NON-LEAGUE NEWS: It’s been a helter-skelter start to the season, with the Rams knocked out of the FA Cup and struggling for points in the Isthmian League, while, as ANDREW SINCLAIR reports, neighbours Croydon FC are looking solid
Good start: Croydon FC have won four of their first five games under Antonio Gonnella
For all the excitement coming out of Croydon Athletic’s Mayfield Stadium of late – the smart new Adidas kit, updated club badge, shirt sponsors and the signing of former Palace defender Pape Souare – it’s fair to say that the local non-league club which has enjoyed its best start to a season in many years has been Croydon FC under their new boss, Antonio Gonnella.
After five games, Croydon sit top of the Southern Counties East League Division One table, and Gonnella has stated that his objective is to deliver the league title and much-needed promotion at the end of the season.
Gonnella was on the coaching team at last season’s SCEFL Div1 winners Whyteleafe, where his brother was joint manager.
“Achieving the league title was a great experience and one that I needed to deliver in the role I’m in now,” Gonnella told Inside Croydon.
“Last season was a great learning experience for me, working with top players and also my brother. I was learning as a coach about how to deal with different characters.
Gonnella’s first game in charge ended with a 2-1 defeat against Elmstead but the Trams had two goals disallowed in what was a fractious match with a number of questionable refereeing decisions. Since then, they’ve been note perfect, winning four on the spin and keeping four clean sheets. At this level, that sort of defensive robustness is usually a mark of the division’s best sides.
Early days: there’s been an encouraging start for Croydon FC
“My philosophy is to press high and defend from the front off the ball. On the ball, it’s about trying to play positive, brave attacking football that allows my players to be creative and express themselves.
“It might not be a natural way for some of our players but they’ve adapted well. I’m very pleased with the squad and the performances. Four clean sheets in a row and four wins – very early days but we’ve set up a great foundation to build a promising season on.”
Scorer: Brandon Barrance has come up through the under-23s
The winning goal in the club’s most recent match came courtesy of Brandon Barrance, who is stepping up to the first team this year after playing for Croydon’s under-23s last season. Elevating the likes of Brandon and other young players is clearly a part of Gonnella’s approach.
A former Millwall youth player, Gonnella said, “I was given my first senior opportunity at 17 at Step 2 by my then manager Gavin Rose. I can now understand how brave he was in giving me a chance.
“That’s made me very passionate about player development and I’d like to be able to do the same with other young players, helping them transition from youth football to senior football. I sometimes forget that players like Brandon, Georgi Steeds, Aaron Reber and Pat McKay are all under 21. Sometimes ignoring the fact a player may only be 17 and assessing purely on abiliy gives the youngsters a good chance to play.”
The vibes at Croydon seem to be positive on and off the pitch, despite the stand at the Croydon Arena remaining shut while awaiting long-overdue and long-promised council maintenance. The Trams have had attendances exceeding 100 in each of their first three home games and with this weekend’s international break for Premier League and other pro sides, a big crowd is expected for tomorrow’s clash with Clapton Community.
Clapton are one of the division’s title favourites and they are one point behind the Trams in fourth.
“I know this league very well and every game brings its own challenges so no individual game is a fair measurement of where we’re at,” Gonnella said. “Clapton look a very good side and will be a great test for us.”
Eye-catching: Papa Souare is the latest former Palace player to arrive at Mayfield Stadium
There was a flurry of transfer activity among the non-leaguers through August, just as there was with the football big boys, if not quite the same sums of money involved.
Surely the most eye-catching signing locally came on transfer deadline day when Croydon Athletic announced the arrival of left-back Pape Souare.
Now 34, the former Crystal Palace and Senegal defender was with Scottish Premiership side Motherwell last year. A serious ankle injury with associated fracture sustained in October was a massive blow for Souare, who was not given a contract extension by the Scottish club.
“We’re hoping Pape will bring lots of experience and know-how,” Jermaine McGlashan, the Rams boss who led the Stormzy and Wilf Zaha-owned club to a play-off promotion to the Isthmian League and English football’s eighth tier last May, told Inside Croydon.
“We have a good mix of experience and youth in the squad but I feel particularly in that area we lacked a bit of a cutting edge in and out of possession.
“More importantly, it makes us a bit more experienced at the back.”
There’s been a notable up-tick in the calibre of players arriving at Mayfield Road over the past 12 months under the new co-owners, including former Palace back-room staffer Danny Young, with the likes of former Palace prospects Brandon Pierrick and Reece Hannam now in the side.
The turnaround under McGlashan was nothing other than astonishing. “To come in at a club sitting 17th in the table in November and then end up with promotion is an unreal feeling,” McGlashan said.
“The play-offs wins were certainly the best achievement in my short managerial career but also one of the best in my entire journey in football.”
After that high, there’s been a couple of reality checks so far this season in the Isthmian South East Division, with McGlashan’s men only picking up one point from their first three league games. However, they’re not without victory this season – they’ve won three times in the cups.
Athletic reached the first qualifying round of the FA Cup, beating Guildford City and VCD Athletic before losing to Burgess Hill Town. That run bagged them £3,319 in prize money and the Rams have since made a winning start in the Velocity Cup, a league cup for Isthmian sides, after beating Rayners Lane 4-1 in midweek.
McGlashan said: “We’d of course hope to be on more league points at this stage of the season but we have to take the positives in the way we are playing and understanding that if we keep doing the right things, our luck will turn.
“We’re looking to build on those cup wins going into the FA Trophy game this Saturday. It’s all about momentum. There’s no panic from me – I know this group are more than capable of putting a run together but we have to be a bit patient. It’s a new group in a new league, so it won’t all happen straight away.”
And the impressive signing have continued, with star men Pierrick and Richard Pingling retained and added quality in the midfield and forward areas with the signings of ex-Palace academy talent Nya Kirby and Guyana international winger Kadell Daniel.
McGlashan’s men take on Southern League side Beaconsfield Town in the FA Trophy this weekend before they face three league games in 11 days against Merstham, Erith Town and Steyning Town Community.
FIXTURES
Croydon Athletic
Tomorrow: FA Trophy Q Rd 1 v Beaconsfield T (H)
Tue Sep 10: Isthmian South East Div v Merstham (H)
Sat Sep 14: Isthmian South East Div v Erith T (A)
Sat Sep 21: Isthmian South East Div v Steyning TC (H)
Tue Sep 24: Isthmian South East Div v Lancing (A)
Sat Sep 28: Isthmian South East Div v Three Bridges (A)
Sat Oct 5: Isthmian South East Div v Hythe T (H)
Sat Oct 12: Isthmian South East Div v Margate (A)
Croydon FC
Tomorrow: SCEFL Div 1 v Clapton Community (H)
Wed Sep 11: SCEFL Div 1 v Halls AFC (H)
Sat Sep 14: SCEFL Div 1 v Canterbury C (A)
Wed Sep 25: SCEFL Div 1 v Tooting Bec (A)
Sat Sep 28: SCEFL Div 1 v Rochester (A)
Sat Oct 5: SCEFL Div 1 v Sheppey Sports (H)
Sat Oct 12: Kent Senior Trophy prelim rd v VCD Ath (H)
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
