MANSFIELD TOWN

‘Won’t you be my coo ca choo?’

ALVIN STARDUST (the closest I could find to a celebrity Mansfield fan)

‘Sometimes you see potential in something that is so downtrodden, you can make a difference. I fell in love with it.’

CAROLYN RADFORD CEO of Mansfield Town, explaining her involvement with the club

I’m not sure how Mansfield fans would have reacted to Carolyn Radford’s admission that she knew nothing about the club when she first went there.*

She should have asked me, or rather, she should have asked the nine-year-old me. If you’d asked 1971 Kevin (not Kev, please) about Mansfield Town, he would have dutifully said: ‘The Stags … yellow shirts, blue shorts … a stag’s head … Field Mill.’ I would probably have been able to tell you the name of the manager and the captain as well … let me think, Jock Basford was manager and I believe the captain may have been Stuart Boam.† As a nine-year-old I could reel off the vital statistics of every club in England. Most of us could, there wasn’t much else to distract us.

I have to admit that I have never been to Mansfield or Field Mill. I’ve definitely seen Mansfield play, though – on 23 August 1977. Obviously I checked the date, but I remember the game, if only for what happened afterwards. We had just been promoted to the Second Division and it was our first home-game of the season. Selhurst Park was full of optimism and sparkled in the sort of sunlight that only really exists in your memory. We won comfortably, which probably caused the bit I remember best.

There were only about a hundred Mansfield fans left at the end, but at the final whistle they went on a mini-rampage that took as many as one policeman to stop, but not until about £3.50’s worth of damage had been done to the away terrace. It didn’t make any headlines the next day.

So this is very much not a personal history of Mansfield Town FC. And to be honest, even among those for whom the history of Mansfield is personal, there is some confusion. The official club history, on the official club website, begins with these splendidly snippy words: ‘Much has been written of the formation of Mansfield Town Football Club and many dates have been given, however most are apocryphal or at the very least wildly inaccurate.’ That’s the spirit!

Field Mill has been a football ground since 1861, making it the oldest in the country still in use (I think; that club website has got me paranoid), but it has not always been used by Mansfield Town. Come on, Kevin, you can’t let yourself be intimidated by a website, go back in and check …

Yep, it confirms that it is the oldest ground in the EFL and the oldest in the world still to host professional football. Ooh, and in 1930, it hosted the first ever competitive match under artificial light. And if you think I’m going to query how competitive the North Notts League Senior Cup final actually was, then you are mistaken.

Remember the Methodists of Aston Villa? Well, in 1897, some lads of a similar non-denominational bent formed Mansfield Wesleyans who were to become Mansfield Town. They wore light blue and brown striped shirts (that sounds a bit flash for Methodists) and drew their first game, against Sherwood Foresters, 2-2.‡

In 1910, they changed their name to Mansfield Town and … oh, look, if you want to carry on reading a really detailed, and I mean really detailed, account of Mansfield’s history, I suggest you go to that official club website. You’ll find out about their bitter rivalry with Mansfield Mechanics and discover that their chairman and secretary were once banned by the FA for signing a player on the Sabbath Day, and them Methodists too! It’s a very entertaining read, but I warn you, have a cup of tea and several biscuits because you’ll be there for a while.

If you want a potted history, well, they joined the League, won a couple of titles, got promoted a bit and relegated a bit, fell out of the League and came back again. Not very interesting. Except it is, of course, to their fans. And to those people who dedicate their time and energy to researching that history. And to all of us who are endlessly fascinated by the myths and legends (and occasionally the hard facts) of every single one of our football teams.

Why You Shouldn’t Support Them

■ Paul and Martin may start throwing questions at you to prove your allegiance.

■ The oldest professional football ground in the world is now known as the One Call Stadium. They’re tampering with their own history.

■ That baffling mini-rampage. It was hilarious but I just know they would have gone home and lied to their mates about how they terrified the cockneys.