Richard, let’s start by talking about how you got involved at the club this summer.
I’ve known Mu and Mo since before our football days. We actually used to go to the same primary and secondary school and lived roughly in the same area – I lived in Fulham; they lived in Chelsea. We played football together on Sundays growing up and I played semi-pro with Mo at Sutton United, from youth to reserves to first team. I didn’t get the opportunity to play with Mu at that level, partly because I had to retire at 24 because of a really bad knee injury, but I played with him regularly on Sundays, so I knew what he was about and his attitude towards football.
I work with them both as well, at Skip It, so when Mu originally told me he was going to go for the Corinthian-Casuals job, he asked if I’d be interested in coming along if he got it. I’ve been doing some coaching with Carshalton Athletic kids and I’d been out of the semi-pro game for quite a while, so I thought it sounded good.
A couple of months went by and then we were at a family gathering – one of Mo’s daughters’ holy communion – and Mu came up and said it was progressing quite well and that he’d had more conversations about it. He said, “Are you really interested?”
“Yes Mu, I’m interested!”
The closer it came and the more confident he was that he was going to get the job, he then said, “Right, are we doing it?” We looked at each other and smiled. “Yeah, let’s go for it!”
From there, it got busy, didn’t it? We were down the club, doing bits and pieces, getting to know Gabs as I didn’t know him beforehand, and that’s how it ended up working out!
How much have you enjoyed your first few months here?
I was a bit apprehensive about it because I was quite confident in my ability when I was playing, and from a coaching point of view as well, even though I’d not really got any experience in the men’s game. I’d been around good managers in the past and in the three years I’ve been coaching the young boys at Carshalton, it’s been second nature to me, it’s been comfortable. I was a captain as well, so I’ve found it quite easy to get my point across.
My last big playing gig was with Croydon Athletic and we won the Ryman South. It had the same sort of feel as what we’ve got at Corinthian-Casuals, so it was very community based, the people were very friendly and so I see similar things here. The one thing I can categorically say is that I’ve never played against or been a part of a team where the fans are so into it as they are here. For that many people to come away to Jersey when they’ve probably got family and work commitments too, is incredible. A lot of players see that and it’s why we try and make sure that, after every game – win, lose or draw – we come over to thank the fans. After the Cobham game, when we were really poor, for the first time I felt a little bit embarrassed, but you still feel obliged to go over because without the fans it wouldn’t be the same. It makes it feel more like a professional club for the players and I’m buzzing about it. The fans were great at Knaphill in the rain and, for that Cobham game, with the Fiel Londres there, it was unreal. To have that atmosphere at Combined Counties level is different to anywhere else.
Originally, I was at the Fulham academy as an early teenager, for three or four years. Then I was released from there and went to the Brentford School of Excellence. I did two years there, but then I got released and I basically fell out of love with football.
To get rejected at 16, when you’re going through school and becoming a young man, was a kick in the teeth. But my dad, who still comes to every game at Casuals, played a massive part in getting me back into the game. He has been my biggest fan. I didn’t know this at the time, but he was sending letters to every single club he could think of, in the pro game and at the top end of non-league, to try and get me back in the game.
Sutton was pretty close and they responded to his letter telling me to come down for a trial. So I went to Overton Park in Sutton and there were about 50 boys there. I didn’t even train well, to be fair. I had the attitude that I had given up, but I went along because my dad had done it for me and I felt I should.
Within 20 minutes, the youth coach had obviously seen something in me because he called me over and said, “Yep, we’ll sign him.”
After that, I was captain of the youth team for a while and that was in the same team as Mo. I got into the reserves, kind of flew through that, and was slowly breaking into the first team over the course of a couple of seasons. I got a bit frustrated because I was more often on the bench and I had been playing all the time in the youth and reserves. I made a decision at that time that I wanted to play and that’s when I left Sutton.
The funny thing is that my debut for Croydon Athletic was away at Corinthian-Casuals, I realise now. But Croydon was a whirlwind – it started off with us bottom of the league, fighting relegation and then money came in and changed it all. We were chasing promotion, with Tim O’Shea as manager, and I was captain all the way through. Then, in 2009, I injured my knee after going up for a header, and that was it.
What happened, exactly?
I went up for a header, just to nod it down to a team-mate, and I landed awkwardly. I felt it straight away and knew what I’d done. That was me, basically.
I tried to come back when I went to train with Lewes about a year and a half later. I got myself super-fit and then, in one training session, I challenged for the ball and my knee went again.
I fell out of love with football again at that point – and for a long time. From 25, I didn’t play for about seven years, and then I started playing a bit of five-a-side but at that age I never expected to play at any level again. But Justin Fevrier invited me to join him at Lewisham because I knew him from my time at Croydon, and he wanted me to be a player-coach.
I got back into playing, got a little bit of a bug for it, but I was aware of my age and my knee was still a bit sore. I started coaching the kids at Carshalton and getting into that, then Mu came along…
So someone you knew as a kid brought you back into the game in your late 30s.
Yeah, it’s mad. I’m forever grateful for it. I’ve been having conversations about it all with Mu and Mo over the course of the weekend in Jersey. To think where I am now compared to a couple of years ago, I have to pinch myself sometimes.
How did you end up coming back as player here, at 38 years old?
Mu and Mo know my ability. When we played for our Sunday team, all our families and friends saw us as little local heroes, and when I came in here, he had forgotten that I retired at such an early age. But I think he realised it after I’d played against Epsom & Ewell earlier this season!
He told me he was going to get some good players in, good characters, but he also said, “I also think me, you and Mo should sign papers, just in case we’re needed on a Tuesday night in November.” I didn’t think it was going to happen, I didn’t even do pre-season. I thought I’d be alright to play 20 minutes if needed, as long as I kept in shape.
We didn’t play badly in pre-season, or in the first few games, but we just weren’t getting the results. But Mu picked us both for the Epsom & Ewell game just to get some leadership and voices on the pitch. It was good for me, I enjoyed it and I think we showed the boys what we were looking for.
I’ve now been involved in four games, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I would never have thought I’d be playing at 38, 39 – even at Combined Counties level. But it’s been good for me, and it meant a lot to my dad too. Most of all, which got me a bit emotional, was that it meant a lot to my son, because Frankie doesn’t believe I’ve ever played football!
Interview by Dominic Bliss
Images by Andy Nunn & Stuart Tree