Non-League and Academy football writer

Bilal Butt has been in remarkable goalscoring form for Middlesex County Football League Premier Division side Pitshanger Dynamo, during the 2023/24 season. The experienced 32 year old centre-forward, who has previously been with Brentford (as an academy player) and also played for clubs such as Cockfosters and Beaconsfield Town, in non-League, had at the time of writing this, scored 32 league goals from 17 appearances for Pitshanger Dynamo, this season. One of, if not the finest and most experienced centre-forwards who is currently playing for a step 7 non-League club, I recently had the great pleasure of speaking to Bilal about his time in football so far. 

What are some of your earliest footballing memories?

Bilal: My dad took me to a Sunday league team called Hive FC, and I was playing there early on in my footballing journey, and some of those guys who played for that team would go onto do quite well for themselves, since then. So we had quite a strong Sunday league team, and we used to play in tournaments, and I can remember that in one tournament that I played in for Hive, that there were scouts from QPR and Brentford there. They spoke to my dad, and we went down the Brentford route, because we just had a bit more confidence in what they were saying, than what QPR were saying. Because back then QPR were taking a lot of the players, and a lot of our players were going there, but I was at Brentford from 8 until 18. I got offered an apprenticeship with Brentford when I was 15, and so I signed a two year scholarship, with the hope of signing a professional contract at the end of it. Then, when I was in year 11 at school, I was asked to go training with Brentford, and so it was progressing with them quite well. 

I was at Brentford from early on, and so I went through all of the academy steps with them, up until youth team level. I did play a little bit of reserve team football with them as well, but that was a completely different life to what I’d thought that football was. So I’d gone from enjoying football with Brentford during my younger years, to doing it as a full-time job. So we had that two year apprenticeship, where I was training five days a week, and we’d also have to watch the first team when they were at home, after our game in the morning. So, we’d also have to do jobs there as well, and clean the changing rooms after the games as apprentices, and also clean the players’ boots. So I did that until I was almost 18, and then I had a meeting with the youth-team manager, which was when I got released. So those were some of my earliest footballing memories, when I was growing up. 

Could you talk me through a bit of your footballing background, up to joining Pitshanger Dynamo? 

Bilal: So after I’d been released by Brentford, I was just relieved. And I didn’t really want to play football again after that. As the two years that I did as an apprentice with Brentford, that kind of saw me lose my love for football, shall I say. So I took a little break from football, before getting back into football with a men’s team called Tokyngton Manor, which was basically just some guy from around my area, who I used to get my haircut from, he was running a team who played at Amersham Town FC’s ground. So I started playing for them, to try and enjoy my football again, and I did. From there I moved onto Cockfosters FC, which was when I really started enjoying my 11-a-side football, thanks in part to my manager Michael Roche, and his assistant Fabio, who has since gone onto coach at quite a high level. So they gave me a lot of confidence, and they got a lot out of me as well, playing me in all of the big games. I was scoring lots of goals for them from midfield, and we won a couple of cup finals as a team, and we also won promotion as well, which was my first experience of winning stuff in men’s football. 

I would also play for clubs such as Beaconsfield Town, in non-League. I would say that playing for Beaconsfield was probably the highest level that I’ve played at in men’s football. I was playing regularly and scoring goals for them, and I scored goals for them in the FA Cup preliminary rounds, and so I was making headlines in Beaconsfield, in the local newspaper.

Have you had any great footballing influences, such as coaches for examples?

Bilal: The coach that I really liked was a coach called Andy Scott (an ex-Arsenal central defender). He was the man who signed me for Brentford on my youth team contract. He was really good with me, and he obviously gave me that contract, but on our first day of pre-season he was sacked, and so then we had a new manager, which was quite difficult for me. Also, my manager at Cockfosters, Michael Roche, he was another big influence on me. 

As a youngster, were there any players who you used to look up to/try and model your game on?

Bilal: I used to play at centre-back when I was younger, because of my height, but the players who I used to really like were players like Robin van Persie and Cesc Fàbregas, who used to play for Arsenal. Now in this day and age, I like players such as Harry Kane and Kevin De Bruyne, but van Persie and Fàbregas were so good to watch, and I used to model myself on being clinical in front of goal. I’m doing alright for Pitshanger Dynamo this season in our league, but a couple of seasons ago when I was playing for FC Assyria in the Middlesex County League, I actually scored 62 goals in the Premier Division. I’m trying to get to those levels again this season.

What has been the overall highlight of your non-League footballing journey, so far?

Bilal: I would probably say that it was playing in this cup final for Cockfosters, and it was played at Harefield’s ground. It was 1-1 until extra time, when I scored the winning goal of the final. There was also a promotion when I was with Edgware, which was another highlight for me. 

Could you talk me through your memories so far, of playing for Pitshanger Dynamo? And could you talk me through the current season with them?

Bilal: I originally signed for Pitshanger last season, and I played quite a lot of games for them at the start of that season, but then I had to take a break, because I was sorting out my driving license, and so I had to stop playing football on a Saturday for Pitshanger, because of that. I did go back to them at the end of the season, and we finished the season quite strongly, and we had a good and consistent team then. I knew that going into the next season, that if we kept the whole squad together, then we would have a really good chance of winning the league this season. We started this season off really well, and we played some really good football, and we were getting good results. The pitches were obviously harder to play on as the season went on, but the main thing for us is to try and keep our core team available. Because it’s quite hard to be consistent at this level every week, but player for player we can beat any team, but it’s quite hard when you’re missing players, or when you don’t have all of your players available. 

What have you made of the current Middlesex County Football League Premier Division season?

Bilal: I’ve been around this league for a couple of seasons and I’ve been surprised with a couple of teams, as to how good they are. Like PFC Victoria London, who have been in this league for a while, and I don’t know whether they’ve recruited players well, or if their players have just got more experienced. But they were a really good team to face this season, as well as Camden & Islington, a team who I hadn’t faced until this season. They really impressed me this season. And then you’ve got the regulars in the league, like Larkspur Rovers and Indian Gymkhana, and you know what you’re going to get from those tough teams, week in and week out. Shepherd’s Bush are another club who I think were considering themselves as favourites to go up this season, and so we always knew that we would have a tough game against them. But there are still other teams, like Kodak (Harrow). It’s a football cliche, but most games in this league are tough games, and you just don’t know what you’re going to get on a Saturday, because teams and players can change quickly in non-League.

Who would you say has been the toughest/most difficult team that Pitshanger Dynamo have faced so far this season?

Bilal: I would definitely say Camden & Islington, and I like how they are as a club as well.

For those who haven’t seen you play, how would you describe yourself as a centre-forward?

Bilal: Without being too arrogant I would say that I’m a very good finisher, and I would say that I’m a complete striker, apart from maybe my heading, which is surprising because of my height. I can hold up the ball and bring others into play, and also put the ball in the net. But that is a question that I’d rather other people answer for me!

What are your hopes and aims for the remainder of this season with Pitshanger Dynamo?

Bilal: So I wanted to get to a cup final, which unfortunately Camden & Islington put an end to for us. But winning the league is also right up there for me, this season. Personally I don’t want to just play for fourth or fifth place, instead I want us to play for the league title this season, during the remainder of the season.