Fan of the week

By Stuart Croll (NonLeagueToday)

There was a time when Dave Tavener thought he'd never see his beloved St Albans City again

Dave had been to 999 consecutive Saints matches when the club was suspended for financial irregularities in January 2002.

But just when it looked like Dave would be stuck one short of that landmark thousand games in a row, the club was bought by a new owner and his infatuation with St Albans could continue.

That period of supporting Saints means Dave can empathise with fans of teams that face an uncertain future this summer. Dave said: "You just have to hope and believe your team will continue, thankfully we did and the rollercoaster of a being a NonLeague fan has continued."

Born and bred in St Albans, Dave has been supporting the Saints since 1970

He recalls his neighbours coming back from home games telling him how fantastic the football was. Being ten years old he nagged them to take him with them to a game, eventually they relented and he was immediately hooked.

Dave said: "It felt more of a community team back then and the gates were higher."

The self-employed courier has continued his loyal support so much so that he has not missed a Saturday game home or away for 23 years and has even travelled to watch his team play in France, Germany and the Channel Islands.

In his teens Dave started writing season reviews and match reports and they were of such a high standard he ended up writing them for the St Albans Observer, local radio and the club website.

He also edited the match day programme, which in 1988 was voted the best one in NonLeague. He has also written various histories of the club and their home ground, Clarence Park ­ including their infamous oak tree on the terrace.

Dave Tavener, can you spot him?

In 1993 the tree, which grew in the terrace behind a goal, was cited as the reason why the club had been refused promotion to the Conference as that league deemed it dangerous to spectators. Once it became known that the tree was diseased the club wasted little time in arranging for its removal and the team soon gained promotion to the conference.

Over the years Dave has witnessed many ups and downs following his team.
Semi-final heartache has especially been prevalent in Dave's football watching, He has seen the Saints lose two amateur cup semi-finals and one FA Trophy semi-final.

Dave's favourite ever St Albans player is Tony Turley, a winger from the early 70s and in the current team he especially enjoys watching goalkeeper Paul Bastock. It was with great relief that Dave watched St Albans City avoid relegation, this season, from the Blue Square South.

It would have been a second successive relegation for the Saints but even if demotion had happened it wouldn't have stopped Dave continuing to support his beloved side.
But even with this season's fight against relegation Dave takes out the positives.

"The last occasion St Albans narrowly avoided relegation from the old Conference South the next season they won promotion to the Conference itself so I'm hopeful that might happen again next season."

One thing is for sure, if history does repeat itself Dave will be watching it and recording the details for publication.