This article is part of the ‘League Preview’ series, in which every day we take a detailed look at one of Aldershot Town’s 23 prospective opponents for the upcoming National League season.
Today’s focus is a brand new opponent for the Shots, and a club for whom fifth-tier football is previously uncharted territory, 2024/25 National League North champions, Brackley Town.
Alongside Wealdstone and Tamworth, ‘The Saints’ are one of just three clubs in this season’s Enterprise National League who are yet to announce full-time professional status, which is understandable given they are entering their first foray into step-one this coming August. However, promotion was far from a fluke, with the club finishing 4th or higher in each of the previous eight step-two seasons. Not to be underestimated, their 92-point promotion campaign eclipsed the totals of all of their divisional peers, including National League South champions, Truro City (89).
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Where is Brackley?
With approximately 16,500 inhabitants, the town of Brackley will become among the smallest settlements to have ever been home to fifth-tier football or higher. Situated near the triple-point of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, the town officially resides in the southernmost part of the latter, and may most easily be identified by its close proximity to Silverstone Racecourse, just a 13-minute drive away. Approximately 78 miles from the EBB Stadium, the 1h 30m journey will mark Aldershot’s 11th closest away trip of the upcoming league season.
Aside from obvious neighbours Northampton Town, the Saints become just the third team in Northamptonshire to tackle step-one football, alongside Kettering Town and the now defunct Rushden & Diamonds, with other nearby clubs including Milton Keynes Dons and Oxford United. Although there are plenty of teams nearby in general, the club find themselves somewhat lacking in local rivalries in this season’s National League, with their closest away day being Solihull Moors (46 miles).
Due to its relatively rural locality, the club have one of the smaller catchment areas in the division. However, outside of the town itself, the club now serves as the closest place to watch step-one football or higher for the towns of Buckingham (~13,000 pop.), Bicester (37,000) and most notably, Banbury (54,335).
Not to be confused with the stadia of either Newcastle United or Exeter City, Brackley Town play their home matches at St. James’ Park. The 3,500 capacity ground has been the club’s home since 1974, and saw its record attendance achieved in 2024, as a crowd of 3,074 watched in agony as Boston United came from behind to beat the Saints 2-1 in the National League North play-off final.
Brackley finished 2024/25 with an average league attendance of 887, the lowest among teams in this season’s competition. However, it is reasonable to assume that this figure may balloon amidst the draw of fifth-tier football this term.
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Recent history and club highlights
Patrons of St. James’ Park may have been forgiven for thinking their status at the summit of non-league might never come, after a grueling SEVEN successive play-off heartbreaks, including three unsuccessful finals in 2018, 2023 and 2024 respectively.
However, with the newfound hindsight that promotion would eventually be achieved, supporters may finally look back fondly on what has been a sustained period of success, with the club winning 49.3% of all regular season matches since 2017/18.
2024/25 – NL North (1st)
2023/24 – NL North (3rd) Final
2022/23 – NL North (4th) Final
2021/22 – NL North (2nd) Semi
2020/21 – NL North (N/A)
2019/20 – NL North (4th) Quarters
2018/19 – NL North (3rd) Semi
2017/18 – NL North (3rd) Final
2016/17 – NL North (7th)
2015/16 – NL North (19th)
While this season will present a maiden league meeting for the majority of clubs, Brackley have been an unignorable quantity in non-league of late, most notably during their sensational 2017/18 FA Trophy win, in which they impressively defeated all of Salford, Braintree, Barrow, Sutton, Wealdstone and Bromley on their way to Wembley victory.
The club have reached the second round of the FA Cup on three occasions, with replay victories against Gillingham in both 2013 and 2016, before eliminating Braintree Town on penalties last term.
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Pre-season, incoming transfers and other news
At time of writing, Brackley have made 6 first team signings:
| Player | Pos. | Age | Arriving from… | Highest level played |
| Ryan Haynes | LB | 29 | Cheltenham Town | League One (Coventry) |
| Danny Waldron | CF | 29 | Southend Utd | National League (Southend) |
| Kyle Morrison | CB | 29 | Kidderminster | National League (Solihull) |
| Cameron Gregory | GK | 25 | Boston Utd | National League (Boston) |
| Zak Brown | CM | 24 | Kidderminster | National League (Kidderminster) |
| Jack Price | CM | 32 | Free Agent | Championship (Wolves) |
While all their incomings show promise, their most exciting addition is undoubtedly 32-year-old midfielder Jack Price, who joins the side with over 250 professional matches under his belt, including 97 EFL Championship appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Price spent six years playing for Colorado Rapids in the MLS, where he shared a pitch with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ashley Cole, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Wayne Rooney, immediately giving him one of the most decorated footballing CV’s in the division upon arrival.
Brackley Town’s current pre-season schedule, which began with the Saints holding League One neighbours Northampton Town to a goalless draw, is as follows:
Brackley Town 0-0 Northampton Town (05/07)
Isle of Man 0-3 Brackley Town (12/07)
Brackley Town 0-2 MK Dons (15/07)
Chelmsford City vs Brackley Town (19/07)
Halesowen Town vs Brackley Town (26/07)
Stratford Town vs Brackley Town (02/08)
After preparations finish with a visit to nearby Stratford Town, the Saints are due to begin their fifth-tier future with a home tie against Eastleigh on Saturday, 9th of August.
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When will Aldershot and Brackley Town play each other?
Following the release of the National League fixture list, Aldershot are due to host Brackley Town on Saturday, 6th September. There will be a long wait between meetings, as the Shots must wait until their final away day of the season to travel to St. James’ Park. Their visit, due to fall on Saturday, 18th April, marks the penultimate matchday of the campaign, and may prove to be a crucial affair for either side.
The two league fixtures against Brackley Town hold interesting significance for the Shots, as the two sides have not once shared a pitch to date. With untapped bragging rights on offer, and a new ground for travelling support to tick off their list, these matches will certainly be ones to mark in the calendar.
