Chepstow and District Reds celebrate 30 years
The South Wales Valleys may feel far removed from Old Trafford’s concrete, neon and steel, but try telling that to Manchester United’s Chepstow & District supporters’ club – which recently celebrated three decades of making the “long old trek” up to M16.
We chatted to branch secretary Matty Haines just days after the 2-1 victory over Chelsea in early December – a match that possessed the eyelid-wobbling kick-off time of 8.15pm on a cold Wednesday night. It’s the kind of fixture that sums up the determination of many of our far-flung supporters’ branches.
“I got back in my house at 25 to four that morning, from being picked up at quarter to one the day before,” Matty tells us. “It does affect your sleep. We had three games in 10 days, and you seem to be living in Manchester! But we do every home game, whether it’s Crawley Town or Cambridge United, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.
“A win does make a lot of difference, but we have a good craic on the way back home anyway. We just chuck a Spotify playlist on and have a sing-song!”
The branch was founded in 1993 by a small group of Reds from the Monmouthshire town of Chepstow, led by original secretary Tony Parsons, who is sadly no longer with us.
But these days, the supporters’ club draws more of its fans from ‘the Valleys’ – famous as the birthplace of United legend Jimmy Murphy (Pentre) and rock iconoclasts Manic Street Preachers (Blackwood).
It’s also full of Liverpool FC enthusiasts.
“You’ve got quite a big fan base for Cardiff City, and quite a few Swansea,” explains Haines, “but the majority of the lads I’ve grown up with are Scousers, so it was great to get one up on them when we overtook them in titles.
“There’s quite a few Spurs fans, some Leeds scattered here and there, Arsenal too. There’s hardly any Man City in the Valleys, unless the young kids are starting to glory hunt... but the Scousers are our main rivals, and everyone seems to hate United! Even the lads who follow rugby take a dislike when the game’s on! It’s quite funny.”
Access All Areas: United v Aston Villa Video
Access All Areas: United v Aston Villa
Access All Areas | Go behind the scenes and watch unseen footage of our thrilling Boxing Day victory over Aston Villa...
Around 47 to 56 make the trip up to each home game, depending on the size of the hired bus which stops at nine pick-up points within the Valleys, including popular spots Newbridge and Blackwood. At the journey’s end, the branch’s adopted pre-match home is the Trafford Social Club on Derbyshire Lane. From there, they hop on the Walsall branch coach for the final mile or so to Old Trafford, for the princely sum of £2 per head.
“We’ve got about 660 Reds on our Facebook group, and at least 280 official members,” continues Matty. “I took over as secretary three years ago. The guy that used to run it, Dickey Thomas, decided he’d had enough of being secretary, though he still travels with us. The branch might have folded, and I just couldn’t see myself and Reds not going up there any more from the Valleys.”
Despite all the miles, and all the late nights – not to mention the early get-ups for work the next day – the enthusiasm for United is still raging in the Valleys. For
Matty at least.
“I think it’s a very good achievement, 30 years of travelling all the way from the South Wales Valleys up to Manchester,” says Haines. “We’ve seen us lift some trophies and had some rough times, but there’s more good memories than bad times following United. And it’s the friends [you make] for life. I think in 14 seasons I’ve missed about eight games.
“It’s just that buzz. Even walking into the ground, you still have the same goosebumps. You go into your seat, and even though I’ve been sat there for 14 years, I still get it. I don’t know if others do, but to me it just feels like you’re a kid again.”
Back to Top