SOCCER

NEWLY promoted State 2 outfit Frankston Pines is looking for a senior coach.

The position became vacant last week when Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor formally resigned.

“I told the club in written form that I won’t be seeking re-appointment next season,” Taylor said.

“I’m physically and mentally washed out.

“It’s partly my problem as well as I’m a ‘boots and all’ person and if I think something needs to be done and no-one will bloody do it then I do it myself.

“I gave it my all and I reached the point where I had nothing more to give – I just couldn’t go on.”

From organising raffles to refurbishing the old changerooms at Monterey Reserve to arranging for a cherry picker then standing in the cradle changing light globes on floodlights … just some of the tasks Taylor took on, tasks well outside his coaching remit.

“You want to make things as attractive as possible to players because they need to be able to walk into a good environment with good equipment.

“You want them to have the best possible resources to help them get the job done on the pitch.

“That was why we put a TV up in the dressing rooms so we could plug a laptop in and watch games and do our video analysis.

“That was why we made the changerooms bigger – there were a lot of things like that that we did.”

Last season Taylor even became the club’s ballboy during a senior match at Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve against Ashburton.

That was a night he’ll never forget.

“There were no marshalls, no ballboys and it was pouring with rain,” he said.

“I went and sat on the far side of the pitch so we could get the ball back because Ashburton kept booting the ball out of play.

“Nobody lifted a bloody finger to help.

“There were committee people there and they just refused to help.

“I ran down to where some of them were and said ‘you all stay there nice and dry and I’ll put the team out on the park, I’ll fetch the ball and I’ll coach the team at the same time.’

“There were certain people on the committee who just stood laughing at me. They thought it was hilarious.”

Taylor was set to quit then but club captain CJ Hodgson talked him out of it.

Taylor let his feelings be known and there have been a number of meetings with the club since but as far as he’s concerned the support he needed never eventuated.

“They need more workers, more people need to get involved.”

When Taylor was appointed to the Pines job in October 2018 the club was on its knees having just avoided a takeover while the team had been relegated to State 3.

Taylor rebuilt the senior squad winning promotion this year yet a few days after the season’s end he’s cut himself adrift.

“Right now I’m trying to avoid feeling that I’ve let everybody down.

“The players are understandably disappointed because they thought we could continue what we started into State 2 but to leave now feels right for me.

“It’s an attractive job for someone to come into and I draw a lot of comfort knowing they are capable of bringing in someone of a high calibre.

“The squad is in a good position to keep going forward and to really mount a challenge in State 2.”

So what next for Taylor?

The rumour mill links him with the recently vacant senior coaching job with NPL3 club Doveton but he’s not so sure.

“I’ve heard the rumours that I’ll just wait for the right job to come along and I’ll pick and choose but I can tell you that the phone hasn’t been ringing.

“If I’m going to stay involved in the game it’ll have to be somewhere where all you do is coach.

“You can do all the usual club stuff but basically you walk in, you coach, you leave.

“As for the Doveton rumour I genuinely don’t know.

“You could get trampled in the stampede for that one.”

In NPL2 news first-choice goalkeeper Fraser MacLaren has left Langwarrin in acrimonious circumstances.

A pre-match migraine ruled out Maclaren from the last match of the home-and-away season against Manningham United at Lawton Park allowing teenage replacement Nathan Lynders to make his senior debut.

Maclaren left the venue and video surfaced of him at Beaumaris Reserve that same afternoon watching his boyhood club win the State 1 championship.

Langwarrin players alerted senior coach Scott Miller and Maclaren won’t play with the local club again.

“I’m disappointed with Fraser as I expected him to stay and support the 18-year-old who took his place,” Miller said.

“What took place was unacceptable to the playing group, the coaching staff and the club.”

Langwarrin may have its goalkeeping stocks further depleted as Lynders is trialling with A-League club Central Coast Mariners this week while Perth Glory is also believed to be showing interest.

Lynders also is on the radar of other NPL clubs.

He lined up for Langy last weekend when the locals were eliminated from the under-21s finals with a 3-0 loss to champion Northcote.

Lynders is a protégé of Langwarrin goalkeeping coach Peter Blasby who has worked with him on a one-on-basis for the past six years.

Another of Blasby’s protégés, 16-year-old Frankie Anderson, jets out to the UK this week to take up a two-year scholarship with Eastleigh Football Club who have a highly regarded development program.

The Frankston South resident was an 11-year-old playing with Bentleigh Greens juniors when he first linked up with Blasby and has also played with Springvale White Eagles.

First published in the Mornington News – 30 August 2022