rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Aug 28, 2009 22:03:52 GMT
Anthony Philip David Terry Frank Donald Stanley Gerry Gordon Stephen James Oatway....named after the 1973 first-team squad at QPR, whom his parents were avid supporters of.  Actually I too named my eldest daughter after the famous Torquay United team that took on the mighty Spurs in 1965, but not wanting to lumber her with male names she was christened Michele, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Merson!  In the Herald Express today, two abandoned cats found outside the Blue Cross Rescue centre were named Danny and Scott - named after Stevens and Bevan who featured on the back page of the Herald Express that day. And the manager of the centre - Tim Sillis  |
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Post by macedge on Aug 29, 2009 17:21:12 GMT
As for Eddie May I once sat next to a scout in the old grandstand who was revealing
one or two behind the scenes stories he had knowledge of
and the words May, hands and till cropped up in a sentence
I also recall seeing Mick Buxton in the crowd before he had decided on the manager's job
- when I asked him if he was going to be our new manager he replied
"Not sure I bloody want it !"
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 31, 2009 23:23:29 GMT
Going back to post-Scunthorpe events, Kevin Hodges and Paul Compton took joint charge for the next two league games before Buxton took charge for the Cup game. Ex Wigan manager Graham Barrow attended the Chester game and seemed favourite for the job before Buxton turned up for the Orient game and finally May edged it.
Compton was Youth Development Officer and Hodges the senior pro. I don’t think Don O used Hodges’ experience as much as he could have – but that is for another thread. May subsequently promoted Compo to Assistant Manager and pushed Hodges out to the youth team. It wasn’t the first time that membership of the Big Centre Halves Union had paid dividends for Compo – as it was John Impey who had brought him into the YDO role in the first place. In the end, Hodges got the better end of the deal as Compo ended up out of work with Hodges getting the top job.
I think people forget that there was a real battle for the Conference title with Stevenage only pulling away from Woking right at the end. The two sides played on Easter Monday when a Woking win would have put them top.
It was due to the closeness of the title battle that Mr Green was able to make his strange phone calls to Mike Bateson. The gist seemed to be that as Stevenage’s ground was not up to standard, it wasn’t really worth Stevenage’s while to push on and win the League, but it might well be worth Torquay’s while to make it worth Stevenage’s while because Woking’s ground was up to scratch. Tapes of these phone calls came in very handy when Stevenage appealed as they proved that Green knew full well that their ground was not of the required standard.
Coming back to May, he seemed to have all the right credentials but did an awful job. He inherited a mess, but had a lot of time to turn things round and was given the resources to do it. We didn’t ease off because Stevenage were romping off with the Conference – May just never seemed to get the team going and we went with a whimper rather than a bang – no fighting spirit as shown by Morgan, Warnock, Lee and Atkins’ relegation battlers.
The only glimmer of hope came in early February when we signed Baker and Garner just before a run of three home games in a row. Wins over Orient and Fulham still left us six points adrift so we needed a win over Barnet but only drew. The next home game was probably the final straw. A very poor Hartlepool team was reduced to nine men but still held on for a goal-less draw – a draw that felt worse than a defeat.
It seemed to me that May’s heart wasn’t in the job but that he was just in it to earn a few bob – that may be unfair, but that is how it looked to me. I don’t think anyone seriously thought there was any chance at all of May staying on for the following season.
A few tables, courtesy of the Mad websites :
Conference prior to Stevenage v Woking on Easter Monday (April 8)
P W D L F A Pts
1 Stevenage 34 22 7 5 86 37 73
2 Woking 35 22 6 7 74 44 72
3 Hednesford 38 22 5 11 66 42 71
4 Macclesfield 34 20 6 8 58 38 66
5 Kidderminster 36 18 7 11 71 53 61
After Scunthorpe defeat (October 28)
P W D L F A Pts
17 Fulham 14 3 7 4 19 18 16
18 Hereford 14 3 7 4 19 19 16
19 Cardiff City 14 4 4 6 15 16 16
20 Hartlepool 14 4 4 6 13 22 16
21 Mansfield 14 2 8 4 20 29 14
22 Barnet 14 3 5 6 14 22 14
23 Torquay 14 2 4 8 15 31 10
24 Lincoln 14 1 4 9 11 31 7
After win over Fulham (February 3)
P W D L F A Pts
17 Hereford 24 7 10 7 35 30 31
18 Mansfield 28 6 13 9 34 46 31
19 Leyton Orient 28 8 7 13 26 38 31
20 Hartlepool 26 7 9 10 27 36 30
21 Scarborough 27 5 12 10 27 37 27
22 Lincoln 26 6 9 11 24 38 27
23 Fulham 26 5 11 10 31 38 26
24 Torquay 26 4 8 14 24 48 20
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 31, 2009 23:27:02 GMT
I think I must be wrong, but I do have it in my head they he played in midfield for us as well, was this the case or have I lost my mind. Are you thinking of Eddie Kelly, Dave? |
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merse
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Post by merse on Sept 1, 2009 3:34:28 GMT
The gist seemed to be that as Stevenage’s ground was not up to standard, it wasn’t really worth Stevenage’s while to push on and win the League, but it might well be worth Torquay’s while to make it worth Stevenage’s while because Woking’s ground was up to scratch. That had to be the most laughable translation of a regulation of all time.......................one decent stand containing all the required minimum requirements and stuck behind a goal whilst the rest of the ground resembes a nineteen fifties Isthmian league enclosure and Woking's ground is "fit for purpose" So when visiting fans are denied basic hospitality and comfort "because of the weird layout of this ground" in the BSP what does that say about these stupid interpretations of just what is and what isn't a "Football League" standard stadium? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2009 12:13:18 GMT
Thanks Jon for recalling the presence of Graham Barrow in the shake-out for the job to which Eddie May was appointed. Barrow later managed Rochdale, Chester (again) and Bury – without sparkling success – and is now, intriguingly, first team coach at Wigan Athletic (nowadays a very different club to the one he played for in the 1980s). Mick Buxton, after his Plainmoor weekend, was to only manage again at Scunthorpe (and then only for part of one season).
Jon’s mention of the closeness of that season’s Conference title race – until the final few weeks anyway – recalls how Stevenage and Woking were the Big Two in non-league football for a while in the mid 1990s. From the viewpoint of those times, it might now be surprising neither have made it to the Football League.
Merse makes some interesting points about ground standards. Indeed, I’m not even fully sure the Big End at Kingfield was in use at the time. I’ve seen one source which says it dates from 1997 – the following year – but I’m sure it must have been ready for the Coventry cup tie early in 1997. Perhaps work commencing on it – in time for 1996/97 – was sufficient for the ground to have been passed at, what may have turned out to be, our expense? Certainly it would have been surprising if Woking’s ground was sufficient without that new stand.
Either way, I’ve no idea what Football League ground grading standards were like in the mid 1990s – as opposed to now – so I’ll finish with a question. Which were the other Conference winners to be denied a place in the Football League because of inadequate grounds? And which Football League clubs benefitted in each case?
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Sept 1, 2009 19:59:50 GMT
I recall Macc being denied promotion in 1994/95 and our greasy neighbours from up the A380 being the lucky wooden-spoon winners to avoid the drop! I can recall any other teams than that though......
Did Gary Megson apply for the job around the time that we took Eddie May? Along the same sort of lines, did Ian Dowie ever apply for the manager's job at Plainmoor?
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merse
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Post by merse on Sept 1, 2009 20:55:12 GMT
did Ian Dowie ever apply for the manager's job at Plainmoor? was preferred from the short list to Leroy Rosenior...................... but Dowie's insistence on accepting the job on condition that his nominated assistant manager and also his conditioning coach were also employed meant that Mike Bateson then went for the much cheaper option of Leroy Rosenior with NO assistant and NO conditioning coach. It was said to me that Leroy"guaranteed" Mrs Bateson in what must have been some sort of odd ball interview that he would give the youth players that Dickie Hancox was "grooming" their chance, and we all know how long that policy lasted  |
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Sept 1, 2009 20:59:21 GMT
I think I must be wrong, but I do have it in my head they he played in midfield for us as well, was this the case or have I lost my mind. Are you thinking of Eddie Kelly, Dave? Yes Jon it must be he, but they did look so much alike don't you think? could have even been taken for twins  |
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Post by stuartB on Sept 1, 2009 21:01:16 GMT
did Ian Dowie ever apply for the manager's job at Plainmoor? was preferred from the short list to Leroy Rosenior...................... but Dowie's insistence on accepting the job on condition that his nominated assistant manager and also his conditioning coach were also employed meant that Mike Bateson then went for the much cheaper option of Leroy Rosenior with NO assistant and NO conditioning coach. It was said to me that Leroy"guaranteed" Mrs Bateson in what must have been some sort of odd ball interview that he would give the youth players that Dickie Hancox was "grooming" their chance, and we all know how long that policy lasted Leroy was obviously the right choice as he got us promoted!! one of the happiest days of my life  |
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Sept 2, 2009 20:17:23 GMT
I recall Wrexham finishing bottom of the league in 1990/91 but avoided relegation - was that related to a Conference team's ground being deemed unsuitable for league football?
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Sept 2, 2009 22:35:51 GMT
Ian Dowie was preferred from the short list to Leroy Rosenior...................... but Dowie's insistence on accepting the job on condition that his nominated assistant manager and also his conditioning coach were also employed meant that Mike Bateson then went for the much cheaper option of Leroy Rosenior with NO assistant and NO conditioning coach. It was said to me that Leroy"guaranteed" Mrs Bateson in what must have been some sort of odd ball interview that he would give the youth players that Dickie Hancox was "grooming" their chance, and we all know how long that policy lasted I think that is a heavily distorted interpretation of a third hand account of events. I would imagine this has more to do with pursuing the writer's anti-Leroy obsession than with trying to give an accurate account of events. Dowie and Rosenior were both interviewed for the job in 2001. It was widely reported that they both interviewed exceptionally well, but the job was given to Roy McFarland - a far more experienced and almost certainly a far more expensive candidate. At the end of 2001/02, McFarland moved on and he was replaced by Rosenior - who had impressed so much a year earlier. Was Dowie still in the running? I don't know. He was appointed manager of Oldham around the same time as Leroy was appointed at Torquay. Before that he had been assistant manager at Oldham. Did he apply to Torquay a second time? Was he interviewed again? If he was interested, he would have known full well that McFarland had departed after being told he could not have an assistant. Would he then have wasted his time by travelling for an interview to demand not only an assistant but also a conditioning coach? I very much doubt it. As Leroy’s reputation was based on his excellent work with youth players at Bristol City, and as TUFC’s finances were tight after the collapse of ITV Digital, was it really “odd ball” to state that he intended to bring youth players through? Was the fact that Hancox was in charge of the youth team anything to do with this? Or is it only somebody with an unhealthy obsession that would interpret the desire to encourage youth players as some kind of licking the Chairman’s wife’s backside because the youth coach happened to be her daughter’s husband? I don’t want to rekindle the Leroy argument as it has been done to death. He remains the only manager in my forty years of supporting TUFC to achieve automatic promotion. That’s something that Rioch, Knowles, Hodges, McFarland, Buckle and many others couldn’t do. The fact he did it without breaking the bank makes it even more of an achievement – not less of one. After three great years, Leroy’s mind maybe wondered slightly off the task due to some domestic upheaval. I wouldn’t imagine that is the first time that has happened to a manager – it certainly won’t be the last. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Sept 2, 2009 22:43:54 GMT
Did Gary Megson apply for the job around the time that we took Eddie May? I don't know whether he actually applied but can recall his name being mentioned in press speculation. I'm not quite sure whether that was between Don O and May or between May and Hodges. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Sept 2, 2009 22:56:30 GMT
Which were the other Conference winners to be denied a place in the Football League because of inadequate grounds? And which Football League clubs benefitted in each case? It has always annoyed me that Stevenage and Torquay seems to keep getting dragged up as if it were a one-off miracle escape. It was actually the third year running that this had happened. In 1994 it was Northampton reprieved at the expense of Kidderminster and in 1995 it was Exeter City reprieved at the expense of Macclesfield. What made Macc's refusal seem even more bizarre was that their ground had recently been allowed to stage League football - Chester ground-sharing while their new stadium was being built. Of course, both Kiddie and Macc made it up a few years later, whereas Stevenage are still wating. Two other sides were reprieved after finishing bottom - Wrexham in 1991 and Carlisle in 1992 as the League attempted to expand to 94 clubs. With Aldershot and Maidstone both going bust, it stuck at 92 - or rather the sum of the Football League and the Money League stuck at 92. So, Halifax in 1993 was the only club relegated out of the League in six seasons. Torquay United were not as outlandishly lucky as some claim. |
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merse
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Post by merse on Sept 3, 2009 2:56:44 GMT
Ian Dowie was preferred from the short list to Leroy Rosenior...................... but Dowie's insistence on accepting the job on condition that his nominated assistant manager and also his conditioning coach were also employed meant that Mike Bateson then went for the much cheaper option of Leroy Rosenior with NO assistant and NO conditioning coach. It was said to me that Leroy"guaranteed" Mrs Bateson in what must have been some sort of odd ball interview that he would give the youth players that Dickie Hancox was "grooming" their chance, and we all know how long that policy lasted I think that is a heavily distorted interpretation of a third hand account of events. Whilst conceding that I had confused the Roy Mac appointment in favour of Dowie with the later Rosenior one Jon, the "account" of the "third hand nature" as you put it; in fact came from the interviewer. It was put to me that there was disquiet "in the boardroom" that "all the money and effort" that was being put into the youth development wasn't being put to good use by the previous manager and that "players like Matt Hockley were the future of this club"This conversation will be remembered I'm sure, by another member of this forum when he reads this on here, for I well remember at the time how aghast we were that Hockers was being touted "as the future of this club" and if you cast your mind back to the first pre-season game of the newly installed Rosenior as manager how he effectively put as many youth players as he felt he could in one PSF (was it against Pompey?) and how utterly out classsed they looked. |
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