OPINION: Thank you John and Carolyn Radford for so many wonderful Mansfield Town memories

But, for the long-suffering Stags fans, it was the day they finally got their club back and a new era of success began.

It was on that day - September 25, 2010 to be precise, that boyhood fan John Radford completed his lifelong dream after buying Mansfield Town for a token gesture £1 from previous owners Steve Hymas, Steve Middleton, and Andy Saunders.

I remember the following Monday well and being invited down to Field Mill, as it still was then, to talk to John and Carolyn Radford for their first Chad interview. It’s hard to think that it’s been 16 years since that historic day.

The progress during that time has been nothing short of immense with the Radfords pouring in all their hard work, and a hell of a lot of cash at the same time, to take Stags from being a Blue Square Premier club down on their knees to a proud League One outfit with ambitions to challenge for the top six.

It’s not been an easy ride along the way as you would expect and perhaps John and Carolyn would have expected to have got to this stage sooner.

They probably didn’t envisage it taking a full decade to win promotion from League Two, with two or three big bumps on the way leading to Stags stuttering and stumbling under John Dempster and Graham Coughlan, before Nigel Clough got the project back on track.

It’s been an ambitious long-term project ever since John took the club on, and the big debts while he was at it, with two aims in mind - returning to the Football League and getting the ownership of the stadium out of the hands of Keith Haslam.

Both of those were achieved in 2012 with promotion quickly following the 17 year lease and freehold agreement in March, which secured full control of the stadium and gave us the One Call stadium brand that we have today.

The ground deal was the first stage in an off-field transformation that has been wonderful to see and, like many of the older breed of Stags fans, I get a real buzz in seeing how busy things are in and around the One Call on a matchday.

Like any good businessman John has been very adept at increasing the club’s additional revenue streams with the Radford Foundation marquee, Sandy’s and the 1860 suite all packed out every game and showing signs of a healthy fan base.

If there’s one thing the Radfords have done it's bring pride by the bucket loads back to Mansfield. The club play in front of a sold out stadium, now a fully functioning four-sided one at that, every week and could comfortably sell thousands more tickets each game if capacity allowed. It’s amazing to think that his fairytale journey began in front of just 2,312 fans.

A few miles up the road in Pleasley is something else to be very proud of, with the state-of-the-art RH Academy a far cry from the days of training sessions taking place up at John Fretwell.

Embarrassing defeats at the likes of Histon and Gravesend have been replaced by record-equalling wins against Harrogate and glamour FA Cup ties against the Premier League champions.

It’s been a journey during which John and Carolyn have used their vast expertise to bring steady leadership from the top as well as a clear and focused plan to take their beloved club forward.

The Radford era has been 16 years of steady but clear progress, an upward trajectory that seemed such a distant dream back in September of 2010.

What a ride it has been for us all. Thank you John and Carolyn for so many wonderful memories.