As names for football clubs go, you’ve got to go some to find one that is longer than Rodborough (and Cainscross) Old Boys Football Club.

And as success stories for football clubs go, there are few better over the past eight years or so than Rodborough (and Cainscross) Old Boys FC.

The Stroud League club were registered only in 2011 and in that first season had just the one team competing in the basement division which in those days was Division Eight.

Fast forward to the 2019/20 season and the club now field three teams with the flagship team competing in the top flight of the Stroud League for a second consecutive year after winning five promotions on the bounce while the reserves and 3rd team are playing in Division Four and Division Six respectively, a step up for both from the previous campaign.

It’s a resounding success story but while everything has happened very quickly, it’s a success story that in many ways has been a long time coming.

That’s because chairman Stuart Thompson, treasurer Darren Vasey, vice-chairman Warren Hearsum and 1st team manager Mark McNally were part of football in Rodborough prior to the formation of Rodborough (and Cainscross) Old Boys FC.

“We were coaching at Rodborough Youth Football Club,” explained Thompson. “We were coaching the toddlers – my son was five at the time.

“We got our heads together and said it was great coaching all these kids – there were about 300 in the youth academy across all ages – but once they got to 16 there was nowhere for them to play in Rodborough.

“They either went off and played for someone else or, worse still, stopped playing altogether.

“So we thought why not form an adult football club that is affiliated to the youth section and provide a pathway for the youngsters?”

So they did and while Rodborough (and Cainscross) Old Boys Football Club is obviously on an upward trajectory there are some great personal stories too because Thompson’s son Harley, who had been part of the youth set-up all those years previously, has recently graduated to senior football at the club to join a number of RYFC stars who already had made this transition.

And they’ll be potentially rubbing shoulders this season with the club’s chairman who even at the age of 49 still likes to play as often as he can.

“Yes, I’m still playing after a fashion,” Thompson laughed, “although it’s usually when numbers require it!”

He’s not a 1st-teamer – nor a regular – these days, of course, even though he played in the Stroud League for the likes of Horsley and Oakridge when he was younger, but will still get the odd run out for the reserves and the 3rd team.

All three of the adult teams play their homes games at different venues and it was because the club initially played their home games at Victory Park in Ebley when they ran just the one team that they added ‘Cainscross’ to their name.

“Rodborough Youth Football Club used to play all over the place,” explained Thompson. “We didn’t have a home ground, we were quite nomadic and we still are.

“The pitch at Victory Park is in the parish of Cainscross and the parish council were happy to support us so that’s why we added the name Cainscross.”

These days the 1st team play their home games at Stratford Court while the 3rd team play at Mason Road but Victory Park remains home for the reserves.”

So that explains ‘Cainscross’ in the team title but what about ‘Old Boys’, where did that come from?

“We were talking to Ed Butcher, who was chairman of Rodborough Youth at the time,” continued Thompson.

“He told us that his dad John used to play for a junior section of a team called Rodborough Old Boys back in the 1950s when their senior team were in the Northern Senior League.

“So rather than start a new club we reformed the Old Boys club as a mark of respect for those who had previously represented it.”

And getting a place in the aforementioned Northern Senior League is certainly a major ambition for the club today.

“In our first season in the Stroud League we finished a respectable mid-table,” recalled Thompson. “But the league then reduced the number of divisions to seven and we finished mid-table again.

“Then we were able to field a 2nd team so our Division Seven side automatically got promoted, it was a free nudge up to Division Six.”

And it was a free nudge that paid immediate dividends as the club’s number one team secured promotion after promotion, culminating in their first season at the highest level in the Stroud League last time out.

“We finished mid-table and we didn’t quite meet our expectations after finishing in the top two in all the previous years,” admitted Thompson.

“It was a wake-up call. The aim is to push on up to the Northern Senior League and beyond.”

That’s some target but the 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon is by no means the only focus for the club’s committee.

“Our biggest ambition is to find and secure our own ground,” continued Thompson. “We’ll always have to be a nomadic club because of the numbers, but we want to find a ground where we can have a clubhouse and call home. We want a hub.”

The older age groups at Rodborough Youth – Rodborough Youth and Rodborough (and Cainscross) Old Boys are two separate clubs even though they are affiliated – play at Rodborough Pavilion and Thompson added: “It’s a lovely pitch but it’s not quite big enough for adult football.”

So while the search goes on – and few would bet against this club finding its dream home – the senior teams keep delivering on the pitch.

Mark McNally is continuing to run the 1st team – his son Archie has just graduated to senior football – while Simon Jones and Bryan Baxter are in charge of the reserves and Mark Halling is the main man for the 3rds.

“Last season was the third season for the 3rds,” said Thompson. “They got promoted under their own steam because they finished second in Division Seven. We’re very proud of that group of lads.

“The 2nds finished fourth or fifth but because the leagues have been shuffled around they were lucky enough to be promoted. It shows the value of perseverance as the lads pushed hard right until the end of the season.”

So as Thompson reflects on what’s been achieved so far, how does he feel?

“I’m pretty chuffed, very pleased,” he said. “We’ve got a great club full of super lads and the production line continues to flow from the youth set-up.

“That club is well run, well coached and caters for boys and girls of every age and ability. It’s a great place for your kids to learn to love the game and the Old Boys hope to keep that love alive for many, many years.”