KEN: ANTON IS ON RIGHT ROAD
But in Slough, it’s the biggest day at the office since the merger with the Swindon lot.
Tomorrow’s FA Cup second-round date with Gillingham brings the magic of the old pot to a club nicknamed the Rebels – a tribute band to Brent, if ever there was one – and to shiny new Arbour Park and its 3G pitch.
For midfielder Scott Davies, the potential giantkilling of a club 67 rungs higher up English football’s ladder will be the prelude to a busy week on the road delivering seminars and pep talks to young players at League clubs on the perils of gambling addiction.
Brent’s car-crash dabble in corporate motivational speaking dipped into his volume of collective meditations with a foreword by Duncan Goodhew.
But Davies has a chilling tale to tell – the youngster who frittered away his bright future when affluence turned him into an obsessive gambler who blew nearly £250,000 on horses, dogs and roulette machines.
Whether the Rebels’ tilt at Cup glory ends in triumph or heartbreak, Davies will be holding workshops at Middlesbrough, Ipswich and Coventry next week, recounting his own story of deceit, addiction and the harrowing road to redemption.
The crippling habit took root when Davies was a £50-aweek apprentice at Reading. Invariably he would walk five miles home from the town centre because the bus fare had been devoured by a bookmaker’s coffers. On loan at Aldershot, he would clock up four-figure debts in the card school at the back of the coach on away trips and his parents PORTSMOUTH boss Kenny Jackett has backed on-loan Tottenham defender Anton Walkes to put his off-field woes behind him.
Walkes (above, right) was dropped from the Pompey squad for Tuesday’s win over Walsall after a warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up at court to answer driving offences.
The full-back, 21, has since been banned from the road and ordered to do 120 hours’ community service after being found guilty of driving whilst disqualified and with no insurance.
Jackett said: “He’s had quite a lot of problems, which have been well documented, and is going to learn now and learn the hard way unfortunately.
“I don’t think it will affect his football, it’s settled now, it is what it is.”
vRacecourse Ground: 8pm
NEWPORT manager Mike Flynn played a central role when Newport beat Wrexham to seal a return to the Football League five years ago. Wrexham are desperate to inflict revenge today to earn a moneyspinning FA Cup third round tie. But Flynn (below) has been drawing on the expertise of former boss Justin Edinburgh who was behind the playoff final triumph.
“It brings back some nice memories, I had a good conversation with Justin yesterday and had a look at a few videos from 2013,” he said. “Let’s hope we’ve got the same feeling on Saturday night.”