FERGIE TRAITS GAVE US THE EDGE!

PERVERSELY for a man of such longevity, Sir Alex Ferguson’s great strength was a capacity for change. Whether clearing the decks to allow the Class of ‘92 to flourish, hiring young coaches or selling Roy Keane in 2005, the Scot was never afraid to twist on a winning hand.

It is, says Paul Chow, a trait shared by Ian Chandler, the legendary Whitley Bay manager whose unique hattrick of FA Vase wins may never be matched.

“I spent seven years playing for Chan,” says the striker, who scored 270 goals for the Tyneside club, four of them in those Wembley finals.

“But it’s only now that I appreciate how good he was at improving the team. When I joined in 2007, they’d just won the Northern League. But he signed me, brought Paul Robinson in, and we ended up being two really successful players.

“The following year we got to the semi-finals of the Vase, and you’re thinking ‘If we can just keep this team together…’. But he brought in Leon Ryan and Craig McFarlane and we won it.

“Every year was like that – a couple of changes that changed the dynamic and made us better.

“People would leave and you’d think to yourself, ‘He shouldn’t be moved on’. But the person who came in would invariably help the balance of the team. Chan could always see the bigger picture. Without that, I don’t think we’d have won those three Vases.

“It helped that he probably had his pick of players at that level with Whitley doing so well. But you still have to pick the right ones, and he did.”

Chandler’s eye for talent is perhaps no surprise given that he possessed a considerable amount himself.

Born in Sunderland, the lofty striker represented England Schoolboys and turned pro with Barnsley in 1986.

Yet four goals in his first two appearances – including a hat-trick against Hull City on New Year’s Day 1987 – couldn’t mitigate the dearth of pace that condemned Chandler to a life in the amateur ranks. This he supplemented by qualifying as an accountant.

Over the next 18 years he would turn out for several sides across the north-east, but none with such distinction as Whitley Bay.

Chandler scored 156 goals across three spells at Hillheads, the first of which began following his release by Aldershot in 1989.

“He was a young, raw kid, like anyone at 19-20,” recalls Andy Bowes, who played alongside Chandler and, as manager in 2001, re-signed him for the Seahorses.

“Big, gangly, not very quick. He never changed much really! But he was a good footballer and he knew how to score goals. You could see that clearly.”

As a player, Chandler’s crowning moment was an extra-time winner at Villa Park in 2002 as Bay beat Tiptree United to clinch their first FA Vase.

Cramp

“I can still see it now,” laughs Bowes. “A cross from Steve Cuggy, a desperate header from Chan. Then he couldn’t run anymore because he had cramp! It was a magic goal, but none of us realised it was just the start.”

Bowes doesn’t recall Chandler having managerial ambitions. “He wasn’t someone who ever came across as a potential coach,” he adds. “But the fact he did doesn’t surprise me. He’s a bright kid. An accountant by trade.

“And he always had that quick wit. You had to. Otherwise you’d get hammered, especially being a mackem in our dressing room!”

Appointed as player-manager in 2004, Chandler led the Bay to the Northern League title in 2007, and third-place finishes in five of the next six campaigns.

Then, of course, there was that Wembley residency. From 2009 until 2011, nobody could lay a glove on Chandler’s men, who beat Glossop North End (2-0), Wroxham (6-1) and Coalville Town (3-2) to become the most successful team in FA Vase history.

Gung-ho

No stone was left unturned in pursuit of glory. “Ian and Steve (Cuggy, his assistant) would drive four hours there and four hours back on a Tuesday night just to get an insight into the opposition,” says Chow. “Back then, that was unusual at our level.”

In other ways, too, Chandler was ahead of his time. His gung-ho 3-5-2 system – seen as outdated at the time – is now deployed by both Sheffield United and England.

“It was attack, attack, every single game,” says midfielder Robinson, who spent six years playing under Chandler. “He wanted as many attacking players on the pitch as possible and he wanted us to take the game to opponents. I lost count of the 5-1s, 6-1s and other scorelines like that. It was brilliant to play in.”

Above all, there was an understanding of what part-time football is about.

“Too many managers at this level get bogged down in tactics and discipline,” adds Robinson, now 36 and playing for North Shields. “What you really want is to turn up, play with a smile on your face and knock about with some good lads. Chan got that. Him and Steve created teams – and atmospheres – that were a joy to play in. Without that, we’d have had much less success.”

Chandler left Hillheads in 2014 and, after a spell at Durham City, now manages Bishop Auckland. Third in the Northern League last season, the Durham side lay 11th when the current season was abandoned.

“He’s done fantastically as a manager,” says Bowes. “But winning the Vase three times will always be his legacy. Personally, I don’t think that will ever happen again.”