Interview: Cornelius Nwadialor & Ashley Bosah
On May 9th, Ashley Bosah and Cornelius Nwadialor, backed up by Myles Warren, ran around the recently resurfaced Imperial Fields pitch in support of the clubs Crowdfunder. Impeccably observing the social distancing guidance currently in place, Tooting & Mitcham United’s joint managers and first team coach completed 64 laps of the pitch in scorching conditions.
While watching these three men complete this physical challenge, all in aid of raising money to ensure the club continues to operate primarily as a football club whilst maintaining its important role in the local community, I was struck by how alien this concept would feel to many football fans. Fans of the ‘elite’ teams are very unlikely to witness their management team doing laps of their sacred turfs to ensure that their club had a fighting chance of surviving the economic reality of this pandemic. I can’t imagine Mourinho doing laps of an empty Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, unless it was linked to him having an extra 10 mil to replace a ‘little horse’ currently cluttering up his squad.
I’m also not sure many other Non League teams can boast that their managers are willing to run laps whilst dressed in full kit. The only other example I can think of is when Woking FC’s gaffer Alan Dowson ran 100 laps around their ground, an admirable effort raising money to support two of his players in need of expensive surgery for long term injuries.
Later that week, I was lucky to have the chance to speak online with both Ashley and Cornelius. I wanted to try and get a sense of how the pair where finding this unusual period of lockdown and self-isolation, to get their thoughts on the season just passed and to find out what plans were in place for when football returns.
As a starting point, the managers stressed the importance of trying to keep the main core of last season’s squad together going forward, “We need to survive this period and try and kick on.” There was definitely the sense when talking to them both that the premature end to the season past was disappointing, but offered a unique opportunity to learn from what had worked and to be able to reflect and improve on what had not.
Cornelius spoke about the “… need to build and ensure a serious team”, with all players pulling in the same direction for the whole season. Ashley added, “All players will need to work hard from the offset, need to earn their spots. Everyone.” When football does resume at this club’s level, it is abundantly clear that the joint managers will have high expectations for those that continue from last season and those that might be recruited.
One of the aspects of last season’s success that the pair wish to replicate was the rigorous preseason programme they oversaw for the squad. Preseason started early for the side last summer, and included an extra weekly session of training, a change to previous years, all led by Ashley and Cornelius. They both saw the advantage of having more contact time with the squad as coaches, allowing for greater opportunity to get across their tactical ideas, as well as honing the individual players’ technical strengths. Cornelius spoke enthusiastically about how this additional time also allowed for the first team’s social dynamic to improve and strengthen at a much faster rate. Preseason also included an eventful team building trip to Bath, which furthered this squad cohesion. When asked if this will be replicated before the start of the upcoming campaign, neither were able to confirm it would due to the current uncertainty, but both were emphatic in expressing how they hoped that it would be. Having witnessed the entirety of the preseason period, I can definitely speak to the value that it added, overwhelmingly proven by the side’s electric start to last season. I hope that the “powers that be” at the club see how important it will be to replicate.
When I asked the duo to identify a match from the previous season that stood out, both spoke about the fantastic cup triumphs the side had last season; winning at home against Conference South Dorking Wanderers and the comprehensive win away versus Margate from the division above. Surprisingly though, they both spoke about a game that probably doesn’t immediately jump to mind. Northwood FC Away, a 1-0 win, secured in the 87th minute by substitute Hady Ghandour. When pushed to explain why this game stood out, Ashley spoke about how it was a game where both he and Cornelius had made the bold decision to rotate some of the squad, with some of the sides established “stars” featuring on the bench. Both managers had come away from the game satisfied that the squad had strength in depth. It had been a game controlled by the Terrors, where those that featured had forced a victory and were taking home “the all-important three points.”
On the subject of Hady Ghandour, who had spent the majority of last season on loan at Charlton Athletic, both Ashley and Cornelius confirmed it was a waiting game to see if Charlton would sign the young terror. Hady’s progression last season- operating as a focal point of the side’s attack, “He was our best false nine last season,” scoring goals and creating them through sheer force of will and hard work paired with an underrated technical ability- can be traced to the influence of Tooting & Mitcham United’s joint managers.
Since becoming first team managers at Tooting & Mitcham, a large number of young local players- primarily developed in the club’s successful under 23s setup (also coached by the pair)- have made their debuts and enjoyed extended success. Many of these talented young players, having been shaped by both coaches, have progressed up the football pyramid. Four, with the possibility of a fifth in Hady, have signed for professional sides, two having made their professional debuts last season. Abraham Odoh in the FA cup for Charlton and Isaiah Jones in the Scottish Premier League whilst on loan at St. Johnstone. Add Sam Folarin, cutting it at Middlesborough and Lexus Beeden, having a positive first season in Reading FC’s academy. Sadiou Khan also went on to become an integral part of last season’s Maidstone United team in the National League South. Razzaq Coleman Degraft followed in Khan’s footsteps, joining National League South side Hampton & Richmond Borough, after lighting up the Terrors attack last season. This list only scratches the surface of the young potential that both Ashley and Cornelius have worked with at Tooting.
It is worth reiterating that these players weren’t only given their first team start by Bosah and Nwadialor, but SHAPED by them when playing under both coaches in the under 23s and, in some cases, the even younger age groups coached by Ashley. Many of the young men coming out of the club’s academy and development squads are knowledgeable and technically accomplished footballers, who have their feet firmly planted to the ground. Anyone who has had the chance to speak with any of the young talent coming through the club before or after a match or around the club will recognise that they are well-mannered and interesting young men to speak with. This is a product of the emphasis that the club puts on creating “human beings, not just footballers.” It would seem that Bosah and Nwadialor are the architects of this approach at the club and are very good at creating both.
Ashley, who runs the club’s academy programme- an education programme that incorporates daily football training alongside study- spoke about how the recruitment process for the next academic year has not been interrupted by the current lockdown and social distancing guidelines. Interviews with academy prospects and their parents are underway, building on the work that had started before the season was called to an end.
Ashley and the tutors on the programme are also in constant contact with the current cohort of players and he is very happy with the majority’s progress. “All are continuing with their classroom learning remotely and are all are working hard on their own, ready to kick on when football resumes.” As I have said previously on this site, the stream of talented young footballers coming through the academy ranks is a real positive and should excite all of the Terrors fans who are keen to spot the next Jones, Beeden or Odoh turning out on the Imperial Fields pitch. It is also a testament to the club’s dedication to investing in young players from the local area and to the hard work of both of our managers, who play a hands-on role in all aspects of the development teams, in a coaching and managerial capacity.
The pair revealed that they are already hard at work planning for the next campaign, “but nothing is certain until the league confirms the start date for next year.” This process is seemingly being delayed due to the Premier League’s back and forth about whether to restart the season, or void it- much like the fate of Non League divisions. With news this week of contact training and the tentative scheduling of some Premier League fixtures, it is hopefully a matter of time now before the relevant bodies start making decisions on when leagues further down the pyramid can resume
When asked what form this planning has taken in the weeks since the side’s last match, Cornelius explained that they had been “Working hard, reflecting on and analysing many of last season’s performances, rewatching highlights and getting gassed! Especially Hanwell… the performances of the twins, who had a role in both of Dan Williams goals.” Ashley echoed this enthusiasm, “It reinforces belief. Belief in the approach we take, in the system and the majority of the personnel we have at the club.”
The desire within the side to work was back for the Hanwell game. Cornelius and Ashley both restated the importance of two in-house friendlies that were held prior to the Westfield FC fixture. The matches were organised by the duo to fill the gap of postponed fixtures and to go back to basics with the squad, reinforcing the principles that had led to success earlier in the season and ensuring that newer faces had to the chance to take on board what was required from them. The proof was in the pudding. The resounding victory, now the last of the season, was a return to form that had been long overdue, pre-empted by a positive performance at Westfield. The pair maintain the belief that the remaining games of the season would have seen the Hanwell performance, and levels of dedication, replicated in the run-in.
Both Ashley and Cornelius revisit the theme of the hard work when speaking about the dip in form the side experienced during February. “Hard work will prevail. If we had worked harder against Barking, then the wind would not have become a factor.” Referencing the poor performance away at Barking FC, where the side fell to a 2-1 defeat. A game where the wind had whipped the ball about, where the linesman made a dubious goal line decision to the benefit of the opposition and the referee had denied a “stonewall” penalty. With this all taken into consideration, both Ashley and Cornelius believe that game was lost because the team was outworked and outfought by a tenacious and physical Barking team. “Shape and work rate is key” and at times the side lost focus on this. The month of February ended with only one win from five matches. In that run, our joint managers also picked out the away match versus Ware FC as an example of the importance of hard work. The starting eleven had worked hard throughout the first half, with our defensive unit putting in a shift for the full 90. However, a lack of clinical finishing proved costly, complacency crept in and levels dropped- as were the points. Again, the two remarked on the difference when the same side faced up against Hanwell, “it was stark… With a more clinical front line, our chance creation should mean we can put teams away early.” Cornelius added, “Our philosophy, ethos, whatever you want to call it, is all about energy! Hard work! That’s what we are about, that is what our teams are about.”
When I asked how they thought football at our level would be different after the COVID-19 pandemic, both imagined that the landscape of Non League football could be drastically changed. Cornelius asked “Can we be sure that there will be as many teams?” Going forward, both managers believe that clubs will have to operate on much smaller budgets, impacted by the loss of revenue caused by the current cancellation of football and to protect the club in case a similar situation raises its head in the future. It cannot be overstated that many teams at our level, and even above, will be drastically affected by current events and sadly many clubs will be at risk of going out of business. This, again, reinforces the importance of the club’s Crowdfunder and the sterling effort of our managers a few weeks back. As Ashley put it in his thank you message posted on the clubs social media accounts, “it’s going to a great cause, here at this football club.”
What were the duo missing during the current lockdown? Cornelius explained that he was missing the long drives to and from the ground from his home, especially “the long drives late at night after training, content with the quality session we had just run.” Ashley explained that he missed, “the day to day of being around the club, preparing sessions for the academy boys, the under 23s and thinking about what to work on with the first team.”
Cornelius brought our chat to an end by saying, “The quicker we can get back to the football the better, but only as long as everyone is safe.” And that pretty much sums it up. I am confident that when we do return, our management duo will work as hard and as smart as they possibly can to bring success to Imperial Fields. Continuing to develop young talented footballers, whilst ensuring that once the season comes to a close the side will be as near to the top of the pile as possible. They have nothing to prove. They care about this club, they literally ran themselves ragged to bring in the support needed for us to survive. We are fortunate to have them.
Up the Stripes!
