www.leftlion.co.uk/issue2
17
It’s every bloke’s dream! You’re working on a building site and ripping up the park every week as a centre forward for your Sunday league team. A scout from the local football club comes knocking and suddenly you’ve been thrust into the professional game. words: Jared Wilson Football can be a cruel profession. Most of those who were even close to making it will have given up the dream of being a pro by their late teens. Steve Scoffham, however, is one that got away. A builder by trade and a free scoring striker for Gedling Town at weekends, his form prompted interest from Notts County at a time when the club were looking for affordable solutions to their administration crisis. There was one stumbling block, however. Gedling required a fee for their most valuable player and Notts County had not spent any money on transfer fees for over two years. Enter the Notts County Supporters Trust who raised the £5000 necessary to keep him at the club Scoffham does backflips to celebrate after scoring... something Notts County fans have not seen in a long time at meadow lane - if ever! A pity therefore when a bad tackle on the last day of last season broke his leg and put him out of action for 7 months. I caught up with him as he was getting on the way road to recovery... It must be frustrating for you sitting on the sidelines at Notts... “It’s been very frustrating. I can’t wait to get back and fire some goals in!! They say that the end of the season is the best time to break your leg, but there’s no real good time for that! I’m going through my pre-season training at the moment, all on my own, so it’s pretty hellish!” How did it feel back in February when you were signed up by Notts? “It’s a great feeling, especially having the fans pay for you! I’m desperate to get back and repay the faith that has been shown in me. It’s a dream come
true to pull a Notts shirt on and kick a football around for a living. Even despite this injury, I’m loving life!” You were brought up in Nottingham I understand? “Yeah. I’ve lived in Nottingham for eighteen years, though I was actually born in Munster in Germany. My mum and dad were both in the forces, but they moved here when I was little and I’ve lived in Nottingham my whole life.” Did you support Notts County before they signed you? “My dad used to bring me to watch them when I was a kid, but the truth is that I’ve always been a Wolves fan at heart.” You were working on a building site before you signed for Notts? “I’d been a builder for four years. I came out of school and went straight into an apprenticeship. I knew a couple of the lads that were already working there, so I just did that as a career for a while. I don’t want to go back to doing it again at any time soon tho, so I’ve got to work hard when I get back to get a new contract!” Was there any resentment from the senior pro’s to this `brickie’, who had suddenly found himself in the team. “It took a few of them a bit longer to accept me so well at first. A lot of them had been pro’s all their lives and were looking at me realising that I’d come straight from non -league and predicting that it would be hard for me. It was, but I was ready! The squad all changed again at the start of this season, anyway...” Who did you pretend to be in the playground when you were a kid?
“Gary Lineker! His discipline was incredible. To play that many games and to never get booked once is a crazy record! His scoring record was brilliant at every level he played at.” I understand that you were told to stop doing backflips after scoring! “It was the physio that told me I had to stop it. He’s a great physio and I really respect him. He thinks it could damage my back, but then again he’s always looking at things that can damage you and it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. His viewpoint is that it can’t be good for me and that I should stop, but the fans love it! I might be a little wary when I initially come back though, because my leg will still need time to return to full strength.” ”I’m not sure if anyone picked up on it, but with the first one I did when I scored for Notts against Grimsby, I landed on my toes and had to take another step forward or else I would have fallen. I’ve got another trick in my locker to show off when I get back...”
How many goals do you think you can get from when you get back until the end of the season? “At the beginning of the season I said twenty. I know that a lot of games have gone by while I’ve been injured, but I still want to get into double figures! If I do that I think I’ll probably get a new contract with the club!” Where do you see the future of Notts County. “The Club is too good to be in this division, but confidence is low at the moment and it’s not going to be easy to get ourselves up the table.” Where do you see the future of Steve Scoffham “I want to play for England. It’s a long shot, but it would be a proper dream come true! I want to score lots of goals and get us out of this division and eventually pull on a shirt with the three lions on it. You never know...” www.nottscotrust.org.uk