EVERGREEN GASH IS READY TO CHOP ‘EM DOWN AGAIN NJOYING A NEW LEASE OF LIFE
EVEN Michael Gash couldn’t have expected to hit the heights to such an extent, both on and off the pitch, over the last three years.
When a cruciate ligament injury wrecked his shortlived stint in the Football League, Gash left Barnet in 2017 wondering what his future held in store.
He may have been temporarily stumped, but along came two opportunities which he’s grabbed with both hands.
One was stepping down to part-time football with King’s Lynn Town, the other was training to be a tree surgeon.
Fast forward three years and Gash has won back-toback promotions with the Linnets to reach the National League and got his work qualifications in the bag.
No wonder the 33-year-old feels happy with life right now after that career crossroads.
“The knee injury was devastating, I couldn’t believe it,” said Gash, who suffered the blow in August 2016 and was ruled out for the rest of the season. “My knee got stuck and when I fell to the floor the pain was excruciating.
“That was on the Saturday and on the Monday I found out that I had done my ACL.” Released at the end of the season, Gash decided a return to parttime football and trying his hand as a tree surgeon was his best option – even though there was one slight problem with the latter. “I hate heights!” he laughs. “But it’s getting used to it and trusting your equipment. You have to be very careful and do things the right way.
“At the top you are always tied in, but you look straight down sometimes and go ‘oh, wow’!
“My mate has his own business and I started off with a couple of days a week.
“I enjoyed it from day one and over the three years I’ve got my qualifications. When I joined King’s Lynn, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do as a career after football, so it’s been a blessing in disguise. I’m self-employed, full-time, have got my qualifications and really enjoy it.”
And while he’s settling into a new career off the pitch, Gash has also proved a cut above on it since joining ambitious King’s Lynn.
“When I came out of fulltime football, King’s Lynn were there right from the start and showed an interest,” he said. “I spoke to [manager] Ian Culverhouse and he explained that he wanted to take the club higher up the pyramid. He said he wanted me to lead the line.”
Momentum
Despite notching 100 points in the Southern Premier, the Linnets finished runners-up to Hereford (113). There was further disappointment when they lost 2-1 at home to thirdplaced Slough Town in the play-off final and Culverhouse, whose relationship with chairman Stephen Cleeve had become strained, departed.
But with the Linnets mired in mid-table the following season, Culverhouse, who had had a short spell in charge of Grantham Town, made a sensational return at the begin ning of November.
“The gaffer came back and from there we didn't look back,” recalled Gash.
“We went on an incredible run and ended up second (behind Kettering).”
With momentum in their sails, the Norfolk outfit won the Southern Premier Central play-offs, beating Stratford Town 3-1 in the semi-final and Alvechurch 3-0 in the final.
In the latter, the prolific Adam Marriott netted twice, once from the spot, while Gash headed home late on to put the icing on the cake.
The sweet taste of promotion after the disappointment of the previous campaign? Not quite, for it was just King’s Lynn’s luck that they would need to win a ‘Super’ play-off final against Northern Pref mier League play-off winners Warrington Town to step up to National League North.
It proved to be a real thriller. With the match tied at 2-2 after Marriott had kept his cool to score from the penalty spot on 85 minutes, it was Gash who proved the ace in the pack in extra time.
With just five minutes left, he crashed home an unstoppable shot through a crowd of players for a memorable winner – and the promotion party could finally get started.
He said: “It was a strange feeling having to go to Warrington having already won our own play-offs. The previous season we would have already been celebrating.
“I’ve had some great moments in football and scoring the winner that day is right up there, especially to be in extra-time knowing there’s only four or five minutes left.
“At that stage you’re starting to think at the back of your mind about penalties, where am I going to put it?
“I’d had a shot ten seconds before and it got blocked. This time a defender was steaming out and I thought I could take him out of it with a little touch and aim for the bottom corner, and luckily it went in.
“To be honest, I have cared who scored as long as we went up, but to score the winning goal was just the icing on the cake. It made it extra special, especially with all the family there on the day watching. What a day, what a feeling.”
Challenge
If Lynn had to do it the hard way to climb to Step 2, no one could say they didn’t deserve to be there – though there was a wakeup call on the opening day of the National League North campaign last August. “We had some chances, but we lost 3-0 at Guiseley – we got punished,” said Gash. “Everyone thought ‘this is a different level, it’s going to be tough’ but no one panicked, especially not the gaffer.
“We talked, went training and listened to what he wanted us to do. After that we kept going on some good runs and beating some really good teams.
“At Christmas we thought ‘look where we are, there’s nothing to fear, keep believing in ourselves, the manager and his way of playing, and just keep doing it ’.”
They certainly did that, so much so that when the season was cut short in mid-March, they were second in the table behind York but, crucially, ahead of them on points per game (PPG).
Following an anxious wait to see how the season would be resolved – with the fear that null and void could have been an option, as it was in the rungs below Step 2 – the Linnets’ promotion as title winwouldn’t ners via PPG was confirmed last month.
“It wasn’t the way you want to win it,” admitted ex-Ebbsfleet forward Gash. “Points per game benefited us, but we finished top because of what we had done over three-quarters of the season. I think we deserved it.”
The back-to-back successes mean that King’s Lynn have zoomed into Non-League’s topflight quicker than even they could have imagined.
The experienced Gash knows full well what it’s all about and is relishing the challenge of taking on largely fulltime opponents next term.
“I haven’t been told we are going full-time and I can only see us staying part-time for the time being,” he said. “The club may have that in mind in the future if we do well in the league and establish ourselves.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to it a lot, it will be great to be back in the National League, playing at that level and against some ex-teammates as well.
“As a club and team, we aren’t getting too far ahead of ourselves. It’s going to be a tough season, but the manager will have everything set in place.
“We want to enjoy it and listen and learn from the manager. If we do what he wants, I’m sure we can hold our own.”
You can hear in Gash’s voice how much faith he has in former Norwich defender and assistant manager Culverhouse, who was for so long Paul Lambert’s trusted lieutenant.
Ability
“He can be the best man-manager and the best tactical manager,” explained Gash, who has played for both Cambridge clubs. “He has the full package.
“He knows how to get the best out of players – who needs a kick up the backside and who needs an arm around the shoulder. He’s played and been involved in management at the top level, but he knows the level he’s at and what players can and can’t do.
“His man-management with the older players is very good – he looks after us. He will say ‘you have Monday off and see you Thursday’. I appreciate that and it saves my legs.
“His football mind is very sharp – he can change something in the game and you can see it work perfectly and confuse the opposition. That shows his class and the tactical awareness he has. What he sees, no-one else can see.”
As one of the senior players, Gash’s National League experience and nous will no doubt be invaluable – and he wants his team-mates to seize their topflight chance.
“We’re going to have to step it up a lot in terms of physicality, we’re going to be coming up against full-time footballers who are bound to be a bit fitter than us,” he explained. “Football-wise, we are going to be coming up against much better, sharper footballers.
“At the same time, we have got to believe in how good we are. We have players who can go higher than the level we are at now. The National League is a great platform to show your level of talent – and you never know who’s watching.”
And if the Linnets squad want an example of perseverance, they only need to look as far as hold-up man Gash. The German-born striker was 28, approaching 29, when he finally got his chance with Barnet in the Football League after they won the National League.
“When I was at Kidderminster we missed out on the title by a couple of points to Mansfield and I lost in the play-off final with York,” said Gash, who earned a single cap for England C in a 2-2 draw against Wales in 2010, describing it as ‘a fantastic experience’.
“The move to Barnet (in 2015) came out of nowhere. I wasn’t being played by Kidderminster and, at 28, I was thinking ‘what am I going to do?’. Fortunately, [Barnet manager] Martin Allen rang me and I went from a side struggling at the bottom to a team at the top.
“To be on the pitch and in the starting eleven on the last day of the season against Gateshead in front of a packed crowd when we won and got promoted was something I had always wanted to do.
“It was great to go into the Football League and score goals – I always believed in my ability. Once I got there, I showed that. I didn’t feel or look out of place.”
Then came the knee injury that sent him down a different path.