Climbing the Pyramid the Right Way with Radcliffe FC
17 Aug 2026
9 min Read
By Tony Sprangers
From 75 fans and two dogs to 2,000 in the stands. Radcliffe FC are winning the right way — with community, heart, and knowing the right tools to use.
On a match day at the Neuven Stadium, the noise tells you everything you need to know.
Trailing by one goal, the Supporters' Stand is still in full voice. Fiercely loyal fans on the terrace, beating a drum, leading the chants, starting the banter. Fervent, optimistic chatter from a packed out club bar with a view of suburban housing as a backdrop to the dugouts. A lively, friendly atmosphere wraps around a ground that feels - against all odds - like it belongs somewhere much higher than where it was just a few years ago.
"The football team doing well means the town does well," says Chairman Billy Quarmby. "The supporters have the relief on a Saturday - or come Tuesday - that they can express themselves in voice and in song to cheer the lads on."
Community means everything to Radcliffe FC. The centre of a town, and the biggest team in the borough.
Born in a Pub, Built by a Community
Radcliffe FC was founded on 24th May 1949 — at the Old Tower Inn, by Jack Pickford and a committee of seventeen. The fledgling club joined the South East Lancashire Football League, worked its way through the Manchester League, into the Lancashire Football Combination, and eventually up through the Northern Premier League pyramid over the decades that followed.
It was a long, slow climb, punctuated by cup runs, relegation scraps, and moments of genuine joy. A record appearance in the FA Cup First Round in 2000. A play-off final win in 2003. A record-breaking striker in Jody Banim, who once scored in 14 consecutive games, an English football record that still stands to this day.
But for all its history, Radcliffe remained a club still searching for its higher calling.
That changed in 2016, when new ownership arrived and began investing — in the ground, in the infrastructure, and in the culture of the club. That investment paid dividends when, in 2019, the Boro were promoted back to the Northern Premier League via the play-offs. The direction of travel was clear.
Neuven Stadium, the heart of the borough, and the home of Radcliffe FC
The Heart and Soul of Radcliffe
Any telling of this club's recent story has to include Paul Hilton.
Paul became Chairman as part of the new era at Radcliffe, and by every account - from those who worked alongside him to those who simply watched from the terraces - he was the driving force behind everything the club became. His unwavering dedication and vision transformed Radcliffe, pushing it to the highest level in its history. He had an extraordinary ability to bring people together, creating a unity that extended well beyond football.
In September 2024, Paul passed away suddenly, sending a shockwave through the club and the town. Radcliffe were just months into their first-ever season in the National League North.
What followed said everything about the community that Paul had helped build. The club rallied. Players, staff, supporters, and the wider town came together to honour his legacy. Radcliffe secured their National League North survival with two games to spare.
Bury FC - a club with its own deep ties to the area — later introduced the Paul Hilton Trophy, contested as a pre-season fixture between the two neighboring clubs, and a fitting tribute to a man whose love for football and community was felt far beyond Radcliffe itself.
Fast forward to 2026, and on-pitch results show Radcliffe FC are honoring Paul’s legacy: "It means we're doing the right things," says Quarmby. "When the ownership took over and there were 75 fans and two dogs, for it now to be over 2,000 at home games — it means we're doing something right."
Radcliffe FC’s legendary former Chairman, the late Paul Hilton.
The Highest Level in the Club's History. So Far.
The 2023/24 season was the moment everything came together on the pitch. Radcliffe, under the management of local non-league legends Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, were crowned Champions of the Northern Premier League Premier Division, earning promotion to the National League North for the first time in the club's 75-year history.
It was Radcliffe's second promotion under the current ownership, and it came with real intent. This isn't a club content to consolidate indefinitely.
"The club's aspirations are to be in the EFL within a matter of years," says Quarmby. "It's the aim at the start of every season that we get promotion."
Their first season in the National League North was about surviving and finding their feet. They did. Their second season saw them pushing for a top-three finish before injuries took their toll late on. This only provided further motivation.
"That only whetted our appetite more to do better," Quarmby says.
Earning promotion to the National League North for the first time - a historic day for Radcliffe FC
Doing It the Right Way — With the Right Tools
Radcliffe operate on a tighter budget than most clubs at their level. There are no big-money backers throwing cash at every challenge. Every pound spent has to work.
That mindset shaped a decision that has become one of the most significant the club has made: investing in a full suite of Hudl tools that would give Radcliffe the kind of analytical infrastructure more commonly seen at fully professional clubs.
"We are not a club that throws money at everything," says Quarmby. "We have to do it the right way — and choosing Hudl is the right way."
First Team Coach Luke Clark agrees. "If you've got the resources available, you use them to the best of your ability. We're trying to professionalise the environment and create a culture for the lads to flourish."
"We have to do it the right way - and choosing Hudl is the right way."
Billy Quarmby, Chairman, Radcliffe FC
Knowing Your Numbers: WIMU GPS and SVIVO Live Analysis
At the heart of Radcliffe's day-to-day training operation is the WIMU GPS system, used in conjunction with the SVIVO platform for live monitoring and SPRO for post-session data export.
The process starts before training even begins. The coaching staff arrive around an hour early. The GPS pods are charged, the players' individual vests are prepared, and the SVIVO platform is set up to monitor load in real time throughout the session.
The metrics tracked are the ones that matter most at this level: total distance, high-speed running distances, accelerations, and decelerations. Live data allows the coaching team to keep a close eye on how players are responding to the session — adjusting the load based on what the medical team recommends and what the numbers are showing.
"The biggest asset any player can have is being available," Clark says. "The SVIVO platform really allows us to monitor that and look after the players."
Hudl's Football GPS Trackers, Built for Every Level of Play.
After the session, data is exported via SPRO in around 20 minutes — fast enough that conversations with players can happen directly after a session.
"Within 30 minutes of the final whistle, the game's clipped. The players' GPS data is available. With most other systems, that's not possible. But the biggest thing for us is we're able to have those conversations with the players before they've left the building."
For the players, the impact has been equally significant. "Before we had GPS, I didn't really know how hard I was working," says winger Michael Afuye. "After we got them, it was a focal point - knowing how much physical load we were doing, how fast we were running."
Striker Rio Clegg puts it in his own terms: "I work all week, come here two nights and on a Saturday, and I've got the same data as a Championship player gets. That's mental, really, innit?"
Defender Michael Nottingham, who - at 37 - discovered through the data that he was the second fastest player at the club, sees it as closing a gap. "The GPS bridges the gap between the semi-pro level and the professional level. We want to get any 1% that we can."
GPS performance tracking isn’t just for the pros. Radcliffe FC tracks key physical metrics, manage player load, and mitigate injuries using the WIMU GPS system.
Eyes on the Session: Hudl Focus Flex
One of the practical challenges for a club like Radcliffe is resource. The coaching team is small. Time is limited. Having someone dedicated to operating a camera throughout every training session simply isn't feasible.
The Hudl Focus Flex automatic football camera solves that problem. Set up on a tripod, connected via a couple of taps in the app, it films the session without anyone needing to man it - freeing the coaching staff to focus on the session itself rather than the logistics around it.
"Not needing to have the camera manned throughout the training session gives us an extra set of hands," says Clark. "Having the Hudl Flex camera takes away a little bit of the load from the coaching team."
Hands-free filming at the touch of a button. The Hudl football camera records all of Radcliffe’s training sessions and matches automatically.
Finding the Right Players on a Budget: Hudl Wyscout and Recruitment
Radcliffe can't outspend their rivals for players. What they can do is outsmart them.
Every three months or so, Clark sits down with the board to work through data from Hudl Wyscout - the biggest library of football video and data in the world — covering players from a couple of levels below and above where Radcliffe are competing. Key metrics vary by position and profile, but the process allows the club to identify players who fit their model before ever picking up the phone.
The standout example is midfielder Michael Afuye, signed after his underlying numbers suggested he was performing well even during a season where he hadn't played much. The final product hadn't always been there. The data said otherwise.
"The underlying performance data suggested he was a really good fit for us," Clark explains. "And I think he's been a real success here."
"It's invaluable data that a lot of clubs are missing out on," adds Quarmby. "We can only say it's the best thing we've invested in."
Radcliffe uses the Hudl Wyscout platform to scout players from leagues above and below their current level, using statistical benchmarks that suit their ideal profile of player.
One Ecosystem, Not Several Headaches
Perhaps the most important part of how Radcliffe uses Hudl is the integration - the fact that the GPS system, the video platform, the camera, and the scouting tool all exist within the same ecosystem, speaking to each other without friction.
For a club with limited staff and limited time, the alternative - running separate platforms from different providers - would create exactly the kind of administrative overhead they can't afford.
"That's probably the single most important thing for us," Clark says. "It’s how seamless the products communicate. Having it all on one platform is so much more beneficial from a time perspective. But also from a quality perspective — the data we get, we know we can trust. It allows us to make better decisions, quicker decisions."
Linking footage captured on a Hudl football camera, with live GPS analysis, gives this semi-professional team the same fully-professional tools used at higher levels of the game.
The Road Ahead
Radcliffe FC are at the highest point in their 75-year history. A club founded over a pint in a pub in 1949, now competing in the National League North, with ambitions that stretch to the EFL. A community of 2,000 fans where there were once 75 and two dogs. A group of semi-professional players using the same data infrastructure as Championship clubs.
None of it happened by accident. It happened because a club, a town, and an ownership group chose to do things the right way - in memory of a chairman who believed that more than anyone.
As Billy Quarmby puts it: "Hudl doesn't win games on their own. It gives people the tools to go and win them."
At Radcliffe, they're planning to win quite a few more.
Do things the right way, at any level of play.
Contact us for a free demonstration of how Hudl can take your club to the next level.
