TOM GIVES HIS HEART AND SOUL
‘MR HARINGEY Borough’ Tom Loizou is counting down the days until the start of the new season after keeping Coles Park in tiptop condition.
The Borough manager is the life and soul of the Isthmian Premier side, alongside chairman
Aki Achillea.
Loizou, 60, has made club history by winning two promotions from Step 5 to Step 3 and reaching the FA
Cup first round.
He is the only fulltime member of staff with the full-backing of Achillea, who Loizou says supports him on ‘99.9 per cent of his ideas’ which is why the club has been able to progress so quickly both on and off the field.
Loizou has been putting in the hard graft as usual to keep the Tottenham-based club going amid Covid and making some improvements.
“I’ve created a club shop, refitted the kitchen, all from second-hand components,” he told The NLP. “Repaired both dressing rooms by putting new ceilings up.
“I generally manage the whole place. What people don’t realise is you need someone to go in to flush the toilets, turn the water pipes on, weed round the pitch and terracing. There’s a hell of a lot of work to do.
“We had a wind storm the other night which blew fences and signs down. Someone has to go and repair them. If you don’t stay on top of things it can cause a lot of damage. But you miss that adrenaline rush on a Saturday and Tuesday night, that has been a bit of a problem.”
Loizou had a health scare two years ago when he was rushed to hospital and needed heart surgery. The pandemic may have appeared to be a welcome break for him and his newly fitted pacemaker, but he insists football is what keeps him going.
Loizou has had to delay his wedding – planned for later this month – for the second time until next year having also suffered the passing of his uncle and aunt due to Covid.
“It’s the mental aspect that really gets to you sometimes,” he admitted. “I miss the players and everybody around the club.
“The job that keeps me alive is the job that’s going to kill me in the end! I think it’s the adrenaline that keeps my heart going. The doctor told me you’re lucky to get an adrenaline rush every few days at football. When my heart beat went right down that’s when it caused a problem.”
It’s the longest spell he has had without football, in a career where he’s become renowned for developing young players.
Cherry-picked
After the success of reaching the 2019 play-offs and their televised FA Cup first round clash with AFC Wimbledon, Loizou’s best players were cherry-picked away but he felt they’d made a promising start to the most recent campaign.
The hardest part will be finding a top striker in time for August.
“It’s why I’m in the game to help local young players and I like winning, it’s all about winning,” he said. “I’m hoping to keep the majority of the squad from last season. We’ve been without a recognised forward for the last two years, they’re hard to come by and when you do find them they want too much money.”
Coles Park has started to resemble its usual self with the club’s car boot sale now back up and running and students from Barnet & Southgate College using their 3G pitch daily.
Later this month, Haringey, who are once again giving out free season tickets, hope to welcome fans back for the completion of the London Senior Cup – and maybe a few new faces from their big Premier League neighbours.
“We’re in Tottenham, a deprived area, not everybody can afford to go and watch Spurs,” added Loizou. “When I first went here we had just two supporters. I think if the Super League went ahead a lot of people would turn to Non-League clubs.
“I get Spurs fans tell me they enjoy it more here because they feel more involved. It’s a community football club and we’re giving back.”