A footy life

So this is me. Name, Stuart. Age 38. 2 kids, 1 wife and a cat. You can tell from my picture I’m also in love with football. Always have been. Always will be. My first game was At Selhurst Park in 1988, the season we (Arsenal), won the old first division by beating Liverpool 2-0 on the final day of the season. The game was between Charlton Athletic (groundsharing at Selhurst as they had been booted out of The Valley a few years earlier) and Arsenal. Me, my dad and my uncle Paul were stood (because for at least a few months more of that season you could stand at games (RIP the 97) and we were behind Arsenal goalkeeper John Lukic. Who was a hero of mine. We won that day and from then on (I was about 6 years old) I have been hooked on Arsenal and couldn’t imagine ever supporting another team. My youth playing days only consisted of 1 team. At U9 level and I was a right back. Wasn’t very good and paid more attention to the daisies growing out of the grass. Back then football really wasn’t for me. I also enjoyed Saturday morning kids TV such as “GOING LIVE” with Phillip Schofield and Sarah Greene, and that was on at the same time as training. I then didn’t play until I went secondary school. Sedgehill has its fair share of past famous students. I wasn’t going to be one of those. Google the school and you’ll see who I shared the same hallways with. When I left there me and some mates started up our own 5aside team called AC London and we were quite successful to be honest. A few seasons of that and I left to join an 11 aside team. My first called London Rovers. We played home games at Danson Park. Spent 2 seasons there winning the league in my second season. We wasn’t that good but neither were teams in our division. Then from there I went to Bromley Spartans Fc. Manager Don Leach was a mad, eccentric guy who loved his jazz music. There is where I played probably my best ever game of football. The night before the game (a cup semi final) me and those mates from the 5aside days, went to Hastings to watch the Mayweather/Hatton fight. I was in america so we went out and got smashed. Forgetting I had footy the following day we didn’t stop drinking. The fight ended at 5am ish so another mate who was designated driver, took us home, I went to bed assuming my alarm would wake me from a planned 2 hour cat nap. I also had the kit. Guess what happened. I get a call (I think the 20th) and I answer it. It’s my manager asking where I am. So I put on my tracksuit at the quickest speed I’ve ever moved at, and bolted out. Luckily the home ground was at the end of my road, but still. I was left back, absolutely smashed from the night before and out in the best performance of my career. We still lost 2-1. but none of the goals were down to my mistake so I’ll take that. From there I moved to Junior reds. My first training session in pre season didn’t end well. It ended with my in A&E as I had broken my ankle bone on the right side and ripped ligaments in the left side of the same ankle. That put me out for 6 week. The longest 6 weeks of my life. Spend about 7/8 seasons at the club between the Sunday and then Saturday teams, and it’s there I took on my first management role at U12 level. From then on I havnt looked back. But I wasn’t expecting to go to the levels of football I’m at now.

So fast forward to today. I am a qualified football manager who’s managed the likes of Erith and Belvedere Fc (Google them if you don’t know who they are. You’ll be surprised!!!). I’ve also managed a little lower on the football ladder in the Kent county football league. And as I write this, I’m in talks with a Kent county premier division team. This will be a platform where I can keep you guys up to date with my going’s on etc. So subscribe (or whatever it is you do here) and I’ll see you on the next one. Also any questions you might fancy asking, please do and I’ll answer them next time. Cheers all and god bless