CURLE HOPES TO CASH IN AT WEMBLEY
Last time he was at the national stadium it cost him £500. Tonight he wants to strike gold with Northampton ...
Keith Curle blows the dust from a few favourite memories and proves that the perfect Wembley Stadium experience is an elusive concept.
As an england player, Curle sat on the bench at the home of english football among the unused substitutes and won his three international caps far from home in Malmo, Budapest and Moscow.
he won the eFl trophy in its Freight rover guise and the now-defunct Full Members’ Cup beneath the old twin towers, although his fondest recollection is from a defeat in 1987 when his mother made the journey to london to see him play.
Curle held his nerve to score from the spot in a shootout before his team Bristol City missed their next two penalties and Mansfield town won to claim a rare prize.
On his most recent visit — his only brush with Wembley since it was rebuilt and reopened in 2007 — he won his case at a disciplinary hearing and was staggered to learn he had to foot the bill.
‘i had to pay £500 costs,’ said Curle, still seemingly aghast. ‘i was about to argue but our legal adviser reminded me we had won and i should keep quiet. i was able to get a glimpse of the stadium behind the disciplinary board. that was it.’
Financial implications are in play again as he steps out as manager of Northampton town in the league two play-off final today.
Curle, his staff and players have agreed to forgo all bonuses to ease the club’s financial burden, coming out of the Government furlough scheme to prepare for the play- offs while coping with the expense of post- pandemic football.
Northampton launched a remarkable comeback to beat Cheltenham in the semi-finals after losing the first leg 2- 0 at home.
they won away 3-0, with two goals from Callum Morton, on loan from West Bromwich Albion, and clinched a Wembley date with exeter, who also fought back from a first-leg deficit to beat Colchester.
For exeter, it will be their third play-off final in four years but like no other, with the vast bowl empty but for a scattering of officials and media. there will be no day to remember for the fans. No dream fulfilled for players to perform in front of their families on the biggest and most prestigious stage.
‘that’s what every footballer wants to do,’ said ryan Bowman, scorer of exeter’s winner against Colchester. ‘i’ve been a professional for 10 years and haven’t played there yet. So i can’t wait.
‘it’s a real shame our friends and family won’t be there. i was hoping the FA would announce that you could maybe have one family member at the game, or something like that, but it’s not going to happen.’ the teams will fill seats with Foamex cut- outs of fans including celebrities such as
Coldplay singer Chris Martin and comedian Ade edmondson in the exeter end, and basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and comedian Alan Carr in the Northampton end.
Others are paying tributes with images of friends and family who have passed away, among them harry Dunn, a Northampton season-ticket holder whose death in a road traffic accident in August sparked a major diplomatic incident because his motorcycle is alleged to have collided with a car driven on the wrong side of the road by a CiA spy.
‘it won’t be the same as stepping out in front of 60,000 or 70,000 supporters, but we don’t shy away from the occasion,’ said Curle.
‘And there will be positives. My voice carries and if i want to give somebody information i know they’ll hear it.’
At 56, he is comfortable in his managerial style, fashioned through highs and lows in charge at Mansfield, Chester, torquay, Notts County and Carlisle and on Neil Warnock’s staff at QPr. ‘ i’m not a showcase manager, i win games of football,’ said Curle. ‘the more you win, the more you can introduce your own philosophy. it’s not about “have we outpassed a team?”, it’s “have we out-scored a team?”
‘We won’t change our mentality. We will be competitive. We will put the ball in good areas and we will have numbers landing on the ball and making entries into the box. that’s how we win games.
‘it’s going to be surreal, but we’ll go there to enjoy it. We want our players to enjoy it. And you only enjoy it if you’re successful.’