It arose the other day, after I saw a throw-away sentence in the Wiki entry for Enfield Town F. C. My interest had been piqued, not least because Callum & I had recently been discussing the club's badge, in an idle moment, in the Butler's Bar, ahead of Tuesday evening's Premier League home match against Tonbridge Angels F. C. It turns out, incidentally, that "the enfield is a fictitious creature sometimes used in heraldry, having the head of a fox, forelegs like an eagle's talons, the chest of a greyhound, the body of a lion, the hindquarters and tail of a wolf". It happens (not unreasonably) to form the crest and logo of the London Borough of Enfield - and, therefore, is also an appropriate emblem for the town's senior club. There are, however, even more reasons why the enfield is apt for, errrm... Enfield: it being made up of the head of a crafty fox; forelegs that soar high like an eagle's; the chest of the swiftest greyhound, straining at the leash; the body of the bravest lion; the hindquarters and tail of a wolf, that hunts in a voracious pack. You probably get the idea, so I'll just stop that extended metaphor, right there.
Spot the difference part I - an enfield: shout when you see one
Other (important?) questions that hung in the air on Tuesday night, ahead of the game, included:
a) Do Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett & Jaclyn Smith still play for the Angels (or Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore & Lucy Liu, if you're a fan of their more recent signings) and is John Bosley still their manager?
b) Why did George Borg leave ETFC, so soon after that recent, disappointing, narrow home defeat to Wingate & Finchley F.C. (see previous blog entry / match report, below this one)
c) What hope is there, exactly, for a club at the wrong end of the Ryman Isthmian Premier League, who are now onto their 3rd manager in less than a year? "To lose one manager, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness", to paraphrase Oscar Wilde's Lady Bracknell,
Answers to each of these questions follow:
a) It is true that Tonbridge Angels may have one of English Football's oddest club names; but it is NOT true that this is due to any connection with "Charlie's Angels" (trade mark) of either the '70's or '00's incarnations. Bearing the imaginative nickname of "The Angels", the Kentish football club were formed in 1947, after taking out a lease on the Angel sports ground, which had formerly been the home of Kent County Cricket Club, and which was named after the nearby Angel Hotel. The football club's inaugural Southern League fixture, against fellow newcomers Hastings United, was played in front of a post-war crowd of around 5,000. They remain a well-supported club, having recorded the second highest crowd of the season to-date, although well behind other Kentish rivals (Enfield's highest, incidentally, puts them 4th in that list) and boasting easily the fourth-highest average gate so far (Enfield = 7th). These figures show that they have significant income, for a team at this level of England's footballing pyramid.
Spot the difference part II - an Angel: shout when you see one
b) Recently-departed former-manager, George Borg, is one of football's "colourful" characters. As demonstrated by his alleged involvement in a second public racist incident within a week - and sent to the stands for the second half of Monday’s match - Mr. Borg felt that the Enfield club board were not sufficiently supportive of him and so, it seems, he chose to end his tenure. Borg's own account of things might be illuminating: “There were abusive chants coming from the Wingate fans towards me and my mother ... and I said something quietly to someone next to me in the dugout. The linesman heard what I said and claimed that it was an anti-Semitic remark [Wingate and Finchley are a club with strong Jewish links] and I was sent to the stands for the second half". Regular readers of this page may recall that, in referring to Enfield’s previous match, Borg had claimed: “I’ve never been called a white c*** in my life; but I was by one of the [Canvey Island] players". Perhaps his tenure at Donkey Lane had simply made him as paranoid as the rest of us. Or maybe "they" really were out to get him. In a week of managerial departures [Paul Norris also quit as manager of Enfield (1893) - the more lowly of the two Enfield clubs - after just three competitive matches in charge and in the wake of a humiliating 10-1 home defeat to Haringey Borough, in the Essex Senior League] Borg's was much the more surprising, since it was apparently not based on team performances. Although he did leave the side languishing in 19th place in the Premier League table, barely better than the position on his arrival, 9 months ago.
Spot the difference part III: George Borg, Fagin & Brad Quinton
c) As for this final question, after a spirited 0-3 win away at high-flying Hendon in his first game in charge, the new permanent (sic?) manager, Brad Quinton, seemed up for suggesting that there is every hope of a potential revival in Enfield Town's fortunes, this season. How he fared in his second match might answer a few further questions on the lips of the Donkey-Drome faithful.
As mentioned, Enfield (starting in 17th place) were up against one of the better-supported sides in the league. So it was no surprise that the visitors had brought with them a slightly larger following than is the norm - even for a Tuesday night fixture with a lengthy home journey. The result was a healthy crowd of 390; the second-highest for this week's mid-week fixtures in the league. After a promising start to the season, Tonbridge Angels had struggled to find consistent form; and they were only slightly higher than Town (14th) in the embryonic league table. The floodlights were turned on just ahead of kick-off; adding a little extra sparkle to the usual, subtly beautiful, Enfield sunset.
The two GK's sported contrasting jerseys and, by the end of the game, contrasting expressions - as did the home & (well-travelled) away fans:
Hope gets tips from his new friend on removing left-over goalie from one's studs:
The ball spent too much time up in the air, which suited the physically bigger Angels side; and the only other first-half moment of real note was another yellow card, this one apparently issued to the visitors' CF & #9, Billy Medlock, even before the game had actually started; that is, according to the Ryman League's own summary of the game, after "0 minutes". The pre-match announcement of the team line-ups had also noted a change to the referee originally named in the match programme; so perhaps replacement(?) Mr. Richardson just wanted to make it clear who really WAS in charge. There is a recurring joke about booking a player with a disciplinary 'reputation' early on, so as to get the predictable event out of the way; but this one must have been super-early, since I missed it completely, despite my own unusually timely arrival, designed to allow Callum to soak up the pre-match atmosphere ... and some Draught Guinness. Perhaps Medlock had sneaked in and left a 'calling card' on the officials' changing room floor, before heading out onto the pitch?
Yet another 1st-half aerial attack by Enfield leaves the Angels' defence untroubled
The second half was altogether more entertaining, helped in large measure by an early goal; and, true to the run of first-half play and possession, it was Enfield who took the advantage through the influential Corey Whitely. He received the ball in mid-run towards the left, on the edge of the area, checked back inside twice across two defenders and unleashed a curling right-footed drive high into the inside of the right-hand netting, beyond the 'keeper's despairing late dive. The 1-0 advantage was the least Enfield deserved for their more adventurous play; and it signaled a change of plan for the visitors, which opened up play and created far more excitement for the attentive crowd. Enfield still controlled the lion's (or fox's, or eagle's or greyhound's, or wolf's?) share of possession and threat; but it was a predictable sucker counter-punch which saw the Angels restore parity through Billy Medlock, who beat 'keeper Nathan McDonald at his near post, after a swift and well-worked passing move down the left.
Amongst several other players to see the yellow card flourished (in a game of the usual, poor, erratic, inconsistent and pedantic refereeing) was the Angels' exotically-named #7, Flavio Tavares. It turned out this was not the renowned Brazilian journalist, former political prisoner and student activist - but the former Hayes & Yeading midfielder. I quickly put away my autograph book.
It looked for all the world as though Enfield's night of toil and endeavour, against an organised and stalwart defense, would provide the small reward of an, arguably, much-needed point; but this was not to be. With the game just about to enter added time, a snap-shot from the edge of the 6-yard box, after some scrappy, penalty area pin-ball action, proved decisive; as Enfield's CB and #4, Taylor Hastings, stole an unexpected late winner; this despite some increased huff and puff from the visitors, in overdue response.
At the final whistle, home fans celebrated like they had just made the play-offs; and, after back-to-back wins for the first time this season, who knows but that might yet be a possibility. The change in team management (with no changes in playing staff) had reaped 6 quick points, more than doubling the Towners' previous total and pushing them up into 15th place - a mere 2 points behind Billericay, in 10th - see the latest table at: http://www.enfieldtownfootballclub.co.uk/s/table-65370.html
After the final whistle, Brad Quinton brought his team over to the adoring support for some fist-punching, glory-taking, post-match celebrations ... and then sat them all down inside the penalty area, perhaps for some Phil-Brown-style Hull home truths, about how hard the journey to glory might yet be.
Spot the difference part IV: Phil Brown, Brad Quinton & cheeky Jimmy Bullard
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It is probably too early yet to decide whether Quinton truly is the Enfield Messiah; but at least he has not yet shown, unlike his predecessor George Borg (allegedly) that he is "a very naughty boy".
In a week when the traditional international break saw England's senior game so very nearly humbled (and so nearly out-fought and out-thought) in a 'friendly' by the part-time pickled herring-munchers of Norway, in front of the lowest crowd for an England match at "New" Wembley since it was re-opened in 2007, perhaps it is time for more sports fans to rediscover the grass roots of English soccer, as Saturday brings the return of Non-League Football Day. BBC Breakfast's sports presenter, Mike Bushell, quoted the perhaps unsurprising statistic that, of 220 starting players on the opening day of the Premier League season, only 85 were home-grown. That's less than 39%. At least if you seek out non-league entertainment this weekend, you'll be far more likely to see home-grown talent on display, wherever you watch; and, who knows, you might even catch another Enfield Town victory. Yes, even at home to table-toppers and former Football League outfit Maidstone United, who are by far and away the best supported side in the league and whose only defeat of the season so far came on the road, at fellow Kent club ... Tonbridge Angels F. C. I'm looking forward to a record attendance. So Come On, You Towners!
Important questions answered? I hope so. Although Monday's Euro 2016 qualifier for England, in Switzerland, may answer a few more.
Must try harder: “Don’t give me that. Two shots on target?" grumbled a rattled Hodgson; but even one of THOSE was Capt. Rooney's well-taken penalty / goal.
Wayne gave the right sort of response to defender Vegard Forren's pre-match banter, in which he branded the England striker and captain “a bit chubby”. Not only was Forren's comment fair enough, it was also a reasonable bit of revenge for the antics of a former England superstar, Paul Gascoigne. Just before England’s World Cup qualifier with Norway in October 1992, Gazza was asked by NRK network reporter Thor Eggen if he had a message for Norway. Almost inevitably, Paul had: ‘Yes,’ replied Gazza. ‘F*ck off Norway!’ Thor Eggen couldn’t help but laugh - and pour yet another round of drinks. Norway, of course, famously went on (along with Holland) to dump England out of qualification for the World Cup finals of USA '94. Which also goes to show just what a good result that really was for England on Wednesday ... in beating 'mighty' Norway ... at home ... by a single goal ... even if it WAS 'only' from a penalty.
Humourist(?) Gascoigne belatedly admits to his smoking problem
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