Printed in the National League South game v Chippenham Town
Saturday 19th January 2019 We drew 2-2 in front of 605 people.
It's
one year since the passing of Slough Town physio SuperKev McGoldrick.
Kev was such an integral part of Slough sticking with the club
through thick and plenty of thin for an incredible 32 years. His
interview before our FA Cup game against Rochdale, embodied
everything that was great about the man and what he wanted for the
club. So we felt it was a good time to get our supporters to put some
questions to our (non-playing) management team Neil, Jon, Trent and
Alex.
What
does the future hold for Slough Town FC and yourselves as managers?!
Is there a five year plan? Are you aiming to consolidate within the
National League South and push for promotion next year? Will Slough
be looking at going full time if the success continues?
Neil:
Ideally we will remain with Slough for a long time to come, it is a
great club and with a wonderful chairman and whilst we still want to
progress and feel that we can, we would be mad to leave. It is also
nice being some of the longest serving managers around.
I
think there is probably a 3 year plan to get up, in that we would
like to get up to the next level in that period. Ideally we would do
it quicker, however it took us 4 years to get promoted from Step 3
and we are now at a level with big clubs and as we will not throw
silly money to get up, we will just continue to strive to be better,
and have some enjoyable moments along the way.
There
are clubs bigger than Slough that have remained at this level now for
a number of years, and people have to understand this.
Personally
I believe full time football at Slough is a long way off, I think it
has been proved that you can get to the next level and remain part
time, although it does get harder, you usually find that going from
part time to full time also means having to take different types of
players on.
I
also do not feel the support is there to substantiate full time
football. I would guess you would need to be up near the 2000 mark,
and even then would probably need someone subsidising.
Do
you plan on staying at Slough for the foreseeable future and or do
you plan to go into bigger and better things ie a football league
club?
Neil:
As mentioned both myself and Jon have loved every moment at Slough,
and is now for both of us the longest we have remained at one club as
a player or manager, and we would like to continue this for the
foreseeable future.
We
are always ambitious to achieve more and keep on improving, however
we would love that to be with Slough. Personally I could not see many
jobs tempting us away at the level up, though if a League One or Two
team came in then I think we would have to listen, though I could not
see something like this happening anytime soon.
What
if a (higher level) club offered the managers job to just one of you,
would you take it and split up the partnership?
Neil:
I think Jon’s wife Christina would love it, as it would mean the
constant phone calls from me would stop, however I can speak for Jon
and myself in saying that I would not want to do it without him, and
vice versa, we have a great working relationship. Also how would we
split Trent, Alex and Togs, as these are 3 vital components to the
management team.
What
difficulties/experiences have you both found from stepping up another
division this year?
Neil:
I wouldn’t say we have had any difficulties as such, we always felt
that we could compete with the side we had last year, as we knew the
vast majority were good enough for the level up, and this has been
the case. The league is stronger in terms of no easy games, and teams
better organised, but I wouldn’t say any side has frightened us yet
with their all round play, and we go into every game confident we can
get a result.
One
difference I would guess is so many more players are under contract
at teams, so you can’t just go and put a 7 day approach in for a
player. We have talked too about 3 or 4 players this season that we
have come across, and each time we have enquired they have been under
contract.
Experience
wise it has been great; bigger games in better grounds in front of
decent crowds.
How
tough has it been losing all the original Godalming players- and are
they still on good terms with the ones that have been replaced?
Jon:
We currently have 2 left from that Godalming team in Warren Harris
and Guy Hollis, and they were probably the 2 when we were at the club
that due to age and ability you knew could play at a much higher
level, and this has been proved.
I
think it is very difficult to replace any player, but was even harder
with the Godalming lads, as a lot of those lads were good friends.
Two
of the hardest ones to let go were Jamie McClurg and Ben Edwards,
both very close friends (Bakes was best man at Ben's wedding). Good
players, who would run through brick walls for us. However we felt we
needed to start changing the dynamics, and we ended up letting them
go on the same day, and to date the toughest thing we have had to do.
However
in management you have to put feelings aside, and whilst you want to
treat everyone well and with respect, when releasing people it is
natural for them to be upset.
In
terms of are we on good terms with them all (Godalming), the answer
is on the whole yes. We regularly meet up for a curry and the odd
night out, obviously there is the odd exception to that, but on the
whole I think we remain on good terms with most people we have let go
from the club.
Have
you ever signed a player based on football manager? What’s the
strangest circumstances surrounding a player signing?
Jon:
We would never sign a player unless we had seen him a number of times
and we were absolutely convinced of his character and that he was
signing for the right reasons. Any player we sign has to have hunger
and we feel our lack of player turnover is one of the big reasons we
have such a strong spirit and togetherness within the changing room.
The
strangest circumstances behind a signing would have to be this season
when Bakes put out a Twitter plea for a back-up goalkeeper for the FA
Cup. Many probably thought it was a strange thing for a senior
non-league club to do but it was a one-off situation (needing someone
to just come and sit on the bench for us) and we felt it was
necessary. It worked; we had lots of response and more publicity for
the club, and we were able to sign a very capable lad who was there
if we needed him.
If
you could add one National League South Player to the Slough squad
who would it be and why?
Jon:
The standout player from the games we have seen this season has been
Nassim L’Ghoul, the winger at Welling, who was superb when we went
there in October. Based on his performance that day any team in this
league would want to have him in their side!
Create
a best xi of the players you’ve managed
To answer this
question we have decided to remove any player that is currently with
us as it’s not right to pick one player over another in our current
squad. We do believe our current squad is the best we’ve ever
managed so technically you could list them all as our best xi!
Mark Scott
Stuart Harte Adam
Foulser (capt) Dave Woozley Paul Stonehouse
George Short Jamie
McClurg Ben Edwards Darren Wheeler
Matty Stevens Scott
Harris
Who
is, or has been your favourite player to work with? (could be work
ethic or just fun and amusing)
As
you would expect some of our longest serving players would come in to
the reckoning here as managers tend to stick with players they know
and trust so many in the team above would certainly fit in to this
category but the one player we would always pick out would be Warren
Harris. He has been with us for 7 years and not once has he not given
100% when he’s stepped on to the pitch. He’s had great games,
scored some vital goals and as with any player he’s also had some
bad games but you will never see him not give his all and a lot of
players could learn from him. He never misses a training session and
remains a pleasure for us to manage.
You
can sign any current player in the world for free - who and why
Well
that’s an easy one. Lionel Messi, the best there has ever been.
If
you need a new player have you thought of giving Trent a swear jar?
Ha
ha that’s not a bad idea! To be fair we all have our ‘moments’
on the sidelines and that is due to our passion for the game and will
to win. Trent is a fantastic character around the dressing room and
we wouldn’t have him any other way!
Trent,
can you give us a bit of background about yourself
'Like
Bakes I had been brought up in a football family with my father
Gordon having been a professional at Brentford, football has always
been a massive part of my life. Like my Dad I took to being between
the sticks but my brother Kelly made his name as a decent centre
forward for Staines and Hampton (when Super Kev was their physio). I
was lucky enough to gain promotion to the Isthmian Premier with
Walton and Hersham and Staines on two occasions as well as winning
the Middlesex Senior Cup and Carlsberg Cup Final, however it is fair
to say I have enjoyed more success in the dug out first with 9
seasons under Steve Cordery and Craig Maskell at Staines Town before
taking a year out. I then received a call out of the blue from Jon
Underwood, which is probably the best phone call i've ever received.
Slough
Town have always been a massive club and one that we used to look up
to when I was at Staines, I used to love playing at Wexham Park. To
be playing a small part in getting the club where we are going is
amazing. My wife Claire and my eldest Darcie attended her first game
at Arbour Park recently and I think the biggest compliment I could
give the club is how professional she said everyone was whilst also
being so polite.
Alex,
can you give us a bit of background about yourself
Not
much to say about me really! Grew up in Swindon where football was a
big part of my life, being a season ticket holder at Swindon for a
number of years (not doing too well in recent years) and playing for
a local team for 11 only to stop after injury (Ironic I know!). Moved
to Cardiff for University completing working for Cardiff Devils &
Cardiff hockey club before moving back over the bridge to complete a
masters in the local area. I was lucky the club gave me the
opportunity to join up and work with Kev at the start of last season,
loving every minute of what is a special club with some great fans.
Was a pleasure to play a small part of the success of last season,
with the FA Cup run against Rochdale and the promotion via the
playoffs, and reaching the second round this year again! Great club
to be involved with, and love working with Bakes, Unders, Trent, Togs
and the rest of the team!
Questions
for everyone
Best
away ground you’ve ever been to in any capacity and why?
Bakes:
Doncaster away in the League Cup Final when I was playing, due to the
circumstances of a sell out crowed of 7500, and 1000 being kept
outside.
Unders:
Same game as Bakes, due to the big crowed and the imitating
atmosphere.
Trent:
The Goldstone ground, proper football ground when Brighton were
there.
Alex:
For me 2nd visit to Kings Lynn in the playoff final, great
atmosphere and lovely to win the game the way we did in front of
their crowd.
Only
Fools And Horses or Minder?
Management
team (All): Easy question! Only Fools and Horses all day long!
Whose
the funniest player you've seen in a dressing room
Bakes,
Unders & Trent: Johnnie Dyer, was a fantastic character in the
dressing room, very funny and would come out with some absolute gems.
Which
club has served the best aftermath grub
All
management: Think you would go a long way to beat what we have at
Arbour Park, always lovely and massively appreciated from the
management and all the players!
Alex,
it must be hard to have such massive boots to fill with the passing
of SuperKev. How did you end up working at Slough?
Of
course it was, like everyone says Kev was a true Slough legend and
was rightly in everyone’s eyes Mr Slough Town himself. I worked
very closely with Kev for 5 months and even in that small amount of
time, I learnt a lot of the techniques he used every day in the job
and the stuff many would find boring in my job, however the main
thing Kev taught me was how to conduct myself as he was the prime
example. Kev would always be the first to arrive, and the last to
leave to ensure everyone got the treatment they needed. Even when his
illness started to get worst, Kev used to say as long as the players
are okay, that’s all that matters, which shows the character he
was, and is something I aim to follow in his footsteps at Slough.
I
ended up at the club after a chat with John Porter who I got in
contact with after I moved to the area after qualifying in Cardiff. I
came in for what I thought was a chat/interview with Kev, and sat
down and just started talking for 20 minutes about the club, the
history etc. Next thing I know, the players have arrived for training
and started giving some treatment to some of the squad and have never
looked back and am loving every minute.
Kev
was such an integral part of the Slough Town squad, how did his
death effect everyone, and how can we best remember him.
Management
team (All): Kev was and still is a massive part of this team, and
someone we still think about constantly. I think how he was thought
of with past and present players shows the character he was within
the team, and what some probably don’t know is the whole team
travelled up to the hospital on a free Saturday after training to
spend time with him, along with the fantastic turn out from the club
at the funeral shows and speaks massive volume of what he means to us
all.
We
have a few different ways we like to remember Kev. At all home games
Kev’s bag sits in the dugout in his normal seat just like he did
every week, and we take Kev’s bag away to a lot of the important
away games for a bit of luck (worked in Kings Lynn for the final!).
Massive credit needs to be given to the council for allowing us to
change the name of the medical room, which has been renamed to the
Kev McGoldrick treatment room, which is a lovely little touch when we
are playing at home.
Last
thing which is really nice for us is how the McGoldrick family have
become more and more involved in the club, with a new legacy being
created. You can regularly see Kev’s sister and daughter in the
crowd and is a joy to catch up with them before and after each game.'
Thanks
to everyone for taking time out to answer these questions. RIP Super Kev
