Mansfield Town are certainly on an onward trajectory in recent years under the ownership of Carolyn and John Radford since they took over in the summer of 2010. Where the Stags were in the Conference League, they recorded an average attendance of 3,192, having just finished ninth. This is a remarkable contrast to now and the current campaign, in which they are fighting for promotion from League Two and recording audiences consistently over 7,000. So, how did this change happen, and what were the turning points for the club’s fortunes?
In 2007, Mansfield ended their 77 year stay in the English Football League, getting relegated to the Conference League. This was the final nail in the coffin for owner Keith Haslam, as there had been plenty of unrest previously, none more noticeably than the campaign set up by Stags Fans For Change (SFFC) in 2007 which called for Haslam’s removal from the club. The long-standing dissatisfaction boiled over into anger when he was assaulted inside the boardroom by frustrated Mansfield Town supporters. Unsurprisingly, Haslam sold the club that same season to three businessmen led by Andrew Saunders, but they had unusually decided to buy the club and not the ground.
Furthermore, with Field Mill still under Haslam’s ownership, this led to more disputes as to whether he should’ve taken out a dividend (£2.36M) that earned him a lot of money and put the football club in a state of disarray. The chaos caused by Haslam’s company owning the stadium (bought for £1.9M) and thereafter receiving payments for Mansfield to play there, controversially separated the club and the stadium.
The look of a club in crisis meant that during the following season, attendances dropped to an all-time low, with an average attendance of 2,423 in a capacity of almost 10,000 (9,196), highlighting the trouble the club was in. The club’s off-the pitch issues were translating to on the pitch as the Stags finished in 12th position.
However, the club’s fortunes took a turn for the better at the start of the 2010-11 season when Doncaster businessman John Radford, 58, purchased the club with his wife Carolyn Radford. The Radfords having grown up in Mansfield, were determined to make a positive impact and started by investing £250K into the club with another £250K to be invested over the next few years. When I asked Mansfield Matters, a group that is part of the Talk Sport network, they expressed their praise- “Phenomenally different! The Radfords have transformed Mansfield Town Football Club -you can’t knock what they’ve done, and we’d be in a really difficult position without them, (We) probably wouldn’t even have a club.”
It wasn’t though for the next few seasons going to make any immediate difference as an average of 3,192 was backed up the year after with 2,123 (the club’s worst average). This was despite reaching the final of the FA Trophy, losing to Darlington in the last minute of extra time. Though 2011-12 season averaged 2,682, it didn’t fare much better with the team finishing in third.
In contrast, 2012-13 was the breakthrough season for the Radfords with promotion finally achieved after it was spearheaded by a gallant display at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup, attracting an attendance of 7,574 and controversially defeated by Luis Suarez’s blatant handball, which led to a winning goal. However, this did not deter the Stags, and a record of 20 wins in 24 games gained them the title, in front of an average crowd of still just 2,758. But this would increase over time and once the Radfords had made their mark, which Mansfield Matters says was significant-, “From subtle changes with paintwork and fan infrastructure to spending money on the pitch, investing in a squad and a manager to believe in- they’ve created a great culture of a family, community club to be proud of.”
In addition to this, Mansfield’s first season back in League Two was a highly successful one, as they finished 11th, avoiding the drop and jumping into the top half of the table. The attendances were also rising to an average of 3,385, a steady but not monumental increase. However, the season thereafter was not so successful, as the Yellows only just stayed up, finishing in 21st place- (7 points above the drop), which translated to the average attendance dipping to 3,064, in a season in which funds were limited.
The next two seasons were similar but with a bit of consistency prevailing as, the Stags got promoted, and two identical seasons cemented how the Radfords wanted to progress. The 2015/16 season would go more smoothly with Adam Murray at the helm, leading the Yellows to a 12th place finish and an average attendance of 3,439. However, the next season would see Steve Evans replace Murray who would guide them up from 18th to 12th, recording an average attendance of 3,774.
The next couple of seasons would see an increase in revenue for the Radfords as well as a better performing team, narrowly avoiding the play-offs by just three points in Evans’ first full season in charge. The fans would respond to this upturn in performances, recording an average attendance of 4,309, the best since the 2003/2004 season. Furthermore, the 2018/19 season would see the Stags record their best position since being back in the football league, and despite Evans leaving in early March, they would go onto finish fourth. The Stags could have secured promotion, but in the last game of the season, they lost a winner takes all game at MK, meaning the Dons went up instead, winning 1-0.
Ultimately, though, they would lose out to Newport County on penalties at home, but a successful season would achieve an average of 4,897 and a total throughout the season of 124,923, an increase of over 30,000 in just three seasons.
In unseen circumstances, the emergence of the Covid 19 virus created a pandemic, causing many businesses to bust, and the football world was no different. With 2019/20 being called off. Mansfield played only 36 games and found themselves in 21st. The season also saw Nigel Clough appointed in early November, with the club winless at 22nd. It was a season to forget for the Stags, but attendance was not hit as severely than before the pandemic, with an average of 4,419.
Moreover, the 2020/21 season was a unique year for all of football, with no fans allowed into the ground, creating a whole new experience for the players. The advantage to play at home was no more. Mansfield would struggle in this period, as would many EFL clubs. Mansfield Matters described the impact of Covid 19 on the club’s attendances, “Predominantly because people realised what they were missing. Couple this with Nigel Clough’s arrival, and people were interested to see how we’d grow and progress as a team- we’ve gone from an averaging 4,418 before Covid 19 to 6,696 last season, and it will rise again this season, as nearly every home game has been a sellout.”
The optimism spiked around Field Mill in the 2021/22 season when Mansfield went all the way to Wembley, taking a record amount for the club of 16,500 but, ultimately lost out to Port Vale in front of 37,500 spectators. On the Stags’ impressive run, Mansfield Matters remembers the standout atmospheres. “Take your pick from any of the last 10 games of that season- the place was bouncing every single week. That first leg against Northampton was incredible!”. The season saw the average unexpectedly sour to 5,107, whilst the game against Northampton in front of the Sky Sports cameras attracted 7,469 spectators.
The next season Mansfield were unsurprisingly one of the pre-season favourites, but with a Wembley hangover, things did not go to plan for Clough’s men, as some poor defeats and long injuries meant they ultimately had too much to do on the final day. They finished one goal off Salford, who took the last play-off position. Despite this, there was a growing sense of what Mansfield Town were building, with an early game in the season against Derby, adding a growing feeling that Field Mill could attract high attendances. Which flew up to 6,696, with a total amounting to 169,211 a record high for the club and over 35,000 more than the previous campaign.
Despite going under the radar in the pre-season predictions, the Stags have been imperious so far in their league campaign, being consistently in and around the automatic places. Furthermore, Clough was putting his imprint on the club and the town with a real belief that they can finally reach the promised land of League One.
The early optimism grew after an impressive run in the League Cup that resulted in them reaching the last 16, once again getting defeated by Port Vale which received an attendance of 7,432. Mansfield’s league campaign has collected an average of 7,373 after 32 games, including high-profile ones versus Notts County and Bradford which achieved stand-out figures of 8,667 and 8,525 respectively, further reinstating the desperation to end their 12 year wait to get promoted. In addition to this, the North Stand has recently been opened to allow fans to locate there if the away team fail to sell their location.
However, there are still improvements to be made, “Having the away fans in the North Stand is a long-term issue for Stags fans, mainly due to the gate being shut. But even if you switched them back, there would still be issues.”
There can be no doubt about the improvements the Radfords have made over the last decade, and should promotion be achieved, there could be more steady improvements for a club who have stabilised themselves and are now seemingly on the up.
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