I suspect that you may be wondering where exactly Rocester is? Rocester is situated in Staffordshire about four miles from Uttoxeter and the headquarters of JCB can be found nearby. A roman fort was built in Rocester in around AD69 and gives rise to the football club nickname "the Romans". In fact Rocester FC's ground, Hillsfield, is located close to the site of the Roman fort and the earthworks for that fort can still be seen near the ground. Another feature that dominates the ground is an old mill, built in the 1780's and formerly owned by Richard Arkwright of cotton spinning fame. More recently, the mill has been converted into the JCB academy. Joseph Cyril Bamford Excavators Limited, to give JCB it's full name, manufactures equipment for the construction industry and the term "JCB" has become a byword for the huge yellow earthmoving machines that you often see when passing a construction site, a little like Hoover became a common term for a vacuum cleaner. The company started as recently as 1945 and, more recently, has revenues in excess of £4 Billion a year and around 11,000 employees. JCB is a British company that competes on the world stage but it has been mired in controversy in recent years over subjects such as Brexit, tax avoidance, bailout loans and even the Israeli settlement of the West Bank! One thing's for sure: it's the biggest employer in Rocester.
The Midland Football Alliance was in it's 14th season in 2007/8 but has subsequently been replaced by the Midland Football League following the merger of the Midland Alliance and the Midland Combination. In 2007/8 season it comprised 22 teams and, sadly, Racing Club Warwick finished in a disappointing 18th position. Rocester meanwhile did considerably better, finishing fifth behind Champions Atherstone Town (promoted to the Southern League) and Runners-Up Loughborough Dynamo (promoted to the Northern Premier League). The fact that the Midland Leagues can be a feeder to higher Leagues in both the North and South well illustrates an issue that ambitious Midlands-based clubs can have and we can see similar issues today with clubs like Gloucester City finding themselves in the National League North.
The featured match was a highly entertaining 4-4 draw played in front of just 132 people.
CRB Match No. 1590
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