WISH YOU WERE HERE, ROY?
It`s almost forty years ago since our three sons were very young and times were hard and I could neither spare the time nor the cash to pursue my lifelong devotion to Southampton Football Club. It was just to far to travel to The Dell, took too much time out of a crowded weekend and would cost more than I could afford - especially if at least two out of our three sons might have liked to come along as well.
Instead, I used to go and watch Maidstone United, our local club just a few miles from home. It was convenient, cheap and the football was entertaining. At the time, the Stones, as they are still known, were riding fairly high in non-league circles such as the Southern League, Gola League and the Conference. After a while, there was a brief flirtation with the Football League Division Four but after a couple of seasons the club, as it was then, went bust and that was pretty much that. These days, the club that rose from those desperate ashes are again struggling in the lower reaches of the Ryman League, still without a ground of their own but still battling on.
I sometimes feel a little awkward these days that, with my sons now well in to their 40s, I now do have the time and the resources to allow me my regular and self-indulgent visits to watch my beloved Saints but I sometimes feel I should still be supporting Maidstone in their difficult times, as they provided me with such enjoyment all those years ago. But, as a football club chooses you rather than you choosing one yourself, I`m afraid it`s Saints every time, ever since I first went to The Dell in 1946 with my own father.
But I wonder how Roy Hodgson feels about it. In the very early 70`s, Roy was part of the successful and hugely entertaining Maidstone team that my sons and I used to follow. In the picture above, Roy is seen in the back row, fifth from the left. In those days, he was a steady, thoughtful, reliable left back - just some of the qualities he has displayed in a distinguished managerial career with a host of clubs including Bristol City, Malmo in Finland, FC Copenhagen, Inter Milan (twice,) Grasshoppers Zurich, the Swiss National Team, Blackburn Rovers, Fulham and now Liverpool.
So he`s not daft, he`s been around and he knows what he`s doing. He`s having a troublesome time at Liverpool but it`s hardly surprising given the inheritance from Rafa Benitez, the merry-go-round of American owners and a squad of players who, with one or two notable exceptions, seem themselves to be troubled. Roy is under intense pressure to please the Liverpool faithful who seem, sadly, not to recognise the quality of the man they currently have in the Anfield hotseat. Like anyone settling in to a new challenge, Roy needs time, patience and support, but those commodities seem in short supply these days on Merseyside, which is a pity.
And so I just wonder, after all he has achieved in his 63 years as a manager and gentleman of restrained dignity, whether Roy Hodgson isn`t simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and I wonder too if he ever looks back on his playing days at London Road, Maidstone, as wistfully as I do.
So he`s not daft, he`s been around and he knows what he`s doing. He`s having a troublesome time at Liverpool but it`s hardly surprising given the inheritance from Rafa Benitez, the merry-go-round of American owners and a squad of players who, with one or two notable exceptions, seem themselves to be troubled. Roy is under intense pressure to please the Liverpool faithful who seem, sadly, not to recognise the quality of the man they currently have in the Anfield hotseat. Like anyone settling in to a new challenge, Roy needs time, patience and support, but those commodities seem in short supply these days on Merseyside, which is a pity.
And so I just wonder, after all he has achieved in his 63 years as a manager and gentleman of restrained dignity, whether Roy Hodgson isn`t simply at the wrong place at the wrong time and I wonder too if he ever looks back on his playing days at London Road, Maidstone, as wistfully as I do.
2 comments:
Snopper, I share some of your 'guilt' of not supporting the Stones once in a while. Now, that may seem odd coming from a blue-blooded Gills fan, but my three 'connections' meant I was a rarity among Gills fans in having some feeling for Maidstone (at least until they beat us in the FA Cup). My first and foremost connection was that my Dad played for Maidstone and did rather well, attracting scouts from bigger clubs, including Millwall who offered him a contract, but as a young father he couldn't afford the drop in wages from his job as a printer and part-time footballer to become a full-time pro. Oh how times have changed. The second connection was Peter Tuff. He played left wing for Stones if memory served me right, and was part-time coach to Clare Park Year 2 school team, me included. He was a really nice fella and a local celeb in our twelve year-old eyes. The third connection was that as I moved schools into Maidstone, a good number of my chums often went to the Tuesday night games at London Road and I'd go along. I'd cheer the Stones and wish them well, but the best time to judge how much you care is when you lose. A Stones defeat never left the scar that a Gills defeat did. When Maidstone came into Div 4 it co-incided with the Gills relegation to the same division, so we had a couple of years of true local derbies. In a way it's a shame they didn't last, even though we came off worse from those games (and it hurt) but at least now Maidstone are a few leagues apart (for now!) I can have a soft spot for them again. But like Snopper, not quite soft enough to trek to Ashford and part with the hard-earned. So, I wish them well, from a distance!
Many thanks, S, for your interesting comments. I wonder if your Dad played at the same time as Mrs. Snopper`s cousin, Dave Webb, who played for Maidstone, Crockenhill and other Kent teams. He, like our close neighbour, was a pacy flanker with a blistering turn of speed and a final product. We should compare notes sometime.
I seem to recall that Peter Tuff was really Peter Tough - came from Kings Lynn in Norfolk - and somewhere I still have the matchday programmes from those days that might confirm. Good player with a good engine and an eye for a pass.
I see now where you get your natural athleticism from. (winky thingy)
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