Bagshot
After much discussion, no teamsheet was forthcoming. There was no whiteboard on entry with even a list of names. The beginning of the 23/24 season, our first in the Combined Counties, started shrouded in mystery.
There wasn’t a single face I recognised in Stripes. Our GK was the hours-previously announced Tom Theobald, previously at Epsom & Ewell. The rest were unrecognised and unheralded. Mr Byatt has chosen to go about the club’s business quietly, it seems, and while other clubs at the level have splashed news of their squad around socials, Tooting have stayed quiet.
Of course there have been names mentioned. Of course the jungle drums beat softly. In the bar after the game, I chatted to the lad who wore 6 for us during the game. Jack Martin, fact fans, a Balham-dwelling former Bec player, who apparently was a key figure for new assistant manager John O’Connor whilst he was at the helm of the Step 6 side. I made some enquiries about who might be coming down the line. He mentioned names which we would all recognise, names which will not surprise people particularly if they turn out in Stripes in the coming weeks. Byatt clearly knows the South London non-league scene better than most and as such his contact book will swell with lads who’ve potentially already made their name. Discretion being the better part of valour, I’ll say no more than that, particularly as the coaching staff would obviously prefer no more to be said.
It would be unfair to expect the first 11 lads in Stripes on July 1 to look much like the 11 lads who’ll take to the pitch in our first competitive games, of course. There’s relatively still a good bit of time left to chisel a team out of a contacts book. On Saturday it seemed that this was the first time a couple of the lads had even met. Jack Martin was even heard saying “what’s your name mate?” to a teammate he was barking instructions at. All absolutely standard for July 1, of course, but doesn’t stop the fans wanting to know more.
Such as it is, a couple of lads impressed. Jack Martin himself seems a leader, leading the huddle pre-game and scripting plenty during the 90. The man wearing 10 on the day was sleight of stature, big of game. Good, quick feet and a low centre of gravity which could potentially twist some blood around Step 5 defences. Our 8 caught the eye at times too, and further investigation revealed he’s a Tooting graduate who took time out of the game in the last couple of years and has apparently sought a return. Other individuals frustrated, both team-mates and those on the sidelines. John O’Connor, a vocal presence throughout, tore strips off lads a couple of times. In the bar afterwards he said periods of play were not what Tooting would be about in the forthcoming season. For those supporters who grew frustrated at a perceived lack of noise from the bench, Mr O’Connor- JOC- will be a popular man. One feels that reminders of expectations will be blunt and immediate.
The scoreline doesn’t matter, particularly, but Bagshot scored two on the day, Tooting one. Tells us nothing, of course.
I sense the prevailing mood around the support at the moment is that Byatt has time and space to put his mark on the team. I don’t think anyone is particularly confident of an immediate return to Step 4, or for a massive upturn in first team performances. I think some decent games, some goals and- crucially- some blood and thunder might buy as much credit as a run of wins. One of the worst aspects of our relegation season was that we went down without much of a fight and that players in Stripes, in the main, didn’t seem interested in the cause. That has to be the first thing that changes.
That’s possibly why I’m so keen to know the personnel for the season ahead. Because I’m keen to see that whoever’s representing the club in competitive fixtures is aware of who they’re playing for and is up for the task of trying to take us out of the poor state that we’re in. I’m aware that it might not be pretty, so it might have to be utilitarian. The end may have to justify the means. Less total football and more total bastards.
The club is currently asking a lot of the support. It requires the support to pay, frankly, over the odds to get into a game. It requires the support to help with the practicalities of a match day. It’s now requiring the support to get on board with a division we all believe is beneath us. We now either do that, or we don’t. We either get behind the new manager and his new charges at Imperial Fields, or we don’t. We either encourage positive interest in the club through what we say about it online, or we don’t. We each of us know how best to help the club get out of where it’s at right now, and we know it’s not by complaining online about bits we can’t control. Pay in, grumble about the price, then get behind the lads.
If we do our bit, we then trust the club to do theirs- be more open, keep us in the loop. Let us hear from the manager, from those in positions of authority in the club with regularity. Show us the workings of how you plan to extricate the club from the position we find ourselves. Support the manager as much as possible to assemble the squad he requires to bring a modicum of pride back to the first team. Clubs in our division are making big moves, in context. Farnham, Croydon. Doing bits that’ll help them in this league. How do we compete with that? What’s the plan?
As ever, there will be more questions than answers. As ever, SLiBaW will be channelling our moans into farted articles that’ll annoy lads who don’t go games. All good craic.
See you Saturday.
