Friday 30 April 2010

Del's Dream

Back in early 2009 when working on the book Del set some goals for the future. One of them was to get Enfield Town, the team he and Steve Newing jointly manage, into this season’s play-offs in the Ryman Division One north.

Despite a small budget Del and Steve have achieved that goal and on Tuesday evening Enfield beat Wingate and Finchley 3-2 in a thrilling match in the semi-final play-off.

They now play Concord Rangers in Canvey Island on Saturday with the winner being promoted to the Ryman League Premier Division.

Del now struggles to get a good night’s sleep due to the constant cramps he gets. But on the night after the Wingate game he said he couldn’t sleep because he was buzzing from the victory and was re-living it over and over again. MND may be ravaging his body but his will, wit and football wisdom is still as sharp as ever.

Due to his worsening health this will be his last game as the club’s joint manager. As he said himself: “What a way to go out eh? The boys might not realise it but they’ve kept my spirit up and given me a positive focus away from my disease. I’m proud of them. There’s no pressure on us as no-one thought we’d do so well in our first season in this division.”

Enfield Town’s fans and board have been fantastic. Del and Steve have already proven that the faith shown in them, especially taking into account Del’s illness, was not misplaced.

In tough times the best people pull together and this is true of the Enfield Town team.

Whenever I’ve gone to watch Enfield play it’s obvious the affection and respect they have for Del. Footballers are not known for their sensitivity but the way they look after Del is incredible. Whether it’s pushing him around the grounds in his wheelchair, making sure he’s warm enough as he sits on the touchline or simply keeping him involved in the banter that he thrives on.

Win or lose on they can be proud of themselves, not just as players, but more importantly as men who know what friendship, loyalty and unity really means.

Good luck and ‘Remember the Titans’