AFC Telford United - Rise of the Bucks

[FM_Story]

Rise of the Bucks: A Non League journey

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AFC Telford United
Nickname: The Bucks
Stadium: New Bucks Head Stadium - 6,380 (2,200 seated)
League: National League North
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A brief history lesson for those unaware, Telford United, a team with with 132 years of history sadly folded at the end of the 2003/04 season due to financial issues & therefore were placed into administration. After several famous FA Cup runs where they beat teams such as Burnley, Bradford City, Crewe & Stoke City. They also reached 5 FA Trophy Finals, winning 3 of them at the old Wembley Stadium. After 25 years in the Conference (now National League) the club folded & the fans who tried to save the club, eventually managed to create a new Phoenix team that rose from the ashes of the famous non league club & duly named it AFC Telford United.

The current club started life in Step 8 of the pyramid, plying their trade in what was the Unibond Division One (now Northern Premier League - Midlands Division) The club secured the lease to use the brand new 6,300+ capacity stadium that the old Telford United had recently build just before their collapse, the stadium looked completely out of place at this level but also showed the pedigree that the previous club had. Finally in the 2010/11 season, the club "returned" back to the Conference, the same level the old Telford United competed in.

After spending most of their time in the National League North, a league below the National League, the club found themselves relegated at the end of the 2022/23 season. After being placed into the Southern Central Premier Division, a 2nd place finish in their first season followed by a playoff final appearance where they found themselves on the end of a 1-0 defeat at home to Leamington. This now brings us to last season, where a 3rd place finish in the league was followed by yet another playoff final, this time a dramatic 4-2 victory away to Kettering Town saw the club return back to the National League North.

After keeping hold of star striker Matty Stenson who bagged 32 goals that helped fire the Bucks to promotion, the fans are feeling confident for the season ahead in the NLN & excited about the feel good factor around the club.

 

[The FM stories⚽️💻📖]

Rise of the Bucks: A Non League journey

View attachment 699104
_____

AFC Telford United
Nickname: The Bucks
Stadium: New Bucks Head Stadium - 6,380 (2,200 seated)
League: National League North
_____​

A brief history lesson for those unaware, Telford United, a team with with 132 years of history sadly folded at the end of the 2003/04 season due to financial issues & therefore were placed into administration. After several famous FA Cup runs where they beat teams such as Burnley, Bradford City, Crewe & Stoke City. They also reached 5 FA Trophy Finals, winning 3 of them at the old Wembley Stadium. After 25 years in the Conference (now National League) the club folded & the fans who tried to save the club, eventually managed to create a new Phoenix team that rose from the ashes of the famous non league club & duly named it AFC Telford United.

The current club started life in Step 8 of the pyramid, plying their trade in what was the Unibond Division One (now Northern Premier League - Midlands Division) The club secured the lease to use the brand new 6,300+ capacity stadium that the old Telford United had recently build just before their collapse, the stadium looked completely out of place at this level but also showed the pedigree that the previous club had. Finally in the 2010/11 season, the club "returned" back to the Conference, the same level the old Telford United competed in.

After spending most of their time in the National League North, a league below the National League, the club found themselves relegated at the end of the 2022/23 season. After being placed into the Southern Central Premier Division, a 2nd place finish in their first season followed by a playoff final appearance where they found themselves on the end of a 1-0 defeat at home to Leamington. This now brings us to last season, where a 3rd place finish in the league was followed by yet another playoff final, this time a dramatic 4-2 victory away to Kettering Town saw the club return back to the National League North.

After keeping hold of star striker Matty Stenson who bagged 32 goals that helped fire the Bucks to promotion, the fans are feeling confident for the season ahead in the NLN & excited about the feel good factor around the club.

I can not wait to see how this story will unfold.

 

[FM_Story]

Interesting developments coming out of the New Bucks Head this morning, as reported by various media outlets.
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[FM_Story]

A quick look into the upcoming season with some club information. We have a core support of 400 ST holders & average around 1,100 for a home game, this will be something we will look at growing throughout the season as we attempt to bring success to the club.

After our recent promotion from the Southern Central Premier last season, the media don't seem to follow the fans optimism for the season ahead & have made us one of the favourites for relegation. The board have also released their 5 year plan for the club, the objective for the season is to attempt to avoid relegation. After that, the ambition over the following 4 years is to become an established NLN side. This really shows the scale of the project here, I for one will be looking to be more competitive, rather than just settling for existing in the league.

The Enterprise National League North table for the upcoming season shows the scale of the challenge ahead for us. As a semi-pro club only training twice a week, we are competing with several teams who are full time or hybrid. Teams who could be in and around the top 4 are teams such as Kidderminster, South Shields, AFC Fylde, Radcliffe, Chester, Spennymoor & Macclesfield to name a few.

A detailed look into the squad we're going to be working with shows that we do have some solid players to build a base on.
Our best player is Ricardo Dinanga who's currently on loan from Shrewsbury Town. Ricardo was actually one of our players last season before making the move to Shrewsbury in January 2025.

Star striker Matty Stenson scored 32 goals to help towards our promotion last season, it was vital the club kept hold of him and did so despite big money offers from several clubs.

Other notable players with good potential include Khanya Leshabela who started his career with Leicester City, Remi Walker from Birmingham City & Venezuelan centre back Oliver Cawthorne could have a big season ahead.

Looking ahead for transfer targets, we'll need to add a backup goalkeeper as a priority as well as another centre back & centre forward.

The formation/tactics we will be employing this season will be based around a 4-2-4 formation where the focus is on wing play. I like my teams to play football on the floor & be aggressive in their tackles. My teams tend to pick up a lot of bookings this way but I like my players to be dominate all over & not back down or show teams too much respect. We will stay in this shape both in & out of possession & will always look to blood youth prospects into the squad when the opportunity arises.

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[FM_Story]

The Pre-Season schedule has been announced & we will face teams from a mixture of levels ranging from the EFL down to the Northern Premier regional divisions.

The friendly against fierce rivals Shrewsbury Town has come about from our affiliate deal between both clubs, we also have an agreement in place where we can loan players with no fees attached. We have the same affiliate deal with Championship side West Bromwich Albion, we will definitely be taking advantage of this agreement with both clubs & hopefully bring in some quality players to help push us on.

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[FM_Story]

Two in for the Bucks

We've delved straight into the transfer market & brought in 2 players to help bolster the defence. First through the door is Karsten Cairns who joins on loan from Shrewsbury Town. The 18yr old centre back will provide much needed cover for our first choice partnership of Orrin Pendley & Oliver Cawthorne.

Also joining the Bucks is left back Xavier Smith who joins on a free transfer. The 18yr old Australian defender started his youth career with Crewe Alexandra before eventually being released at the end of last season. Xavier has got fantastic potential & will be looking to compete with Jordan Cranston for the left back position immediately.

We now move to look at other areas of the squad that need strengthening & we have a number of targets that we will be looking to speak with.

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[FM_Story]

Pre-Season Friendlies

Time for a quick recap of our performances during our pre-season friendlies. A total of 5 games saw 4 wins & 1 draw, scoring 12 goals & conceding just 3. It was particularly pleasing to see star striker Matty Stenson find his shooting boots before the season kicks off by scoring 4 goals across the friendly fixtures.

We now look ahead to the start of the Enterprise National League North campaign with a fantastic pre-season under our belts & see if we complete the objectives set out by the board.

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[FM_Story]

Bucks in Safe Hands

We are delighted to welcome 19yr old goalkeeper Oliver Riva to the New Bucks Head after weeks of discussions.
Oliver was recently released by League One side, Huddersfield Town and joins the Bucks on a free transfer.

The 6ft 6" stopper who joins on a 2 year deal, has fantastic potential and could make himself No.1 at the club for a long time to come.
We faced a challenge getting the deal over the line with the transfer story leaked in the media & also several clubs in our league all making contact with Oliver.

It's fantastic to we've managed to secure his services & subject to his registration with the National league, will be available for selection for the first game of the season.

 

[FM_Story]

NLN - Matchday 1:

King's Lynn Vs AFC Telford United

Saturday 9th August 2025 | 3pm KO
Docherty Walks Stadium
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Match Preview:
So the start of the Enterprise National League North is upon us & we're raring to go. A tough game ahead as we face a 300 mile round trip to East Anglia to face a strong King's Lynn side. Only 1 absence for the opening game, left back Jordan Cranston misses out after struggling for match fitness due to an ankle injury picked up in training, so new boy Xavier Smith drops into LB for his Bucks debut.

Fellow new signing Oliver Riva is given the nod over No.1 Brandon Hall in goal, a big call but we're confident in the 19yr old's ability.

Match Report:
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Despite the dominance in possession, the Bucks couldn't find a way to convert their chances as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in Norfolk, East Anglia.

King's Lynn faced an incredible 24 shots from the Bucks, with 8 of them going very close to hitting the net. As well as the shooting stats, Telford also dominated possession too, moving the ball around well and creating several chances down both wings.

A quiet half hour was ended by Matty Stenson turning the defender inside out with a half turn before curling an effort over the bar from 18 yards that had most of the 139 strong away fans thinking it was sneaking in. As always though, it's whoever puts their chances away that wins football matches & King's Lynn did that to perfection.

A fantastic goal from a Jack Lambert corner that was headed away by Oli Cawthorne but fell to Morgan Williams on the edge of the box who controlled the ball with his chest before hitting a volley into the bottom corner on the stroke of Half Time.

After a good save by the new Bucks keeper Riva, he kicked the ball long to the halfway line that was brought down by Lambert who fed a perfect through ball past 4 players into the path of Michael Gyasi who glided into the box and slotted home past the on rushing keeper. A late free kick by Rhys Hilton just missed the crossbar by millimetres, followed by Emmanuel Ilesanmi going 1-on-1 with the goal keeper after being fed through by Alex Fletcher but could only drag his shot wide of the post, summed up the Bucks afternoon in front of goal.

Bucks MOTM: Orrin Pendley
Attendance: 1,216 (139 away)

Full Time Score
King's Lynn 2-0 AFC Telford

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Bucks bolster attack

After the arrivals of our new goalkeeper & defenders, we have moved to strengthen our strike force.
We are delighted to welcome Amaru Kaunda to the New Bucks Head.

Amaru joins us on a free transfer after being released by Cambridge United, a team who's youth academy he joined at 15yrs old.
Now just 19yrs old, Amaru doesn't have much league experience under his belt but will be looking to impress the squad straight away.

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[FM_Story]

NLN - Matchday 2:

AFC Telford United Vs Curzon Ashton

Saturday 16th August 2025 | 3pm KO
New Bucks Head​

Match Preview:
Our first home game of the season follows our 2-0 defeat last week & we're aiming to put that result right today in front of our home crowd.

Young goalkeeper Oliver Riva keeps his place in goal, Adan George drops to the bench as new boy Amaru Kaunda makes his Bucks debut up front alongside Matty Stenson & although Jordan Cranston returned to training this week, he only makes the bench as he looks to gain his match fitness.

Match Report:​

The Bucks started the game well, knocking the ball around and getting into dangerous positions. The first clear chance came from a well taken Xavier Smith corner which was headed clear only to find Luke Rowe 18 yards out, the skipper played the ball back to Smith, instead of crossing again, he cut inside but curled his effort around the post.

Two more corners from Smith before the 25th minute created more chances for the Bucks, Oliver Cawthorne fiercely headed the ball inches over the crossbar whilst new boy Amaru Kaunda jumped on a loose ball inside the 6 yard box but somehow put his shot wide.

After a promising first 28 minutes from Xavier Smith, he let his team down by picking up 2 quick yellow cards, the 2nd for a very poor challenge which shows the inexperience from the 18yr old Australian.

After dominating both shots & possession at the break, both teams went in at 0-0 with Curzon thanking their lucky stars.

The Bucks started the second half as dangerously as they did in the first, Leshabela driving down the right wing, crossing to Stenson who knocked it down to Ricardo Dinanga who shot from 20 yards, only to see it strike the crossbar & out for a goal kick.
Curzon responded instantly with their own quick passing play in midfield before Ben Darby spotted the Bucks keeper off his line, struck a lobbed effort from 25 yards only to see the ball tipped over the bar by the scrambling Riva.

Another effort from distance by Dinanga came close once again hitting the woodwork, this time striking the post.
The Bucks finally got their breakthrough after 76 minutes, a free kick by Jordan Cranston whipped into the path of Ilesanmi who found himself hauled to the ground leaving the official no choice but to point to the spot. With Matty Stenson off the pitch, his replacement Emmanuel Ilesanmi stepped up to take the penalty himeself, scoring his first professional goal.

A decent win for the Bucks in front of a 1,346 strong home crowd means they can now push on & build on this performance.

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Bucks MOTM: Oliver Riva
Attendance: 1,346 (54 away)

Full Time Score
AFC Telford 1-0 Curzon Ashton

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[FM_Story]