Fortune favours the brave
Fortune in their famous colours our awards event in June was excellent. Players returning each season drives me on too – we might not be successful all the time but we must be doing something right because people enjoy playing for us. It is said that to enjoy the good times one needs to endure the bad times. Well, I certainly have seen many dreadful seasons at Temple Fortune, but numerous great ones too. But most poignantly to me, I am driven on by the memory of my late parents, the club’s biggest supporters for years. Up to the week she passed away in January, my mother would always ask how Temple Fortune were doing. And I am driven on by the desire to see my brother, Peter, make an 750 appearances. He is some 20 short but that is another reason to keep going.
WhatdoyourememberofTemple Fortune’s first season in the league? I recall that we played in green and white stripes, green shorts, which was the best kit we could get to avoid colour clashes in our first season – the yellow and red came seven years later. Our first pitch was at Parliament Hill Fields where we had to carry and erect our own goal-posts at each home fixture — in those days nets were not compulsory. David Wolff watched our very first league match, played on September 5, 1976 in Watford against Bushey United. We lost 4-3 in a rather heated fixture which started many years of rivalry between the two clubs. We had a pretty mediocre team which went on to finish seventh out of 13 teams — the largest division we have competed in since joining the league.
Are there any special plans are in place to celebrate the 40th anniversary? We tend to keep those for notable anniversary milestones, such as our 45th birthday two years ago when we held a commemorative four-a-side tournament at our very birthplace. But we marked the occasion visually more than anything. The TFFC website and Twitter page feature the First XI ‘40’ shirt with the appropriate caption of ‘Celebrating the Club’s 40th season in Maccabi football’, as will many graphics used throughout the season. And we will be purchasing 30 TFFC rain jackets, sponsored by Ellis & Co, carrying the same information. I want everyone associated with the Club to share the sense of pride that I have in reaching this amazing milestone.
How do you feel about the falling numbers in the Maccabi League? I share the same concerns that many have regarding the future of Maccabi football. When Temple Fortune first joined the M(S)FL in 1976, there were three divisions and we started off in Division Two. The irony has not been lost on me that the same applies now for 2015/16, which means we have come full circle 40 seasons later. Too many teams are folding each season with too few new ones joining. It’s very worrying and makes me appreciate our continued longevity in Maccabi football, but deep down I am as concerned as anyone.