Due to his ongoing work commitments, which unfortunately mean spending long periods away from home, Clive has taken the decision to step down from his current role as a director of Nantwich Town Football Club.
“It’s obviously with a heavy heart after all of these years said Clive and I will still be around to offer my support, advice and help wherever it’s needed, but my ongoing work and family commitments, including my grandchildren who are proudly now playing at the club, it means I am unable to dedicate the time that I have done previously in an active role on a daily basis, which being a Director demands. The club is embarking on a new chapter of its development with the opening of the new 3G facility, which I think is one of the most important and significant things to happen since we moved to our current stadium, and with the club in good hands, I feel that the time is right to step aside and I would like to thank the original committee members for originally having faith in a “cheeky” twenty something year old and giving me the opportunity in the first place! All of my colleagues, managers, players, volunteers, parents and supporters that have shared my vision and journey and all of the fantastic times that we have enjoyed together and I look forward to sharing and enjoying many more of them with you all in the future”.
“If anyone has ever earned and deserves the title of “Mr Nantwich Town”, it’s Clive, says Dabbers Chairman Jon Gold. I have known him personally for over 40 years and I also know the immense sacrifices he has made both personally and in business over the years, to follow his vision of providing the town and surrounding area with an incredible facility and community football club that they can be proud of and the generations of players, coaches, parents and supporters that have been able to benefit from his beliefs and vision, are testimony to his everlasting legacy and as a club, we are all eternally grateful and we will be doing our utmost to uphold these standards and we are all honoured to be entrusted with taking all of this in to what will be an exciting next chapter for the club and on behalf of my fellow directors and all of supporters, I would like to sincerely thank Clive for his unrivalled dedication and the growth and success he has given to the club over such a long period of time and we are currently discussing ideas for a more permanent and lasting celebration of this”.
For those that are unaware, our Club historian Michael Chatwin, has kindly provided the following timeline of Clive’s involvement with the Club.
Having served the club for over 30 years, there is little doubt that the leadership, contribution and development of Nantwich Town FC by Clive Jackson is unrivalled in the club’s long history.
Before managing the Dabbers’ reserves, ‘Jacko’ had been Manager of the British Rail London Midland Regional Team and Coach to the GB British Rail team playing against their equivalents in Germany, Holland and across Europe.
He was then appointed first team Manager in November 1992 (initially on a caretaker basis), following the resignation of Peter Ward, becoming the club’s youngest ever Manager at the age of just 28.
At the time, the Dabbers were sitting 20th in the NW Counties League First Division. He appointed Jon Brydon as Assistant Manager and they guided the team away from relegation. In the process, Clive was awarded NWCL Manager of the Month Award for February 1993 – an accolade he would receive again in August/September 1993, April 1994 and November 1996.
At the end of his first season at the helm, he took the Dabbers to the NW Counties League Cup Final for first time in the club’s history and Nantwich finished the season comfortably 13th in the table.
Remarkably, 12 months later, he secured the club’s then highest finish in the NW Counties League (4th)
Then, in May 1995, Nantwich won the NW Counties League Cup for the first (and only) time in the club’s history – defeating Trafford in the Final at Gigg Lane, Bury.
Clive’s managerial success continued when Dabbers striker Andy Locke scored the fastest ever hat-trick (2 minutes 20 seconds) in FA Cup history against Droylsden in September 1995.
At the end of that season, he persuaded England captain David Platt to turn out in Dave Pullar’s Testimonial at Jackson Avenue – just a few weeks before taking part in Euro 96.
In June 1998, Jacko stepped up to become Chairman of the club and Director of Football having passed on the managerial reins to Dave Roycroft.
Clive then started preparing the club for a move to a new stadium and was innovative in the development of a youth set-up. He worked tirelessly to progress the club and in 2003 Nantwich became one of the first clubs in the country to be awarded the prestigious FA Charter Standard Community Club award.
With support of the club’s old committee, Clive continued to drive the club forward and in 2004, the club secured a Football Foundation grant of £1 million towards the development of a new stadium and community facilities, and the appointment of a Football Development Officer.
With Clive continuing in the role of Chairman and Director of Football, the appointment of Steve Davis as Head Coach was followed by Nantwich gaining national recognition in winning the FA Vase – defeating Hillingdon Borough in the Final at Birmingham City in May 2006.
The following season, Nantwich finished 3rd in the NW Counties League (the highest ever position) and gained promotion to the Northern Premier League.
After extensive planning and work, in August 2007 the new £4m Weaver Stadium was opened in Kingsley Fields, and with the state of the art synthetic pitch, Clive was able to massively increase the number of youngsters and teams using this fantastic new facility.
By the end of the campaign, promotion from the First Division (South) of the Northern Premier League was achieved and the Dabbers won the Cheshire Senior Cup for the first time in over 30 years.
In May 2009, the club was on the brink of promotion to the Conference North but narrowly lost the Play-Off Final in extra time at Ilkeston Town.
With the huge progress of the club both on and off the pitch, as Chairman Clive oversaw the club becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee with a Board of Directors taking over from the old committee in July 2010. The stadium was put in trust to safeguard it as a community asset for future generations.
In June 2011, with continuing work commitments in Dubai, Clive switched to the role of Vice-Chairman. Even from such distance, he remained instrumental in driving the development of the club in all aspects, ensuring it is at the heart of the community with well over 50 community teams, including youth, girls, women, veterans and disabled.
Clive continued as Vice-Chairman until April 2020 when he became a Life Vice-President of the club.
His extensive knowledge, energy and drive also massively increased the profile of the club, in turn significantly increasing attendances. With his personal touch, he fostered good relations throughout the local football world, notably with our friends and neighbours at Crewe Alex. He also went out of his way to nurture footballing careers not just on the pitch but off it – with the likes of Steve Davis and Phil Parkinson in management and Steve Smithies as CEO at Cheshire FA. Now, stepping down as a Director after being the heartbeat of the club for so long, the club, town and community of Nantwich owe so much to Clive Jackson for spearheading the remarkable transition of Nantwich Town FC over three decades, making it one of the top community non-league clubs in the country.