 We sat down with the new Corinthian-Casuals men’s first-team manager to discuss his motivation for taking the job, his respect for the club and his thoughts on the task ahead… Welcome to the club, Paul. What inspired you to take this role? First of all, it was the history, the tradition and what the club means to people, but also the platform it can provide players. I think football has got a little bit lost in non-league – everything is now tainted by money and there is too much going on where people sell false promises and dreams. This is a club that offers that sense of realism to players about what it can offer in their journey, or it might just be a place where they can come and enjoy their football. It is still the beautiful game, even though a lot of people question that – and I’ve questioned it myself a few times. It’s great timing too, with the club being in a bit of a transition, with a new chairman and committee, and we’re really excited to be working together. You’ve alluded to the club’s identity there. How aware are you of the unique aspects of Corinthian-Casuals? I’ve always admired this club from afar, and always respected it. I have a really good relationship with the previous manager, James Bracken, and also with Justin Fevrier, who was here last season and can only speak highly of the club. So I’m really excited to get going, I’ve had lots of messages already from people, some of whom started their careers here 20-odd years ago, and I’ve heard what this club has done for people on their journey in the game. A lot of players reached out in the first 24 hours of me being appointed and asked if there was any chance of coming back, which is a great sign. We are in a fight against relegation as you take on the role. How prepared are you for that? Something we never shy away from, and which we’re proud of, is where we’re from. I’m a local lad, and I grew up in south-west London, not too far from here. I have family just down the road and I grew up in a working-class environment, so I know that everything you’re ever going to get has to be earned, it has to be worked for. That’ll be the message. It doesn’t matter if you’re going into a club that’s hovering around mid-table or fighting for their lives at the bottom, that work ethic is still the thing that is going to get you out of trouble. We’re willing to put the work in, both me and Justin. We will give everything we’ve got to start picking up points and make sure that we stay in this division.  How important will it be to have Justin Fevrier by your side as assistant manager, given that you have worked with him so many times before and he has managed here so recently himself? You go through your life in football and you pick up a lot of acquaintances, and you will know a million and one people in the game that will say they’re a pal, but Justin is someone I can trust. I think it’s important to have somebody that you trust away from the football as well, and we had an experience together at Hastings United earlier this season, which was one of those awkward situations where things didn’t work out because of internal changes at the club. But as soon as we discussed this role, and I had the opportunity to work with Justin again, I took it. I know his strengths, I know what he can bring to the table, I respect all of his qualities and I trust him. That is invaluable and I’m looking forward to working together for a long period of time, making sure we keep this club where it should be, and even pushing on in the future. How would you summarise your approach to coaching and management? It’s very much about man management and player development. My background is coaching, but I enjoy building relationships, I like being personable with players, I want to know what they’ve got going on in their lives, because as much as we talk about football like it’s the be-all and end-all for everybody, it’s not. Everybody has lives away from football and being at an amateur club, which offers a platform to try and push on and make a career in the game, or better themselves, it’s important to get to know the players as people. I enjoy that side of it, but I also enjoy being on the coaching field as well. I’m not a manager that will stand back, I want to be in the mix, delivering messages and helping players improve. Ultimately, our job as a management team is to make sure players are performing, so when they go out there on Saturday it is our job to make sure they have got as much information and are as equipped as they can be to go out there and get three points.  We’re sat in the home dressing room, surrounded by images of great Corinthians from the past. How much does that inspire you? I just came in and have been walking around for the last few minutes having a little look and a read about these players on the wall. It’s unbelievable. I just laughed because I didn’t even see this before I accepted the job, and had I seen it, I probably would have run in the door! I think it’s brilliant. I’ve never been fortunate enough to go in the home dressing room when I’ve come here in the past – I wouldn’t have been allowed by the previous managers! But what a great environment for everybody. This is inspiring in itself. This [gestures at the images of past greats around us] is something that other clubs can’t provide, they can’t compete with that, and I’m talking about clubs further up the pyramid too. I’m delighted to be here and loving getting to know the place and the people around it. This place is filled with good people. One of the frames in the dressing room is reserved for our supporters, the Twelfth Man, and they very much are that here. How important are the fans going to be in the weeks and months ahead? I said it when I was appointed: anything earned will be done together, and I’m not just talking about the people on the pitch. The fans and all the people off the pitch here are giving us all their support and that is going to be crucial. In modern times, we talk about the cost of living crisis a lot, and people are spending their hard-earned money to come and support us. We have to make sure the players know that and recognise how important it is to have that connection with the crowd. More than that, we have to realise that we can actually connect with people on a more personal level, so it’s our job to do that, and make sure the players understand that message, because that will be the ethos. INTERVIEW BY DOMINIC BLISS 
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Corinthian-Casuals Football Club are pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Barnes as our new manager.
Barnes, who will meet the squad ahead of the game against Metropolitan Police this weekend, has joined the club initially until the end of the 2023/24 campaign, with an option to extend for next season on both sides. The UEFA A-licence coach brings a wealth of experience with him. He has previously worked for Chelsea and Millwall before moving into coaching roles in non-league with the likes of Welling United, Margate and Ashford United. Casuals fans will remember 41-year-old ‘Barnsey’ from his time as manager of Greenwich Borough, where he steered the club to the Isthmian South Division Play-Off Semi-Finals, meeting Corinth in the process. He has also been the boss at Staines Town, Redhill and Guildford City, where his side faced Casuals in a pre-season friendly back in 2021. Paul joined Dulwich Hamlet in September 2022 as boss and was instrumental in stabilising the club in the National League South during a difficult transition period following the departure of the previous management team. Since then, he joined Isthmian Premier side Hastings United as boss and despite a good start to this season, internal changes in the club and new ownership saw Barnes depart with the team sitting comfortably in mid-table. “I am very honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Corinthian-Casuals FC, a club steeped in history and tradition, who play such a huge part in the community locally and much further afield,” said Barnes upon taking up the role. “After having a break from the game and giving myself time to reflect and make sure my next role was one that not only excited me, but also aligned with my own personal values, I feel that Corinthian-Casuals is exactly that. “The beautiful game can be far from that at times and makes people question why it holds that tag still…but then just sometimes, things happen or opportunities arise to bring that sense of faith, and that is exactly what I see this being: a great opportunity to build something pure and not tainted by the things that cause people to question their love for the game. “Brian and the committee have outlined the ethos that this club is built on, and I love that, even in a time where football is so competitive, the club is staying true to itself. “We will work together, bring people both on and off the pitch closer. to unite and make sure we stay in this league. It will be a tough task, but I am confident that collectively we can achieve our aim, and call upon all the Casuals faithful to get behind the team and know that anything achieved or earned is always done as one. To use one of my favourite lines: ‘Those who stick by you through your worst times are the ones who deserve to share your best times.’ “I am ready to get to work and give my all in leading the club.”  Corinthian-Casuals Football Club have parted ways with men’s first-team manager Andy Gray.
Andy took up the role following our relegation to the Isthmian League South Central Division at the end of last season, but unfortunately results have not been good enough in the first half of the current campaign and, with the team currently in the bottom two, the club has decided to make a change. Andy’s contribution to the club, which he represented with distinction as a player in the early 1980s, remains an important part of our history and he will always be welcome at King George’s Arena. We wish him well in his future endeavours. The club’s focus is now on achieving our aim for the second half of the season, and staying in this division. We will make an announcement regarding the managerial position in the coming days.  Corinthian-Casuals were deeply saddened by the news that Chris Joy, our former captain and long-serving defensive lynchpin, had passed away on 24 November. Joy (pictured above in a 1962 team photo, fourth from the left in the back row), joined the club in 1958 and made 415 first-team appearances, most of them at the heart of our defence. He was described by our Vice President and club historian Norman Epps as “a mountain of a man, a real leader.” David Harrison, our Vice President and former Chairman, played alongside Joy during his own days in the Casuals side and spoke warmly of his one-time team-mate. “Chris was a real stalwart for Corinthian-Casuals,” said Harrison. “He was a defender of some renown and kept our defence together during the difficult times when we were struggling in the lower positions in the league. As a fellow defender I remember playing many times with Chris, feeling somewhat dwarfed by both his height and by his talent – but also enjoying many years of friendship.” Joy – who worked in the Stock Exchange – broke into the first team in 1961, originally as a full-back, before switching to centre-half following the retirement of Reg Vowels. He established himself as our regular No5 and skipper in the 1962/63 campaign and was a mainstay in the middle of the backline for a decade to come. He spanned two distinct chapters of our history, playing for us during our days at the Oval and at Dulwich Hamlet, becoming our first-team captain in the season that we made the move to Champion Hill. It was a period of struggle, on and off the field, as we finished bottom of the Isthmian League in 1962/63, but were re-elected by our fellow competitors, as was the process in the days before relegation had been introduced to the league. Even in tough times, Joy was a towering figure in the side, and his loyalty to the club was greatly valued, as long-time supporter David Bowell recalls. “He was a wonderful player, who put so much into the club, and who always stood out in defence,” said Bowell. “Now, this isn’t doing Chris credit but one of my first memories was a very early game he played against Wimbledon, at Plough Lane. He was up against Eddie Reynolds, who was a fearsome, big centre-forward – a great goalscorer – and he had a nightmare of a game that day. But then he just developed into such a commanding player, who held the defence together for years. “There were years when we were bottom of the table, losing game after game, and he just put so much in. Other players left but he was someone who stuck with the club, and I really admired him for that. We were fortunate to have some very good goalkeepers in those days – Brian Wakefield and John Swannell – and Chris was the one defender in front of them who just… kept it going.” Things began to look up in 1964/65 as we moved up the league table and entered the FA Cup for the first time since the war. Joy – whose performances earned him representative honours for the FA amateur XI and the London FA XI – was in his element. “We had an extremely good side, and everyone was friends and socialised” he said of that period of uplift in an interview for Rob Cavallini’s book, Corinthian-Casuals, The First Seventy Years: 1939-2009. “There was a tremendous team spirit which showed in the results.”  We also reprised the Sheriff of London Shield for the first time since the 1930s, playing Arsenal at Highbury in a game that would have meant much to Joy, given that his father, Bernard, won the First Division title with Arsenal in 1937/38, two years after winning the FA Amateur Cup with Casuals. Sadly, the professionals handed out a 7-0 thrashing to the amateurs on the competition’s return. The following year we reached the FA Cup first round proper, something we have only achieved once since. Joy was a mainstay as we progressed through the qualifying rounds before being rewarded with a home tie against Watford, then of the Third Division. A 5-1 defeat was a sobering reality check, but the Cup run made history and a poster for that first-round tie adorns the clubhouse wall at the King George’s Arena today. We also took up an invitation to return to Highbury for the Sheriff of London Shield and acquitted ourselves far better this time around, twice leading Billy Wright’s Arsenal and going in level at 2-2 at half-time. Joy was in fine form with his father in the stands, but tired legs among the Casuals side led to a drop-off in the second half and we went down 5-2. Chris never forgot the occasion, telling Cavallini: “I heard later that at half-time in the Arsenal dressing room, things became heated and Wright was saying to his team, ‘You cannot lose to amateurs!’” Bernard Joy, who watched his son with pride on those occasions at Highbury, held the distinction of becoming the last amateur to earn a full cap for the England national team, when he played against Belgium in May 1936. His stamp on this club could hardly be more pronounced, as he represented the Corinthians, the Casuals and the amalgamated Corinthian-Casuals, before becoming one of the country’s most renowned football writers after he hung up his boots. Chris’ time at the club was equally enduring. Even as the late Sixties marked the beginning of another period of perennial struggles on the pitch for Casuals, Joy was repeatedly singled out as an exception in reports of the decline in quality among the team. Mind you, he recalled one occasion when he missed the first few minutes of a game against Kingstonian after forgetting his boots! After leaving the team to kick-off with 10 men, he returned with a pair of boots in time to join them during the first half, and we drew 3-3. In Joy’s time here, he joined the club on several tours to France and the Channel Islands, and another to Denmark. In remembering them, he highlighted the importance of the social side of representing Corinthian-Casuals, fondly recalling a trip to Jersey in 1962 in his conversation with Cavallini. “It was a very social tour,” he said, “but one incident that amused me was a long jump competition, which was held over a fishpond. Dick Joyce failed miserably and fell in twice!” Although he departed for a brief spell at Hendon during the 1968/69 season, Joy returned to Casuals and continued to represent us with distinction until his last game in October 1973. The news that he had passed away was met with great sadness by everyone at the club, particularly among those who recall his time here. However, the name Joy will live on in the annals of Corinthian-Casuals forever, thanks to the immense contributions of both Bernard and Chris.  All at Corinthian-Casuals were saddened to hear that our former captain, Chris Joy, has passed away. Chris made over 400 appearances for us, playing centre-half in the team that reached the FA Cup 1st round proper in 1965/66. He is pictured in the back row, fourth from left. Chris came from a famous footballing family. His father, Bernard, played for the Corinthians, the Casuals and the Corinthian-Casuals in the 1930s and 40s, and remains the last amateur player to have won a full cap for England. |
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King Georges Field, Queen Mary Close, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surrey, KT6 7NA.
King Georges Field, Queen Mary Close, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surrey, KT6 7NA.