Please note: This article is from 2007.
By Mishi D. Morath
Thanks to a posting on the unofficial Dulwich
Hamlet messageboard on the internet recently, I’m going to wind the clock back
thirty five years or so. Why? Well, a chap called David Bauckham, from the website
www.pyramidpassion.co.uk posed the question:
Does
anyone remember Charlie Pooley?
Hi, I am just writing up a few
memories of watching Dulwich in the early 1970s (first match a home defeat by Hampton: FA Cup 1st
Qualifying Round 1972/73). My recollections are pretty vague but one name I
remember quite well is that of Charlie Pooley. Does anyone remember him and if
so can they provide any details – I recall that he had long hair &
moustache (like most players back then) and played on the wing I think.
In actual fact, although Charlie seems to
have made a lasting impression on him, Pooley did not appear in that FA Cup
match. So, why the interest?
It turns out David is in the early stages of
drafting a book on non-league football, and will include a piece on his
earliest amateur experiences at Champion Hill. Not many memories were
forthcoming on Charlie, it was a long time ago after all. I, myself, saw my
first Hamlet game as a little seven year old boy in 1974. I would have been ten
when he left us after we were relegated for the first time at the end of the
1976/77 campaign.
Pooley headed for the Croydon Arena and the ‘Blues’
of Croydon FC who leap-frogged over us from the lower division. Also headed in
the same direction was Alec Jackson. Croydon, of course, are now known as the
Trams but in the 1970s actual trams in South London were still a long way from
returning, with the Tramlink service only becoming fully operational in May
2000.
The website query drew an anecdotal story
about a Hamlet away match at Oxford City in the mid seventies when the
supporters’ coach got to the White Horse ground, moments after the players’
bus. As the team were disembarking, Fred Pudney – another legend of that era – sat
down on the steps and promptly threw up! Supporter Malcolm Meredith recalled
another time when he was strolling round to the bar from Champion Hill’s old
north terrace after one game, and by the time he got there Charlie was already
showered and changed and halfway through his first pint! And Pooley had played
the full ninety minutes, and not substituted early.
Back to that FA Cup game in September 1972
though. Having spent the previous decade in the doldrums, regularly competing for the Isthmian League wooden
spoon with Corinthian-Casuals, Jimmy Rose took over the reigns; and not so much
a breath of fresh air, more of a hurricane of hope, blew through the old,
hallowed corridors of Champion Hill. The sleeping giant was finally awakening
from its long slumbering, and teams were starting to take the boys in Pink ‘n’
Blue seriously.
With the team that Rose was assembling,
there was the possibility of a good FA Cup run, with all the attendant
publicity and glory to go with it. Hopes were high, the draw had been kind.
Despite having to start in the preliminary round, the Hamlet managed to get
past one of those ‘potential banana skins’ drawn away to Athenian Leaguers,
Southall. A single goal from Chris Gedney was enough to see the Hamlet through.
A close margin, but in cup football that is enough. The goal came just before
half time; a corner taken on the right led to a mix-up in the Southall
goalmouth and Gedney, who the South London Press referred to as: ‘that “picker up of unconsidered trifles”’,
gave the home custodian, Colin Knight, no chance of saving a close range shot.
And so onto the first qualifying round, a
home tie with another Athenian League outfit, Hampton. But they were a couple
of rungs below Premier Division Southall, plying their trade in the lowly
Second Division. Although Hampton
finished third in the table at the end of the season, just missing out on the
two promotion spots, they should still have been easy pickings for Dulwich. In
the press Rose was cautious about the outcome, offering all the correct clichés
for his soundbites. “We must beware of
overconfidence. Although we’re obviously favourites the cup is a great
leveller. Hampton
will be playing a different style of football to ours which might be awkward.
We’d like a good cup run and I’m keeping my fingers crossed we’ll go through to
meet Molesey or Carshalton away in the next round.” Having said that I very
much doubt he thought there was ever a cat in hell’s chance of the Hamlet
bowing out to such lowly opposition.
Matters would not have been helped by the
serious injuries sustained at work by Dulwich forward Ken Jelly. Tragedy struck
for the New Century employed window-cleaner when the cradle in which he was
working crashed thirty feet onto the concrete pavement below. At first it was
feared that the 24 year old Jelly might have suffered internal
injuries but Jimmy Rose was one relieved football manager when he heard that
the damage was restricted to his limbs. “At
one time we thought there was damage to kidneys and vertebrae but this was not
the case. In a way he was lucky. He could have fallen on his head. Of course
it’s a tremendous blow just as we were beginning to click. We didn’t play well
against Bromley or Southall because everyone was thinking about Kenny. But
knowing Jelly as I do I wouldn’t be surprised if he was up and about and ready
for training very soon.” Despite the
optimism Rose realised the seriousness of his injuries, and it was expected
that Jelly would be in plaster for as long as two months, before he could even
think about beginning light training. This was particularly bad luck for the
new Hamlet forward. He had been dogged by injury since he left Tooting &
Mitcham, and missed much of the previous season – when he was in Sutton United
colours – through a broken hand. With all at the Club being so concerned about
Jelly, no doubt Dulwich defender Bernie Mills would have felt a little
aggrieved at the ‘lack of sympathy’ coming his way. For he too was hospitalised
after a work accident, having a toenail removed!
Despite all their bad luck the Hamlet still
managed to beat Bromley, in an Isthmian League match, and Southall in the Cup,
as mentioned. The ‘warm up’ to the Cup clash was an Isthmian League home game
with Oxford City. Honours were even, four goals
shared. A cracking game, one of the best for donkey’s years. But whether that
is a true verdict on the quality of the match, or merely a reflection of how
poor things had been over previous years I can’t tell you. For a match which
the Hamlet never won though, the accolades were top notch. ‘DULWICH PROVIDE THE EXCITEMENT’ was the
headline in the SLP: “If it’s soccer
entertainment you’re after then take a trip to Champion Hill where Dulwich are
fast building a reputation as one of amateur soccer’s crowd pleasers.
Slick-moving Dulwich might have let a home point slip but it would be an
injustice for their fans to begrudge Oxford a
share of the spoils from one of the best amateur matches seen in South London for years. Play swung end-to-end with lightning
speed, shots flashed in at both goalkeepers from all angles, and breathless
supporters rose to applaud the teams off at the end.”
So,
despite the players on the sick list, there would have been plenty of
confidence in the Hamlet camp for the visit of Hampton. Surely defeat was inconceivable?
Although there was no actual non-league pyramid in place then, the Athenian
League was acknowledged as one rung below the Isthmian, and Hampton turned out in the third tier of that
competition!
But the sorry captions above the SLP report
of the tie said it all:
‘I knew this was going to happen’ says Rose
DULWICH CRASH OUT OF FA CUP
By the odd goal in three we lost, and while
not having our full FA Cup record to hand, I would hazard a guess that this
must be one of our most embarrassing defeats in our entire history of entering
the great old competition. We were unbeaten at home thus far, a good month into
the season, and the report tells us that the visitors were allowed to score on
their only two ventures into Dulwich’s half. “I was very disappointed,” said manager Jimmy Rose, “but I knew this was going to happen because
we were lacking in goal scoring effort.” Brave words, so easy to be wise
after the event! It was Hampton who took the lead after only eight minutes,
before the Hamlet had been given any time to settle down, Peter Farren put his
team ahead when Peter Smith failed to cut out a high ball from Ian Wenlock,
allowing Farren to run round for an easy chip into goal, over the Dulwich
custodian Geoff Parsons.
Despite the setback Dulwich calmed down and
took control of the game. Surely this deficit would only be a blip in the
Hamlet quest for Cup glory? On the quarter hour mark Chris Gedney ran the
length of the field, only to waste a chance with a poor pass to Trevor Bladon.
But the continual pressure was to prove too much for Hampton,
and in the 32nd minute Hampton
goalkeeper Ron Whiteaker let a high ball from Eric Allinson slip through his
fingers to put Dulwich level. And we almost went in at the break in front,
after good play between Graham Smith and Gedney again, but Whiteaker tipped
Gedney’s shot over the bar. Despite only hitting the back of the net once in
the half the paper told us that “Dulwich
kept up their reputation as crowd-pleasers shooting from all positions.”
Despite that it was Hampton, who once again,
had the earliest chance after the interval. Just two minutes into the second
half they missed a chance when Yorke pushed the ball into the area for Peter
Hennessey, who chipped the ball over the attacking Parsons and clean over the
open goal. A let off indeed. But then it was all Hamlet pressure once more, one
of the best was when Allinson floated a free kick high into the area for Micky
Pratt to head down, but Ray Major just volleyed wide. It was only in the latter
stages of the game that Hampton
managed to break away from the relentless pressure of Dulwich. Parsons dropped
a simple high cross from Kenny Reed and Ian Wenlock was there to nod it into
the net, thus securing an extremely unlikely victory for little Hampton, three
divisions below the Hamlet, though nowadays one level above, when if the
fixture were to be played we would be the giantkillers!
Dulwich Hamlet team: Parsons, Brookes,
Barker, Burke, Allinson, P. Smith, Bladon, G. Smith, Pratt, Gedney, Major. Sub:
Gaydon.
Ken Jelly was out of hospital by the time
this match took place and was a spectator at the game. He had both wrists in
plaster and bandages round his ankles. It would be quite a while before he
would be fit enough to wear a Pink and Blue shirt again, but he was quoted as
saying that he would go along to training sessions “just for a talk with the lads.” What’s the betting there wasn’t
much discussion on this Cup debacle! Out of sight, out of mind!
There were a number of changes for the
following home match with Woking, including an
untried youngster George Lewzey, who had only turned eighteen a week earlier,
and had no senior amateur experience. Fellow teenager Charlie Pooley also
appeared. Before the match Jimmy Rose said: “My
hand has been forced. I didn’t want to make changes, but the goals just aren’t
coming as fast as they want to.” He
was reported to have full confidence in young debutant Lewzey. Many years later
a certain Mr. Hansen, who formerly plied his trade at Anfield, before seeking
the comfort of a TV studio armchair, was famously quoted as saying “You win nothing with kids.” in reference to Alex Ferguson bedding his
version of ‘Busby Babes’ at Old Trafford.
Well the Hamlet didn’t go on to win the
title, but certainly tore apart Woking that night, by four goals to one. And it
could have been a lot more as the SLP scribe quoted an enthusiastic Dulwich
fan: ‘Two minutes from full-time someone
heard the clatter of wooden seats being tipped up as people began to make their
way out. The same someone shouted “Don’t go yet lads, they might get another
goal.”’ It was actually the subject
of the enquiry that prompted this article that got on the scoresheet against
the Cards, and not Lewzey. “In the 75th
minute Charlie Pooley received a gift pass from the Woking
defender Cheeseman, and his curving shot went just wide with keeper Collyer
beaten. But five minutes later after neat work by Gaydon and Kenny Baker,
Pooley got the ball just inside the box and shot in on the turn.”
A few years ago (three, four, five? Maybe
more?) I was at the Private Banks Sportsground (I still can’t call it by its
modern name of Powerleague!) on a Sunday morning watching a young Dulwich Hamlet
Junior game – playing the small sided version, which is seven a side – so it
must have been under eights or nines. I was standing on the touchline wearing
my Dulwich Hamlet jacket with the club crest, when a man came up to me and
asked if I ever went down to watch the Hamlet. It was none other than Charlie
Pooley, whose boy was playing against our little ‘uns! We only had a brief
chat, and unfortunately I cannot recall the opposition. But I may just try and
make some enquiries with our Junior Club, and the League officials, to find out
if anyone out there knows him. And if I am lucky enough to locate him then keep
your eyes peeled for a possible interview with this Hamlet seventies icon in a
future edition of the Hamlet Historian!
This article was originally published in HH18 Spring 2007
