Barring some sort of complete footballing meltdown, Charlton Rovers will secure the Northern Senior League Division One title for the first time in their history on Saturday.
 
The go-ahead club would have to lose their final game of the season at home to Quedgeley Wanderers by 18 goals or more to concede the title to FC Barometrics… and that just isn’t going to happen!
 
As chairman Tom Price said: “We’ve only conceded 22 goals in 27 league games this season so I don’t think we’re going to concede 18 in one game.”
 
Charlton Rovers made it all but certain that they’d be lifting the title by winning 7-0 at Taverners on Saturday, even though FC Barometrics were thumping bottom club Bibury 13-1 in what was their final game of the campaign.
 
And what makes Rovers’ success all the more impressive for manager Rich Cox and his team is that strikers James Campbell and Rich Gamble, who did so well for them in 2016/17, moved on to Evesham United and Falcons respectively at the end of the last campaign.
 
“We brought in some new players and they’ve bedded in well,” said Price.
 
That’s a bit of an understatement of course but although the club will be picking up the league trophy in the next few days, they will still be in the same division next season because their ground at Balcarras School doesn’t meet County League criteria.
 
That is, hopefully, a temporary problem because the season after next they will be playing their home games at Shipton Oliffe – they’ve got a lease on a piece of land next door to the golf course and just behind the Frogmill – and they are hoping that once they have got that up to scratch that it will meet County League requirements in time for the 2019/20 season.
 
For that to come into play, however, they’ll have to win the league again next season.
 
“Yes, we’ve got to try to repeat it,” said Price. “Sharpness won the title a couple of seasons ago, got everything in place in terms of their ground but have finished this season fourth.
 
“It’s going to be difficult to replicate what we’ve done this season.”
 
But while it certainly won’t be easy, you can be sure that Price will be doing all he can to try to make another title success happen in 2018/19.
 
He followed his brother Joe to the club when he was 21 at around the turn of the century and since then has been a 1st XI player – he was a central midfielder – captain, manager and chairman.
 
And, believe it or not, there was a period when he was doing all four roles at the same time! Now approaching his 39th birthday, his ‘only’ role is that of chairman.
 
Problems with his knees meant he hasn’t played since 2009 and, after managing the club from Division Three of the Cheltenham League to Division One of the Northern Senior League, he handed the reins over to Cox, who had been his coach, and has carried on the very good work.
 
Price’s role as chairman means he has an overview of the whole club, and these days it is a very big operation.
 
“We have a Saturday academy club for six to eight-year-olds and run youth teams from under-9s all the way through to under-18s,” said Price with some pride.
 
“We run three senior sides and we’ve also got a veterans’ team. We’ve got 24 teams in total.”
 
That will become 25 next season because the club are ready to launch a girls’ under-12 team as well.
 
That’s for the future. More immediately Price is looking forward to the club’s big presentation day on Saturday 12th May. They’ve got plenty to celebrate so it should be some party!