One Game at a Time:
Drum and Monkey XI (H) October 31st
If Procrastination is the thief of time, then woe betide us if they ever get a team in the Football League. One thing is for sure. The managerial shortlist will be a toss-up between Ainsworth and Cotterill, and, based on Tuesday night, Cotterill will be short odds favourite.
Given the number of supposed head injuries they suffered, and fortunately all survived to continue to play, I expect the chat ref Andy Woolmer had with the returning Shrews management team after half time was to advise them of the imminent arrival of UN Blue helmets to help him police the snipers in the crowd.
On a night that saw a perfectly observed tribute to the legend of Sparksy, one can only imagine the commentary that would have accompanied both the antics of the Town players and the final poetic justice of the winning goal, a thing of footballing beauty, had the great man still been at the mike. The bonus of ref Woolmer deciding, along with the fourth official, that such were Townâs antics, they didnât earn the ten minutes or so they clearly wasted and only gave them four was the icing on a very damp cake.
As a supporter who has worn the black at a very low level, it always frustrates me that time wasting is only punished after it has succeeded. There really is no benefit to the team âsinned againstâ in booking a departed substitute. It is a scourge of the modern game, happens at all levels and someone needs to get a grip. I always fall back on the rugby system of advancing the ball ten yards. The sad thing is the rules are already there, but simply never enforced.
Whilst Tuesdayâs ref had some bizarre moments, I at least applaud his refusal to fall for most of the tumbling antics of the Strawberry players (although Strawberries do bruise easily), and the final denouement of only four minutes was, as previously alluded to, poetic.
Argyle and Ipswich continue to set a relentless pace. After sixteen games of last season, we were five points worse off with having played a home game more. With Wednesday running into and out of (the) Gas, to have dropped a net four points further back over the last week, whatever happens with Ipswich at the Valley on Saturday, Argyle will go into the Devon Expressway Westcountry Janners Derby against our nearest and cheapest in the automatic slots, come what may.
Rivalries come in many forms, and it is fair to say that from an Argyle perspective, whilst clearly our nearest league rivals geographically, now that Torquay have sunk out of the League and show little hope of returning any time soon, the rivalry with City is seen as aspirational on their side and a necessary irritant on ours. Historically, barring Devon Bowl finals, which were hardly the epitome of tribal contests, Exeterâs natural habitat was a division or two below that of Argyleâs and so we would have expected their focus to have been further up the Devon coast.
There was a time when, in the seventies, an Argyle away day could be replaced by an afternoon trip to Sid James Park to support the away side, followed by a quick sprint to Plainmoor and watch the Argyle Retirement Home XI play the likes of Port Vale, Darlington or Hartlepool.
So, credit where credit is due, City have overcome some interesting obstacles to haul themselves more regularly into competition with Argyle, and have a few notable victories in that time, which I shall of course gloss over, to concentrate on the more traditional outcome. This was epitomised by Derek Adams, probably at his peak moment of popularity at Home Park, when he declared âDevon is Green and White tonight, and always will be!â in 2016. This was in response to a banner unfurled by the City fans about another colour.
Exeter and Plymouth are the two major conurbations in Devon, and its only two cities so there is little doubt that a rivalry would exist. Plymouth with its naval heritage is the larger by far, but traditionally Exeter is the administrative and academic hub of the county. What is undeniable is that the flag of Devon is green, with black and white crosses. No red there. No red either in the original colours of St Sidwells, the club who transformed themselves into Exeter City in 1901 when they merged with Exeter United, and the newly formed club moved into St James Park. St Sidwells, who were a combination of a church side and regulars of the Foresters Arms (curiously also always known as the Drum and Monkey), played in Green and White. Aspirational, as I said.
There are other links between the cities that far predate the football rivalries. For example, in recognition of their financial support for Elizabeth the First, in raising money for the fleet that Drake then commanded in putting the Spanish Armada to flight, Exeter was awarded the Latin motto Semper Fidelis, which still adorns their coat of arms today.
Since Argyle run out to the Sousa march of the same name and barring the aberration of Simply the Best under Dan Macauleyâs reign have done for almost seventy years, Exeter have never really settled on a consistent theme to run out to. For many years it was the appropriate âThereâs a Good Time Coming (Be it Ever so Far away)!
Having first competed in the Southern League and FA Cup, both teams joined the Football League in its post First World War expansion in 1920. By this time Exeter City had concluded their tour of South America, which took place in 1914. This was climaxed by the match against a combined Brasilia /Sao Paulo XI which is widely recognised as being the inaugural Brazilian international match.
The club, the ninth to tour that Continent, replaced Tottenham Hotspur who pulled out of their proposed tour. Having played eight games against a variety of Argentinian opposition City were described in the Argentine press in Tribuna as "the most mediocre team of professionals sent out by the FA from the home of football". Sounds about right.
Having made it back to Brazil by the skin of their teeth after a run in with local police who sought to detain several players who were practising, Exeter then played three more matches, the final one being the one designated as the unofficial first ever Brazilian match.
Argyle too were to tour South America, in the 1920âs, beating both the national teams of Uruguay four nil (who went on to win the inaugural World Cup six years later), and Argentina one nil, as well as drawing with Boca Juniors. If any South American journalists thought Argyle in any way mediocre, they dare not express it within earshot of captain and defensive stalwart Moses Russell, whose uncompromising playing style and intelligence was much admired by his opponents.
After Argyle finally won a promotion following their six successive runners up spots, in 1930, meetings between the clubs were at best sporadic. Four seasons in the fifties and a solitary one in the final year of the sixties. It really only picked up again in the nineties and beyond.
This was mainly because Exeter plied their trade predominantly in the fourth division after it was created in 1958, to the extent that they are the fifth highest scorers at the lowest level, behind Rochdale, Darlington, Northampton, and Hartlepool.
There have been a few managerial moves as well as the logical player exchanges. Notable Exeter managers include Argyle stalwarts Johnny Hore and Bobby Saxton as well as Johnny Newman and perhaps less well remembered, John Delve in the mid 1980âs. In the mid 1960âs Ellis Stuttard had a brief spell in charge to fill in the time between Argyle appointments.
In recent years the club have become a model for managerial stability with two long serving managers in first Paul Tisdale and then Matty Taylor. His departure to Rotherham has resulted in the appointment of PowerPoint Wizkid Gary Caldwell, who having led Wigan to a promotion to the Championship a fair while ago, has a rather less than successful CV in more recent times, being sacked at Wigan, Chesterfield, Partick Thistle and most recently, alongside Shaun Maloney, by Hibs.
Among the bigger names to manage the club are Steve Perryman, Gerry Francis, Neil NcNab and of course World Cup winning legend Alan âSqueakyâ Ball. Ball moved from City via Southampton to Manchester City where he returned to pluck Martin âBusterâ Phillips from the club, predicting he would be the first ten-million-pound player. Injuries meant that that never came to pass although Buster did have a successful end to his playing career rejuvenated at Argyle under Paul Sturrock. This included a starring role in the famous 3-2 away win at St James Park, scoring the opener for Argyle, which ended the longstanding hoodoo Argyle had from playing there, in 2001.
Other notable players who travelled the A38 were Nicky Marker, Chris Curran, and Jamie Mackie. Mackie scored ninety seconds into his debut, unsilencing one fan who announce he wouldnât cheer an ex-City player until he had scored for Argyle.
Less successful was the import of Tony Kellow to Argyle. The Cornish goal getter who had a great career at Exeter over three spells, in which time he won the Football leagues Golden Boot as top goal scorer in 1981, never quite made the grade at Argyle, playing only 13 times before departing for Swansea. He sadly died aged only 58 from kidney failure.
Fred Binney was however much more of a success, being Argyles leading scorer in 1978/9. Although a Plymothian, Binneyâs route to Argyle encompassed spells at Torquay, Exeter, Brighton, and St Louis All Stars before finally arriving at his home club. He is also a member of that small group of players, which include Reg Jenkins and Chris Curran who played for all three league clubs in Devon.
Despite the rivalry Exeterâs supporters trust were on hand to offer advice and support when Argyle went through the pain of administration. City became a fan owned club after the catastrophic debacle in the early 2000âs when for a brief period the clubs honorary co-Chairman and director was Israeli illusionist and spoon bender Uri Geller.
Alongside John Russell and Mark Lewis, they and then club chairman Ivor Doble, a local jeweller, managed to rack up substantial debts, and, after the Supporters Trust investigated the club finances, the police were involved with Doble, and his wife arrested. The Trust, which had been set up initially to raise funds in support of the board realised they were being used as a cash cow and changed objectives to becoming owners. When Geller informed the police of financial issues the Trust stepped in and following the arrests bought Dobleâs shares. Russell was jailed and Lewis sentenced to 200 hours of community service for their part in the fraud. Geller slunk away and is now involved with North Berwick, a Scottish non-league team. Lucky them.
After a CVA the club spent five years in non-league before regaining League status in 2008. Since then, they remained at the bottom tier of the League barring three seasons almost immediately after their return to the League. In that time, they made an art form out of not quite making it via the play-offs. In fact, of all the clubs that have never played in the top two tiers Exeter have spent more seasons in the lowest tier than any other club. So thatâs something to be proud of.
Being a fan owned club necessitated a degree of financial prudence, and the club have developed a reputation as a selling club, with recent successes being Ollie Watkins, Matt Grimes, Ethan Ampadu (son of ex Argyle midfield legend Kwame) and Randell Williams, who headed for the bright lights of, er, Hull City. Presumably he now realises those bright lights were the trawlers coming in.
It has in fact always been that way to a degree. Cliff âBoyâ Bastin was purloined by Arsenal aged only 17 in 1929 and became their third highest goal scorer, and the sale of keeper Dick Pym to Bolton for five grand in 1921 allowed the club to buy the freehold for St James Park. The club eventually cashed in by selling the ground to Beazer Homes in the financial shenanigans under their less reputable board, before it was sold to the Council and leased back to the club.
The trust has some famous fans, notably Ade Edmondson, a season ticket holder, but no summary of the club can end without dealing with perhaps their most wacky of fans.
Not Edmondson of Bottom and Young Ones fame, not Becci the 24 stone ex-football hooligan now undergoing gender reassignment, nor even David Earl and Joe Wilkinson, the comedians who launched a podcast called My New Football Club where Gillingham fan Earl moved to Devon and began to follow the Grecians.
In 2002 co Chairman Uri Gellar invited David Blaine and another of his friends to visit the club to help raise funds. Wacko Jacko, Michael Jackson himself, the man who Al Fayed had paraded around Craven Cottage and was to eventually build a statue to, boarded a train from Paddington, where fans had paid up to a hundred pounds to simply be on the same vehicle, and headed West.
7000 people crammed into SJP, most expecting a lookalike, but to their surprise and delight the man himself appeared. Together with Geller and Blaine they spoke to the crowd and raised funds for the club and, at Jacksons insistence, for an HIV for Kids in Africa charity. Jacko an Exeter fan? Well he did own a chimpanzee called Bubbles and liked a strong beat to his disco tracks, so maybe their Drum and Monkey origins resonated?
It was bizarre, and ultimately unsuccessful, not only did City go down that season, losing their League status, but it was Geller who introduced Jackson to Martin Bashir, whose documentary was to set about destroying Jacksons reputation.
At the ground Jackson predicted England would defeat Denmark in an upcoming World Cup match, which they duly did. It is the only football prediction Jackson made, so he bats at 100%. Ironically Alan Hansen as a pundit is remembered for his prediction that Jackson might well have heeded.
âYouâll win nothing with kids.â
One kid we will be happy to see in a City shirt though is their number 9. It is a tale to gladden the soul of the hardest hearted rival that Jay Stansfield is now filling his late fathers shirt at City. It doesn't mean we want him to score, but some things transcend rivalry.
So Halloween with the Grecians, a club who once tried to bring the magic but found it was just an illusion(ist)âŚor two.
They say beware of Greeks who bear gifts. In case it is a trick.
Letâs hope for a treat in Devon Green.
COYG!
Drum and Monkey XI (H) October 31st
If Procrastination is the thief of time, then woe betide us if they ever get a team in the Football League. One thing is for sure. The managerial shortlist will be a toss-up between Ainsworth and Cotterill, and, based on Tuesday night, Cotterill will be short odds favourite.
Given the number of supposed head injuries they suffered, and fortunately all survived to continue to play, I expect the chat ref Andy Woolmer had with the returning Shrews management team after half time was to advise them of the imminent arrival of UN Blue helmets to help him police the snipers in the crowd.
On a night that saw a perfectly observed tribute to the legend of Sparksy, one can only imagine the commentary that would have accompanied both the antics of the Town players and the final poetic justice of the winning goal, a thing of footballing beauty, had the great man still been at the mike. The bonus of ref Woolmer deciding, along with the fourth official, that such were Townâs antics, they didnât earn the ten minutes or so they clearly wasted and only gave them four was the icing on a very damp cake.
As a supporter who has worn the black at a very low level, it always frustrates me that time wasting is only punished after it has succeeded. There really is no benefit to the team âsinned againstâ in booking a departed substitute. It is a scourge of the modern game, happens at all levels and someone needs to get a grip. I always fall back on the rugby system of advancing the ball ten yards. The sad thing is the rules are already there, but simply never enforced.
Whilst Tuesdayâs ref had some bizarre moments, I at least applaud his refusal to fall for most of the tumbling antics of the Strawberry players (although Strawberries do bruise easily), and the final denouement of only four minutes was, as previously alluded to, poetic.
Argyle and Ipswich continue to set a relentless pace. After sixteen games of last season, we were five points worse off with having played a home game more. With Wednesday running into and out of (the) Gas, to have dropped a net four points further back over the last week, whatever happens with Ipswich at the Valley on Saturday, Argyle will go into the Devon Expressway Westcountry Janners Derby against our nearest and cheapest in the automatic slots, come what may.
Rivalries come in many forms, and it is fair to say that from an Argyle perspective, whilst clearly our nearest league rivals geographically, now that Torquay have sunk out of the League and show little hope of returning any time soon, the rivalry with City is seen as aspirational on their side and a necessary irritant on ours. Historically, barring Devon Bowl finals, which were hardly the epitome of tribal contests, Exeterâs natural habitat was a division or two below that of Argyleâs and so we would have expected their focus to have been further up the Devon coast.
There was a time when, in the seventies, an Argyle away day could be replaced by an afternoon trip to Sid James Park to support the away side, followed by a quick sprint to Plainmoor and watch the Argyle Retirement Home XI play the likes of Port Vale, Darlington or Hartlepool.
So, credit where credit is due, City have overcome some interesting obstacles to haul themselves more regularly into competition with Argyle, and have a few notable victories in that time, which I shall of course gloss over, to concentrate on the more traditional outcome. This was epitomised by Derek Adams, probably at his peak moment of popularity at Home Park, when he declared âDevon is Green and White tonight, and always will be!â in 2016. This was in response to a banner unfurled by the City fans about another colour.
Exeter and Plymouth are the two major conurbations in Devon, and its only two cities so there is little doubt that a rivalry would exist. Plymouth with its naval heritage is the larger by far, but traditionally Exeter is the administrative and academic hub of the county. What is undeniable is that the flag of Devon is green, with black and white crosses. No red there. No red either in the original colours of St Sidwells, the club who transformed themselves into Exeter City in 1901 when they merged with Exeter United, and the newly formed club moved into St James Park. St Sidwells, who were a combination of a church side and regulars of the Foresters Arms (curiously also always known as the Drum and Monkey), played in Green and White. Aspirational, as I said.
There are other links between the cities that far predate the football rivalries. For example, in recognition of their financial support for Elizabeth the First, in raising money for the fleet that Drake then commanded in putting the Spanish Armada to flight, Exeter was awarded the Latin motto Semper Fidelis, which still adorns their coat of arms today.
Since Argyle run out to the Sousa march of the same name and barring the aberration of Simply the Best under Dan Macauleyâs reign have done for almost seventy years, Exeter have never really settled on a consistent theme to run out to. For many years it was the appropriate âThereâs a Good Time Coming (Be it Ever so Far away)!
Having first competed in the Southern League and FA Cup, both teams joined the Football League in its post First World War expansion in 1920. By this time Exeter City had concluded their tour of South America, which took place in 1914. This was climaxed by the match against a combined Brasilia /Sao Paulo XI which is widely recognised as being the inaugural Brazilian international match.
The club, the ninth to tour that Continent, replaced Tottenham Hotspur who pulled out of their proposed tour. Having played eight games against a variety of Argentinian opposition City were described in the Argentine press in Tribuna as "the most mediocre team of professionals sent out by the FA from the home of football". Sounds about right.
Having made it back to Brazil by the skin of their teeth after a run in with local police who sought to detain several players who were practising, Exeter then played three more matches, the final one being the one designated as the unofficial first ever Brazilian match.
Argyle too were to tour South America, in the 1920âs, beating both the national teams of Uruguay four nil (who went on to win the inaugural World Cup six years later), and Argentina one nil, as well as drawing with Boca Juniors. If any South American journalists thought Argyle in any way mediocre, they dare not express it within earshot of captain and defensive stalwart Moses Russell, whose uncompromising playing style and intelligence was much admired by his opponents.
After Argyle finally won a promotion following their six successive runners up spots, in 1930, meetings between the clubs were at best sporadic. Four seasons in the fifties and a solitary one in the final year of the sixties. It really only picked up again in the nineties and beyond.
This was mainly because Exeter plied their trade predominantly in the fourth division after it was created in 1958, to the extent that they are the fifth highest scorers at the lowest level, behind Rochdale, Darlington, Northampton, and Hartlepool.
There have been a few managerial moves as well as the logical player exchanges. Notable Exeter managers include Argyle stalwarts Johnny Hore and Bobby Saxton as well as Johnny Newman and perhaps less well remembered, John Delve in the mid 1980âs. In the mid 1960âs Ellis Stuttard had a brief spell in charge to fill in the time between Argyle appointments.
In recent years the club have become a model for managerial stability with two long serving managers in first Paul Tisdale and then Matty Taylor. His departure to Rotherham has resulted in the appointment of PowerPoint Wizkid Gary Caldwell, who having led Wigan to a promotion to the Championship a fair while ago, has a rather less than successful CV in more recent times, being sacked at Wigan, Chesterfield, Partick Thistle and most recently, alongside Shaun Maloney, by Hibs.
Among the bigger names to manage the club are Steve Perryman, Gerry Francis, Neil NcNab and of course World Cup winning legend Alan âSqueakyâ Ball. Ball moved from City via Southampton to Manchester City where he returned to pluck Martin âBusterâ Phillips from the club, predicting he would be the first ten-million-pound player. Injuries meant that that never came to pass although Buster did have a successful end to his playing career rejuvenated at Argyle under Paul Sturrock. This included a starring role in the famous 3-2 away win at St James Park, scoring the opener for Argyle, which ended the longstanding hoodoo Argyle had from playing there, in 2001.
Other notable players who travelled the A38 were Nicky Marker, Chris Curran, and Jamie Mackie. Mackie scored ninety seconds into his debut, unsilencing one fan who announce he wouldnât cheer an ex-City player until he had scored for Argyle.
Less successful was the import of Tony Kellow to Argyle. The Cornish goal getter who had a great career at Exeter over three spells, in which time he won the Football leagues Golden Boot as top goal scorer in 1981, never quite made the grade at Argyle, playing only 13 times before departing for Swansea. He sadly died aged only 58 from kidney failure.
Fred Binney was however much more of a success, being Argyles leading scorer in 1978/9. Although a Plymothian, Binneyâs route to Argyle encompassed spells at Torquay, Exeter, Brighton, and St Louis All Stars before finally arriving at his home club. He is also a member of that small group of players, which include Reg Jenkins and Chris Curran who played for all three league clubs in Devon.
Despite the rivalry Exeterâs supporters trust were on hand to offer advice and support when Argyle went through the pain of administration. City became a fan owned club after the catastrophic debacle in the early 2000âs when for a brief period the clubs honorary co-Chairman and director was Israeli illusionist and spoon bender Uri Geller.
Alongside John Russell and Mark Lewis, they and then club chairman Ivor Doble, a local jeweller, managed to rack up substantial debts, and, after the Supporters Trust investigated the club finances, the police were involved with Doble, and his wife arrested. The Trust, which had been set up initially to raise funds in support of the board realised they were being used as a cash cow and changed objectives to becoming owners. When Geller informed the police of financial issues the Trust stepped in and following the arrests bought Dobleâs shares. Russell was jailed and Lewis sentenced to 200 hours of community service for their part in the fraud. Geller slunk away and is now involved with North Berwick, a Scottish non-league team. Lucky them.
After a CVA the club spent five years in non-league before regaining League status in 2008. Since then, they remained at the bottom tier of the League barring three seasons almost immediately after their return to the League. In that time, they made an art form out of not quite making it via the play-offs. In fact, of all the clubs that have never played in the top two tiers Exeter have spent more seasons in the lowest tier than any other club. So thatâs something to be proud of.
Being a fan owned club necessitated a degree of financial prudence, and the club have developed a reputation as a selling club, with recent successes being Ollie Watkins, Matt Grimes, Ethan Ampadu (son of ex Argyle midfield legend Kwame) and Randell Williams, who headed for the bright lights of, er, Hull City. Presumably he now realises those bright lights were the trawlers coming in.
It has in fact always been that way to a degree. Cliff âBoyâ Bastin was purloined by Arsenal aged only 17 in 1929 and became their third highest goal scorer, and the sale of keeper Dick Pym to Bolton for five grand in 1921 allowed the club to buy the freehold for St James Park. The club eventually cashed in by selling the ground to Beazer Homes in the financial shenanigans under their less reputable board, before it was sold to the Council and leased back to the club.
The trust has some famous fans, notably Ade Edmondson, a season ticket holder, but no summary of the club can end without dealing with perhaps their most wacky of fans.
Not Edmondson of Bottom and Young Ones fame, not Becci the 24 stone ex-football hooligan now undergoing gender reassignment, nor even David Earl and Joe Wilkinson, the comedians who launched a podcast called My New Football Club where Gillingham fan Earl moved to Devon and began to follow the Grecians.
In 2002 co Chairman Uri Gellar invited David Blaine and another of his friends to visit the club to help raise funds. Wacko Jacko, Michael Jackson himself, the man who Al Fayed had paraded around Craven Cottage and was to eventually build a statue to, boarded a train from Paddington, where fans had paid up to a hundred pounds to simply be on the same vehicle, and headed West.
7000 people crammed into SJP, most expecting a lookalike, but to their surprise and delight the man himself appeared. Together with Geller and Blaine they spoke to the crowd and raised funds for the club and, at Jacksons insistence, for an HIV for Kids in Africa charity. Jacko an Exeter fan? Well he did own a chimpanzee called Bubbles and liked a strong beat to his disco tracks, so maybe their Drum and Monkey origins resonated?
It was bizarre, and ultimately unsuccessful, not only did City go down that season, losing their League status, but it was Geller who introduced Jackson to Martin Bashir, whose documentary was to set about destroying Jacksons reputation.
At the ground Jackson predicted England would defeat Denmark in an upcoming World Cup match, which they duly did. It is the only football prediction Jackson made, so he bats at 100%. Ironically Alan Hansen as a pundit is remembered for his prediction that Jackson might well have heeded.
âYouâll win nothing with kids.â
One kid we will be happy to see in a City shirt though is their number 9. It is a tale to gladden the soul of the hardest hearted rival that Jay Stansfield is now filling his late fathers shirt at City. It doesn't mean we want him to score, but some things transcend rivalry.
So Halloween with the Grecians, a club who once tried to bring the magic but found it was just an illusion(ist)âŚor two.
They say beware of Greeks who bear gifts. In case it is a trick.
Letâs hope for a treat in Devon Green.
COYG!
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