JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS
E P R O H T LEE HIS T U O B A S U S L TEL YING A L P Y H T G N E L CAREER
STOCKPORT
WHAT HAS CAUSED THE DEMISE OF COUNTY?
SAM MINIHA
N IN DEPTH W ITH THE FORMER DR OYLSDEN RIGHT BACK APRIL 2015
Jumpers For Goalposts
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Jumpers For Goalposts
WHAT’S INSIDE?
EDITOR’S COLUMN
PAGES 4-5 THE TALE OF THE JOURNEYMAN PRO
Lee Thorpe tells us about the highs and lows of part-time football and how it comapres to the rest of his career
PAGE 6 THE TRAIL OF CUP GLORY
By Jonathan Beverley
Warrington Town’s FA Cup run has put them on the map this season
PAGE 9 FROM WEMBLEY TO BRACKLEY
Pages 2 - 4
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A look at the demise of Stockport County
PAGE 10 NON-LEAGUE LIONS ROAR ON England C team manager Paul Fairclough looks towards their upcoming games
PAGE 11 IN DEPTH WITH SAM MINIHAN
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The former Rochdale youngster tells us about life since his release from the League One club
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I have always had a keen interest in football but being a Rochdale fan, I’ve always found myself glancing down towards the football league’s trap door more often than not. English football’s non-league system is a myriad of elation and despair, from the rise of AFC Wimbledon achieving 5 promotions in 9 years to retain their league status after the re-formation in 2002, to the relegation successive relegations of former Championship side Stockport County, who became part-time and now ply their trade in the Conference North. Given its low standing
within the English game, occupied by modest village clubs, and clubs that have fallen on hard times, the higher echelons of English football could learn a lot from the model that the conference employs, with strict rules on financing and immediate ten point deductions for any club that falls foul of the rules, and salary caps to ensure the league is kept at a more level playing field. Non-league football is a far cry from the Highbury’s and Old Trafford’s of the world, with most clubs basing themselves in more humble and traditional settings, and the likes of Chorley FC’s Victory Park boasting a delicate leviathan of a stand that compliments the rest of a ground that is very easy on the eye. Not being league clubs, nonleague football could ignore the necessity for all-seater stadia, with many stadiums
giving an insight into a bygone era of English football. Non-league football has had its fifteen minutes of fame this year, mainly in thanks to the exploits of Warrington Town, and their fantastic run to the reach the second round of the FA Cup, beating League Two Exeter City live on television, before succumbing to an away defeat at Gateshead. The non-league has a rich history of giant killing, with the arguably the most famous being Ronnie Radford’s screamer to level the score with topflight Newcastle for Hereford in the 1972 FA Cup game, which Hereford then went on to win. Many players who once plyed their trade in higher divisions now play in the conference and the levels below. John Oster, who in 1997 commanded a £1.5 million fee from Everton, and later went on to play for Sunderland and
national football for Wales now turns out for Gateshead, having made over sixty appearances for the North-East outfit. Whilst big names dropping out of league fotball may grab the headlines, non-league football provides a platform for players going the other way, with Scott Hogan moving from Hyde to Rochdale, Joe Lolley moving from Kidderminster to Huddersfield and Andre Gray moving from Luton to Brentford. Jonathan Beverley Editor-in-chief
Grandstand: Chorley Fc’s Victory park
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THE TALE OF THE JOURNEYMAN PRO As a player, Thorpe enjoyed an illustrious career that saw him take in 15 clubs over 18 years, and making over 450 appearances along the way. After hanging up his boots, the forward turned his sights towards coaching, returning to his first ever club, Blackpool, as a coach to the under 18’s. He combines this role with his job as a fitness instructor, something he had been doing towards the latter stages of his career. “Obviously it’s never going to be an easy decision to retire from the game that you love playing. I’d slowed down a bit towards the end; my legs were stiffer than ever after a game, and I’d dropped down into non-league with Fleetwood and Fylde. I suppose it just felt right, I could drop down to part-time football because I was working as a fitness instructor,” said the 39-year-old. It was after his eight appearances for Darlington that Thorpe decided to drop down to non-league football, and Thorpe was very upbeat about it: “I was playing for Darlington
differently. It’s taken me to some fantastic places that I otherwise wouldn’t have seen, allowed me to meet some fantastic people who I otherwise wouldn’t have met, and meet friends that I’ve still got to this day. I’ve loved my time, no matter how long or short at all my clubs, admittedly there’s been a few,” said Thorpe.
in 2009, but I was trying to set myself up as a fitness instructor. Playing full-time, it was difficult to combine both. I didn’t last very long at Darlington, I was only on a shortterm contract really and as soon as I left there, things began to move quickly on the instructing side of things.” “I was without a club for a couple of months, as well as things were going, I was still only 34 and I really wanted to carry on playing, I felt as though I still had something to offer an that’s when Micky at Fleetwood got in touch with me. They were in the conference north at the time, but he told me that they weren’t staying there for long, and with an experienced pro to lead the line, they would be playing in the Conference next year,” explained Thorpe. With Fleetwood boss Micky Mellon having secured his primary signing, Mellon was true to his word, with Fleetwood gaining promotion to the conference that same year: “If it wasn’t for his ambition, I doubt I would have signed otherwise. It was a very enjoyable spell
Leap: Thorpe flicks the ball on for Rochdale and a fantastic set of lads. I’m pleased to see them doing well in League One, it’s not surprising they’ve gone up the leagues as quickly as they have. They’re an ambitious club with an ambitious owner, and who knows how far they’ll go. It’s also great to see Micky doing well with Shrewsbury after a tricky spell for him, he’s a great manager and a good man, and I’m sure he’ll be successful there for a while.” It all began for the experienced forward at Blackpool in 1994. He lasted until 1997, with a loan spell at Bangor
in between, before moving on to Lincoln. His five years at the club was his longest at any, moving to Leyton Orient, a loan spell at Grimsby Town, Bristol Rovers and Swansea City. Loan spells at Peterborough and Torquay followed, making the move to the latter permanent in 2006. He then moved on to Brentford, Rochdale and Darlington, before dropping into part-time football with Fleetwood and finally Fylde. It’s a career that Thorpe is very proud of, and doesn’t have any regrets about his time at any club: “I wouldn’t do it any
“It was gutting as a kid being told that it wasn’t going to work out. As a youth team player, the dreaded released list comes along, and they thought I was good enough to stay on. That feeling of relief I’ll never forget, that feeling that all the hard work was for something. I made about a dozen appearances for Blackpool over three years, and then they sent me on loan to Bangor. I remember coming in for training, and it was the assistant manager who pulled me to one side, saying Bangor needed a forward and they’ve accepted a loan bid. He mentioned something about it being my choice to go, I remember not wanting too, I wasn’t
sure where it was. “ Thorpe recognised that where one door shuts, another opens, and his decision to join Lincoln City proved to be one of the best of his career: “I left Blackpool at the end of the season and joined Lincoln, who at the time were in the same division. Sam Ellis was the man who brought me in, although we started fairly poorly and Ellis lost his job. John Beck came in for the next three years, followed by Keith Alexander. It was under Keith that I’d say I enjoyed my football the most. He was an incredible man, who sadly isn’t with us anymore; you didn’t half shut up when he entered the room. But he was a really nice man, and the team spirit he got going was special,” explained Thorpe. “I made friends that I’m still friends with now. Players such as Dean Walling and Gareth Ainsworth, who were very talented players and moved on to better things. The club wasn’t in such a good position before Beck and Alexander, and I think they deserve a lot of credit for turning it around.”
Thorpe moved to a lot of different clubs and spent a lot of time down south before a move back up north to Rochdale: “I’d left Brentford, I wasn’t getting a game and the manager wasn’t playing to my strengths. I went to train with Rochdale, and the manager, Keith Hill liked what he saw. I signed a six months deal and scored a couple of goals, I was foil to some good strikers, being at the club at the same time as Will Buckley and Adam Le Fondre. The manager played to my strengths, and
I extended my deal at the start of next season. I enjoyed my time at the club, it’s a good setup and a really friendly atmosphere, the fans took to me and I like to think I made a good contribution, getting to wembley in the playoff final at the end of the season. The fans were brilliant, there was a sense of achievement even though we lost. I’ve been back to see a few friends since and it’s good to see how much the club has progressed,” said Thorpe.
Shaking Hands: Thorpe signs for AFC Fylde
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THE TRAIL OF CUP GLORY A touch-tackling midfielder by trade, Shaun Reid has looked to emerge from the shadow of his brother Peter taking Warrington to the second round of the FA Cup this season. Making his name in the lower divisions in the 80’s with a spell at York sandwiched by two spells at Rochdale, Reid moved seamlessly into management, with Warrington consistently challenging at the right end of the table under his reign. With the television crews positioning their cameras with the backdrop of the Canteliver Bridge, Reid was plotting the demise of League Two’s Exteter City, to register Town’s biggest and most famous day in their history. Although 100 places seperating the two teams, Warrington took the game to Exeter, with defender Craig Robinson, brother of MK Dons manager Karl, scoring Town’s goal from a
corner in the seventh minute. Exeter made changes after the break, but a mixture of good defending and good luck kept out Paul Tisdale’s men. Exhausted by the referees last three sounds of the whistle, the part-timer’s hung on to clinch a truly memorable victory, sparking wild celebrations and memories that will not be forgotten any time soon by the sell-out Warrington crowd. It is Town’s remarkable form in the league given the large number of games that they’ve played that’s earning the plaudits, sitting in the top half of the table and looking up towards a play-off place. With games in hand taking place, Town have been playing catch-up with the rest of the league after their FA Cup heroics. With April bringing key games against Scarborough and Clitheroe amongst others, Warrington fans could be forgiven for thinking that this might just be their greatest year in existence.
Limelight: Reid has masterminded Town’s good form this season Winning 4 games in succession after the Exeter game, Shaun Reid’s men were drawn away to Gateshead, their first second round game in their 64-year history. Backed by an 800-strong following, The Yellows battled hard but ultimately succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to a much stronger Gateshead, who made their home advantage count. Despite the result, the media was still full of praise for a team that epitomised their
manaer’s battling qualities, citing the performances of Scott Metcalfe, Ben Wharton and captain David Mannix as reasons why the spirited team belied their lowly division. If Town can maintain their performances until the last game of the season, the fans who flocked to Cantilever Park that famous night under the floodlights just might have something else special to celebrate.
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FROM WEMBLEY TO BRACKLEY Finishing in the dizzy heights of 8th, 2 places outside the play-off places to the Premier League, the season of 1999 saw Stockport County reach their zenith. With the precedent being set by muchloved Uruguayan Danny Bergara, Dave Jones set about emulating his achievements, gaining automatic promotion with County in 1997, finishing as runners up in Division 2. After Jones departed for Southampton, Gary Megson came in, leading Stockport to their highest ever league finish and League cup semi-final appearance, defeating Premier League teams Blackburn, Southampton and West Ham along the way. This proved to be the pinnacle for County, as fast forward to now, and the club sit in the top half of the Conference North, and a spectacular fall from grace means Stockport fans can
now look forward to visiting places such as North Ferriby, Brackley Town and Chorley, rather than the old haunts of Sheffield Wednesday, Manchester City and Birmingham City. It has been a rapid decline for Stockport, finding themselves in the basement division of league football a mere 4 years after relegation from Division 1 in 2001. A brief upturn in fortunes saw the club overcome Rochdale at Wembley in the play-off final of 2008, but 2 relegation in 4 years amidst financial trouble saw the club relegated out of the football league for the first time in their history. Former Liverpool stalwart Dietmar Hamman took charge for their first season in the Conference, but after a meagre 3 wins out of nineteen and the club facing another relegation, his reign was ended prematurely. Jim Gannon, who masterminded
County’s playoff victory against Rochdale was appointed, and guided the club away from the relegation places to finish 16th. The Irishman’s second spell in charge did not prove to be as successful, and after a final day defeat to Kidderminster Harriers, the club was relegated to the Conference North, becoming a part-time club in the process in an attempt to cut costs.
factors in Stockport’s rapid decline, mismanagement, financial trouble and failed takeovers. The club played the whole 2009 League One campaign whilst in administration, finishing bottom of the league and eighteen points adrift of secondbottom Southend United. A crippling loan of £300,000 made recruiting players difficult and with no hint at an upturn in fortunes, it could be a while before Stockport taste success again.
There are many
Triumph: County celebrate Wembley victory
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NON-LEAGUE LIONS ROAR ON
IN DEPTH WITH: SAM MINIHAN
Paul Fairclough’s 12 year stint as manager of the England C team has proved to be a fruitful one, with the Three Lions regularly winning the Four Nations Tournament. Since replacing Steve Avory in 2003, Fairclough has had the best pick of the bunch with England’s non-league stars, competing against national teams’ under-23 teams. It has acted as a good barometer of a player’s career, with many going on to play much higher up the footballing pyramid after representing their country. Their most recent game, a minor setback in a friendly match against Cyprus under-21’s, allowed Fairclough to experiment with his team, with Alex Woodyard making his first ever international appearance and becoming the first player from Concord Rangers to be selected for the non-
The former Rochdale and Droylsden right back takes us through his career highlights in an A to Z with...
league lions. Barnet’s Andy Yiadom had headed England into the lead, before two second-half Cyprus goals pegged the away side back. This proved only to be a minor blip, with England winning their final International Challenge Trophy hopes with a victory over Estonia under23’s at Halifax’s The Shay. Solihull Moors’ Omar Bogle, who had been in fine form in the Conference North, took less than five minutes to open his account for the Three Lions on his debut. Estonia had pulled a goal back prior to the half-time break, but not before Welling’s Harry Beautyman could restore England’s lead. Further goals from Kingsley James and Yiadom ensured a 4-2 victory and left Fairclough with plenty of positives. It has been the Welling man’s performances for both his international
he was particularly annoying, I couldn’t get near him at times.
IDOL AMBITIONS Who is your What are your footballing idol? ambitions for the Gary Neville, I thought he was one of the future?
Dozen: It’s been a 12 year stint for Fairclough and domestic teams that has caught the attention of managers in the football league, and with the playmaker showcasing his talents on such a consistent basis, it may not be long before Beautyman is plying his trade at a higher level. Having held the position since 2003, Fairclough has guided many key non-league players on to better things, but at 65, the former Barnet and Stevenage manager may be looking to take
a step back from the national team. Fairclough enjoyed an eight-year stint as manager of Stevenage at the start of the 1990’s, during which he gained promotion from the Isthmian Division to the Conference in three successive seasons. After two seasons in the conference, he won promotion to the football league, but Stevenage were refused entry due to the poor state of their ground.
I’d say my main ambition is to get back to playing regular football and work my way up the leagues. I’m at university now doing a degree in sports coaching, so I’d say to finish that with the best grade I can.
COMEDIAN Who is your favourite comedian?
Lee evans because everything he says is true to life.
FRICTION Who is the most annoying opponent you have ever faced? Whilst at Droylsden I came up against a winger called Tunji Moses at Stockport,
best right backs in the world when I was growing up/
LOWEST MOMENT What has been the lowest moment of your career so far?
Getting released at Rochdale. I was man of the match on my debut against Exeter City, and never really got a look in after that.
MUSIC What type of music are you in to?
I’m in to a bit of anything really, quite like the dance music in the charts, but I’m also fond of a bit of Oasis.
NUMPTY Who is the least
intelligent player you have played with?
Nicky Adams at Rochdale, let’s just say it’s a good job he’s decent at football.
TEAM Which team did you support as a child? I grew up supporting Manchester United.
UNLIKELY Who is the most unlikely player in the team to score an overhead kick?
I’d say the assistant manager at Droylsden, Aeon Lattie. He was still registered as a player, I wouldn’t want to be around when he attempted one.
WORLD’S BEST Who do you think is the best player in the world? It would have to be Lionel Messi.