The BADGER 2022/23 Issue 19 vs Lutterworth Town

THE

SEASON

22 23

ISSUE 19

OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME

vs LUTTERWORTH TOWN UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH TUESDAY 11th APRIL 2023 I 7:45pm KICK OFF

Bugbrooke St Michaels FC The Badgers, founded 1929

CLUB COMMITTEE PRESIDENT - WILLY MARRIOTT CHAIRMAN - KEVIN GARDNER VICE-CHAIRMAN - NIGEL THOMAS CLUB SECRETARY - GRAHAM CONNEW YOUTH SECRETARY & TREASURER - NICK INWOOD FIXTURES SECRETARY - DAVE MELLOR GROUNDSMAN - DANNY POWELL

WELFARE OFFICER - BEN ROBINSON COMMITTEE – RICHARD GIBBON, STUART WYKES

MANAGEMENT / COACHING TEAM FIRST TEAM – DALE WALTON RESERVE TEAM - ROB JONES ‘A’ TEAM – JAMIE JOLLANDS

‘B’ TEAM - ANDY DEMIDOW LADIES TEAM – STUART WHITE UNDER 18s (NSYL) - LOUIE GALBRAITH UNDER 18s (NDYAL) - DEANO GOMES UNDER 16s - DARREN SMITH UNDER 15s - MARK LINNELL UNDER 14s - SIMON WHEELER UNDER 13s BLACK - CHRIS ASHTON UNDER 13s BLUE - NICK INWOOD UNDER 13s WHITE - RYAN NASH UNDER 11s BLACK - DANIEL BLAND / BEN SMITH UNDER 11s WHITE - TONY HILL UNDER 10s BLUE - IAN MARRIOTT UNDER 10s WHITE – MIKE BRINKLEY UNDER 8s – ANDREW JACKMAN

From the Chairman …

As Chairman of Bugbrooke St Michael’s Football Club I would like to offer you a warm welcome to The Sett and hope that you have an enjoyable visit.

Here at Bugbrooke St Michaels we are working hard to develop a club with a strong inclusive ethos, offering opportunities for players of all ages and abilities.

We are extremely proud of our youth development programme, supporting players from seven all the way up to eighteen. Many of our young players go on to have success with one of four adult teams, with some players going on to even bigger and better things!

There is a great wealth of local support for the club, everyone that helps does so on a voluntary basis and through everyone’s hard work and dedication we have been able to achieve and maintain FA Accredited status.

Whilst some clubs choose to reinvest their revenue into players wages, here at Bugbrooke we hold a different set of values. All of our profits go into upgrading our equipment and facilities, building a solid future-proof foundation that will be here for future generations to enjoy.

Whilst this can sometimes hold us back from gaining huge success on the pitch, we feel our excellent facilities, youth development programme and ethos on community set us apart from other clubs.

Success and progression starts from the beginnings.

Thank you for your support today, we hope that you enjoy the game, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kev Kevin Gardner, Chairman Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club would like to place on record our thanks to our team of volunteers, our advertisers and sponsors.

BSMFC

MANAGERS NOTES

Good afternoon. We’d like to start today’s Programme notes by extending a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of Lutterworth Town who are the visitors to the Sett for tonight’s United Counties Premier Division South fixture.

Tonight’s game represents our penultimate Home match of the season as well as it being our final fixture under the lights, with only next weeks trip to Rothwell Corinthians followed by Easington Sports here the week after left to play.

It doesn’t seem 2-minutes ago that we welcomed Kettering Town here to the Sett for the season opener back in July.

Tonight’s opponents are no strangers to us given that we only played the reverse fixture at Lutterworth a few of weeks ago. On reflection we didn’t play well that day, conditions didn’t help, albeit you could argue that we were worthy of a point, as a controversial late penalty decision handed the hosts a 2-0 lead and with it the win at a time when we were in the ascendency.

Whilst we have won every game since, Lutterworth have stuttered of late losing three on the spin which has left them looking nervously over their shoulder, just 5 points above the bottom two (prior to the weekend fixtures).

That makes tonight’s game important, its the business end of the season, this is not a mid-table end of season fixture, Lutterworth have it all to play for and we need to match them! We’re not playing for self pride. We’re playing to win, not only for the integrity of the league, but we also want to finish as high as we possibly can in the table.

With a trip to Rothwell Corinthians next weekend, we could have a huge say in who finishes in those bottom two places come the end of the season.

We have a young squad, many of whom have stepped up from last seasons Reserve Team and are playing at Step 5 for the first time. We have learnt along the way; we need to maintain our good form for the final three matches to give us a platform for the summer and next season when Play Offs are due to be introduced at our level giving us a new target to aim for.

As always thank you for your support, enjoy the game and we look forward to seeing you again on Saturday when we make the trip to Rothwell Corinthians which is followed a week later by our final game of the season when Easington Sports are the visitors to the Sett.

Dale & Daniel

“That makes tonight’s game important, its the business end of the season, this is not a mid-table end of season fixture, Lutterworth have it all to play for and we need to match them!”

Exceptional

Leadership

Development

Telephone: 0121 651 1200 Email: info@fuellearning.com

BSMFC

OUR HISTORY

Formed in 1929, Bugbrooke St. Michael’s Football Club took over from Bugbrooke United who folded in 1928 after being in existence since 1910.

The club, which is named after the local St. Michael’s and All Angels Church, initially took its place in the Northants Central Village League and had immediate success, winning the league title from 1931 to 1937.

The club closed for the Second World War before reforming in 1947 and were once again successful winning the CVL title from 1947 to 1950 and were Northants Lower Junior Cup runners-up in 1949, a feat repeated in 1954.

We finally won the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup in 1956 and followed this in 1957 by winning the prestigious Daventry Charity Cup. The club had its most successful years from 1966 to 1972 when we won the Northants Central Combination Premier title and again from 1976 to 1979 with 1977 also seeing us win the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup again.

The club continued to succeed in the Northants Combination until 1987 when the we took the decision to join the United Counties League.

At this time, we decided to run two teams in the U.C.L. and two teams in the C.N.C. We also began our youth section and have continued this ever since. Today we run 5 adult sides, including a recently formed Ladies team as well as 13 youth teams.

The club has had continued to enjoy success across all age groups over those 30 years, the most notable being N.F.A. Junior Cup winners in 1992, N.F.A Lower Junior Cup in 1993 and U.C.L. Division One winners in 2001.

The reputation for producing successful youth teams has increased over those years and 4 of our youth players (under 16) have been signed by professional league clubs.

The achievements of the club on the field have always been supported by a hardworking committee whose chief officers are recorded on a roll in the clubhouse foyer.

They along with supporters of the club have built up the excellent changing rooms and clubhouse since 1980.

We hope that you enjoy the facilities that they have provided over those years, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future

TODAYS VISITORS

LUTTERWORTH TOWN MANAGER: Will Andrew

LAST TIME OUT: LOST 0-1 vs Eynesbury Rovers

LEAGUE POS: 16th – P30 W7 D4 L19 Pts 25

FORM GUIDE: LWLLL

Lutterworth Town joined Division Two of the Leicestershire Senior League in 1955. In 1966–1967 they finished second and subsequently promoted to Division One.

The club won the Premier Division in 1990–1991, after which they moved from their Dunley Way ground to Coventry Road.

The club were relegated again at the end of the 1994–1995 season.

Despite only finishing eleventh in 1996–1997 they were promoted to the Premier Division. They returned to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1999–2000.

The club returned to Dunley Way, their original home for the 2012/2013 season and continued with bottom half to mid-table finishes until the 2015/2016 where they were promoted to the Premier Division once again.

2016/2017 season became the clubs most successful season in their 62-year history after winning the Leicestershire Senior League unbeaten resulting in promotion to step 6 of the national league system for the first time ever.

2018/2019 season the club achieved promotion to the United Counties Premier division, the highest level the club has ever been, by winning the division one league in a closely contested final few weeks.

In the FA Competitions, the club has appeared in the FA Cup for the first time during the 2018-2019 season progressing to the preliminary round The club has appeared 6 times in the FA Vase with the highest round progressed being the First Round in the 2017/2018 season

BSMFC

LEAGUE TABLE

PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH as at 05/04/23

POS

P

W

D

L

GD

PTS

1

Coventry Sphinx

30

24

2

4

69

74

2

Rugby Town

29

22

4

3

58

70

3

Wellingborough Town

30

20

4

6

29

64

4

Newport Pagnell Town

27

17

7

3

37

58

5

Milton Keynes Irish

29

16

7

6

22

55

6

Histon

29

16

3

10

20

51

7

Coventry United

29

15

2

12

6

47

8

March Town United

30

12

7

11

10

43

9

Desborough Town

30

11

7

12

-9

40

10

Bugbrooke St.Michaels

30

12

4

14

-15

40

11

Easington Sports

30

10

5

15

-7

35

12

Cogenhoe United

30

8

7

15

-8

31

13

Eynesbury Rovers

29

8

3

18

-23

27

14

G.N.G Oadby Town

29

8

3

18

-30

27

15

Godmanchester Rovers

27

6

8

13

-20

26

16

Lutterworth Town

30

7

4

19

-46

25

17

Rothwell Corinthians

29

5

5

19

-32

20

18

Long Buckby AFC

29

3

4

22

-61

13

FORM GUIDE

NEXT UP

WLWWW 15/04 vs Rothwell Corinthians (Away) 22/04 vs Easington Sports (Home)

BSMFC DATE

2022/23 RESULTS & APPEARANCES

OPPOSITION

VENUE RESULT SCORE STARTING LINE-UP

12.07.22 Kettering Town (NFA Cup)

Home

Lost

2-3

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

WALTON

30.07.22 March Town United

Home

Lost

0-4

REEVE

WHALER

SHEHI

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

02.08.22 Cogenhoe United

Away

Won

1-0

REEVE

MPAMBI

SHEHI

1 HALLMARK

GLENNON

06.08.22 Long Buckby AFC - FA Cup

Home

Won

3-0

REEVE

WHALER

SHEHI

HALLMARK

GLENNON

13.08.22 Rugby Town

Away

Lost

0-2

REEVE

MPAMBI

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

LEON

20.08.22 Lichfield City - FA Cup

Away

Lost

0-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

SHEHI

GLENNON

LEON

23.08.22 GNG Oadby Town

Home

Won

4-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

LEON

27.08.22 Wellingborough Town - FA Vase

Away

Lost

1-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

LEON

03.09.22 Godmanchester Rovers

Home

Lost

0-3

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

13.09.22 Desborough Town

Away

Draw

1-1

REEVE

NASH

MPAMBI

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

17.09.22 Newport Pagnell Town

Away

Won

2-1

REEVE

NASH

SHEHI

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

24.09.22 Easington Sports

Away

Lost

0-1

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

27.09.22 Milton Keynes Irish

Home

Draw

2-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

01.10.22 Histon FC

Home

Lost

1-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

08.10.22 Heather St. Johns - UCL Cup

Home

Won

4-2

REEVE

MPAMBI

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

15.10.22 Coventry United

Home

Lost

1-3

REEVE

NASH

SHEHI

HALLMARK

GLENNON

22.10.22 Eynesbury Rovers

Away

Won

4-3

REEVE

SPENCER

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

29.10.22 March Town United - UCL Cup

Away

Lost

1-3

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

J.WEBSTER

GLENNON

05.11.22 Coventry Sphinx

Home

Lost

0-4

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

19.11.22 Long Buckby AFC

Away

Won

4-0

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

2

WALTON

26.11.22 Milton Keynes Irish

Away

Lost

1-2

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

1

WALTON

03.12.22 Wellingborough Town

Home

Draw

0-0

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

SMYTH

07.01.23 Desborough Town

Home

Draw

1-1

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

WALTON

18.01.23 Coventry United

Away

Lost

1-2

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

28.01.23 March Town United

Away

Won

3-1

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

31.01.23 Coventry Sphinx

Away

Lost

0-3

REEVE

SPENCER

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

WALTON

04.02.23 Histon FC

Away

Lost

0-3

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

WALTON

11.02.23 Rugby Town

Home

Lost

2-6

REEVE

GARWOOD

SHEHI

SPENCER

GLENNON

WALTON

18.02.23 Newport Pagnell Town

Home

Lost

0-3

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

25.02.23 Rothwell Corinthians

Home

Won

2-1

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

1 HALLMARK

GLENNON

28.02.23 Godmanchester Rovers

Away

Won

3-0

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

1

WALTON

04.03.23 Eynesbury Rovers

Home

Won

3-2

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

2

WALTON

11.03.23 Lutterworth Town

Away

Lost

0-2

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

HALLMARK

GLENNON

WALTON

18.03.23 Wellingborough Town

Away

Won

1-0

REEVE

GARWOOD 1

SIMMONS

SMYTH

GLENNON

WALTON

25.03.23 G.N.G Oadby Town

Away

Won

1-0

REEVE

GARWOOD

SIMMONS

SMYTH

HALLMARK

WALTON

01.04.23 Long Buckby AFC

Home

Won

2-1

REEVE

GARWOOD

SHEHI

SMYTH

HALLMARK

WALTON

08.04.22 Cogenhoe United

Home

11.04.23 Lutterworth Town

Home

15.04.23 Rothwell Corinthians

Away

22.04.22 Easington Sports

Home

1

WALTON 2

WALTON

WALTON 2

WALTON WALTON

3

WALTON WALTON

1

WALTON WALTON WALTON

WALTON 3

WALTON

WALTON

SUBS A.WEBSTER

OAKES

A.WEBSTER

1

JONES

J.WEBSTER

BINDER

WEATHERLY

COULSON

HALLMARK

SPENCER

BONIFAS

OAKES

JONES

J.WEBSTER

KING

SPENCER

MPAMBI

LEON

BUCKINGHAM

DOHERTY

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

J.WEBSTER

KING

SPENCER

COULSON

LEON

HARRISON

TICHAWONA

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

SPENCER

KING

E.PANTER

MPAMBI

LEON

COULSON

HARRISON

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

SHEHI

KING

SPENCER

COULSON

NASH

HALL

TICHAWONA

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

COULSON

1

JONES

COULSON

KING

SPENCER

E.PANTER

TRKULJA

MPAMBI

WALTON

JONES

3

E.PANTER

SHEHI

SPENCER

COULSON

KING

MPAMBI

WALTON

OAKES

JONES

1

E.PANTER

SHEHI

SPENCER

MPAMBI

KING

-

WALTON

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

SPENCER

SHEHI

COULSON

KING

MPAMBI

DALTON

SMYTH

OAKES

WEATHERLY

SPENCER

KING

COULSON

BAZELEY

TRKULJA

BONIFAS

DOHERTY

SMYTH

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

COULSON

LASALIRE

MPAMBI

BINDER

SMYTH

OAKES

WEATHERLY

E.PANTER

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

COULSON

LASALIRE

MPAMBI

J.WEBSTER

LEON

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

SHEHI

KING

COULSON

J.WEBSTER

LEON

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

1

SPENCER

COULSON

SMYTH

KING

MPAMBI

SHEHI

COULSON

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

1

KING

SHEHI

SPENCER

A.WEBSTER

HALLMARK

NASH

SMYTH

COULSON

JONES

E.PANTER

1 A.WEBSTER

OAKES

SPENCER

KING

SIMMONS

MPAMBI

E.PANTER

2 A.WEBSTER

NASH

COULSON

J.WEBSTER

KING

SHEHI

E.PANTER

1

KING

SHEHI

SPENCER

WEATHERLY

HALLMARK

DALTON

J.WEBSTER

SHEHI

COULSON

MPAMBI

DOHERTY

HYNAM

DALTON

E.PANTER

J.WEBSTER

COULSON

SHEHI

WEATHERLY

DOHERTY

1

1

1

1

SMYTH

OAKES

JONES

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

COULSON

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

WEATHERLY

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

JONES

A.WEBSTER

COULSON

JONES

WEATHERLY

J.WEBSTER

PORTER

MPAMBI

KING

GARWOOD

SMYTH

A.WEBSTER

PORTER

JONES

E.PANTER

J.WEBSTER

WEATHERLY

SPENCER

NASH

COULSON

OAKES

A.WEBSTER

PORTER

JONES

E.PANTER

GREEN

1

OAKES

MPAMBI

J.WEBSTER

COULSON

SHEHI

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

GREEN

1

SHEHI

J.WEBSTER

HALLMARK

GIBBON

POWELL

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

JONES

E.PANTER

GREEN

SHEHI

J.WEBSTER

SMYTH

POWELL

A.WEBSTER

J.WEBSTER

SHEHI

E.PANTER

GREEN

DIMOND

BAZELEY

DOHERTY

GIBBON

A.WEBSTER

OAKES

KING

J.WEBSTER

GREEN

SHEHI

SPENCER

BINDER

POWELL

A.WEBSTER

J.WEBSTER

KING

PORTER

GREEN

SMYTH

SPENCER

SHEHI

AMIDI

GREEN

A.WEBSTER

SPENCER

DRINKWATER

MALKIN

SHEHI

E.PANTER

MALKIN

SHEHI

JONES

E.PANTER

GREEN

MALKIN

SPENCER

JONES

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

J.WEBSTER

JONES

A.WEBSTER 1

J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER 1

SPENCER

2

1

AMIDI

SMYTH

SIMMONS

BONIFAS

MALKIN

JONES

J.WEBSTER

PEARSON

GIBBON

MALKIN

GREEN

SHEHI

J.WEBSTER

SMYTH

MALKIN

GREEN

SPENCER

J.WEBSTER

PORTER

DRINKWATER

HALLMARK

SPENCER

J.WEBSTER

HALLMARK

C.OAKES

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

A.WEBSTER

J.WEBSTER

SMYTH

DOHERTY

POWELL

DRINKWATER

GREEN

SPENCER

MALKIN

REZA

SURACE

HALLMARK

JONES

DRINKWATER

GREEN

SPENCER

MALKIN

SHEHI

POWELL

JONES

E.PANTER

GREEN

CAREY

J.WEBSTER

REZA

POWELL

JONES 1

JONES

1

1

1

1

1

- DOMESTIC – COMMERCIAL – CONTRACT MAINTENANCE

TEL: 01604 832285 MOB: 07766 404604 www.adlandscapesmaintenance.co.uk 11 Georges Close, Bugbrooke, Northampton, NN7 3PR

Proud sponsors of Bugbrooke St Michaels Under 13s Blue

BSMFC

TODAYS FIXTURES

PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH

Bugbrooke St.Michaels

Vs

Lutterworth Town

Long Buckby AFC

Vs

G.N.G Oadby Town

RESERVE DIVISION

Kempston Rovers Reserves

Vs

Newport Pagnell Town Reserves

Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves

Vs

Cogenhoe United Reserves

Godmanchester Rovers Reserves

Vs

Harborough Town Reserves

BUGBROOKE

ST

MICHAELS

April Fixtures

SATURDAY

TUESDAY

SATURDAY 8th April

Home

Home

#BADGERS

1st April

11th April

Home

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

15th April

22nd April

Away

Home

BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS FC proudly sponsored by

‘LOVE FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.’ A message from Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club about antisocial and criminal behaviour As we commence the new season we want to make you aware of new measures being taken across all of football, and the NLS, to ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

We are supporting strong action from the FA, and across the NLS to tackle antisocial and criminal behaviours that put all of us at risk.

Please remember the following activities are illegal, dangerous, have serious consequences and have no place in our game: • Carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros • Invading the pitch or entering the pitch without permission

For everyone’s safety, we will report anyone carrying out these offences to the police, which can result in a criminal record.

Anyone who enters the pitch without permission and those carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros will now receive an automatic club ban. These measures could also now apply to the parents or guardians of children involved in these activities.

This reflects the seriousness of the risks to fans and staff – pyros can burn at 2000 degrees Celsius and cause life changing injuries, while entering the pitch endangers players, managers and match officials. It also impacts the hard working volunteers, who ensure that our special part of the game continues to run.

• Drug use within the football ground

We know those who commit these illegal acts do not represent the majority of supporters. Please work with us to call out the risks.

• Discriminatory behaviour

#LoveFootball #ProtectTheGame

• Throwing objects onto the pitch

BSMFC

RESERVE TEAM

RESERVE DIVISION as at 05/04/23

POS

P

W

D

L

GD

PTS

1

Harborough Town Reserves

25

21

2

2

83

65

2

Bugbrooke St.Michaels Reserves

27

18

4

5

33

58

3

Newport Pagnell Town Reserves

24

17

2

5

46

53

4

Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves

27

14

8

5

41

50

5

Milton Keynes Irish Reserves

25

15

2

8

55

47

6

Desborough Town Reserves

25

11

7

7

6

40

7

Wellingborough Whitworth Reserves

27

11

5

11

-23

38

8

Kempston Rovers Reserves

23

11

3

9

19

36

9

Wellingborough Town Reserves

25

10

5

10

-14

35

10

Daventry Town Reserves

25

10

3

12

-19

33

11

Cogenhoe United Reserves

23

7

6

10

0

27

12

Bourne Town Reserves

25

6

6

13

-14

24

13

G.N.G Oadby Town Reserves

26

6

4

16

-37

22

14

Rothwell Corinthians Reserves

27

6

3

18

-63

21

15

Godmanchester Rovers Reserves

23

5

2

16

-42

15 *

16

Raunds Town Reserves

25

0

4

21

-71

1*

FORM GUIDE NEXT UP GOALSCORER

WWWLL 15/04 vs MK Irish (Home)

29/04 vs Bourne Town (Away)

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” The Other 44 Days” Brian Clough’s ill-fated tenure at Leeds is well trodden ground. Taking over the side he had spent the previous seasons criticising, replacing his long-term nemesis Don Revie who had been awarded the ultimate honour in English football – the national team job – he struggled to win round the dressing room, won only one of his seven games, and was summarily dismissed, just 44 days after arriving in Yorkshire. Four years later, another footballing genius would turn up at Elland Road. His own time would, in a twist of fate, last only 44 days. But unlike Clough’s rancorous period in charge, there was nothing but disappointment when Jock Stein left the job.

By 1978, Jock Stein’s legacy at Celtic was secured. The first Protestant manager at the club, he had ended an unprecedented eight-year dry spell at Parkhead in his first season. In his second, he retained his title and became the first British manager to win the European Cup. A further seven titles in a row followed, a dominance that was only ended in a season in which he suffered a nearfatal car crash. Despite returning to the team, and leading them to the 1977 title, he was eventually persuaded to resign as Celtic manager. Offered a token role as a figurehead, rather than the position of influence he felt he had earned, he left the club completely. In 1978 he was probably the most successful British manager ever, and he was looking for a job.

Leeds had recovered after the trauma of Clough’s time in charge, and under Jimmy Armfield had even reached the European Cup final in 1975 but were never able to recapture the dominance they had enjoyed under Revie.

Armfield did what he could with what was available, but the ageing team started to slide and were beginning to feature at the wrong end of the table. And the conclusion of the 1977-78 season he was dismissed. It would be too much to claim that they acted because of Stein’s availability – they sounded out other managers before him, and in a panic at the protracted negotiations even asked Armfield back at one point – but once Stein was approached and accepted, it seemed a perfect fit.

Stein walked into a different Elland Road to the one Clough had left. No longer looking to maintain dominance, they were more concerned with arresting the decline that had started four years earlier. In securing a European Cup manager, they must have been certain of a period of stability, especially given that the one job Stein had also been linked to – as Scotland manager – didn’t seem to be available for some time, after the Scottish FA confirmed that Ally MacLeod had done enough at the 1978 World Cup to keep his job.

His first game in charge was against Manchester United, having missed the first game against Arsenal. As fierce as that rivalry was becoming, it was all the more significant because of the sale of Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen to Old Trafford in the previous season, a symbol of the breaking up of Revie’s old squad. Leeds slipped to a 3-2 defeat, but if the performance of the team was disappointing, the new manager made all the right noises. Quiet, thoughtful and respectful, he was much more in the Revie mould than the Clough.

He focused on making Leeds hard to beat, and initially at least, it worked. Four clean sheets followed, before a growing injury crisis started causing problems. Already mixing and matching at the back, a Bryan Robson challenge robbed Stein of his creative outlet, Tony Currie, and in their next match away at Maine Road, Man City beat them 3-0. A defeat to Tottenham followed, a draw with Coventry. Frustrated in his attempts to sign players, living in a hotel room, his family still in Scotland, it was no surprise that he was interested when, just a few weeks after confirming his future, the SFA sacked Ally MacLeod.

Popular folklore says that Stein asked a commentator friend to spread the rumour that the SFA wanted him.

Certainly, he wanted them.

A 3-0 win over bottom of the table Birmingham was followed up with a victory over West Brom in the cup, before the Leeds board saw the writing on the wall.

On the 3rd October 1978, they gave him permission to talk to the SFA. Two days later, he was Scotland manager.

While his record wasn’t markedly better than Clough’s, it was much more acceptable four years after Revie’s departure than four weeks. The cruel irony, however, wasn’t in the record, it was in the time. Like Clough, Jock Stein had lasted just 44 days as Leeds United manager.

Enjoy the game!

Martyn Green The Untold Game Find us at TheUntoldGame.co.uk or on social media @TheUntoldGame

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