Fan-owned AFC Rushden & Diamonds travel to League One side Burton Albion on Saturday for their FA Cup first-round tie, a match chairman Rob Usher has described as “the biggest game in our history”. Around 2,000 supporters are expected to make the trip.
A phoenix club's journey
The club was formed in 2011 following the demise of the original Rushden & Diamonds, which reached the third tier of English football and twice played in the FA Cup third round before financial troubles. The reformed, fan-owned club faced its own crisis in 2022, when Usher and vice-chairman Alex Raspin stepped up to lead the recovery.
Four years later, Usher was “the first person over the barriers” as fans flooded the Hayden Road pitch after a 2-1 win over Morecambe in the fourth qualifying round secured a place in the first round proper.
Community spirit behind the cup run
Usher, who grew up watching Rushden in their Football League days when they were backed by Dr Martens supremo Max Griggs, began as a volunteer helping with pitch preparations and turnstiles. That community spirit has defined their cup run, which began in the extra preliminary round in early August.
“The day before the Morecambe game, around 60 people turned up to help,” he said. “They were painting, weeding and getting everything ready. Some had taken a day's annual leave to be there. One man came straight from a night shift and spent the entire day helping out.”
Biggest day ahead
The club has also persuaded 40-year-old striker Billy Sharp to come out of retirement for the tie. Ahead of the trip to Burton, Usher hopes the spotlight from their run will have a lasting impact.
“It has been a real shot in the arm for us,” he said. “The great thing about being a fan-owned club is that we know everyone personally. I see our fans in Asda and in the pub. We talk to them, and most of them have my phone number.”
“When times are hard, and being chairman of a non-league football club is a genuinely difficult job, those people have your back. They support you and help carry you through. I want everyone who wants to be part of this experience to come with us and we're not going just for a day out. The odds are heavily stacked against us, but we're going there to give the best possible account of ourselves. It will be the biggest day in our history.”
