The Wheeler brothers managed to get an interview with Club Captain Paul Dutton 10 days before the end of season awards evening. Skip talks openly about the season, what went wrong and more importantly where he sees the clubs future.
JW: Hello Skip how are you?
PD: Not too bad thanks Wheels, not bad at all.
JW: How would you sum up your season personally?
PD: An indifferent season, I think I started quite well but it tailed off towards the end. I don’t know why, the team as a whole didn’t have a particularly good season and for whatever reason I was part of that as well.
JW: Your availability wasn’t fantastic would that have been a factor of not playing regularly? Of course you have to work and work is more important than football unfortunately.
PD: I think for a player of my availability it doesn’t make any difference whether I play once month or every week. I just need to produce it on the day and I think its been more a mental issue this year and for some reason I wasn’t focused on the games.
JW: That’s interesting to know Skippy, as captain you weren’t focused!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Starts Laughing)
JW: Also I found this year that you got switched around a little bit more than normal. You were the makeweight. You played right back, left back, centre mid, wide midfield even up front a couple of times. Where do you think you should play?
PD: Well of course Wheels everybody thinks there a Striker and I’m no exception. Got six goals last season, thought that this year the Gaffer might show some faith in his captain and stick him up front and bang in the goals. But you know the Gaffer is the Gaffer he makes the decisions he doesn’t need to justify them to me, I wish he would sometimes. I’m not criticising Gaffer he does a great job but I wanna play up front. Simple!
JW:
So if you could pick where you could play, you’d be a striker?
PD: Of course.
MW: You’re forgetting Wheels, Skip was a striker when he started.
JW: Thanks Matt.
PD: Matt’s right, cheers mate!
JW: What the hell are you, Skippers support brigade?
Everybody starts cracking up
MW: He scored some goals up there. He got a cracker over at Wembley.
JW: Shut up Matt! You only got one goal this season is that right?
PD: Yes Wheels one goal, and that was an illegal goal to as the ball never came out of area from a goal kick. Did you play in the game?
JW: No.
PD: It was over at Yeading.
MW: It was when I was in goal wasn’t it?
PD: Yep, Goalie kicks out, didn’t get out of the box . . . . .. . . (says proudly) and I’ve latched on to it.
JW: With your predatory instincts Skip.
PD: It was like a fox in box you know. They call Martin that but its wrong he’s not a natural goal scorer.
JW: Okay Skip lets move on. Why do you think the team has struggled this term? Where we unlucky?
PD: I think we are generally an unlucky side. Maybe you could argue that you make your own luck and you get what you deserve and all the cliques. I think if we start a season badly that sets the tone for the whole campaign and again this year we didn’t start particularly brightly. We had a great game in the cup against Linton and I thought that was going to kick start our season, but we just never seemed to get it right and get going. I really don’t know what it was down to. I know we went up a division but we do have good players and I really can’t put a finger on what went wrong.
JW: Availability of team was poor this season Skip. Do you think that had a bearing? Some games we only had 11 men, others we had 11 plus an injured sub. I’m not having a go at players not being around but if they were would we have done better? I mean we drew with Xotic and there a terrible side and you can put that on record.
PD: I don’t know whether its down to availability though, because I think at least this year everybody has had a fair crack. There hasn’t been many players who the Gaffer has had to leave out this year. I mean the Gaffer hasn’t has many selection dilemmas this season. The availability of players is that an issue? I don’t know if it is an issue. Everybody is getting older, they other commitments now not just football on a Sunday morning unfortunately. Maybe that’s wrong and maybe we should all be committed to football. But its not the case.
JW: This is our seventh season, are you impressed that it’s still going or did you always think it would carry on and is it interesting to look back and seen how far we have come as I think we have come far as a club.
PD: I’m not surprised that we’re still going, the people who work hard for this club, the Gaffer, yourself, Dave, your Mum the people behind the scenes that do all the work. We’ve got a great team behind the team.
MW: Setup?
PD: Thanks Matt, that was the word I was looking for . . . Setup, a great team behind the team, I’ve got no worries about the team carrying on as there always seems an abundance of players who want to play for us and I think that is because of the team that we are as we try and play football we all get on we have laugh off the pitch we also have a laugh on the pitch and we don’t take footy too seriously as it is only Sunday league Football, isn’t it? I know there will be people in the squad who will criticise me for saying that.
JW: Crofty!!!!!!!
MW: Clarkey!!!!!!
PD: There will be thinking that every game is a big game and all that and of course is it and when you’re out on the pitch you want do your best but when you walk off the pitch that’s it game over!
MW: Go down The Goodwill!!!!!!
PD: Go down The Goodwill . . . . Some of you (Laughing)!!!!!
JW: What is your favourite Headstone Rangers goal? personally, one that stands out for you.
PD: What for me that I scored or someone else?
JW: One of each would be good.
PD:
Of all the goals I remember us scoring and I know Matt’s here but I would have
to say his 50 yard effort over at Birbeck
College.
MW: Cheers Mate!
PD: That one really sticks out for me. But for me personally scoring on tour was a great moment of Rangers career.
JW: It’s a great feeling isn’t it Matt? That’s right you haven’t done it! Me and Skip have it.
PD: It’s a great feeling isn’t it Wheels? I’m glad you managed to join that exclusive club this year. I would love to see those stats displayed somewhere showing who has and who hasn’t scored on tour. Get some t-shirts made up saying ‘I have scored on tour for the Rangers’.
JW: I mean is it because Skip and I spoke to Dave Reynolds about this in an earlier interview and he said that Nick’s goal on tour was his favourite is that because . . .
PD: Nepotism Wheeler, that’s the word you’re looking for. Don’t beat around the bush, that’s Nepotism.
JW: I’ll have to get a dictionary out for that!
PD: Look it up!
JW: Is it because though Skip that you play at nice grounds in front of bigish crowds.
PD: Well I suppose 20 screaming Dutchman is a big crowd for us.
MW: Skip’s goal was against the Turks.
JW: Yeah, your goal was against the Dutch Turks.
PD: Sorry Wheels forgot the question, what was it?
JW: You’re favourite goal?
PD: I think it will have to be young Matty’s goal!!!!
JW: Okay Mate, You’re favourite game?
PD: My favourite game? That is a tuffy. No wait a minute I have got an answer for that. It was when we won 4-2 in the cup against Larkspur.
JW: That was the game when Jimbob saved a penalty in the last minute and Gooders went up the other end and scored.
PD: Yeah Pete Cotton was left back, Crusher and I could see at the end of the game what the result meant to him that day. He seemed to really enjoy it.
MW: You’re scored didn’t you Skip?
JW: I think you’re right Matt.
PD: I scored in the first half. But that result epitomised the team and the team spirit at that time and still is.
JW: That was a very big result for us at that time.
PD: Yeah.
JW: Which signing has had the biggest influence?
PD: Apart from the original group?
JW: One of each, an original member and a signing.
PD: Of the original players, Jarv is the one with a touch of class. You can see it in everything he does, he is a cut above most of us. From the signings, I know Liggo was one of the originals but after he came back for someone who isn’t a natural footballer.
MW: Egg Chaser!
PD: Right, he’s a not a natural footballer but he’s an exceptional player.
JW: He doesn’t even support a team Skip!
PD: Well quite. When he’s fit he makes such a difference.
JW: What are your goals as Headstone Rangers Captain? How old are you Skip? 28?
PD: I’m at my prime now Wheels.
JW: At your peak. What else do you want to achieve?
PD: We’ve got to win something. A cup would be nice but we have got to win a league title because that is a mark of consistency. If you can do that through an entire season that proves what you are as a team. I know we were runners up one year and that was a big achievement. But we should be winning something now. Having played in the Middlesex Cup in the last couple of years and seeing the team’s who have won it, there’s no reason why we can’t win it.
JW: How long do you see your Headstone Rangers career going on for? Have you got a retirement date?
PD: I haven’t got a set date, I mean I look at the Gaffer as my marker.
JW: 56.
PD: 56 and still pulling on the Rangers jersey occasionally.
JW: Sorry 59, he played on tour last year.
PD: 59 I could be playing still then.
JW: I won’t be!!!!! Captaincy, do you still enjoy doing it Skip? I mean it’s not like a Cricket Captain when you have do a lot.
PD: I mean it’s the prestige more than anything. It’s an honour to be captain of the club and it’s something when I was first asked to do it I was …
JW: Did you cry?
PD: No I didn’t cry, no that’s not true. It’s an honour to be asked to be captain and to the job, but I think you know when the time is right to pass the job on to somebody else. When you have seasons like this one and you think to yourself ‘well is it down to me, is it my captaincy’. But then you look at some of the dross in the team and think it can’t be (starts laughing).
JW: Oh yeah, people like Clarkey and Crofty.
PD: Go on Wheels, you tell them! Don’t forget Olly! I enjoy being captain of course I do. But if the players felt that they wanted a new captain, fine then I would go.
JW: There you go lads, get voting. Thanks Skip.
PD: Cheers thanks for having me