Ancient Megaliths & Play Off Finals: A Modern Guide to Salisbury FC
Exploring the last decade of existence for one of non-league football's overlooked big guns, and an interview with their Supporter's Club Secretary Leona Clubb and her lifelong-fan father.
Welcome to the first edition of the newsletter this year! On January 11th 2025, I travelled to Salisbury in one of England’s most rural regions for their home game against Farnborough in the National League South. Unfortunately, the game was cancelled due to a frozen pitch, so there’s no match report this month. Instead, I explore the history of Salisbury FC in its most recent incarnation and speak to Leona Clubb, the Supporter’s Club Secretary.
You’d be forgiven for not realising it, but Salisbury has a unique and distinct situ at the heart of English history. An unassuming town of 41,000 people (ish) nestled in the central-Eastern corner of Wiltshire, it’s perhaps an unlikely candidate for being a tourist hotspot.
It’s surrounded by miles of open farmland which borders iconoclastic British army territory. Drive around the nearby hills and villages and you’ll frequently come across red flags and warnings about militaristic training exercises. It’s beautiful in an expansive sense, and the morose undercurrent only adds to the area’s sense of spectral history and memory.
The town centre itself is a strange combination of semi-left-behind modernity and gorgeous medieval architecture. On almost every street, Tudor-style ale houses rub up against white stone shopping megaliths like Marks & Spencer, while every now and again the square façade of red-brick Georgian town houses stamp their mark on the landscape.
There’s no clear identity in the form of a commercial hub, or a thriving arts and music scene, but culture is tucked away in the nooks and crannies. Head to the grounds surrounding the genuinely breathtaking cathedral for which the city is so famous and you can find an old residence of former British Prime Minister Edward Heath. It might be unsuspecting, but it’s quietly steeped in lore.
A Historic City, A Historic Game
It will come as no real surprise that a place of Salisbury’s persuasion has never delivered a top flight football team, but Salisbury FC has a stonkingly proud heritage nonetheless. In its current incarnation, SFC was officially founded in 2014, but its history goes all the way back to the late 19th century.
Even the Raymond McEnhill (known as the Ray Mac by fans) Stadium, the team’s home ground, is steeped in time-honoured narrative; it’s based near Old Sarum, the earliest recorded settlement in the city’s history and an absolute treasure trove of saga (especially during the Plantagenet period) over the ensuing centuries.
They’ve never been promoted to the football league, but SFC have been a renowned name in the game’s lower tier over the last decade. Its latest tenure began in defiant fashion, securing their place as 2015-16 champions of the Sydenham’s Wessex Premier League with a remarkable six games in hand.
The following two campaigns saw them competing in the BetVictor Southern League Division One South & West. These were swings & roundabouts years; a promotion in the first season was followed by a period of stagnation, not remotely helped by COVID-19 related struggles, player retention/recruitment issues and a downturn in form in both the league and the FA Cup.
Steve Claridge – one of the five main owners of the club since its rebirth – was fired as Head Coach in October 2022 and replaced by Brian Dutton. The immediate hope this provided fans didn’t translate into lightning success, but form picked up enough to carry them through – after many a dramatic win – to the Play Off Final against AFC Totton. Taking the game to a penalty shoot-out, SFC found their hero in the shape of goalkeeper Ryan Gosney.
Totton’s Tony Lee needed to score their fifth penalty to prevent Salisbury’s promotion, but Gosney had other ideas; he parried the shot away with a strong hand. Cue a pitch invasion from the Salisbury faithful and a party that saw fans – and some of the players – remain at the Ray Mac until 10am the following morning.
Converting the Difference
A bit like Bath City (currently three places above them in the National League South, and who I wrote about late last year) SFC have had a fairly turgid first half of the 2024-25 season. They currently sit in 20th having amassed a brutal 26 points out of a possible 72.
Their goal difference of -3 isn’t a disaster – it’s better than every team below them and a couple of those above. It’s winning games that seems to be the problem; they’ve won just six, one of which came three weeks ago. Three draws in their last five shows just about how mid their conversion rate currently is.
If this newsletter is about anything though, it’s about the view beyond the scorelines and statistical outlook. It’s about how the game, no matter a team’s form, brings people together and impacts its local community. SFC, like many grassroots clubs in the UK, isn’t short of a beacon in this regard.
Beyond the Results
Leona Clubb is Salisbury FC’s Supporter’s Club Secretary. She plays a vital role in fundraising for the club, organising events including live music, fundraising events and gifts for children during festive periods. Crucially though, she’s a Salisbury FC fan through-and-through, and has been following the club in its various guises for almost two decades.
What’s more, Leona is a prime example of how intergenerational fandom is just as tangible at this level of the game as it is at any other. In the interview below, I speak to Leona and her father, Kevin, about what it means to be a Salisbury FC fan, how the club interacts with its local community and some historic moments from its recent history.
When did you first start following Salisbury FC?
Kevin – I started going to games when SFC played in Vicki park in the late 1970s, but often couldn’t go due to work commitments. I became a regular at the Ray Mac in 2005.
Leona – 2007.
What do you think makes the fan culture at SFC special?
Due to the family atmosphere all around the club, everyone looks out for one another and many people have found friendships via the football.
The 2015-16 season was a landmark year for the club, and the start of a new era. Can you tell me a little bit about what the atmosphere was like at that time?
Nerves were high to start with due to not knowing what to expect but it meant so much to many people to have the club back. We went on to win the Wessex League, and got to the semi-finals of the FA vase.
How do Salisbury fans, and the Supporter's Club in particular, interact with and support the local community?
The supporters help fundraising by buying out 50/50 tickets every game. Half the profit goes to the winning ticket and the other half goes into the Supporter’s Club fund. This eventually gets donated back to the club but also goes towards buying Easter eggs and selection boxes for children who come into the ground around those festive times. The Supporter’s Club also buy presents for the children in the hospital at Christmas, giving back to the community and helping families through difficult times.
Who, in your opinion, is the greatest Salisbury player of all time?
There are too many to choose from so we have to give a list from both clubs and over the years, starting with Ian Chalk in the early days, Paul Sales, Wayne Turk, Liam Feeney and Matt Tubbs for the old club. Since SFC reformed, we'd be looking at Lewis Benson making over 200 appearances and Tom Whelan.
I'd have loved to have been at the Play-Off Final against AFC Totton in 2024; sounds like a tense, emotional, exciting afternoon. What do you remember about that game?
The stadium was absolutely packed and was half full (if not slightly more) of Salisbury supporters on a rather cold day for May. The atmosphere was buzzing, the excitement and nervous energy could be felt by all in attendance. The game was pretty intense and kept everyone on their toes.
The best moment was when Joshua Gould (Totton’s keeper, formerly a Salisbury player) stepped up to take a penalty in hope of winding up the Salisbury fans. However, that turned into embarrassment for him when our keeper Ryan Gosney saved it in front of the Salisbury fans. He was the first to take the penalty, so this just put him on edge throughout the penalties. Thankfully it went our way and as soon as we scored the winning penalty the crowd erupted and invaded the pitch in celebration.
How do you feel about Salisbury FC's prospects for the rest of the 2024/25 season?
To stay in this league would be a great achievement with the budget we've got. Anywhere above 16th position would be brilliant.
Salisbury FC are playing away to Chippenham Town today, and their next home game is the rescheduled match against Farnborough on Tuesday 21st January. You can find out more about the club, its history and its fans here.