St Andrews United?

In all my time at this uni, I’ve never once met someone who’s watched the local football club play. Curious, I went down to watch St Andrews United’s game against Dunbar United on Saturday to see what we’ve all been missing out on.

After I paid the concession fee of £5, I was surprised to find a healthy crowd of fans around the pitch. Around 150 people, men and women, old and young had come together to watch the Saints play. 30 away fans even made the 4-hour round trip to watch their beloved Dunbar play. Unfortunately for them, their loyalty was not rewarded as St Andrews United walked away with a 2-0 win.

As a football fan, it’s easy to forget just how great the skills gap is in the sport. As a Sunday league player, I can appreciate that my team wouldn’t turn up to the Bernabeu and play Madrid off the park, but this match was a friendly reminder of just how good some people are. Despite the somewhat bobbly pitch, every player was entirely comfortable on the ball and in between lengthy phases of route one hoofball, there were many moments of genuine quality. The first goal for example was a clean strike from outside the box after a mazy run, and every player on the pitch was capable of quick, one-touch football. Of all the players though, one stood out above the rest: centre back John Tod. When I asked around, I found out that he’s an 18-year old with big potential on loan from Dunfermline, whose dad is a club legend over there. He was surprisingly agile for a defender, spinning strikers and surging past midfielders on multiple occasions. When I heard that he’d been named Man of the Match four games in a row, I was hardly surprised. He was a big part in securing the clean sheet in what was a relegation crunch match. As long as he doesn’t get recalled from his loan, he could be a big factor in St Andrews staying in the East of Scotland Premier Division.

As entertaining as the game was, there’s always more to grassroots football than the performances. Founded in 1921, St Andrews United has formed a close relationship with the community and I wanted to find out more about the club’s story. Thankfully, executive committee member Ellis Jaffray was more than happy to talk to me about everything Saints related. Having studied biochemistry at the uni in the 1960s, Ellis is more than familiar with the town and what it means to live in St Andrews. He even won the uni’s Sunday league, which is sadly more than can be said for my team, the mighty BLFC. Perhaps that’s why, when I asked him about his favourite memories with St Andrews United, he mentioned seeing local lads play for the club.

Following on from this, I asked him what he thought about students coming to games, and his answer was not what I expected before meeting him. As students, we are all wary about the relationship with locals, which can at times feel a touch strained. I wondered if St Andrews was a chance for people to escape the noise made by us young people, but Ellis was quick to reject the notion. As with any small club, the bottom line is money, and students could be an important asset in improving finances. Following two promotions in three years, St Andrews United now find themselves facing teams with far bigger budgets, who can pay twice and in some cases four times as much to players as they can. Even at an affordable £5, our attendance at games is more valuable than you might think. The future of the club was uncertain for a period, until businessman and now chairman Fraser Ogston bought the club as director of the Kinnettles Group. Having studied at Madras College, it’s fair to say that he embodies the community spirit that has kept the club alive for all these years. A greater student attendance could provide the extra cash injection to help them compete.

My experience as a fan was an overwhelmingly positive one and showed me just how much the club means to people. Perhaps my favourite detail about the club is that they’re sponsored by student favourites Big Boss, who provide 6 orders of pizza and chips for the players at every home game. If that doesn’t make you want to get involved, I’m not sure what else will.

Image by Patrick Maitland