News & EventsLatest NewsCalendar
Club Secretary lists his top BAA Managers!

Club Secretary lists his top BAA Managers!

Administrator25 Apr 2018 - 16:35
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs

At the recent cup final Martin Strange and the other team managers discuss the clubs top managers...

At the recent cup final Martin Strange and the other team managers discussed Brad Holdaway's success compared to other BAA managers past and present. Of course everyone has there opinion but it was a good discussion and a history lesson to the young(ish) managers.

Martin Strange has been with the club since 1982, as a founder, player, manager, linesman, ref, secretary, debt collector, spectator, supporter, club mascot.............the list is endless!

With Bradley Holdaway's team winning a second County Cup I asked Martin where does Brad stand on his top managers list. Now remember Martin has been at the club for over 36 years and has seen a lot of managers come and go. The list was in terms of achievements, not as the person the manager is, but what they have managed to achieve, not just silverware solely (as your see). Martin gave his top 7 managers (strange number I know).

Martin said, and I quote! 'You can't argue with Bradley's record.' However Martin's number 1 spot goes to Mick Murray. He's still the clubs most successful manager, but we know Bradley firmly has his sights set on breaking Mick's trophy haul and as each season passes Brad keeps getting closer. Mick managed five complete seasons between 2002 and 2008 (2003/4 and 2005/6 he did not compete) Each season he won the Treble, he won league titles in three different leagues, won three Premier Division titles, reached four Middlesex FA Cup Finals and a lot of league cup finals.

Lets use a quote from Brian Clough - “Good managers make good sides. There’s no such thing as a side making a manager”

So....
1. Mick Murray
2.??????
Number 2 spot is Bradley Holdaway, current first team manager who has reached three County Cup finals, won a league title and climbed up through the leagues with his team from Division 4 to the Premier Division.

So....
1. Mick Murray
2. Brad Holdaway
3.?????
For the number 3 spot Martin chose Keith Hill. Such a great man who is missed by all. Now his trophy haul at the club is not as high as some, but his achievement was not just winning trophies. He won the Division 2 championship, reach a Cup final but it was rebuilding his team from scratch after losing most of them to another team. He slowly rebuilt the team over two seasons to reach another cup final and finish third in the league.

So.....
1. Mick Murray
2. Brad Holdaway
3.Keith Hill
4. ??????
Next Martin chose Gary Beckey. Gary was at the club for years and took over as manager of the 3rds in 2010. He won a league title (winning every game), then took the Reserves to the Division 2 title and managed the 1st team in the TVSFL Premier Division. Thou a classic example of how becoming a manager can kill your enthusiasm for the game in the end. Gary stepped down as manager of the 1st team after a difficult start in 2014/15 season when struggling for players.

So...........our list is past the halfway mark.
1. Mick Murray
2. Brad Holdaway
3. Keith Hill
4. Gary Beckey
5. ??????
Number 5 Martin chose Richard Gafan. Rich is currently the manager of the 4th team and are top of Division 3 of the Middx league and could yet win the title. Rich started his second spell as a manager at the club in 2016, a difficult season followed but it was that difficult season that impressed Martin. The team saw the whole season out, played every game and then started to re-build for the next season which has been a success for them. Richard's hardwork was recognised when he was named Clubman of the Year by Martin in 2017.

So...........almost there.
1. Mick Murray
2. Brad Holdaway
3. Keith Hill
4. Gary Beckey
5. Richard Gafan
6. ????????
Next Martin chose his right hand man, current 3rd team manager Jason Ravenhill. Martin asked Jason to form a team in the summer of 2014 as the club was in danger of folding with only Brad's team the other one the club had. Jason built a team which has since had two teams splinter off of it to help give the club five teams this season. Took his team to a league title last season and a cup final.

So...........last but not least
1. Mick Murray
2. Brad Holdaway
3. Keith Hill
4. Gary Beckey
5. Richard Gafan
6. Jason Ravenhill
7. ????????
The last manager Martin gave special praise to was Trevor Bishop. Trev was manager of the 3rd team and took over from John Galloway in 2002. This was back when the team played in the North Hillingdon league. Why Trevor has a special mention is because while the first team was dominating all leagues and cups the other teams got left behind a bit with all the focus on the 1st team. But Trevor changed that when he took the 3rds to the 2004 County Cup Final. After that season though, Trev also lost enthusiasm for the game and stepped down.

The Final list hand picked by Martin Strange
1. Mick Murray
2. Bradley Holdaway
3. Keith Hill
4. Gary Beckey
5. Richard Gafan
6. Jason Ravenhill
7. Trevor Bishop

Although not on Martin's list the managers and Martin spoke about Danny Theobold who recently won the Roger Perry Cup in the Middx league. Martin expressed some regret that Danny left BAA Heathrow (Sunday) FC to form his own club AFC Heathrow (Sunday) FC. Martin said 'At the time I thought it was the correct decision. In hindsight it's possibly the wrong one. Danny has run his own club, played and managed for the last 12 years since he first started moving away. He formed a Saturday team as well, his recent cup win shows hes a very good manager and one that we let slip away'.

Further reading