Joe Priestley caught up with Club Ambassador Adie Towers to discover more about his time at the club.

This article first appeared in our matchday programme, for more exclusive content like this our programmes can be read digitally here.

“If you compare us from the early 90s when I first got involved, the club then to the club now is on a different planet.”

Those were the first words Adie Towers said when he sat down with me to discuss his years of distinguished service to Guiseley over the past decades. In a lengthy interview, Adie told both his story of his work at the club and shared numerous insightful stories of some of the club’s highest and lowest moments over the course of the past few decades. 

“In 1996 I was helping at Guiseley and lending a pair of hands whether it was just packing kit or being another to help, but what interested me at first was helping with an earlier form of the academy, we had a group of good young players who could compete with the likes of Altrincham and Halifax and as we were lower down the pyramid it was easier for them to progress.”

The Guiseley that Adie first joined were under the stewardship of Neil Parsley, a man that Adie hailed for his ability to achieve great results on a modest budget, competing despite significantly lower attendances than some of the other teams in the division. Whilst Adie undertook more general duties such as helping with the kit, his primary interest in the early days was in the previous incarnation of the academy. The club had a long way to go to reach the highs it one day would, with Adie reminiscing that these were the days when around a few hundred hardy Lions fans would come through the gates at Nethermoor Park at a time when league rivals such as Hyde and Altrincham, and local clubs like Halifax, would see gates of more than double. 

“I worked in Whitehall for 20 years, had large numbers of staff working under, and to go to working with volunteers was a transition and a different cultures and then to transition to a place with paid staff is hard.”

Adie credits the role that the likes of John Gill, Steve Parkin and others with re-energising the club and helping to send it on the transition that would one day lead to the club reaching the pinnacle of non-league football but admits that it wasn’t an easy process by any means. Coming from a distinguished career in Whitehall, Adie was experienced in working with large numbers of staff at his disposal and admitted that it was like coming into a different culture to transition into the world of volunteers. Guiseley had a dedicated team of volunteers, but not the army of paid staff that professional clubs possessed, and Adie and the rest of the dedicated Guiseley cohort put in numerous hours to ensure the club was working as well off the pitch as it was on it. 

“When we were promoted to the National League North from the Unibond League in the Steve Kittrick era, I’d taken over from Bruce as Football Secretary and Bruce was key in showing me the level of attention to detail, as a policy lead I was versed in this. Everything we do is squeaky clean, we use good accountants, good people, employing good people is the key. We have a reputation for doing stuff right.”

As the club were in transition following promotion, Adie himself also transitioned, taking the reins from another loyal club servant in Bruce Speller and becoming club secretary. Adie took pride in ensuring that the club did everything by the book, and building a reputation based on good practices and doing everything to the best of standards, which itself became increasingly difficult as football itself became more industrialised as time progressed. Adie quipped that he never wanted Guiseley to have a negative reputation and recalled occasions where the club had to deal with less than stellar service from others in the football community and how frustrating that could be to deal with. 

“One of the great privileges of being involved with a club moving forward, I can count on the fingers of one hand the people I didn’t like. I can speak highly enough of the likes of Grimsby and Tranmere who helped us out and would pick up the phone and give us advice. I feel like we have a reputation, me and James especially, for helping others now and passing on the knowledge. People were decent enough to do it for us and now we try and do it where we can.”

Guiseley would eventually progress even further both on and off the pitch. He was quick to heap praise on the appointments of James Pickles (General Manager and Club Secretary) and Trudi Miller (Facilities Manager) for their tireless work, and this transitioned into success on the pitch when the club were promoted once again. However, promotion to the newly named National League came with new difficulties and issues. Adie remains grateful to those with professional experience who took the time to assist himself and James as they got to grips with life on the brink of the Football League. Adie listed numerous people who were kind enough to lend their knowledge and time and expressed a strong sense of gratitude for helping the club in some of the most challenging times that the club ever faced. 

In the second part of this feature Joe interviewed Adie to find out more about his Guiseley career: 

How did you become a volunteer at Guiseley?

“I’ve always been in football in one form or other, I gave up playing when I broke my leg twice in my thirties, so I took up managing local Sunday sides, and I was part of an FA Programme in the 80s and 90s which encouraged ex players to become referees and managements and was quite successful at managing at the local level and I became involved in Guiseley through that.”

If you had to pick one, what would you say is your favourite Guiseley memory? 

“The playoff semi-final against Boston where Steven Drench, who I still consider a friend, saved pen after pen, and we ran over to our small section of supporters and just looking at the sheer joy those moments cause, I still absolutely love it.”

What was your biggest lesson learned during your time at Guiseley?

“Asking for help is key in times of trouble. Having a circle to use as a sounding board is key. Dave Baldwin at Bradford City was very helpful. He introduced me to many people, and when Dave moved to Burnley that continued. Picking up the phone was scary but plenty of people were happy to help.”

What was the most difficult period you have faced in your time at Guiseley? 

“The National League relegation was such a low, but Sean St Ledger was one of the nicest guys I ever worked with, he broke his back to try and save us. It was a scary time. But if I could take any positive out of it, when we were struggling some of the players acted so professional. I won’t forget that.”

If you could speak to the next generation of volunteers to come through the ranks, what would you say to them?

“The off the pitch is just as crucial for success as the on the pitch stuff. The admin stuff is all about minding it for the next generation. You never own it but you are a custodian, and enjoy it and believe in it. If it’s not fun, forget it.”

‘I am happy to have dedicated my life to this club’ – Adie 

Words by: Joe Priestley