On The Road
HISTORY BECKONS FOR CLUB INSPIRED BY JFK AND AIMING FOR THE MOON
THE late Eric Whalley, without whom there would be no Accrington Stanley, had a match- day ritual as chairman that is as relevant now as ever.
He would sit behind his desk with eyes fixed on the CCTV showing supporters arriving, while his ears were tuned to four old metal turnstile counters hammered to one wall. Every tick of the machines counted. clicks meant cash.
They might be rusting, but they remain in that office and they started clicking furiously at just gone 2.30pm on Saturday. chief executive Dave Burgess was the man listening out as 2,313 — the second-best league attendance this season — filed into the Wham Stadium.
The names in charge have changed but the renowned Whalley, who died in 2014, will have been supremely proud of the heights Accrington are scaling. Twelve wins from the last 14, including this hardfought victory, mean John coleman is on the brink of completing the most romantic tale of the season.
Shrewsbury Town, gunning for promotion to the championship, will doubtless disagree, but for Accrington — a club so close to the brink so many times — to reach the third tier for the first time would be nothing short of miraculous. They sit top of League Two, eight points clear of fourth-placed Wycombe with nine games to play.
This latest triumph, sealed by sumptuous late goals from Jordan clark and Kayden Jackson, was both significant and a chance for home supporters to take advantage of owner Andy Holt’s ‘Winners’ Hour’ in the club bar.
All pints are £1, with coleman and his players mingling. It is the sort of initiative that is bringing the club closer to its community. carnage, too, as you might expect — no room to breathe, let alone move. The embodiment of what Holt has achieved over two years. ‘Since he started that we’ve won eight home games on the bounce,’ coleman said.
‘It’s an opportunity for fans to speak to you and air their views. We listen. We might not always agree, but we’re honest people.
‘I was inspired by an article I read about President Kennedy going to NASA years before they put a man on the moon. He spoke to a cleaner and asked: “What do you do?” The answer was: “Hopefully I’m going to put a man on the moon.” If you have that mentality across the workplace, everyone wanting the same thing, you have a better chance of achieving it.’
Holt has revolutionised Accrington. Planning permission has gone in for a training ground — coleman’s squad train on a plastic pitch and are thrown off by Football in the community projects daily — and the stadium is due a new stand.
Added to that are the finer details. Toilets are serviceable, roofs are steady, fences are straight. It is basic stuff but it is crucial, and largely down to 74-year- old volunteer Bill Holden, the odd-job man whose fingerprints are all over this enchanting old club.
‘We all try to do our bit. I’m just an ordinary Joe, you know,’ Holden said. ‘I’m up the ladder a lot of the time. It’s not the falling, it’s the hitting the ground that’s the worst part! I get a lot of pleasure out of this work, these are good friends. I don’t want to be sat at home watching Jeremy Kyle, that’s for sure.’
Holden has missed four games home and away in an 11-year association with Stanley. His job today is nailing signs up on the concourses. coleman’s only job is to get Accrington over the line on a budget of around £18,000 a week.
‘The owner knows I won’t jeopardise the club’s future,’ he added. ‘I’ve got a model where I want players to earn a lot of money and not particularly with me. Use us as a platform. Then everyone’s a winner and that’s the art at this level.
‘We can make history, that’s been drummed into them. These lads can go down as legends in Accrington.
‘Now that might not seem great to some but ask the people of Accrington. They want heroes. The team who won the conference in 2006, when we had no right to, are still talked about now. There’s never been a better time to be involved in Accrington Stanley.’