Twenty games down, twenty-two to go. As the November rain lashed against the corrugated roof of Sheepy Road’s main stand, Paul sat in the cramped manager’s office and allowed himself something he’d been reluctant to indulge in all season: a moment of quiet satisfaction.

Atherstone Town sat top of the Northern Premier League Division One Midlands. Top. Not scrapping for survival as the pre-season predictions had suggested, not nervously looking over their shoulders at the relegation places, but genuinely, improbably, leading the division. Eleven wins, five draws, four defeats. Thirty-eight points. One point clear of local rivals Nuneaton Town, and already defying every expectation placed upon them at the start of the campaign.

But before the football itself, there was housekeeping to address. The summer had demanded difficult decisions, and Howarth had been forced to make them.

The Necessary Goodbyes

Promotion brings opportunity, but it also brings hard truths. Not everyone who got the club to step four would be capable of keeping them there, and Howarth knew it. The conversations were never easy.

Joshua Williams, the young defender who’d played his part in the promotion campaign, departed for Letchworth Garden City on a free transfer. A good lad with plenty of potential, but step four demanded more physical presence at the back than he could currently offer. Ryan Harkin—the same Ryan Harkin whose headed assist had set up Mitchell Woakes for the playoff semi-final winner against Lutterworth—followed him out the door, joining Abbey Hey. The move suited everyone. New signing Henry Sims went out on loan to Thornbury Town to get regular minutes, with a view to returning battle-hardened when the opportunity arose.

The goodbyes hurt. They always do. But Howarth had learned quickly that sentiment couldn’t cloud judgement at this level.

The New Faces

Recruitment had been targeted, pragmatic, and—in two cases—deeply personal.

Howarth’s connections to Crewe Alexandra, the club he’d followed obsessively since childhood and whose Academy had produced some of the finest talents in lower league football, proved invaluable. Luke Murphy arrived as a free agent, a midfielder with Academy pedigree and the kind of composure on the ball that step four defenders simply weren’t used to dealing with. Charlie Kirk, another Crewe graduate, also arrived on a free and immediately added creativity and directness to an attack that had occasionally looked predictable the previous season.

Both signings raised eyebrows in the dressing room initially—the gaffer bringing in his mates, that sort of thing—but performances quickly silenced any doubters. By the halfway point of the season, Murphy had contributed two goals from twelve appearances, slotting seamlessly into the engine room. Kirk, though, had become something else entirely: fifteen appearances, six goals, six assists, and four Player of the Match awards. The numbers spoke for themselves. He’d become undroppable.

Alongside the Crewe connections, Howarth brought in Rio Connell, a forward whose nine appearances had yielded three goals, three assists, and a Player of the Match award—a more than respectable return. Zack Littler added depth in midfield with two assists from five outings, while Ezikiah Bowen arrived from Penistone Church to bolster the options. Kalvin Taylor completed the summer business, a late addition from Ardley United designed to provide cover across the squad.

The Cups: Early Exits and Hard Lessons

Isuzu FA Trophy Preliminary Round: Abbey Hulton United 2-2 Atherstone Town (Abbey Hulton win on penalties)

 Saturday, 22 August 2026. Birches Head Road. Gusty conditions and a pitch that looked like it had seen better days.

The Adders made the perfect start. Nine minutes on the clock, Callum Carsley swung in a cross from the left, and Andrew Jones-Woods met it perfectly to give the visitors the lead. The away end—a hardy bunch of fifty or so who’d made the trip—celebrated wildly.

The joy lasted precisely sixty seconds. On 10 minutes, Liam Walsh found Billy Mulonda in space, and the Abbey Hulton forward made no mistake. 1-1, and the game was back to square one.

Atherstone regrouped and retook the lead on 29 minutes. Zack Littler’s delivery from deep found Lewis Collins, who finished emphatically. 2-1 to the visitors at the break, and the Adders looked to be in control.

The second half told a different story. Abbey Hulton pushed and probed, and on 61 minutes they found their reward. Chris Dickinson picked out Aaron Bott, and the striker levelled the scores at 2-2. Neither side could find a winner in the remaining thirty minutes, and the tie would be decided from twelve yards.

Penalties. The lottery that managers hate and neutrals love. Ryan Quinn and Lewis Collins both converted for Atherstone—but it wasn’t enough. Abbey Hulton held their nerve, and the Trophy dream was over before it had truly begun.

Bott’s 8.02 match rating for the hosts told its own story. Sometimes you can do everything right and still come up short.

Emirates FA Cup First Qualifying Round: Sileby Rangers 0-1 Atherstone Town

The FA Cup offered a glimmer of hope. A trip to Sileby Rangers—step five opponents from the United Counties League, the division Atherstone had just escaped—felt like a winnable tie. And so it proved. A hard-fought 1-0 victory, the sort of professional away performance that promotion-chasing sides need to produce, booked a home draw in the Second Qualifying Round.

Emirates FA Cup Second Qualifying Round: Atherstone Town 2-3 Stratford Town

Saturday, 12 September 2026. Sheepy Road. A chance to progress, a chance to dream. Stratford Town had other ideas.

The first half was nothing short of a nightmare. Harry Landers opened the scoring for the visitors on 39 minutes, and just sixty seconds later Tom Deacon doubled their advantage from Jake Phillips’ cross. Two goals in two minutes. The home faithful shifted uneasily.

Then it got worse. On 43 minutes, Nathan Rowe, under pressure in his own box, turned the ball into his own net. 3-0 to Stratford at half-time. The dressing room at the break must have been a difficult place to be.

Whatever Howarth said, it worked. The second half was a different story entirely, four half-time subs made sure of it. On 56 minutes, Ryan Quinn picked out Chris Cowley, and the winger finished clinically to make it 1-3. Two minutes later, the roles reversed—Cowley slipped in Quinn, who lashed home. 2-3. Sheepy Road, which had been silent at half-time, suddenly believed.

The Adders threw everything at Stratford in the final thirty minutes, but the equaliser wouldn’t come. The visitors held firm, and when the final whistle blew, it was the away side celebrating.

Cowley’s 8.5 match rating told the story of what might have been. He’d been magnificent in that second half—a goal and an assist—but the damage had been done before the break. The xG told its own tale: Atherstone 2.26, Stratford 1.17. On another day, the comeback would have been complete. This wasn’t that day.

 The League: Defying the Doubters

If the cup exits stung, the league campaign provided the balm.

A 1-1 draw at Mickleover, a point on the road against established step four opposition felt like a statement of intent. Then came a 2-0 victory at Shepshed Dynamo, followed by another away win at Eastwood, 2-1. Three games, two wins and a draw, all on the road. The doom-mongers who’d tipped Atherstone for relegation were already looking foolish.

A wild 3-3 draw at Quorn showcased both Atherstone’s attacking threat and their defensive fragility—a theme that would recur throughout the opening months. The Adders had firepower. Keeping the back door shut was the issue.

Northern Premier League Division One Midlands: Atherstone Town 2-2 Nuneaton Town

 Wednesday, 23 September 2026. The date would live long in the memory of everyone packed into Sheepy Road that evening.

Atherstone started like a house on fire. Eight minutes on the clock, Diego Lattie delivered a ball into the box, and Will Houghton was there to meet it. The striker made no mistake, and Sheepy Road absolutely bounced. 1-0 to the Adders.

Nuneaton, sitting top at the time and harbouring their own promotion ambitions, were not about to roll over. Connor Gillies found Miles Davies on 30 minutes, and the visitors were level. The away end, tucked into the far corner, made themselves heard.

Worse was to come before half-time. Gillies again was the architect, this time threading a pass through to Jordan Harrison, who made no mistake on 42 minutes. 2-1 to Nuneaton at the break. The half-time whistle felt like a mercy.

Fifty-five minutes gone, Ryan Quinn picked out Diego Lattie, and the full-back fired home to level the scores at 2-2. Neither side could find a winner in a breathless final half hour, but the point—hard-earned against the division’s form side—felt like a victory.

Lattie’s 8.4 rating, a goal and an assist to his name, made him the standout performer on a night when everyone in green and white left everything on the pitch. The derby had delivered.

Autumn: Building Momentum

September ended with a hard-fought 1-2 victory away at Sporting Khalsa, and October began in chaotic fashion. The trip to Long Eaton United produced one of those results that defied rational explanation: a 3-4 away win in which defending appeared to be entirely optional for both sides. Seven goals, four different scorers, and a set of match highlights that would have given any defensive coach nightmares. Howarth’s post-match comments to the local press were unprintable.

A 0-2 home defeat to Corby Town brought everyone back down to earth—a reminder that this squad, for all its qualities, remained a work in progress. But the response was immediate and emphatic. A 0-3 demolition of RC Warwick away from home showcased everything good about this Atherstone side: pace on the counter, clinical finishing, and a defensive resolve that had been conspicuously absent in previous weeks.

A 2-1 home victory over Darlaston Town kept the momentum going. The machine was purring.

Then came Chasetown.

A 1-4 hammering at Sheepy Road. At home. Against a side sitting in the bottom half of the table. Howarth was visibly furious on the touchline, and the inquest that followed was lengthy. Where had that performance come from? How had a side capable of dismantling RC Warwick suddenly forgotten how to defend?

The answers, as ever, were complicated. But the response was simple: win football matches.

A 1-1 draw at Bourne Town steadied nerves, before back-to-back home wins—2-1 against Carlton Town and 2-0 against Grantham Town—restored confidence. The Grantham result, in particular, felt significant. Clean sheet, controlled performance, professional from first whistle to last.

A 0-2 home loss to Bedworth United in early November prompted more soul-searching—another defeat at Sheepy Road, another afternoon of questions without easy answers. But once again, the Adders responded in the best possible way.

Northern Premier League Division One Midlands: SC Inkberrow 1-3 Atherstone Town

Saturday, 14 November 2026. Sands Road. Calm conditions, and a travelling support that sensed three points were there for the taking.

Charlie Kirk was at the heart of everything good about Atherstone’s performance. His cross on 29 minutes found Luke Murphy arriving at the back post, and the fellow Crewe graduate made no mistake. 0-1 to the visitors, and the away end celebrated the connection that had brought both men to Sheepy Road.

The second goal arrived on 51 minutes. Connor Gudger delivered from wide, and Ryan Quinn was there to finish clinically. 0-2, and the game looked done.

Kirk wasn’t finished though. On 83 minutes, he picked out Will Houghton, and the striker powered home to make it 0-3. Game over, surely?

Not quite. A minute later, Ronnie Jones saw red for Inkberrow, and in the chaos that followed, the hosts pulled one back on 84 minutes. Final score: 1-3. Three points secured, but Howarth would have words about that late lapse in concentration.

Kirk’s 7.9 rating and two assists underlined his importance to this side. The former Crewe man had become the signing of the season.

The Table: An Unlikely Summit

Twenty games played. Thirty-eight points. Top of the league.

The numbers still felt surreal to everyone connected with the club. Thirty-five goals scored—joint-highest in the division alongside Nuneaton—spoke to an attacking philosophy that prioritised entertainment alongside results. Twenty-seven conceded suggested there was still work to do at the back, but a goal difference of plus eight was more than respectable for a side tipped for relegation before a ball had been kicked.

Nuneaton Town sat one point behind in second, their game in hand offering them the opportunity to leapfrog their local rivals. Corby Town lurked in third on thirty-five points. Grantham Town, RC Warwick, and Bedworth United—all clubs with bigger budgets and greater resources—were breathing down Atherstone’s necks. The margin for error was non-existent.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. For now, as the November rain continued to fall and the floodlights at Sheepy Road flickered into life for another midweek training session, Howarth allowed himself that rarest of managerial indulgences: optimism.

Twenty-two games remained. Twenty-two opportunities to write the most improbable chapter in Atherstone Town’s already remarkable history.

The Adders were flying. And nobody was more surprised than the man in the dugout.