A VIRTUAL CAST OF PLAYERS PAST AND PRESENT
IT STARTED off as a casual lockdown stroll along the streets of Portsmouth, now it’s fast becoming one of Non-League football’s most prized online gems.
“I bumped into my neighbour, Neil Hidey, who used to play a bit, as I did, and we got chatting,” explained Darren Robson, who turned out in over 1,000 Non-League games for a host of clubs down south including Andover, Waterlooville, Basingstoke Town, Gosport Borough, Worthing, Farnborough Town, Aldershot Town and Bashley.
“We were reminiscing about the good old days and saying how we should organise some kind of reunion of Non-League players.
“I went home and set up a Facebook group, just including a few old teammates and friends from Non-League and uploaded a couple of old pictures I had stored. Then it just went mad!”
Indeed, now NonLeague Players Past and Present is growing in membership on a daily basis with over 1,400 people having joined since its inception last month.
These include former Northern Ireland international Gerry Armstrong, Slough Town joint bosses Neil Baker and Jon Underwood, Maidstone United manager Hakan Heyrettin and England C goalkeeping coach Mick Payne.
The site has uncovered a huge amount of old photographs, matchday programmes, team sheets and newspaper clippings from days gone by featuring memorable matches and occasions from the 1970s onwards.
“It’s been incredibly heart-warming,” Robson told The NLP. “There’s not a lot to do for any of us at the moment so it’s been great to engage in the chats, funny stories and banter from former teammates, opponents and supporters alike. It’s become very addictive actually.
“It’s mind-blowing the number of people who have reconnected through the group, people who haven’t spoken in years.
“The aim now is to keep it going and allow it to grow. One of our members, Jamie Webb, lives up north so it will be great to expand to like-minded people from other areas of the country too.
“When this is over, we are also hoping to arrange a Non-League get-together somewhere to have a proper catch-up over a beer. It’s amazing how it’s brought so many people together.”