Not many people have a closer association with the Emirates FA Cup than Long Melford boss Jamie Bradbury.
The 40-year-old led his team to victory over Redbridge two weeks ago to tee up a preliminary round tie against St Margaretsbury on Saturday.
But his links with the world’s most famous knockout competition are much stronger than that one win.
A former FA employee of 18 years, Bradbury was once responsible for all Cup content on The FA’s digital channels and he oversaw the production of no fewer than nine FA Cup Final match programmes.
And while he acknowledges that Long Melford’s name might not don the cover of the 2019 edition, The FA Cup remains a special trophy for Bradbury and his players.
He said: “The FA Cup has got that prestige that makes it different from any other competition.
“Obviously it has always been very special to me, as a football fan, a player and as a former FA employee – but all the lads here get excited about playing in the competition, and rightly so. It’s a huge deal for everyone at the club.”
This is Bradbury’s second season in charge at Long Melford after initially joining the club as assistant manager in 2016.
They avoided relegation from the Eastern Counties Premier Division two years ago, finished a respectable 16th last season and Bradbury is now eyeing a top-half finish.
He has Cup targets, too.
“One win in The FA Cup is always the aim at the start of every season,” said the UEFA B coach.
“Everyone wants to win an FA Cup tie. But now we’ve got that one win under our belts we want to make it two wins, then hopefully three wins, and who knows from there.
“A good run in The FA Cup is always a target. Being in the hat for the next round would be special.
“The boys are buzzing at the minute. They are working hard and feeling confident. Hopefully we can make it count.”
Despite his obvious love for the Cup and aspirations for Long Melford, Bradbury – who played in the competition for both Basildon and Bowers & Pitsea – will be absent from Stoneylands Stadium on Saturday, owing to a family holiday in Turkey.
“I’ve got two young daughters so I have to go away during the summer holidays,” he explained. “There’s always a risk of missing an FA Cup game; last year I missed our tie against Hackney Wick.
“I am gutted that I can’t be there at the weekend because I know what the atmosphere will be like in the dressing room.
“But we’ve got really good team of coaches at the club and we’ve been on WhatsApp quite a bit this week.
“It will be 5pm in Turkey so I’ll have to find a nice little bar where I can – nervously – follow our game on Twitter.
“It’s nerve-wracking being on the sidelines, let alone when you’re thousands of miles away and you can’t do anything. But I’ve got faith in the boys.”
During his time at The FA, Bradbury was well-versed in telling the stories of clubs who had benefitted from FA Cup prize money; funds that could go a long way to building a new stand, a new car park or simply helping a club survive.
And with £2,250 of prize money already in the coffers, Long Melford would pick up a further £2,890 by winning on Saturday.
Bradbury said: “It would be massive for us if we get through because the prize fund has been increased.
“There are clubs in our league with bigger budgets than us. We’re just a small village club really, but we have a good group of decent players who have really pushed the club forward over the last few years.
“We’ve already got plans in place for a new clubhouse so any extra prize money we can get from the Cup would go towards building that.
“In terms of the money it can bring, just a few wins in The FA Cup is such a big deal for clubs at our level.”
He added: “We beat St Margaretsbury in the Cup a couple of years ago, but we know they’re a decent outfit and they had a good win over Enfield in the last round.
“They will have no doubt changed a lot since the last time we played, but then so have we. We have developed a lot as a group of players and a group of coaches over the last couple of years.
“We want to stay in The FA Cup for as long as we can.”
