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This is a project I am determined to see through, says Alcester Town boss Aaron Blackwood




Despite only being 28 years old, Aaron Blackwood has vast managerial experience in the youth and adult game. Sports editor CRAIG GIBBONS spoke to the Alcester Town boss about his career to date and what he hopes to achieve with the Romans.

Alcester Town manager Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson
Alcester Town manager Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson

WHEN talking to Aaron Blackwood, it’s clear he’s very knowledgeable about the game despite hanging up the boots well before his 18th birthday.

A striker-turned winger, the former Stratford Town youth player knows he probably had the ability to play at a good level and enjoy a decent career in non-league.

However, the love to kick a ball about for 90 minutes just wasn’t there for the now 28-year-old. Instead, Blackwood fancied his chances of moving into management and since making that decision he’s not looked back.

“I started playing football with a team in Kings Heath and then I moved a little bit closer to home in Redditch by playing for Kingfisher and Church Hill who were Sunday junior sides,” Blackwood told the Herald.

“I really started enjoying my football at Stratford Town under Lee Ross who had a very good non-league playing career himself.

“Then around the U15 or U16 season Lee went off to manage Alveston and from there I just lost the enjoyment. I tried to play with a few of my friends’ teams in the Stratford Alliance and the Midland League but I just didn’t enjoy it.

“I think that’s a fair assessment for most of the lads I grew up with to be honest barring a couple who went on to play football after junior level.

“It takes its toll on you eventually and you find other things to do. Work becomes a priority and as I wanted to go to university, that’s why I decided to step back from playing football.”

He continued: “I started out as a No. 9 but as I got older I moved out wide. I think I should have played at a better level than I did but I just did not have the hunger or drive to do so.

“And that’s a big thing in football. If that’s not there and you’re not enjoying it, then what’s the point in carrying on?”

The management team of Ryan Faulkner, Aaron Blackwood and Tony Round. Photo: Mark Williamson
The management team of Ryan Faulkner, Aaron Blackwood and Tony Round. Photo: Mark Williamson

Blackwood’s management journey started with the setting up of Studley U18s at just 19 years old, with the group winning the 2014-15 Midland Floodlit Youth League Western Division.

After three successful seasons he was then asked to take over Highgate United’s U18s for the 2016-17 campaign. After a year, he left to set up Feckenham’s very own U18s squad.

Alongside his work in the youth game, Blackwood landed his first senior job with Bartley Green Illey in 2015 and has since gone on to make a name for himself at step seven, managing the likes of Feckenham and Fairfield Villa before taking over at Alcester Town last summer following the resignation of Matt Seeley.

The nephew of former Eastenders actor Richard Blackwood admitted his decision to move into managing was a case of “throwing myself in at the deep end”.

“When I was at sixth-form at St Augustine’s in Redditch, so around the age of 17, the PE teacher at the time asked me to help out with the Year 9 and 10 football teams and it all stemmed from there,” he explained.

“After helping Tony Round (now the assistant manager at Alcester) and his junior side, I thought I wanted to do something locally at a good level of football.

“Paul Smith was the manager of Studley at the time and he was a big help in that first season I set up the U18s. He let some of our lads train with the first team and I got to experience how those sessions were done.

“The U18s were self-funded, though. The club wasn’t in a position financially to support the U18s, so I was running everything behind the scenes out of my own pocket. That’s not a dig at Studley because they’re a great club, it was just the situation at the time.

“At the end of that season Tony came on board and it kicked on from there.”

Alcester Town celebrate after James Ward, far right, scores against Hampton earlier in the season. Photo: Mark Williamson
Alcester Town celebrate after James Ward, far right, scores against Hampton earlier in the season. Photo: Mark Williamson

Blackwood ran the team for three years before the costs involved “became a bit of a burden” for him. He was then offered the chance to take charge of Highgate United’s U18s and although he was only there for a year, it was a period he enjoyed.

“It was a completely different set-up because we went from having to do everything to just focussing on managing the team and that was ultimately what I wanted to do,” he said.

Blackwood’s first senior management role came with West Midlands Regional League Division Two side Bartley Green Illey in February 2015.

He’d applied for the job in the summer of 2014 but missed out on the role. “I think Jamie Marler wanted someone with more experience and that was kind of what I was expecting to happen really but there was no animosity over it,” said Blackwood.

“It just so happened they were struggling and I think Jamie and the manager parted ways in January. Jamie then asked me if I would consider seeing out the rest of the season.

“I wanted to get into open-age football and this was a club with a bit of potential so I said I’d give it a go. It was kind of like a win-win scenario as they were second-bottom if I remember and the team below us was cut adrift so we couldn’t do any worse.

“We won our first game in charge and I remember thinking to myself ‘this is easy’. We then lost the next and it brought us all down to earth.

“It wasn’t the biggest of divisions as there were only 14 teams or so but at the end of the season we finished mid-table and the plan was to try and build on that for the following season.”

However, a huge inspiration in Blackwood’s life, Glenn Adams, helped him secure the manager’s position at Midland League Division Two side Feckenham. “Glenn was a bit like a father figure to me, he used to take me to and from football as a kid and helped out in a lot of ways,” said Blackwood.

Alcester Town striker Odane Barnes battles for the ball during the game against Hampton. Photo: Mark Williamson
Alcester Town striker Odane Barnes battles for the ball during the game against Hampton. Photo: Mark Williamson

“He told me the Feckenham job was available and it was a good chance to get my foot in the door at a local club. Because my catchment area of players was the south Birmingham and Redditch area, taking over at Feckenham was a good opportunity.”

Blackwood had two stints with the Millers from May 2015 to September 2018 and then June 2019 until when football was declared null and void due to the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.

During his time with the club, Blackwood narrowly lost to NKF Burbage in the final of the Midland League Presidents Cup and missed out on fighting for silverware in 2020 as the Worcestershire FA Junior Cup final against Welland was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Despite this, Blackwood looks back fondly on his time with Feckenham.

“I’ve been very lucky with every club I’ve been to but the group we had at Feckenham was full of characters,” he said.

“People tend to forget that the average age of the squad we started off with was about 20 and it was pretty much the same group throughout my time with club.

“This was probably the best time I’ve had in football so far to be honest and don’t get me wrong, we did not win all the time.

“Our first season was tough because it was a young group. We were naive and made errors but we accepted that because it was all part of the learning curve.

“I made errors too but it was the perfect group to make those mistakes with because we all progressed together, which was nice.

“It’s a shame how it all finished in the end but it was certainly one of the best times I’ve had.”

When the pandemic brought a halt to everything across the country, Blackwood resigned from his position at Feckenham to take a year out from football. Unfortunately, that did not quite happen as he was roped in to take charge of Fairfield Villa alongside Keith Draper for the 2021-22 season.

Blackwood explained that the new job came about when he watched his good friend George Tolley play for Fairfield in the Post-Covid Lockdown Charity Cup during the spring of 2021.

Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson
Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson

“I went into the clubhouse after the game and Keith came up to me and there’s an interesting backstory between us,” he said.

“Back in the day, when he was at Studley, he tried to tap up two of my Feckenham players, Corey Lloyd and Connor Perry-Holmes if I remember, and we reported Keith to the FA for an illegal approach.

“I think he got fined £300 or something like that and while we joke about it now, back then we absolutely hated each other.

“So Keith came up to me after the Covid Cup game and he told me he was looking for someone to get involved with him at Fairfield.

“I told him my plan was to take a year out from football and I didn’t want to do it. It was nothing against Keith or Fairfield, I just really wanted that break.

“Keith left it for a few weeks and then he rang me up saying that he still needed someone to be joint-manager and he asked me to just go and do pre-season and see how I felt.

“It helped that I had mates there so I went down to Fairfield and it turned out to be a good season.”

Fairfield went on that campaign to win the Worcestershire FA Saturday Cup, beating Bredon 3-1 in the final. Having initially wanted the break, Blackwood told the Herald he was glad to have the chance to work alongside Draper, someone he says he owes a lot to.

“He is without doubt one of the best people I have ever worked with,” he said. “His man-management is top tier and up there as the best.

“That’s probably why a lot of people wanted to play for Keith.

“We were joint-managers but he was definitely the main man and I learnt a lot from him, an awful lot. All this transpired from going to watch a mate play football.

“If I had decided not to go, I probably would have got the break I wanted,” he joked.

Blackwood explained that Draper had told him early doors of his intention to resign at the end of the 2021-22 season.

He then told Fairfield in November 2021 that once the season was concluded, he too would be standing down from his position as joint-boss of the Swans.

Thinking about another break, Blackwood was then advised by Draper to apply for the Alcester Town job, which had just become available following the resignations of Matt Seeley and Craig Gasiewski.

“There’s a few clubs locally to me that have got a lot of potential: Redditch Borough, Inkberrow and Alcester,” said Blackwood.

Alcester Town's clubhouse extension plans have been approved. Photo: Mark Williamson
Alcester Town's clubhouse extension plans have been approved. Photo: Mark Williamson

“In my opinion, they have the potential to kick on and play at a better level than they are currently just because of the infrastructure they have, the strength of their junior sections and the fan bases they have.

“So Keith actually persuaded me to put my name forward for the Alcester job. We unfortunately had issues with Matt when he was at Alcester and I was at Fairfield.

“There were a few run-ins and there was a bit of a sour relationship between the two clubs.

“So Keith got on the phone and explained to the Alcester chairman (Steve McAdam) that the issues were with Matt and not the club.

“Keith told me I’d be silly to drop out of football because it’s always hard to get back in as you get forgotten. He told me I was ‘too good’ not to be involved.

“I still wanted that break but I sat down with Steve for the interview and I know three other people went for the role.”

He continued: “One of those was Ryan Faulkner who was looking to get into management and I remember sitting in that meeting saying if the club wanted to do things slowly and bring the reserves and youth players through, then Ryan would be the best person to do that.

“But I said if they wanted someone to come in with huge pressure on their shoulders of trying to get out the division as quickly as possible, whether it be in one or two seasons, then I want to put my name forward.

“The club narrowed things down and I was asked if I could let Ryan be a part of the management team. I said yes and then we had another meeting with Tony Round, told him what we wanted to achieve and brought him on board as well.”

Blackwood is now keen to get the Romans, who currently sit fourth in Midland League Division Two at the halfway point, into the level above.

“The onus is on us to try and deliver what we promised we would deliver,” he said.

“The plan first and foremost is to finish higher than last season but we want to get this club out the division it is in.

“That’s why I said to the club that if I come in, we need to try and do certain things to get it into a position to move forward.

Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson
Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson

“And to the club’s credit, they’re doing that. There’s the clubhouse extension which has been approved and there’s potential for floodlights, things like that.

“The board are doing what they can to try and put the infrastructure in place so that we can get promoted and then ultimately it’s down to us to do that.”

While Blackwood does want to challenge himself at a higher level, it’s about finding that perfect balance with his day job as a senior area consultant for a recruitment firm based in Redditch.

“The issue I have with going up a level is whether I could commit to midweek games week in, week out,” he explained.

“At step six, you probably play ten midweek games across the whole season if you have a good winter. That’s not a lot but the expectation is higher.

“With the management team that I have right now, if one of us five isn’t around, things do not run as fluently as they normally would. So, with work right now, I know I simply could not commit enough to managing a step six side at the moment.

“Could I make it work if Alcester got promoted? Yes, I probably could but it’s a matter of how long it would work because that’s when you start tiring yourself out.

“At the moment, step seven football just works for me in regard to my career and how much time I have to give up for evenings, matches and things like that. My work-football-life balance is good right now but if we did go up I’d try to make something work as best as I could.”

He added: “The mission though is to get out of this division, whether that be into the Hellenic League, which I think would work best, or into Midland League Division One. We just need to get into step six and then assess things from there.”

During his career as a manager, Blackwood has thankfully never had any issues with the older heads in the group failing to listen to instructions.

“When I first started out at Studley U18s the lads were only a year below me so I was wondering whether I’d be shown any respect,” he said.

“I had a bit of a reputation of being a decent footballer so it was kind of easy to demand that respect but in adult football, some of the lads played more games than I ever had or could ever dream of playing in.

“I was thinking ‘are those type of players going to give me the time of day?’. I remember managing Josh McKenzie and he had a very decent non-league career.

Ryan Faulkner and Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson
Ryan Faulkner and Aaron Blackwood. Photo: Mark Williamson

“He’s around 37 now and is probably the most senior non-league footballer I’ve ever managed but he gave me the utmost respect. I was thinking to myself if someone of Josh’s ilk would give me the time of day, then perhaps I must be doing something right.”

He continued: “From there it just became easier and because I’ve done it for so long now everyone knows I’ve got that experience and thankfully I’ve never had an issue in the dressing room with the more senior players.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I’ve passed on some information and it has been totally disregarded. I think it just stems from how I conduct myself, I try to be as professional as possible within reason.”

So, does Blackwood still want that break he’s been yearning for since the start of the pandemic?

“No not at the moment, I am determined to see this project at Alcester through,” he said.

“The Littleton job became available not long ago and people were asking me to go for it because it was the step above and a chance to progress.

“There’s a lot of issues that come with managing a club like Littleton, in particular it’s location. For me, they needed a manager who was based out in Worcester to pull in the players needed to make it a success.

“I want to finish what I started here at Alcester and deliver on what I promised but I certainly do want that break at some point.”



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