Matt Johnson reports on a visit to watch fan-owned 1874 Northwich take on Longridge Town in the North West Counties League Premier Division

When Jonathan and I paid a visit to fellow fan-owned club 1874 Northwich at the start of March we weren’t just looking for an evening in new surroundings, it was also an opportunity to see if we could pick up a few tips for 1876.

We knew that there would be connections between our two clubs even before we set foot in the ground as we are both fan-created and fan-owned football clubs, we’re both run by volunteers and we both have a year in our names.

Just after we arrived it was easy to notice another similarity, or at least a similarity to which we aspire, visitors enjoy a fantastically warm welcome. A warm welcome was especially welcome on the cold and crisp Tuesday evening that we visited 1874 Northwch’s shared ground in Barnton.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that everybody was very welcoming because that’s how people came across. It didn’t matter whether they were fans or volunteers performing roles or a board member they were welcoming. We even spoke to 1874’s chairman as he did a half time stint in the club shop.

It wasn’t just the fact that everyone was very helpful in terms of advice they were also very curious about our story and the obvious similarities between our two clubs. I am sure that the email exchanges between Jonathan and the 1874 officials had provided a little groundwork for our visit.

Ashley, the head of the 1874’s social media output, was our main host at the match and he took us through both his club’s story and some of the pitfalls of fan-owned football. It was great to speak with someone that was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

While it was nice to speak with Ashley I couldn’t help but feel that we were slightly distracting our host from an important home match, especially as it was an interesting match where 1874 equalised before half time.

During the second half the conversation moved on to the common problems that most semi-pro clubs have to deal with; postponements, playing budgets, promotion challenges going awry and ground-grading processes. Problems seemed to be quite apt at this particular point of the match because 1874’s opponents had just gone ahead again.

Ashley told us that 1874 drew decent crowds for the level they play at and this was certainly true on this evening, the assembled throng created a happy atmosphere.

We then talked about the unique issues that apply to fan-owned club, two of which were ensuring that fans are engaged in the club and the associated aspirations abput social inclusion. Ashley told us that 1874 Northwich were proud of the club projects that were related to social inclusion as well as their fan engagement group.

If we used the atmosphere at the match as a guide we could say that people were clearly engaged with the club and their efforts, although as with all football the fact that 1874 not only equalised for the second time but they scored a late late winner probably helped with the fans’ joviality. A more reliable indicator of fan engagement would be the pitchside flags and banners.

As we were offering our farewells we received more glad tidings from the noisy throng as they passed by. The fact that so many people came over to ask if we’d enjoyed our visit underlined the idea that 1874 Northwich was a hospitable place to watch football.

On the way home I thought about the indicators that 1874 Northwich offered for the future of Bangor 1876, what did their example tell us? In short we can be quite hopeful about the future.

Firstly, on the most basic level 1874 Northwich are evidence that fan-owned football has a future. The club have been around for eight years and at the time of our visit they were challenging for promotion.

Secondly, 1874 Northwich show us that a fan-owned club should be community minded. Activism within the community is at the core of 1874’s being. For example Ashley told us of the pride about the work 1874 has been involved with the mental health charity Mind. The lesson for us is that we must never forget our link with community is an umbilical link, Bangor 1876 are nothing without our local community.

Lastly, 1874 Northwich remind us that fan-owned football self-evidently has to include the fans within it. The banners on display at 1874 show how their fans feel engaged because they celebrate the culture around the club and the history of football in Northwich. Therefore as a fan-owned club we must remember that our fans are not only essential in everything that we do, they ultimately guide our club on its journey.

We’d like to thank Ashley and everyone at 1874 Northwich for their warm hospitality.

Bangor 1876 is supporting local NHS charity Awyr Las in the fight against the Coronavirus. To read what we're doing and what you can do to help, please click here.