DN35 interview - Tommy Widdrington

Hi All,

This Thursday we welcome Tommy Widdrington to the pod to chat about his time at Town plus his playing and now managerial career.

If you have any questions for a member of the ‘98 double winning squad and current Aldershot Town Manager please add them to the below link. Please remember to add your name to your question!

We always try get through as many questions as we can however it’s not always possible due to time constraints. So if you see a question you like please give it a vote so we can see the ones most people want asked. Inevitably we’ve already had one about the vacant Town role 😂

https://app.sli.do/event/tv5V8paKXAezLHZejxWssv/live/questions

The show will be live on YouTube or available to download after.

UTM

Are you applying for the managers job?

The move saw him reunite with now Aldershot manager, Tommy Widdrington, who had brought the goalkeeper to Bristol Rovers in his previous Director of Football role.

1)tell us more about this role, now the chair has said it's an option for us in the future.

2) obviously being happy at Aldershot you're not in the least bit interested in the Gy job, so as an impartial observer , could you tell us the plusses n minuses of the job at BP?

You where a big money signing how come you could only pass sideways and did you like your nickname The Crab?

Wouldn't say no to him coming here.

He obviously wants the job. Great way to get yourself in the thoughts of the owners

When Tommy was at the club he was my favourite player! I had a town shirt with his name and number on the back.
It was my pride and joy until my brother borrowed it for PE at school and lost it. I’ve never forgiven him and I’ve not let him live it down. male masturbator!!
(my brother not Tommy).

Quoted from headingly_mariner

He obviously wants the job. Great way to get yourself in the thoughts of the owners

To be completely fair to him, we organised this pre Hurst leaving.

I wouldn't be disappointed with him at GTFC

Did a really good job at Kings Lynn - very unlucky not to get promoted season before last

Headhunted by Aldershot who have been down bottom end of NL for a number of years - currently lying 7th

Former player who has great affinity with the club

Rather him - youngish and on the up - than a has been merry-go-round manager

Think he's a North East lad originally so if he fancied the job here location unlikely to be an issue?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

You where a big money signing how come you could only pass sideways and did you like your nickname The Crab?

Harsh.

Always thought Tommy was a very good footballer.  Wasn't his fault that he was our record signing at the time.  Nor that he was brought into replace someone who was completely different to him (Paul Groves).

Whilst here I always thought he got a bit of a rough deal from the crowd, clearly it hasn't affected his affection for the club.  Think he was maybe seen as a bit of Brian Laws' boy at a time when the crowd had already started to turn on Laws. Buckley never really seemed to fancy him either.

Was a great picture of him jumping on a CARR OUT banner that was unfurled on the pitch, think it might have been in the final game against Southend of the 96/97 season.

So Tommy, what type of manager are you?

Quoted from diehardmariner

Harsh.

Always thought Tommy was a very good footballer.  Wasn't his fault that he was our record signing at the time.  Nor that he was brought into replace someone who was completely different to him (Paul Groves).

Whilst here I always thought he got a bit of a rough deal from the crowd, clearly it hasn't affected his affection for the club.  Think he was maybe seen as a bit of Brian Laws' boy at a time when the crowd had already started to turn on Laws. Buckley never really seemed to fancy him either.

Was a great picture of him jumping on a CARR OUT banner that was unfurled on the pitch, think it might have been in the final game against Southend of the 96/97 season.

Summed up brilliantly!

His son, Kai, would be a useful addition for a few coaching sessions, get some dancing feet in the opponents box, might win a few more pens…

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Think he's a North East lad originally so if he fancied the job here location unlikely to be an issue?

He's lived down south for a number of years but commuted to King's Lynn. He took a number of the King's Lynn players with him to Aldershot, and I'm not sure that strategy would work again. He did however have King's Lynn playing some brilliant stuff last season, but I imagine working for Stephen Cleeve grinds you down after a while.

In terms of ex-players, he is probably the one that stands out on merit.

Commuting to Kings Lynn is surely impossible?  You've literally got to slither through ditches and tunnels as soon as you get within 30 miles of the place.

Why do some people always look to ex-players as soon as the Manager position comes up?  Far as I can remember, none, if any did much good when they were given the chance.

Were goatee’s ever in fashion?

Quoted from diehardmariner

Commuting to Kings Lynn is surely impossible?  You've literally got to slither through ditches and tunnels as soon as you get within 30 miles of the place, from all destinations.

It’s a scary experience driving round there on a foggy early morning with huge drainage ditches all over the place; used to do that as a student job - taking pea samples back to GY.

Actually commuting there is a lot easier from the south - hourly train from London, feck-site better than the train
service to Cleethorpes.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Harsh.

Always thought Tommy was a very good footballer.  Wasn't his fault that he was our record signing at the time.  Nor that he was brought into replace someone who was completely different to him (Paul Groves).

Whilst here I always thought he got a bit of a rough deal from the crowd, clearly it hasn't affected his affection for the club.  Think he was maybe seen as a bit of Brian Laws' boy at a time when the crowd had already started to turn on Laws. Buckley never really seemed to fancy him either.

Was a great picture of him jumping on a CARR OUT banner that was unfurled on the pitch, think it might have been in the final game against Southend of the 96/97 season.

Yeah maybe a bit harsh but he was 300k and I was hugely disappointed with him compared to for example Wayne Burnett 100k. I don't object to him managing us though seems to have done alright.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Yeah maybe a bit harsh but he was 300k and I was hugely disappointed with him compared to for example Wayne Burnett 100k. I don't object to him managing us though seems to have done alright.

Wasn’t it rumoured Wayne had other “skills” as well…?

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Yeah maybe a bit harsh but he was 300k and I was hugely disappointed with him compared to for example Wayne Burnett 100k. I don't object to him managing us though seems to have done alright.

Widdrington had a decent pedigree when he arrived here. 75 top flight appearances and only 25.  We sold Groves for double the fee we paid for him, as good as Groves was it was all done at second-tier level so on paper it probably looked good business at the time.    £300,000 in the bank and replacing a very, very good second-tier player with a promising top flight player.

Burnett on the other hand was a few years older, despite time at top flight and Championship clubs he had played very few games at a higher level, the absolute majority of his games coming in the lower leagues.  Also a bit of injury record too, which I personally believe held him back from probably a top flight career.

If injuries weren't an issue, Burnett was about as much a £100,000 player as I am, of course contrasting extremes between us both.

Burnett often gets overlooked in best Town XI's but my god he was a glorious player.  He just caressed the ball, never struck it with venom even though he had a very powerful shot on him and very good long range passing.  Always looked like he wanted to look after the ball rather than welly it.  He could mix it up too.  Big bloke, wouldn't want to mess with him and he was pretty decent in the air too.  

Towards the end of his Town career I went to watch a reserve game when he was on the comeback from injury, it was very, very late in Lennie Lawrence's reign and the reserves were full of kids who Lennie had brought in from elsewhere to bridge a gap between youth and first team; Chris Thompson, Chris Bolder, Simon Ford etc.  Burnett was the only real senior pro in the team and played in a sweeper role.   I've never seen anyone control a game as much as he did that day, it was like watching a Chess Master the way he just moved people around (both on his side and the opposition) and dictated the play, effortless.  He was back in the first team soon after that, think it was a few games later Lennie got the sack.  We had become really leaky at the back and couldn't get into games.  I've always wondered if Lennie had a solution in the building waiting to change how we play.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

Wasn’t it rumoured Wayne had other “skills” as well…?

Very adept at creeping into the box undetected...

I simply didn't rate Widdrington. He could obviously never replace Groves, who was a spectacular player for us, but he didn't do enough in attack or defence for me. It was the pointing that I remember most - he'd point at the gaps when the opposition was in possession, I suppose to inform his teammates where they needed to cover, but it effectively helped the opposition know where they needed to pass the ball!

An honest enough pro who did decently elsewhere, and he seems to be doing OK in management.

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

Wasn’t it rumoured Wayne had other “skills” as well…?

Riding a harley Davison