Hady Goes Pro
It’s wonderful to be writing this, in many ways. Ever since news emerged, what seems like years ago, that Hady Ghandour had gone on trial at Charlton Athletic FC, supporters of Tooting and Mitcham have had their fingers crossed for him. Trials were extended time after time, as we badgered Ishmael, Hady’s father, for updates as to whether Hady had been offered a contract yet and cursed Charlton for taking a brilliant player away from us without making it official.
Hady came to TMUFC as a 16 year old and made his name at the club at both u18 and u23 levels. He was part of the u23 that won their league in 2018 and made his first team debut in the 18/19 season under Ashley and Cornelius. Hady’s promotion was part of the new philosophy of bringing players through from the younger age groups to play for the senior side, under a management team they knew and in a system that they understood. Hady embodied this philosophy perfectly- his bond with the club was established and the commitment required from the new management he had in abundance. Supporters recognised this commitment immediately and he formed an instant rapport with the Bog End faithful.
With the 18/19 season one of rebuilding, it seemed that the crop of players that were emerging would begin to forge ahead in the following season. This was borne out in the club’s preseason form, with Hady performing well. A goal in the first friendly of the season against Molesey was the ideal start, followed up with a solid display against a Carshalton side from a couple of divisions above us. A goal against Reading, another against Greenwich… Hady was showing brilliant form and seemed to be a perfect foil for the returning Danny Bassett. As the season proper began, a goal in our first home game against Ashford seemed to herald the beginning of a prolific season for Hady Ghandour.
What follows reveals a great deal about the player, and about the man. The goals dried up. These things happen in all walks of life. I’ve had periods of relative success in my job, followed by barren patches. Friends of mine with fairly robust records in wooing have had times of monasterial levels of “quiet time”. In the bar after one game in which luck had eluded him, Hady seemed despondent, but philosophical. “I can’t stop thinking about it, it’s doing my head in....” I, in my infinite wisdom, tried to find encouraging words, but I don’t think the man needed them. He knew the goals were going to come back. In Sacha Syed’s brilliant piece “No Hunger in Hackbridge”, he talks about this period in Hady’s fledgling career;
“…Hady kept his place in the starting 11 for the majority of games because he remained strong in other areas, his work off the ball a key feature in the team’s early season good form. Importantly, he dedicated himself to additional training sessions every week to improve and refine his finishing. Already very good technically, the additional detail sharpened what he was already good at and brought its patient reward- a last minute winner off the bench away to Northwood, quickly followed up by a 4 goal blitz away to Chertsey in December.”
As all professionals should do in times of adversity, Hady redoubled his efforts and got his numerical reward. Although during the barren spell, as Sacha alludes to, the other aspects of Hady’s game came to the fore. Joel Ormsby, one of SLiBaW’s leading contributors, says of Hady “… for me it boils down to work rate. Off the ball, creating space for his team mates, his work and dedication to get stronger and fitter… working on his shooting… hard work, paying off.” Hady’s work-rate and tactical understanding contributed more to the team than his goals alone did.
Another winner from Hady vs Northwood came early in the New Year, and he was part of the side that picked Chalfont apart. It was then that Charlton Athletic came calling. In the last 18 months or so, Tooting has proved fertile hunting ground for league sides looking to add to their ranks. The world of first team non-league football is a world away from professional academies, but the talent honed at Tooting since Ash and Cornelius took the reins has proved impossible to resist. Charlton had already signed Ibby Odoh from the club, Middlesbrough had moved for two exciting young attackers in Isaiah Jones and Sam Folarin, Reading recruited the Rolls Royce defender Lexus Beeden. Saidou Kahn had gone full-time, too. With the Charlton scouting set-up now clearly impressed by his broad skillset, Hady was invited on trial to The Valley.
It would be over-simplifying a complex set of circumstances to say that Tooting’s form suffered as a direct result of his departure, but as the side tried to gel in some new, exciting talent, we did miss the familiar face of Hady helping lead the line. His familiarity with the system, pressing, his knack of knowing where to find Danny Bassett were qualities that any side would miss. And as Charlton continued to extend the trial, the curses from the Bog End grew ever louder. “He’s surely still our player?” was a popular shout. Ishmael remained an ever-present at matches and told us of Hady’s desire to play the games for the Terrors- but, of course, his shot at going professional had to come first. Hady even stood in the stands on a couple of occasions, kicking every ball with the rest of us. It must have been an anxious time for him, particularly with the uncertainty behind the scenes at Charlton at the time. But he was featuring regularly for Charlton’s u23 side, and their manager Jason Euell clearly saw something he liked, and wanted to keep in Red.
Well, readers, although our season ended abruptly, at least we can say it has ended happily. As those new faces promised, they came good in style. The blip in form was corrected at Westfield and smashed to the moon in Hanwell. Duncan Culley and Dan Williams started to dovetail brilliantly with Danny Bassett, and with Razzaq Coleman also having answered the well-deserved call to go full-time, the Sahnoun twins got the opportunities their talent demanded. And today, it is confirmed, Hady Ghandour has signed a contract with Charlton Athletic and will begin his professional career this coming season. As with all the players who depart Tooting to further their football careers, whether to North East England or South East London, we bid him a bittersweet farewell. We’d love all these lads to wear stripes still, but moreover, we’re all delighted to see them progress in their careers and look forward to boring people in pubs with stories of how we saw them on a baltic night in Banstead.
For any Charlton fans reading this- in Hady Ghandour you have a player whose tremendous talent is matched by his dedication. You also have about 50 extra tickets sold the first time he’s in the first-team squad.
Hady- all the best mate, and we all look forward to welcoming you and your dad back to Imperial Fields soon.
South London is Black and White
