Matt Tomlin is a relatively new addition to the management team here at FC Drury. After Steev Tovey’s resignation before the 2007/08 season, Matty T took the oppertunity to make the step up from assistant to manager with both hands.
A seasoned footballer with a great drive and determination, Tomlin always loved to get involved as a player and this appears to have continued from his role on the sidelines. T is a manager, who dictates, encourages and roars from the sidelines as if he was playing. It was Tomlin who masterminded a surprise 2-2 draw against the first team in his first game in changed during pre-season.
T joined the club way back at its inception back in 2003, where he often found himself playing in the centre or on the left of the midfield. A committed player, and a former club captain, Tomlin helped the club to two promotions during his time playing.
Matt Tomlin is also one of the lucky footballers to have played a competitive match at Layer Road, taking part in the annual Pat and Les Oakes Trophy against long term rivals the CUSA.
Unfortunately, T suffered a serious knee injury that saw him miss a good season and a half of football. A come back in training before the 2006/07 season whilst getting his fitness back up to scratch was cut short as he ruptured his knee once again. Back on the road to recovery now, Matt is putting all his effort in being manager and is determined to get the reserves as high up the table as possible and is keen to compete in all the cup competitions.
Annnnnd, a little bit extra from the man himself...
Fucking hell, surely i've done something more worthwhile in the last 5 years than play at Layer Road!!!
'Played at Layer Road'??? - did you not see that game??? I was shit, and i fell into a 5-a-side goal on the side of the fucking pitch!!! Just check the dvd, its all there, 10 minutes into the 1st half!!!
So for your information, here is a list of my Top 10 Accomplishments over the last 5 years....
1) The innaugral winner of the Players Player of the Year award - i dont care if we finished 2nd from bottom of the whole sunday league, it is still my name that is first on that sheild!! (by the way Steev, i still want the Players Player Award to one day be called the 'Matt Tomlin Players Player of the Year Award')
2) Coming Runner-up in the Players Player of the Year in our 2nd season!! They were my only 2 full seasons as a player for us, and i came 1st and 2nd!!! And the only reason i only came 2nd was because i helped Barry win the damn trophy. I used to let all the opposition run past me so that Barry could tackle them, i used to miss everything in the air so that Barry could clear the ball... i helped him every single week to look good (us Croxley Green boys have to stick together, hey Baz!)!!!
3) My 45 yard free-kick against Bramwell in the cup that swerved, bent, dipped and totally bamboozled the keeper before bouncing 8 times and nearly bursting the net!!
4) Me balling-out Tim when he went AWOL with a bottle of water against the Deaf. We were 2-0 up with a minute to go... not since the days of Roy Keane at his snarling best have we ever seen a player show so much desire and committment to win a game of football. My rant was so loud that even the Colchester Deaf players heard me!!!
5) My goal against the Manchester City Supporters Club in the Wivenhoe 5-a-side!!! How many other players in our team have scored against a Premier League club??
6) My inch perfect through balls from midfield that never got the recognition they truely deserved!! It wasnt my fault that our strikers were slow, that the oppositions keepers were all quicker than Brain 'The Cheetah' Habana, and that the wind was always behind us!!
7) Leading the team out onto the hallowed pitch of Broad Lane, Wivenhoe. I would probably still put that down as the greatest night of my life, even ahead of Istanbul '05!! Do you know how many great players have lead their team out at Broad Lane??? Do the names Phil Coleman, Lil Fuccilo and Christian 'Moosey' McLean mean anything to you?!?!
8) Winning the Blue Boar pub quiz last year - fair enough we had Bob Simmons in our team, but to tell you the truth he's a bit dim and i carried that team over the finishing line!!
9) I brought 'all round nice guy, great player and joint record top reserve goalscorer' Dave Ersapah to the club!! He subsequently went on to cripple me in our first ever 1st vs Reserve match, and then he went and took my place in the fucking team!!! When i pull him up about this he just smiles at me, but i take it like the mug that i am.... dont worry Ersapah, your day will come!!!
10) My natural ability to ride a quadbike, even when jealous instructors in Nottingham have tried to sabotage my bike!! (editor - This was stag weekend gold! The first corner on the course, T over cooks the accelerator, wobbles from side-to-side, leaves the track and crashes into a nearby tree. And he was sober!)
The list could go on and on my friend. I look forward to seeing the new (and very much improved) Managers Profile of myself!!
Thank you, and good night!!
T
|
