Back In The Manager`s Hot Seat Again

By Micky (Turka) Taylor, Author & Non-League Football Pundit.

Having helped St Leonards escape from relegation for the last nine games of the 2000/01 season as assistant to Andy Thompson, it was no surprise then when Andy decided to step down.

I was interviewed by chairman, John Cornelius, and was appointed manager for the season 2001/02 and would be given an average, mid-table playing budget.

It was time to arrange pre-season games and also training which was going to be Wednesday nights and all-day Saturday`s until we started playing.

I had lost former Bristol City striker Dominic Barclay, who was on trial at Kingstonian, but there were to be some new signings including one major player who had been a legend at Brighton & Hove Albion, John Crumplin, who made over 200 appearances for the Seagulls.

He was also going to be my captain, and this made the headlines in all the local newspapers which sent out a message confirming our intention to be a top non-League club.

I also signed a talented but raw striker Tony Reid, classy midfielder Jason Davy, goalkeeper John Odlum, a classy full-back Sean Campbell, and a strong centre-back in Dan Moody.

These were added to the players from last season except Adam Flanagan, who I had lost to our local rivals Hastings United.

So, I was quite happy with my playing squad and with my good friend and great coach, Des McCarthy, joining my staff.

I managed to get a qualified fitness coach for pre-season which helped in our preparation to be a very fit side.

Our training ground was a school playing field just up from our ground (The Firs) and on some days when the sun was at its best we could look down and view the sea in its glory making the team feel like they were at a training camp in Spain!

I must admit that some Saturdays I wish I was on the beach and I’m sure some of the players did as well, but the local players were used to all this which did help in some way in making the team stronger by encouraging the London players to have a Saturday night stopover.

So now with a settled squad and pre-season games coming, it was with great anticipation that I believed we were going to do well.

I must say that in some of those pre-season games we were quite outstanding in our play.

In one particular game away to Isthmian Premier Division Carshalton Athletic, managed by Frankie Murphy, we played them off the park.

The score 2-0 could have been far more such was the display of attacking football in a new formation 3-4-3 which seemed to suit the players we had.

We had a couple of more friendlies against Sussex County League sides, and we were scoring for fun, but, and just as important, we were not conceding goals either which had caught the attention of the fans who really believed we could have a good season ahead of us.

Now, with the season fast approaching and having won all our pre-season games, it was with great interest that we approached our final friendly which would be at home to my former club Croydon.

This was going to be a very tough test and a chance for our supporters to see the new St Leonards line up which included John Crumplin.

Quite a few of our supporters were also Brighton fans so John had a few autographs to sign after the game.

The game against Croydon was always going to be a bit emotional as I loved the club and, more importantly, Ken Jarvie and Colin Turner, but it was a game of football and once we kicked off all of that went out of the window for 90 minutes.

It was a hard-fought game and once again we showed that we were going to be no pushover for any side that season.

We won the game 2-1 with goals from Des Boateng and Carleton Chatelier leaving us with an unbeaten pre-season.

The win set us up for our first league game of the season and mine as manager.

Up the M11 we went away to Histon on August 18th, 2001 at their Bridge Road stadium.

Histon had been promoted from the Eastern Counties League and had not been beaten at home for two years under manager Steve Fallon, so this was to be a difficult game for us to start to say the least and our supporters were also thinking of having a great start.

A couple of things happened in the game that I will always remember, apart from the scoreline which gave us a 2-1 win with goals by Jason Davy and Chatelier.

This sent out a message to Histon - welcome to the Southern League Eastern Division!

On to events that happened during the match and how they were dealt with.

In the first half I remember our centre-back, Dan Moody, going down after a challenge and remaining laid out on the pitch with John Crumplin standing over him.

I kept waiting for the signal for the physio. to go on but Crumps said no need he will be alright and sure enough Moody got up and played through the whole game as if nothing had happened to him.

I did not speak to John about it at half-time as the game was balanced at 0-0 and we had some tactical issues to sort out and I decided I would speak about it with Crumps after the game.

It was my turn now to take centre stage and I felt such a bloody fool because as I celebrated our winning goal with about 10 minutes to go I forgot to put back my tip-up seat in the dug-out and ended up wedged between the seats and in some pain!

With the help of our physio and our substitutes, I was taken to the dressing room to receive treatment leaving my coach to see us over the line to win the game!

When the lads came into the dressing room after the game they were in high spirits and laughing at me having treatment.

With me now off the table, I asked Crumps what he had said to Moody.

He said he told him there is nothing wrong with you and if you don’t get up and see this game out then you and I will be at it in the car park after the game!

What a captain and an inspiration he was and was I glad that he was my player on a day when he earned the total respect of all the team including Danny Moody.

To cap it all, three points in my first league game as manager, but would it last and would it be as special?

I still think of that day, and also how Histon came up through the ranks during the next few years, even beating the mighty Leeds United 1-0 at home on that same ground with the same manager, Steve Fallon, in front of 4,500 fans and the ITV cameras in November 2008.

(Micky Taylor`s excellent book `Non-League Football - A Roller Coaster Ride To Beat Any` is available to buy from Amazon priced £12.99 (Kindle version £3.99. All proceeds to Cancer Research).