Boston Utd FC,
The Jakemans Community Stadium,
Pilgrim Way,
Wyberton,
Boston
PE21 7NE
Boston Utd are one of three football clubs in England to feature the ship of the Pilgrim Fathers, The Mayflower on their crest, the other two being Plymouth Argyle and Billericay Town – two teams that FGR once played at home in consecutive weeks. This reflects the extensive Puritan emigration from the Boston area (and, as with Billericay, the East of England in General). The team only formally adopted the nickname The Pilgrims (along with a badge depicting The Mayflower) in the 1960s. Earlier on, they had been known as the Stumpites, after”the Boston Stump”, as the tower of the town’s St Botolph’s Church is known.
The Boston Stump
We’ve seen that ship somewhere before…
Travel to Boston
Boston is in south-eastern Lincolnshire, and is considerably nearer to King’s Lynn, in Norfolk, than it is to Lincoln itself. It’s a road journey of about 160 miles from Nailsworth, with a journey time of around 3 hours 30 minutes.
By Supporters Club Coach – this is by far the cheapest and easiest way to travel. For information about Away Travel including precise details of pick-up locations – look here. For this match, the departure times are The New Lawn – 1.15 pm, Sainsbury’s Dudbridge – 1.30pm, Stonehouse Brunel Way – 1.45pm
The prices for coach tickets to this match are as follows (Supporters’ Club members get a £3 discount): Adults £35, U-16 £20, U-11 £10
To book a seat with the supporter’s club discount, please call 0333 123 1889 on Monday, Thursday, or Friday at 11am to 2pm. Please try to book early.
By car (Sat Nav – PE21 7NE)
From Stroud it is a distance of about 170 miles and would take about 3 hours 15 minutes. The Boston United stadium is located on the A16 leading to Peterborough. At present, the parking spots available at the stadium are for corporate and season permit holders. On-street parking is available in the surrounding area.
Council Car Parks in Boston – Car Parks – Boston Borough Council
By train –
There are hourly connecting services from Stroud to Boston, typically requiring changes at Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, and Nottingham. The journey takes a mammoth 5 hours 30 minutes. For an evening match, a return to Gloucestershire isn’t feasible without an overnight stay.
While a standard adult return ticket (valid overnight) costs around £125, this can be reduced by as much as one-third through judicious use of split ticketing and advance purchase tickets (which may also allow a quicker journey via London, too).
Boston station is about a 45-minute walk from the ground, which is on the outskirts of the town. Bus B3 runs hourly on Mondays to Fridays to near the ground, taking about 10 minutes, but the final bus is at 6.10pm and there is no public transport back to the town centre after an evening match. A better bet would be to use the Matchday Shuttle Bus, which costs £1.50 per journey, payable by cash or contactless card. For evening fixtures, this leaves the Len Medlock Centre (by the bus station) at 5.00pm, 5.45pm, 6.30pm and 7.15pm, with return buses at 10.00pm and 10.30pm. Alternatively, Boston firm Acorn Taxis offer special deals for supporters travelling to and from the Jakemans Community Stadium. Departing from their office in the bus station, the cost for journeys to and from the stadium would be £6 (each way) per car and £10 (each way) per minibus. You can book an Acorn Taxi by calling (01205) 358358 and are advised to book well in advance.
The Ground
Boston Utd play at the Boston Community Stadium (currently sponsored as the Jakeman’s Community Stadium), in Wyberton, on the outskirts of the town. It’s a modern stadium, having opened in 2020, and replacing their original York Street ground in the town centre. It currently has a capacity of 5,061 spectators, although the anticipated construction of a South Stand (expected to include permanent facilities for away fans) will increase this.
At present, away fans sit on the right-hand side of the East Stand down one side of the pitch.
Both seating and standing are accessed via turnstiles 1 to 4. Doors open at 6.15pm.
Ticket prices for the 2025/26 season are as follows:
- Adults – £22 (seating), £19 (terracing)
- Concessions (65+, Students aged 21 or younger with NUS card) – £16 (seating), £15 (terracing)
- U16 – £8 (seating), £7 (terracing)
- U5 – free
Tickets can be purchased here.
Celebrating Liam Sercombe’s goal from the halfway line at Rovers’ last visit to Boston in August 2024.
How are they doing?
The Pilgrims finished a slightly underwhelming 19th in the 2024/25 National League, with 55 points and 15 wins, ending up just three points clear of the drop zone. None the less, they secured a further season in the fifth tier, having last played at this level in 2001/02, and there is a definite sense that the club – once one of the biggest non-league clubs in the land – is on the up after a lengthy period in the doldrums. There is even a sense they could be a “dark horse” of the 2025/26 National League.
The club have recruited extensively over the summer. One key signing is striker Lenell John-Lewis, who was a regular scorer for York City for the three seasons (plus part of one on loan) he spent there. Other new Pilgrims include goalkeepers Rhys Lovett from Welling United and Bobby Jones from Curzon Ashton, defenders Jordan Cropper from Barnet, Michael Kelly from Scunthorpe United, Alex Lankshear from Blackpool, and Ben Grist from Leicester City, midfielders Greg Sloggett from Hartlepool United, Liam Waldock from Alfreton Town, Arjan Raikhy from Leicester City, and Rocco Coyle, on loan from Hull City, and centre-forwards Manni Norkett from Nottingham Forest and Kieren Donnelly from Halesowen Town.
It would be fair to say that Boston Utd have had a challenging start to the season, with only three victories – against Aldershot Town, Wealdstone and Braintree Town – from 12 games in the league. The low point was probably a 3-0 walloping by Truro City, in that team’s first National League victory. Conversely, the high point might be seen as a 1-1 draw with high-flying Southend Utd.
The Gaffer
Boston United appointed former Newport County and Bristol Rovers boss Graham Coughlan as their new manager in November 2024, after a gruelling start to life in the National League; the 50-year-old took charge of the Pilgrims as they sat second from bottom in the National League table.
Irishman Coughlan was appointed as Ian Culverhouse’s permanent replacement, with the promotion-winning manager sacked just 16 games into their return to the fifth tier.
Dublin-born Coughlan played as a centre half for several clubs including Plymouth Argyle, Livingston, Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham Utd, Shrewsbury Town and Southend Utd. The club secured safety in their penultimate match of the 2024/25 season, an achievement that Coughlan himself labelled ‘a miracle’. He rejected an approach from Hartlepool Utd over the summer, and his ambitious recruitment suggests that he aspires for the Pilgrims to progress further and higher up the table in 2025/26.
The Club
Boston United was formed in 1933 as a successor to the short-lived Boston Town. Reflecting their position on the map, they’ve competed at various times in the Midland League, Northern Premier League, and Southern League. Their golden era came in the 1970s, when they topped the Northern Premier League four times. Unsurprisingly, the Pilgrims were invited to become founding members of the nationwide fifth tier – the Alliance Premier League – in 1979. Of that original cohort, only Altrincham, Wealdstone and Yeovil Town remain alongside them in the 2025/26 National League.
The club spent five seasons in the Football League (2002–07), all in the fourth tier, though their time there – and the circumstances of their promotion, some argue at the expense of Dagenham & Redbridge – were mired in controversy. Much of the focus centred on their then-manager, the undeniably capable but combative Steve Evans, who was suspended from football for 20 months over contract irregularities at Boston and later received a suspended prison sentence for tax evasion. Remarkably, Evans returned to the club following his suspension but resigned after their relegation from the Football League in 2007. Financial collapse followed, with Boston dropping directly from League Two to the sixth tier, and then falling down another level a year later. The whole sad story is told in somewhat colourful terms by a Yeovil fan here. The Pilgrims returned to the Conference North in 2010, and finally reclaimed a place in the National League in 2024.
Now playing at a new ground, under fresh leadership and with a renewed sense of ambition, the club seems to be leaving behind the shadows of its troubled past.
Not the greatest oddity of Boston United’s stay in the Football League in the 2000s was the appointment of Paul Gascoigne as player-coach. He stayed for five matches.
The Town
An inland port that in the twelfth century was one of England’s busiest, Boston has numerous historic sights.
St Botolph’s Church, a.k.a the Boston Stump, with the tallest church tower in England
