BIGGLESWADE FC | COLES CALLS IT A DAY

Influential skipper hangs up his boots

After over 200 appearances for Biggleswade FC, popular skipper, Tom Coles, has decided that the time is right to hang up his boots.

The 35 year-old joined the Pitching In Southern League Division One Central club in 2017 and has enjoyed a successful time, which sees him third in the club’s all-time appearance list and second in the all-time scorers’ list with an impressive 80 goals to his name.

He has also led the club to the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division title, the SSML Dudley Latham Memorial (Premier Division) Cup, the North Beds Charity Cup and, most recently, the Bedfordshire FA Senior Cup on a never-to-be-forgotten evening at Kenilworth Road last month.

“Coming off the pitch for the final time I felt more a sense of frustration than emotional, to be honest, as we lost a game that we should have won against Aylesbury United,” Coles admitted to us. “A bit of realisation hit me as I sat in the dressing room afterwards, but I think it will hit me more when pre-season starts and the preparations for the new season get underway.

“The decision to hang up my boots has been a tough one. I knew it was coming for a while, so that made it a little easier.

“The reason is largely down to having a young family, so it’s easier to accept because family comes first.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t miss it massively, which I know I will and it’ll be a case of attempting to fill the competitive gap in another way.

“The toughest bit is definitely the people, though; the club is full of brilliant people, a lot of who I have known for a long time and are friends. From the Chairman, Jeremy, through to the committee, Dave, Skip and James, the lads in the team and, of course, the supporters.

"I am sure that I will be down supporting the club whenever I can next season.

“There have been some successes along the way, such as winning promotion into The Southern League in 2018/19 – we won the treble that year so it was an amazing season for all involved – and then winning the Bedfordshire Senior Cup at Kenilworth Road recently, that was a nice way for my career to finish on a brilliant night for the club as a whole.

“The way in which we have established ourselves as a Step 4 club has been a joy to be part of. For such a young club to be taking on some of the established clubs in this League has been a great achievement.

“There are so many talented players that I have been privileged to play alongside here over the years; the likes of Alex Marsh and Adam Hunt, who are match winners, whilst impact-wise, Lawrie Marsh always makes a difference.

“These three have been at the club for a long time so they’ve become part of the core. Although not at the club for too long before being picked up, Pemi Aderoju came in and stood out pretty quickly. Michael Simpson probably has the best feet of the lot - and with injuries, he has played most of the season on one leg!

“The core group and been together a long time and we’ve developed a strong bond, which has served us well with Adam Hunt providing the entertainment!”

A tenth-place finish and some silverware has represented a solid season for the club.

“Overall, it has been a solid season and winning a trophy is always an achievement,” Coles added. “There have been times when it’s been a bit disjointed due to player availability, which has definitely impacted results.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, and I know that this happens to everyone over the course of a long, hard season, but it has meant that we haven’t been able to field a consistent team for a large part of the season and so it’s been difficult to build momentum and consistency, which is so important.

“With the League being so tight, a couple of wins here or there makes such a difference and sitting here now, it does feel that we could have finished a few places higher. I imagine that a lot of clubs in and around us will be saying the same, though.

“This season has certainly felt like the closest and most competitive Division One Central since we have been in the League. Everyone has been beating each other and there were no easy games.

“There have been so many clubs in contention for a play-off place. It was a case of a couple of wins and you were looking towards making the play-offs, but then a couple of defeats and it was nervous glances over your shoulder towards the relegation zone.

“The old cliché of ‘the table doesn’t lie’ rings true as I would say that the top three of Biggleswade Town, Bedford Town and AFC Dunstable were the strongest three teams that we faced over the course of the season.

“Hopefully next season the lads can build on what they’ve done and get into that top five.”

Joint-managers, Dave Northfield and Mark Inskip, have added their praise to the departing skipper.

"At some point in their career, players have to choose a time to hang their boots up and sadly for us Tom has made that decision,” said Northfield. “To say I’m gutted is an understatement. I got a call out of the blue in October 2017 from Tom [then at Eynesbury Rovers] and he asked if I would be interested in him coming to the club and I think I said yes mid-sentence!

“At that time, locally he was the type of big name I didn’t think we could bring to the club and here he was asking me. From that day, he has been brilliant. His leadership and his understanding of our club is what makes him so special to us.

“I am going to miss him and will now have to get used to giving a team talk without him chirping in the background!”

Inskip added: “He is one of the best and most influential signings Biggleswade FC has ever made. His leadership on and off-the-pitch is second-to-none and he will leave a huge void to fill.

“Captain, leader and, dare I say, club ‘legend’, but most importantly Tom Coles is an all-round top man.”

IMAGE: Biggleswade FC

Biggleswade FC Web Site