Unsung Heroes: Steve Ransley – Airbus FC

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of a football club on a match day? 

Top Deeside club Airbus UK Broughton of the Welsh Premier League are enjoying the best period in their history, and recently competed in the UEFA Europa League.

Away from the pitch though, a great deal of work is put in by dedicated staff – who volunteer hours of their time to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible, on a match day or night.

This series of features shines the spotlight on unsung heroes, whose contribution ensures that everything is looked after – so fans, players, managers and officials can focus on the 90 minutes of action. First up is – Steve Ransley.

Name: Steve Ransley
Role at the club: Support Liason Officer/Away-Day Driver

How did you become involved with the club: Having been Head Steward at Colwyn Bay FC I joined the committee of Buckley Town when Stewart Roberts was Chairman. When he left to become Chief Operating Officer at Airbus he asked whether I would be prepared to join him, and I jumped at the chance.

What do you most enjoy about it: I enjoy working with people who are passionate about the club and about football. We have a great team of volunteers at the club who work tirelessly to ensure that everyone that comes to the club on a match-day has the best experience possible, and that includes the players. I also like seeing improvement in the player’s. Sam Hart has been so impressive this season and is one to watch.

A typical Match-Day: I like to arrive at the ground between half ten and 11am. My first job is usually to fill the water boiler and get it going. Tea and coffee seem to be the lifeblood of a football club. After doing any small jobs that may need doing I help to raise the floodlights with ‘Tommo Senior’ (Paul Thomas). Then I’m normally found on the door to the pavilion welcoming players, staff and sponsors etc to the club. I stay there during the game and escort the officials off the pitch at half-time and full-time. After the match I usually clear the dug-outs and am then responsible for getting the managers to do their interviews for Sgorio – making sure they are not disturbed during that time.

Best/Worst moment at the club: I have two best moments. The first was beating Bangor to qualify for Europe for the first time along with breaking our live TV hoodoo. The second was seeing Niki-Lee Bulmer take to the field in our friendly against Druids at The Rock after a being out for so long with his shoulder injury. The worst is easy – the Welsh Cup Semi Final defeat to Druids at Rhyl.

Favourite Player: It’s always difficult to single out one particular player but I’m a big fan of Glenn Rule. Seeing just how much Glenn has improved since he came to the club has been a real pleasure. I’m also a big fan of goalkeepers and I had a great rapport with Jamie Stephens last season.

Anything else to add: I have so much to thank Stewart Roberts for, for bringing me to a club that has ambition but will not put itself at risk to achieve it, and has a band of volunteers who are the nicest people you could ever wish to meet.