BEN HAS A WINNING FORMULA
WINNING the Championship and the Northern Premier League may be ‘worlds apart’ for most, but Ben Turner insists the same attributes are required in order to hail the season a success.
Turner was part of the Cardiff City team that made its way to the Premier League nine years ago, and this season he has just picked up a winner’s medal with Buxton as they held off South Shields to gain promotion to the National League North.
“They are worlds apart, but the same fundamentals are there,” he says.
“Obviously that was full-time and this is part-time, but in football you can’t do anything on your own and no one is bigger than the group.
“With Cardiff, we lost our captain and best player for the last ten games, but we still got the job done.
“Here, I had a double break in my foot but the show went on. We lost top scorer Diego De Girolamo to a broken arm and we had to go on. Our best player, Jamie Ward, got a hamstring injury and we kept it going.
“Different players stepped up at different times and we coped. This was a success for thinking you are not bigger than you are or being a one-man team.
“It’s a team effort to win promotion and dozens of people have helped on and off the pitch.”
Turner joined Buxton last summer, having previously been playing in the National League for Notts County.
Despite dropping down to the seventh tier, the 33-year-old defender was sold exactly what the Bucks’ ambition was.
There was a change of management in November as Steve Cunningham replaced Gary Hayward, but it did not derail their charge, although Cunningham has now also left the club. For Turner, it was also a case of bringing football back to the heart of the town.
“When I met the chairman, Dave Hopkins, he said, ‘We’re going for the title’,” he reveals.
“That was the plan, and we were always in the hunt.
Hospitable
“I’m delighted for Dave because he’s a really good, fair chairman. He does things properly and keeps his word, which is not always the case in nonleague.
“This has brought the club back closer to the people in Buxton. There’s a 4G pitch, which the community can use and it’s a great way to drum up support.
“But promotions and cup runs do that, and raise interest, so it’s nice to have that inclusive feeling about the club.”
Buxton’s memorable season also included getting to the second round of the FA Cup. The run ended with a narrow defeat to League One Morecambe in front of a live BBC TV audience.
The match was also memorable for the horrific weather conditions in which it was played.
With the town right in the heart of Derbyshire’s Peak District, Turner freely admits that visitors to Silverlands have not found it too hospitable.
“We always joke that by the time you get to Buxton, it’s five degrees colder than the place you left,” he adds.
“I remember the Morecambe and South Shields games and the weather was awful and it didn’t feel like an advantage for us.
“It’s not much fun when it’s cold and rainy and most of the lads are always hoping it’s going to be a bit warmer.
“But if that’s what’s it like for us, you can imagine how the opposition felt!”