Football pays tribute to successful boss Micky

Micky was one of the town’s most successful managers having led the old Stamco/St Leonards Stamcroft team on its remarkable rise during the late 1980s and 1990s.

Terry Henham helped get Micky involved with Stamco having been with him at Sunday League team The London Trader. Terry himself became vice-chairman at Stamco and the two men were good friends for many years.

He said: “His sense of humour was very good and his dedication to football when he was involved was second to none. He wanted to learn and was very knowledgable about tactics. He contributed a hell of a lot to football in the town.

“He wanted his teams to train hard and play football, and for someone that’s only ever played local football, it takes a lot to control players that have played in the old first division. But they all respected him and did what they should do.”

Alan Ramsay played under Micky for The London Trader and was his first signing when Micky took over at Stamco. Alan captained the side from his first season until he retired.

He said: “He was a lovely, lovely man, absolutely top drawer. You couldn’t ask for a better mate and he was a good friend to a lot of people.

“Over a period of time he was a good manager. What the club did was a fantastic achievement and he got some really good local players that had a heart for the club.

“Micky was his own man. He did it his way and I think we probably all got rollickings off him at times. He wasn’t afraid to put us in our place at times, it didn’t matter what sort of player you were.”

Keith Miles joined Stamco in 1995 and scored an amazing 52 goals in his first season. The striker, who had known Micky since the mid-1980s, was still at the club when Micky departed in late 1997.

He said: “He was a really nice bloke and he was one of the best managers I’ve played under. The club was in his heart through and through and it was one of the best periods of my football career.

“He was really good at handling people, he said the right things at the right times. Obviously Micky had to handle the players who had played at the very top level and I thought he did it very well.”

Micky’s funeral service will take place at Blacklands Church in Laton Road, Hastings, on Thursday March 24 from 12noon.

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