With the experienced Syd Burrows remaining as first choice right-back, Alwyn Booth - who left briefly during the summer of 1951 to join newly formed Belper Town - demonstrating typical guile at inside left, and with Les Smith - who recovered after a difficult start to the season - and Horace Hackland working well together in the half back line the only question mark was the right half position. Both Derek Knight and utility man Phil Bibby filled this role adequately but Town finally got the man they were looking for when they signed the defensively minded but remarkably energetic John Commander at Easter. He proved to be a truly excellent signing in the years that followed.

Town went on a run that saw them lose just once in 27 Central Alliance matches between mid September and late April. The defeat against Nottingham Forest "A" that followed was a mere inconvenience because they clinched the title with a 3-0 win at Teversal & Silverhill three days later with another two games still to play.

The FA Cup also brought tremendous excitement. Prior to reaching the First Round they pulled off a superb 2-1 win over Grantham of the Midland League. This set up the famous tie with Rochdale which created newspaper headlines when the ball got stuck in a tree and almost caused the match to be abandoned. Despite losing the game it was the most exciting game in Town’s most exciting season to date.

1952/53 REVIEW 
Ilkeston supporters who thought that the previous season was as good as it was going to get were pleasantly surprised as the club retained the Central Alliance title and, after a two year absence from the competition, the first team lifted the Derbyshire Senior Cup. Jackie Ward, whose form improved considerably during his second season at Ilkeston, scored a hat-trick as Town beat Belper in front of a 9974 crowd at the Baseball Ground.

Town led the table in mid October but another good run in the FA Cup which took them as far as the final qualifying round before losing at Midland League side Gainsborough Trinity saw them drop down to fifth but with games in hand. Form remained excellent, however, and by Easter they had lost only two Central Alliance fixtures. Their only real dodgy spell came in the final seven games when they picked up just seven points but this was more than enough to win the title. In mitigation they did face a gruelling run in of 15 games in the final thirty days. They clinched the crown with two games to spare and their heaviest defeat of the season came three days later at Gresley when they fielded seven reserves including three debutants. There was also concern at the turn of the year when, despite only losing once, they went on a run which saw them score just six goals in five games. This coincided with Barrie Jepson’s brief loss of form that amazingly saw him become a victim of barracking from supporters despite going on to set the club record of 63 goals for the season including nine hat-tricks. He also scored all six goals in Town’s 6-3 win over Clay Cross Miners Welfare. Another forward who suffered similar abuse was Ken Ledger who by his own amazingly high standards had an indifferent season. Nevertheless he arguably remained the finest outside right in the Central Alliance.

One of the reasons for the club’s continued success was the fluid forward line. The players were able to interchange effortlessly thus giving themselves so many options. Their understanding was almost telepathic, their sweeping passing style was a joy and they scored goals like they were going out of fashion. Indeed, four of the front five exceeded 20 goals for the season and the veteran Alwyn Booth weighed in with 19. Booth struggled in the more high tempo games but his canny play opened up many a defence. Any worries that the club may have had when the excellent inside right Billy Coxon left to join Norwich City during the close season were quickly dispelled by his replacement. Ken Faulconbridge was a totally different player yet was even more effective. With great close control, a flair for dribbling and a box of outrageous tricks he became a huge favourite. So unpredictable was he that none of his team mates knew what he was going to do with the ball, let alone the opposition. Unlike many other ball artists of his ilk he was not afraid to go in where it hurt, was a superb header of a ball, and had a mean streak when the mood took him.

Defensively the team was not as tight as many would have liked although there was no question about their talents as individuals. With the two veteran full backs Syd Burrows and Albert Ball destined to spend most of the season helping the reserves Ted Attwood and George Darwin took their places. At right back was Ted Attwood, a former inside forward who was robust, quick in recovery, and who could kick with great power. Darwin, at left back, was sometimes too gentlemanly for his own good but was stylish, had great anticipation and was a clean tackler. Town persisted with him when his form dipped but supporters got to see the best of him in future seasons when he operated on the opposite flank. Behind them was the hitherto outstanding goalkeeper Joe Sharman who made a few costly errors towards the end of the season yet he remained a stopper and crowd pleaser par excellence.

The half back trio of John Commander, Les Smith and Horace Hackland were an undoubted strength. Commander, with his high work rate and enthusiasm, had an excellent season aided and abetted by the pivotal Smith who had developed into an outstanding captain. At left half Hackland occasionally let his attacking instincts get the better of him which sometimes put pressure on the defence. Nevertheless he became more circumspect as the season wore on, particularly when it became obvious that the forwards were more than capable of looking after themselves and all but three of his 13 goals came before the turn of the year.

All in all it was another magnificent season for the club and its supporters who had the good fortune to follow a team that scored 183 goals in 51 competitive fixtures. The amazing thing was that there was still room for further improvement!

1953/54 REVIEW
Ilkeston Town enjoyed their best season in the Central Alliance in making it a hat-trick of titles. They finished 12 points clear at the top (it would have been 21 points if today’s system of 3 points for a win had been administered), scored 128 goals and conceded just 29. They scored 31 goals more than their nearest rivals and conceded 24 fewer, at one stage going 584 minutes without shipping a goal. Yet they began the season in a most uncertain fashion, losing 3 of their opening six league fixtures and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle. They scored just twice in their opening three games.

The season was turned around by a series of events. Goalkeeper Joe Sharman, away on National Service duty, was replaced by Selwyn Mason. Mason was a decent enough ‘keeper but he did not instil the same levels of confidence in his defenders that Sharman inspired. When Sharman became stationed at nearby Chilwell he was available to play for Ilkeston once more and the effect was immediate. Another major factor was the introduction of inside left Ken Johnson, signed from Gresley, in November. He replaced the evergreen Alwyn Booth and, in his late twenties, had the perfect blend of know how and age on his side. He also had the same appetite for scoring goals that Booth had in his younger days. However, perhaps the most significant change was enforced. For most teams the loss to injury of such a prolific goalscorer as Barrie Jepson would have had serious repercussions. Yet Ilkeston simply moved Jackie Ward from outside left into the centre forward role where his strong heading ability was put to great use. So successful was Ward in this position that when Jepson regained fitness three months later he could not get back into the team. Mansfield Town, alert to the situation, signed Jepson for £50 and Ilkeston’s most prolific scorer went on to enjoy a highly successful career in League football, going on to play for Chester and Southport. Ward, meanwhile, finished as the top scorer in the whole of the Central Alliance.

The void on the left wing caused by Ward’s move inside was solved by the introduction of youthful reserve player Terry Blount. Blount showed pace and a willingness to cut inside to have a go and a tendency to misplace some of his crosses was eradicated in time as he went on to become one of the finest outside lefts in Ilkeston Town’s history. Without doubt he benefited from the presence of the astute Johnson alongside him and his potential was quickly spotted by Stoke City. However, a trial at the Victoria Ground did not earn him a contract and this was very much to Ilkeston’s gain.

Another enforced change took place at the start of the season. When centre half Dave Baker joined the club during the summer there were doubts about where he would play because captain Les Smith was virtually immovable from that position. Baker previously won no popularity contests with Ilkeston supporters with a series of no nonsense displays against the club when in Nottingham Forest ‘A’ colours. Yet those same attributes won the same fans over when he pulled on the Ilkeston shirt and he went on to make 345 appearances. His role in the team was decided during pre season when an injury to George Darwin created a vacancy in the right back position. Ted Attwood, the previous right back, switched flanks to cover Darwin’s absence and Baker, somewhat reluctantly, stepped into the breach. He never looked back and Darwin only made occasional appearances once he regained his fitness.

The attacking right sided pair of Ken Ledger and Ken Faulconbridge continued to dazzle Town’s opponents with their box of tricks, pace and eyes for goal whilst the half back trio of John Commander, Les Smith and Horace Hackland virtually picked themselves. Commander, in particular, enjoyed an outstanding season as he added an extra dimension to his game with a desire to run forward before delivering defence splitting passes. However, it was his sheer enthusiasm, work rate and defensive capabilities that made him such a key player in the team.

The main disappointment for Ilkeston was the lack of success in cup competitions. They did reach the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final but despite dominating possession they failed to break down a resolute Shirebrook defence and lost 1-0. Their disappointment was quickly replaced by the joy of clinching the Central Alliance title 24 hours later with a 2-1 win over Long Eaton Town. There was still another four games to play, all at home, such was their dominance. This is reflected by an astonishing sequence of results that saw them play 24, win 22 and draw 2 league fixtures between late September and mid April.

Despite such success gates were slightly down. Town were victims of their own success with the many games almost meaningless from the middle of March onwards. Blame was also attached to Town’s early departure from the FA Cup, a competition which traditionally attracted large gates to the Manor Ground.