AFC Smallbone Motors

...and the dream began

In a quiet backstreet pub in 2005, the dream of two drunken men was about to became a reality. Darren Redmond and Stuart Telford had thought the idea of a Sunday League Football team of their own was something they had to do. So, relying on friends and more drunkards, they scraped together a team, calling themselves Trocadero FC. Soon afterwards they joined the Coronation League and a buzz of excitement swept the camp. This excitement didnt last long as only 9 players turned up for the first match which ended in a 13-0 drubbing. The dream in tatters after just 90 minutes didnt deter them from continuing their campaign which resulted in loss after loss of games and players.(the team used 11 goalkeepers throughtout the season) New players were brought in and a new coach was appointed which resulted in them winning and drawing a few more matches, which stopped the rot. But this didnt stop the team from finishing 3rd from bottom.

The team that started the second season (2006/07) were near enough a completely different outfit that had started the season before, with more new players being signed up and a permanent goalkeeper being found for the team too. (not in photo) The team also found a new sponsorship for the club and by request of the sponsor, they changed their name to AFC Smallbone Motors. This new name seemed to bring a change of attitude to the team. A more positive and determined side hit the fields every week. Tidy and intelligent football was being played and the team seemed to gel as the weeks went by. Going nearly 4 months unbeaten and only losing 6 games all season saw 'The Motors' finish third in the table. This earned them a well deserved promotion