FATHER FIGURE TO SO MANY

CHRIS DUNLAVY DISCOVERS WHAT MADE LEGENDARY MANAGER GORDON BARTLETT SO SPECIAL

- CHRIS DUNLAVY

GORDON Bartlett was a mere 90 minutes into his new job as Wealdstone manager when the doubts set in.

It was August 1995, and the Stones had just thumped Cove 9-1 on the road. Yet Bartlett, who had ditched a safe post at second-tier Yeading, knew the dream debut masked a bleak reality.

Homeless. Penniless. Clogged by administration with just two players on the books. Ten years after clinching an Alliance Premier and FA Trophy double, the Ruislip outfit were starting from scratch in the Ryman Third Division, watched by crowds of less than 300.

“I was used to competitive football on well-prepared pitches and decent facilities,” he recalled in Off the Bench, his 2010 biography. “This was a poor pitch in a run down stadium with small tatty dressing rooms. I thought maybe I had dropped down too far.”

Bartlett, though, would overcome such wobbles to become arguably the greatest manager in Wealdstone’s history, winning three promotions and spending 22 years in the dugout.

By the time he stepped down in August 2017, the 64-year-old was the longest-serving manager in the top six tiers of English football.

Countless gems were unearthed along the way. Jermaine Beckford, signed by Leeds United for £70,000 in 2006, later played in the Premier League for Everton. Marvin Morgan, Scott Donnelly and many more forged successful EFL careers.