1980/81 REVIEW
The loss of manager Bill Fearn at the end of the previous season was a blow to Ilkeston but the board was soon able to name his replacement. David Stainwright, who played in midfield for the club a decade earlier, was appointed and things boded well for him when most of the team signed up in readiness for the new season. Tony Fazekas was one player who left and the departure of 'keeper Martin Rhowbotham, who briefly relocated to the North West, was not a huge concern when Stainwright signed Peter Tyrell in his place during the Summer. Tyrell was his only major signing as he sought to continue with the hard working and disciplined bunch of players he had inherited.

Yet things literally started to go wrong almost before the season kicked off. Skipper Jim Baker had a major disagreement in the dressing room with his manager, and got changed out of his kit and left the ground just minutes before the kick off of the opening game against Ashby. Ilkeston rallied themselves to earn a point but within weeks it was clear that all was not what it should be. The team failed to win any of its opening ten league and cup games, and in late September they crashed to a humiliating 7-2 defeat at Heanor. The players appeared to lack heart and enthusiasm and the team was the antithesis of the previous seasons under Fearn.

In Stainwright's defence, injuries hit the team hard at the start of the season, a situation that barely improved as it progressed. The experienced and skilled John Parry missed the start of the season and although he returned in mid season he was not at his best, was rested, and subsequently never played for Ilkeston again; central defender Clive Smith was unable to play until late September; midfielder Chris Beardsley, who was strangely selected as an attacking left back in the opening games, missed several matches in September; prodigious attacking talent Brian Clarence was out for a similar amount of time as Beardsley; Baker, after patching up his differences with Stainwright, immediately picked up a knock that ruled him out for three weeks and although he returned to the team a more serious injury cost him his place for the last five months of the season; and Tyrell, who looked to be a confident and commanding goalkeeper, was also sidelined within a month of the start of the season. The absence of Tyrell led to a return to first team action for Bob Henshaw, but an error strewn performance in the debacle at Heanor ruined his confidence. Stainwright persevered with Henshaw for three months but eventually was forced to drop him. Henshaw duly left the club in January.  

The absence of Baker and Smith in the heart of the defence led to a pairing of Les Parker and the versatile Dick Fleckney. When Baker and Smith returned, Parker was moved into midfield without success whilst Fleckney played up front. The latter enjoyed a purple patch up front that suggested that Ilkeston's problem of scoring insufficient goals could be rectified. Sadly, the long serving Fleckney left the club in October.

Fleckney was not the only one to leave. The entertaining Clarence, who had played for the Derbyshire FA Youth team alongside reserves defender Paul Gregory earlier in the season, left in November as did Carl Francis, whose limited appearances up front brought little reward. Newcomers Brian Hunt, signed in September, and Dave Waller who arrived a couple of months later, were added to the attack but ultimately fared no better than Francis.

However, Stainwright's ability to attract good players soon came to the fore. New blood was a necessity if the season was to be turned around as the club hogged one of the bottom two places with Kimberley Town, and the players he signed suggested that better times lay ahead. Midfielder Kevin Flynn, capable of making exciting runs that sometimes produced remarkable solo goals, returned to the club in December. Jeff Webster, a striker with a good reputation, joined around the same time as Flynn whilst Lee Johnson, who could play in midfield but was best suited at right back, arrived in November. Other newcomers included two full backs previously with Ilkeston, Paul Wheatley and Alan Newton, but the injury jinx that hit the club so hard soon affected Newton and a knee operation in January meant that he was only able to return to the team for the final few games. Also affected by injury was winger Alan Bell, who signed in January but like Newton soon required a knee operation and could only make a return late in the season.

Injury also affected popular midfielder/defender Alan Green and he didn't feature in the team from late January onwards. However, the midfield was boosted by the introduction of the promising Mark Levers from the reserves. Yet, despite the quality of Stainwright's new signings, results hardly improved and it grew apparent that Ilkeston would have it all on to avoid having to apply for re-election at the end of the season. Frustratingly, the team showed glimpses of real quality which only served to show that they were under achieving. An astonishing 3-0 win against the previously unbeaten and runaway leaders Boston in January, a few weeks after Town had thumped a useful Skegness side 4-1, was ironically produced in the absence of Stainwright who was away looking for new players.

One player who could not be criticised was Dave Buxton who joined the club at the turn of the new year. The goalkeeper was signed to replace the struggling Henshaw because Tyrell, despite his return to fitness and a place in the reserves, was not considered fit enough for first team football. Buxton excelled from the outset and his frequent superlative saves kept the team in matches they otherwise would have lost. At the end of the season he was voted as player of the year, despite playing in fewer than half of the games.  

Ilkeston entered the closing stages of the season on the back of 4 defeats and 1 draw from the five games immediately following the Boston victory and a final position in the bottom two seemed likely. However, the squad was further strengthened by midfielder/full back Dave Collison and a crucial victory against Brigg, whose own form was dragging them down the table, was followed by a win at Eastwood. These wins gave The Robins a fighting chance of avoiding the indignity of having to apply for re-election, and by the time they played their penultimate game at Long Eaton they knew that a win and a draw from the last two games would be enough to save them. A potentially hugely damaging defeat was avoided thanks to Buxton's last gasp penalty save at Long Eaton, but this meant that Town had to beat Heanor in the final match to be certain of safety. Ilkeston raced into a three goal lead but a spirited Heanor fightback left The Robins hanging on desperately at the end. The relief was tangible when Ilkeston finally won 3-2 but in the cold light of day they only escaped finishing in the bottom two because of Brigg's dreadful form towards the end of the season. And, with the players Stainwright had at his disposal, even allowing for his wretched luck with injuries, Ilkeston should never have allowed themselves to have been in such a predicament. 


1981/82 REVIEW
The 1981/82 season was the final one for the Midland Counties League due to a reorganisation in non League football. The league merged with its more northern conterpart, the Yorkshire League, in Summer 1982 to form the Northern Counties East League. Ilkeston Town were informed in February 1982 that they had been handed a place in the Premier Division of the new league. So, with the team having absolutely no chance of catching the leaders and with no threat of finding themselves placed at a lower level either, it is understandable although not excusable why they produced so many lacklustre performances. And, it should be said, that the form in the latter half of the season was not radically different from what happened before, when their future status was uncertain.

Town's form and results improved marginally upon the previous season but it was a highly forgettable campaign. But for a mini run in the FA Cup that took them to the third qualifying round for the first time in nine years, a match which ended in an 8-1 thumping at the hands of Corby Town, there were few highlights. The best performance was reserved for the FA Cup when they came back from two goals down to cause an upset at Northern Premier League Worksop Town.

League form, however, was mediocre at best. The best spells came in mid season, when they lost just once in 7 games, and in April when they enjoyed a similar run. The Robins were relatively sound defensively but there was a real lack of potency up front, averaging a fraction over a goal per game throughout the season. At the end of January Town's top scorers in the league had just 2 goals each to their name, and their eventual top scorer for the season, Jeff Webster, had just 2 league goals to his name come mid April before he struck four times in the last three weeks to take his tally to six. 

The lack of goal power cost the team badly. They lost half of their 34 league games but only four of their defeats were by more than a single goal, with six of them by a 1-0 scoreline. The team also developed an unfortunate habit of conceding late goals as well as dropping points in games where they had been in a winning position. With greater application, and discipline, Town could have finished higher than their bottom five position but like the season before they underachieved. Manager Dave Stainwright had put together a useful looking team during his two seasons at the club but his position was looking far from secure by the season's end.  

Three regulars from the previous season left during the Summer months. Striker Jeff Parry, despite his loss of form, was clearly going to be missed but Stainwright was able to sign Mick Howard who proved to be astute if not clinical in front of goal. Stainwright also had at his disposal the outstanding talent of young reserve Steve Walker, who was to begin the season in the first team but who made only handful of appearances before signing for League club Halifax Town in mid season, as well as Webster to play alongside Howard. The departure of central defender Clive Smith was another blow and Ian Sinclair was signed as his replacement. Sinclair never quite succeeded in making the position his own but with the fit again Alan Green and the blossoming youngster Paul Gregory ready for first team action this ceased to be a problem for Stainwright. The third player to leave during the Summer was winger Alan Henshaw. However, after being absent with a troublesome knee during the first couple of months, the talented left sided reserve Mark Blount was brought into the team. Like Gregory, Walker and fellow midfielder Mark Levers, he was still in his teens but he was confident and had a powerful shot. What he lacked was consistency and experience.

Stainwright's real problems lay in midfield. Kevin Flynn was the pick of the bunch and the manager signed former Ilkeston player Phil Barrowcliffe during pre season to add some quality. But despite his eye for a pass, Barrowcliffe needed a ball winner to assist him. That job initially fell to Dave Collison and then Alan Newton, both of whom also had lengthy spells at full back opposite the right sided Lee Newton. However, whatever formation Stainwright chose in midfield, they collectively failed to impose themselves on games all too frequently and this was a big a reason for the team's poor showing in front of goal as the misfiring Webster and Howard. As a result, four new midfield players arrived during the season. Former Town player Malcolm Rye arrived in December and immediately replaced Barrowcliffe, as did Dick Fleckney although he didn't play until March. Fleckney, as he had done in previous times at the club, also showed his versatility by playing up front when Howard was out of the team with a groin injury. Jamie Brodie, who looked dangerous in a wider role, had been the first of the quartet to arrive when he signed in November, impressed at times. But the pick of the bunch and the one who made the biggest impact was the classy Anton Lambert who also scored the goals the other midfielders had failed to provide. Despite not signing until late March, he finished as joint second top scorer with five goals.

The one area where Ilkeston had no problems at all was in goal when, just as he had done the previous season, Dave Buxton played excellently and his agility kept Town in games that they might otherwise have lost.

So, in summary, the 1981/82 season was a disappointing and forgettable one but at least the supporters had a new league to look forward to. Whether or not Dave Stainwright would be there to guide them was open to question.