A football league campaign is like no other competition in sport.
For fans and players alike its an emotional roller coaster from start to finish with highs, lows and everything in between.
We may only be halfway through the season, but West Essex have experienced it all.
Former player and club secretary Dan Reading speaks to Rising East about his thoughts on the teams performance so far this season.
“If you’d asked me a month ago, I’d have said it was way ahead of expectations. Traditionally we have started slowly and finished strongly. Until our ill-fated visit to Cockfosters on 29/10, we’d conceded one goal from open play in over 600 minutes of football, were creating chances by the lorryload and sitting 3rd in the table with most of the interest in what was going on immediately above us.”
Injuries Take Their Toll
As eluded to, the teams away trip to Cockfosters would change their season entirely.
In the space of 90 minutes the West Essex defense finally faltered, leading them to concede a goal and more importantly, the team lost two of their star players to injury and suspension.
“That night saw our leading scorer Michael Mignot collect a 3-match ban and dual-signing from Hullbridge Sports Greg Frederick pick up an injury that would side-line him for a month. We’ve suffered 5 defeats on the bounce since. That said, disappointing showings against a bullish Takeley side and a classy Hashtag United unit aside, the performances haven’t been bad, we’ve just lacked a cutting edge and made a few avoidable errors…If we up our conversion rate by 10-20% and cut out the mistakes that have characterized this bad run, we can push ourselves back into the top 6 and keep the likes of Walthamstow, Hashtag, Takeley, Saffron Walden and Hadley on their toes.”
A New West Essex
Despite their poor luck with injuries, the team are still in good position to compete.
Challenging for a top four finishing spot is uncharted territory for West Essex who only a decade ago were playing in the bottom’s tiers of English football.
The team have undergone a real evolution over the last few years and are now hoping to capitalize on their newfound form.
Reading believes the recent changes at the club are essential for them to continue they growth and success.
“It’s a completely different world. In my playing days, we were in the 15th tier and the only time we played in a stadium was if we reached a cup final. We were phenomenally successful during our first decade in existence. However, with the maximum amount of respect that is rightly due to those wonderful competitions we took part in – the standard wasn’t close to where we find ourselves today. If you’d have said to me even 10 years ago that people would be paying to come and watch us play in the 9th tier and we’d be taking part in the FA Cup, I’d have directed you straight back to whichever Wetherspoons you had presumably just fallen out of.”
The Youth Are The Future
All jokes aside, the transformation that West Essex have undergone in recent years is nothing short of incredible.
The clubs outstanding youth setup has undoubtedly played a factor in their recent change in fortune.
As the only team in the league with a fully functioning youth setup, allowing the next generation of players to seamlessly transition into their first team squad.
“We’ve only really started to see the benefit of our excellent junior section in the past two seasons. The oldest group are now turning 18 and have been coming along nicely under the watchful eye of Tony McNally and Richard Kent since the core of the team were under 8’s! Defender Sam McNally and forward Maajid Abow are the first two from the group that to have broken through to the first team, but this is a hugely important area of our development.”
Making The Game Beautiful
Much like Alex Ferguson did with his class of ’92, West Essex hope their young stars can pave the way for future of league and cup successes for the team.
Youth is vital for any club to continue to grow, however Reading believes that the real secret is getting the young players to play with a specific style and philosophy. As West Essex has evolved so has their identity.
The team have created a culture and this is what Reading feels like separates his side from all of the rest.
“We constantly restate the importance of taking care of one another and always try to create an environment where we can be honest about our mistakes and learn from them without undue pressure or anxiety. Arguably the most important aspect though, is protecting and promoting our footballing DNA. It’s a privilege that people come and watch us, we should reward them by trying to make every visit a memorable one. I think it was Johann Cruyff who once said; ‘Quality without results is pointless, but results without quality is boring’.”
Beautiful football, exciting young players and an environment that can nurture and get the best out of all who are part of it.
West Essex have clearly found a recipe for success.
As they get over their injury losses and continue to work their way back up the table, look for West Essex football club to be challenging for promotion again in the near future.
