The Isaiah Revolution
Back in the 2017/18 season, our beloved Tooting and Mitcham United got relegated... on goal difference. Our last game of the season was away at Met Police and, as Hackbridge Harry’s recent article reminds us, we conceded within the first minute of the game and were further down 20 minutes after, perfectly encapsulating our season. Meanwhile, our relegation rivals Burgess Hill found themselves up 2-0. We were doomed. But those fans who stayed weren’t standing in despair. A strange euphoric feeling was flush across the travelling Bog End- the song “Number 9 looks like Frankenstein” was born in similar fashion to Monsieur Frankenstein‘s creation, minus the thunder. And although Victor Frankenstein was the creator and not creature, I yield creative liberty to the founding fathers of the song with there being no rhyme between nine and creature. People had gained hope for the future from this disastrous season, and my hope came in the form of the Isaiah Revolution.
Isaiah was phenomenal that season. A class above his opponents week in and out, whilst playing for the team rock bottom of the league table. The individual talent on show from Isaiah that season was the best I’ve seen down at Imperial Fields in my years spectating from those terraces. Opposing teams would quickly identify the threat and combat with crunching, not-so-legal tackles, resulting in fingers being permanently crossed that one of those tackles wouldn’t do any serious harm. I must have forgotten to uncross my fingers late on in one match, where Isaiah landed heavy in the mud and had to wait a good 45 minutes on the cold ground with the rain collapsing from the heavens. This injury left us without Isaiah for the last 4-5 matches of the season, bar a cameo in our last match. I’m sure his presence in our starting 11 over those missed games would have been enough for us to nick a point here or there, but with the power of hindsight our relegation resulted in a positive outcome for the club as a whole...
This exceptional season from Isaiah really felt like the start of a revolution for Tooting. We had clear proof that youngsters can play for the first team if they’re good enough. It was becoming clear for us fans, for other youth players and for our (soon to be) new management duo to see. It showed technique and skill has its place in a league dominated by route one football.
It was the following season where we saw lots of youngsters given a chance, and with the tightrope trick of balancing youth and experience an ever-going challenge, we found ourselves in a beautifully unique position across the non-league pyramid. The likes of Lexus Beeden, Abraham Odoh, Razzaq Degraft Coleman and Sam Folarin, to name a few, were able to show what they’re able to do in the first team and showcase their technical ability whilst being important cogs in how the team functioned. A style of football was created, with a clear ethos by Ashley and Cornelius, which has been a major factor in keeping newcomers to the club coming back for more and more. The whole of our coaching staff are working at such a high level that many of our youngsters are ready to touch pro football and am sure many more will be gracing the sunny heights up the footballing pyramid in the future.
If it wasn’t for Isaiah in that season, there’s a chance none of this would have happened. We wouldn’t be watching youngsters get the chance to prove themselves in the starting 11. We wouldn’t be feeling the immense pride when another player who progressed from our youth setup gets signed to a pro team, knowing they’ll forever be one of our own. And for that, I’m eternally grateful for Isaiah’s impact on our club.
