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Cray Wanderers held onto star striker Joe Taylor this summer – and they’ve got his missus to thank.
Taylor scored 32 goals last term for the Wands, including 26 in the Isthmian Premier, before their season was curtailed in March due to Covid-19.
His future seemed certain to move on from Hayes Lane but manager Tony Russell is delighted that he’s staying put, and it's all down to the special lady in Taylor’s life.
“It came down to his wife,” explained Russell, who disclosed that Taylor had offers from 17 clubs.
“There were clubs from below our level offering silly money up to the National League offering full-time football.
“Joe said his phone was on fire with clubs interested in him so could he have a week to think about it. I said no problem as we couldn’t do any more financially. Then it became 10 days and Joe got it down to two or three clubs.
“One club offered him a 52-week contract in the middle of Covid, which was an amazing offer when you think about it, and it was a local team in Kent.
“I thought he was gone as there was no way he was going to stay with that on offer.
“Then I got a text saying his wife had said he’d always come home from football with the hump but since he’d been at Cray he’s never moaned once. So, for the sake of harmony in house, he’s decided to stay!
“We’re delighted to have him, not only is he a brilliant player but he’s a brilliant bloke too. When I signed him, I was told that he wouldn’t work hard off the ball – and I told him that at the time – but I can’t stress how hard he works.
“He understands we saw something in him a long time ago and have built our team around him.”
Taylor’s not the only key man to commit his future to Cray. Keeper Lewis Carey was another to attract interest, but he’s signed up for the new campaign.
“Lewis got an offer from the league below that spun his head but thankfully he’s decided to stay,” said Russell.
“This season, can we keep the momentum we’ve got and can we keep our best players. The vultures were gathering over the likes of Joe Taylor and Lewis Carey.
“We don’t have the biggest wage bill so we’ve taken a cut due to Covid, myself included. We did a zoom call and the players were all in agreement.”
You get the impression Cray’s players know where they stand with Russell.
“Only one team had more possession than us last season and we had a player sent-off after six minutes in that game.” The squad know his style of play – they pass out from the back – and they know he’ll see something in them that other managers might have overlooked.
Russell sums it up when he says “we’ve got a team full of waifs and strays” or players who “have been messed around by clubs”, or been at clubs when financial trouble has hit.
He explained: “I’m thinking of the likes of Rhys Murrell-Williamson or Mitchell Nelson, Bradley Pritchard, Tom Phipp, Jay Leader, Barney Williams was on the bench at Braintree and couldn’t get a game. Joe Taylor was on the bench at Margate watching Leroy Lita and Frannie Collin playing.
“People tell me not to touch certain players but I tend to look for a bargain in amongst the red flags. Mitchell Nelson has been with us four or five years now, but when I signed him I was told he was a walking red card or a walking penalty but he’s one of the best centre-halves in our league now.
“Players don’t want to keep moving clubs so we create an environment where they can develop, where we don’t scream and shout. We demand respect back so it’s a level playing field but we treat them as adults.
“I’m not too caught up with other people. We’re a better team than we were last year, I’m a better manager than last year from the experience – I’m still learning.
“We’ve added a bit of quality so it’s up to everyone else, I don’t know if they’ve all got better, if not then we’ll be just fine.”
Russell will hope he can help Jason Banton rediscover his best form. A former England under-17 international, he’s spent time at the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and Crystal Palace. Football League football followed at Plymouth but it’s been a fairly nomadic existence since then.
“He’s played a lot of league football,” said Russell. “I’ve done my research and found out why (he’s had so many clubs) and what we can do to stop that.
“He’s played two friendly games and scored one, if we can get him right then he’ll be some player for us.”
Many might have raised their eyes at a step 3 club organising open trials at the start of pre-season but Russell is hoping he’s found another untapped talent in Kyron Richards among 160 hopefuls who he watched in trial matches.
“We sat there from 12 to 6pm, we watched them all and gave everyone a chance but one kid stood out so we’ve taken him on,” he explained. “I’ll be interested to see how he gets on but I think he’ll be really good.”
Cray, who start their season at home to Kingstonian on Saturday, will hope to repeat their form of last season – well, this year to be more exact given they are unbeaten in 2020 still.
That form put them firmly in the promotion race by the time football came to an abrupt halt in March. With favourable fixtures ahead, Cray - having cut leaders Worthing’s advantage over them from 15 down to seven points – had every reason to believe that they could have secured automatic promotion.
“I was over it pretty quickly but that still doesn’t make it right,” explained Russell.
“They made a decision; my argument was never that. My problem was that I predicted that the leagues above would be decided by points per game, and that came true. I couldn’t agree that they cut the chain at our level.
“The whole club adapted to the new level last season. We play a brand of football and stuck to that; we didn’t come off that because we’d come up a level.”
A new season also means a new set of behind the scenes you tube videos from Russell’s 14-year-old son Henderson, who has provided a unique behind the scenes look at Cray Wanderers.
If you’ve not seen it, think Amazon’s popular All or Nothing series – but with more passion.
“He came up to me and said ‘dad, can I film the game',” said Russell, who sets just two rules – no tactics and no pre-season videos. In return, Henderson says his dad swears too much in his team talks as he has to edit those bits out. “It shows what we are about in our dressing room, what we do and don’t do. In a way he has given me a profile.
“It’s annoying when he puts a camera in my face sometimes but he loves it. A lot of people have said they really enjoy them.
“Henderson has always been around. The players have all seen him and have that banter with him. If a random person came in and did it, I don’t think they’d want to talk.
“I always say nothing tactical but he edits it all himself – although I check them before he puts them out!
“The funny thing was we won the first game we did and then the second game we went to Bognor and got battered about 7-3. He said ‘what do I do’ – and I told him you’ve got to put it out now!”
First four league games: Sat Sep 19: Kingstonian (h), Sat Sep 26: East Thurrock (a), Tue Sep 29: Folkestone (a), Sat Oct 3: Merstham (h).
