 10 points.
Planning permission was secured and the club was moving up again – but without Smith and Gauntlett.
New manager? No problem. Ex-Coventrians and Birmingham United boss Matt Breeze has started with eight league wins out of nine to put Town among the early pacesetters in MFL Division One.
“We had a five-year plan to sort our football pathway, it was just to get a well-run adult team and hope to be back in the MFL,” said Onions.
“To win leagues and get promoted each season has been way beyond any of our expectations and it is strange, you kind of get on with what you do without really getting time to take stock.
“There have been a few changes along the way but it has always been a case of people having other things going on in life.
“Luckily we have always been able to find someone good and able to take the club forward. I don’t know whether that is the name and the heritage of the club but it is testament to the people of the football club, the committee and the people we bring in.
“We pride ourselves on being a community club. People know each other from around the place and there is also the draw of the club’s name, we have always had decent managers come forward and we are lucky in that respect.
“We can feel proud of what we have done, keeping everyone together. We still have a core from those BDFL days and it is what you do, you just keep going.”
Let there be light
Ashley Prince and Josh Westwood are still around from those original BDFL days, while Leon Midgley and Craig Steventon still play at that level for Northfield’s new development side.
A decade on from Jones and Onions getting involved and that development arm is one more than 20 teams, including a Midland Floodlit Youth League side, a new women’s team and football for over-50s and over-35s.
And while solving the age-old problem of Northfield’s flagship team being held back by no floodlights – the 1994-95 Midland Combination was won by 12 points without any prospect of heading up to the Midland Alliance – the impending installation means so much more.
“I remember having friends who played here all those years back, you’d watch them win the league and ask why they couldn’t get promoted,” recalled Onions.
“Since coming in we have tried to make that happen. It is something to be proud of because a lot of people thought we never could. Everything is in place for us to crack on and get the lights in now.
“There has been a lot of learning along the way. Alan Jones and director of football Sam Smith have led the process, done all the paperwork and had to go through due diligence with companies. They have put in an immense number of hours.
“It has been a headache but one that is worth having. You want to progress the club and if you have to put in the hours to do that, you do it.
“Football comes with a lot of things that can test your patience. It has been difficult but for the football club and its future, it will all be worth it in the end.
“We want children and families to know that you don’t just have to play junior football, you can aim for that under-18s Floodlit League side, feed into the development side in the BDFL and then the pinnacle of the club, the first team.
“It is about showing all of our kids that there is something to aim for and having the lights will really showcase that.”
