In the bowels of Imperial Fields, Monty Gimpel slouches in an armchair outside the office that Tooting & Mitcham United’s new manager, Mark Beard shares with his assistant, Kevin Cooper. He wakes as Beard passes, sitting up to be introduced to me. Gimpel is the reigning Independent Schools Football Association Player of the Year, an accolade that gives him a genuine claim to be one of the best young players in England.
Minutes earlier, I’d arrived at the club to interview Beard, and met him in the cafe-bar of the stadium before training. In 50 hours or so, the Terrors would put in an impressive performance to demolish a young AFC Bournemouth side sent to fulfil part of Bournemouth’s side of the deal that took Tooting defender Mitchell Nelson to the south coast.
As I separated Beard from his renowned first team coach Nick Tester, the feeling around the place was a world away from the gloom of the end of last season. A 40 percent cut in the playing budget persuaded boss Billy Smith and assistant George Wakeling to call it a day, with senior players expected to follow. Most did, but Beard’s contribution in the pre-season was clear even before a ball had been kicked in the Ryman Premier League. His enthusiasm and optimism are infectious.
“My brother is Chelsea Ladies’ manager and told me that the job had come about so I put my CV together,” Beard tells me. “I was brought up around here, I know about the history of the club and it’s a good league to get out of so for me it’s a big challenge and it’s one I can really get my teeth into.”
“When I applied for the job I’d never been to the ground and from the moment I walked in I was really impressed with everything and with all the people but it was all a bit doom and gloom round here.”
Joining Beard and Tester on the bench on matchdays is former Wimbledon striker Kevin Cooper, a familiar face in non-league. When discussing Cooper’s appointment and the signing of skipper Rob Haworth, it’s obvious that the confident new manager plans on putting in place formidable team spirit.
“Kev is a genuinely nice geezer and I trust him 100% which is something you need. His knowledge of non-league is second to none, he played for a lot of clubs so he knows a lot of players and a lot of people. His enthusiasm matches mine. He’s got so many plus points: he’s good with the players, his football knowledge is very good and obviously he’s a good coach for the forwards as well. Overall he’s a massive asset for me.”
“Rob has experience, you can’t buy what he’s done in his career. Everywhere he’s been he’s been successful. He won the league last year with Dartford and anyone you speak to will tell you what a great player he is to have in the changing room as well.”
“Starting here with a fresh new team, getting people in like Kev, who’s good around the dressing room, and Rob who’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, is important. His banter is excellent for the changing room and he’ll quickly gel the team together. You need characters like him especially when you’re starting with a new team.”
With all but four or five players leaving the club in the summer, Beard has had to rebuild his squad from scratch on a limited budget. He’s pleased with what he’s done.
“The squad’s shaping up well. It’s common knowledge that my budget’s been cut from what they had last year but really what I’m not going to have is strength in depth so I’ve had to be quite careful with who I’ve brought in in terms their attitude and how they play the game. We’re trying to get the blend of youth and experience right; we’ve got a good youth set-up here as well so we can call upon them at certain points as well.”
“In terms of players to keep an eye on, we’ve signed the two Gambians and they’ve been fantastic in pre-season. Karl Beckford was at Wimbledon and Stevenage with me, he’s still only 24 and he’s got that little bit of quality about him. Jamie Evans is good, he was at Tottenham as a kid. We’ve got a good squad of players, some of them are very experienced and the idea is, yes, to play attacking attractive football, but at the end of the day I want results so the team that will be playing here every week will always, always, always be giving 100%. They won’t be hiding, that’s for sure.”
Young players will play a part at Tooting this season and are something about which Beard is passionate. He was brought in as a pro coach last year by Ardingly College, where Tester is head of sport. The contacts made there are already beginning to tell and have seen talented youngsters Gimpel and Jon Dollery join the Ryman Premier club.
“What they do is get kids who are going down the academic route rather than going into full-time football and they can get their football education at the school as well. They play in national cups and national leagues and we’re finding we’re getting four or five good players there a year. Monty’s one of them, Jon Dollery is another. Jon was ISFA captain, Monty is ISFA’s player of the year, and they’re good young talents.”
“It’s good for us as a club because I can use that link and the players trust us so we can get them in and maybe get them some games. I’m not saying Monty will start many games but we’ll blend them in gently. Once their school season starts they have to play for their school so you won’t really see them apart from midweek games or until after Christmas. I can get special permission if we need them because of injuries.”
Gimpel’s reputation goes before him, having attracted a fair amount of attention when he picked up the ISFA award. But what does he bring to Tooting?
“Monty’s technically excellent, great with both feet and can play centre half, right back, midfield. He’s one of those players that can play everywhere. He’s a typical continental player I’d say, he’s very composed and he’s got a great attitude. In my eyes he’s got everything. He came from Hannover in Germany to pursue his education and he’s a year ahead of himself there as well. The idea for him has to be to play pro football so wherever he does it he’ll have learned some of his game here and that’ll look good on me and Nick as well as the club and help us attract other young players.”
“He’s a very bright kid, so is Jon, and you can’t take that away because at the end of the day if they go to a bigger team in the Premier League and they miss out then they’ve sacrificed their education and they’re on the scrapheap like so many other players. They’ve gone the other route. There’s a lot of players who’ve thrown their eggs in one basket, and these kids haven’t.”
Beard isn’t interested in setting targets for the season, but it’s clear he has goals and intentions that stretch beyond the field of play. He recognises the importance of clubs like Tooting in their communities and also the fact that a united squad socially can help coherence on the pitch.
In the short-term, Beard’s next challenge is against local rivals and Ryman big spenders Sutton United, after kicking off the season with an exhilarating win over Hendon and SOMETHING against Wealdstone. Beard is well aware of the quality Sutton have on offer and the budget that enabled it.
“I spoke to two of Sutton’s players, who I didn’t really want and it was my first day in the job, and I can’t believe the money they were asking for. It was three times what I’m paying here but they’ve signed some quality players so if they’re not favourites then I don’t know who is. But everyone knows what they’re spending so they’re in a cup final every week because teams will raise their game against them. I don’t want to be in that position – I’d rather be the underdog.”
The likes of Sutton, Tonbridge Angels and Lowestoft are those tipped by Beard and others to top the table come the end of April, but the Tooting boss isn’t the type to give up on a challenge.
“A lot of people have said that we’re throwing money at it too but we’re not. Obviously the fact that we got rid of a whole squad and got a whole new squad in means people will say we’re chucking money about but I guarantee you we’re not. Budgets don’t win you leagues, players do, that’s the first thing I told the players.”
The confidence oozes from the former Haywards Heath manager and the energy injected on the sidelines by Beard, Cooper and Tester is undeniable. Fortunately for Tooting supporters, the advice they’re dishing out also suggests the management team is headed up by a bright young coach who knows exactly what he’s doing.
Tags: Mark Beard, Ryman Premier League, Tooting And Mitcham United