SPURRED ON BY CUP TONIC
MARLOW chairman Terry Staines will never forget the day his phone rang with one of football’s most famous names on the other end. “I had a phone call at home,” Staines, whose association with the Blues goes back to 1974 when he was a player, recalls. “‘Mr Staines – this is Bill Nicholson here from Tottenham Hotspur. Can I send one of my scouts along to watch your game?’ I’m old enough to remember Bill Nicholson’s Spurs team and here he is on the end of the line asking to send someone to watch Marlow. ‘Yes Mr Nicholson!’” The team-sheet from the third round clash with Tottenham is still proudly displayed at their Oak Tree Road ground featuring the big names they played that night 1993 night, including Teddy Sheringham. “I always remember the draw and the anticipation,” Staines says. “We were a round behind after a draw with Salisbury City and the replay was rained off. Eventually we got through and played VS Rugby. “The draw was on a Sunday afternoon. I was at a function behind the club working behind the bar. All the big teams came out. We were down to the penultimate match when we came out. I thought all the big teams had gone, but suddenly it was, ‘will play Tottenham Hotspur!’” It was a golden era for Marlow when it came to the cup as they took on West Brom, Oxford United, Plymouth, Swindon and Spurs all in a four-year period. Yesterday they beat Beaconsfield Town 2-0 to progress in a competition they have another boast for. They’ve applied to enter the cup every year of its history, although in 1910-11 they missed the application deadline and an appeal was rejected by the FA. It’s why Staines jokes filing in time each season is his priority. The famous trophy was in town earlier this week just two days after Mark Bartley’s side moved up to fourth in the EVO-STIK South East table thanks to a 3-0 win against Hartley Wintney on Bank Holiday Monday. “You’ve got everything in this league,” Bartley says. “There are clubs who are well financed and they bring in some good players – not that it always guarantees success. Then you’ve got other sides with less money but a great team spirt who tend to do well. “I’ve learnt in management that as long as we concentrate on executing how we play, I don’t worry too much about anyone else. I’ve got supreme confidence in our players.
Rhythm
“What I have to teach them to do is utilise their best attributes as often as possible in a game. And if someone nullifies that then offer them a Plan B. “That’s what we do. We keep it simple. Everyone knows their jobs and then you get a natural rhythm and feel for what it’s like when we’re playing really well.” Bartley, who began his managerial career at Reading Town, is rightly proud of Marlow’s record of helping players move up the ladder. Blackburn Rovers striker Ben Gladwin, who Marlow initially sold to Swindon Town, and Bristol Rovers’ forward Kunle Otudeko may be the most recent shining examples, but the source of talent runs deeper. “We’ve been quite fortunate as a club,” Bartley says. “This is my sixth season. You go back to Ben going and a couple of weeks ago Kunle went to Bristol Rovers. We’ve got a couple of others I think are definitely capable. It’s up to them now showing it. “Ben is obviously the shining star but in the last six years 17 players have moved onto a higher level – whether that’s the league above or three divisions above. “I think we’ve shown we’re a club if you come in, listen and work hard, then we will give you the platform to progress your football. I think that’s my remit at the club and what drives me to manage these boys. “I genuinely think if you do it with a good heart and the best intentions then we can all win.”