The End, But Oh The Memories

In 1994 a young (and probably spotty) Jon Tivey was dropped at the bottom of The Angel, Notley Road car park by his Dad and was probably told, "Remember son, give 'em hell - no blood, no foul."

Jon (if he was indeed told those words) certainly took them on board and from that day on he gave the opponents he found in the Braintree & North Essex Sunday League hell. In 1994 he was meeting his Notley High School peers, who with some other unlikely individuals had formed Sporting Angels FC (shortened to Spangels by the local press in error). Some of the people likely to have greeted him in the car park that day were Dan Wilson, Chris Lynch, Matt Theobald, Craig Ramsay and Paul Whiteman.

Twelve years later an older, hairier and definitely rounder Jon Tivey limped to the side of the pitch at King George V playing fields, Braintree and took the linesman's flag for the start of the game. He was greeted by, amongst others, Dan Wilson, Chris Lynch, Matt Theobald, Craig Ramsay and Paul Whiteman. The limp was caused by a usually full-blooded tackle the previous week, which still failed to stop him appearing as a sub' for Spangels.

Unfortunately this was to be JT's last game for Spangels, as it was to be Spangels last game. How fitting then that it should be shared by so many others who were there at the beginning.

And what a legacy. Under various guises (Sporting Angels, Angel Casuals Reserves, Angel Casuals, Casuals, Casuals Reserves & Spangels) these lads had won several accolades...

However it wasn't the glory that kept them together. The companionship, regularity, even predictability of these Sunday morning jaunts were what ensured a long-term team relationship. Unfortunately, the cracks were appearing as Spangels entered season 2006/2007 but, rather than dwell on the fact that Spangels as a football team are no more, we should celebrate that which has past and I encourage thoughts to be posted here. A list of players over the years who have stood shoulder to shoulder with JT and the others may jog a few memories. This might not be a complete list, so again post any I have missed.

Tony Aitken (yes, he played once!)
Gareth Babet
Carl Bernard
Craig Bernard
Nick Bird
David Breen
Scott Brothwell
Phil Cade
Eamonn Carey
Alex Cassar
Lee Collis
Danny Corr
Alex Crow
Wayne Dowsett
Wayne Duncan
Wayne Dyson
Nick Hagan
Jason Hart
James Hayward
Simon Hewitt
Matthew Ings
John Irons
Simon Jefferson
David Kemp
Dean Lindsell
Gary Livermore
Terry Livermore
Daniel Lowe
Chris Lynch
Tom Marshall
Stephen Martin
Dale May
Jon May
Mark Morris
Bjorn Parker
Martyn Parrett
Ian Pritchard
Chris Putt
Craig Ramsay
Matt Reynolds
Neil Rivett
Daniel Sayer
Duncan Seymour
Dave Smith
Jasen Smith
Jack Stuckey
Mark Taylor
Darren Theobald
Matthew Theobald
Jon Tivey
James Todd
David Underdown
Rob Waldock
Stuart Waldock
Andy Weeks
Paul Weeks
Justin Wells
Paul Whiteman
Daniel Williams
Leighton Williams
Daniel Wilson
Richard Winsborough
Tim Woulfe

I would like to post some older photos here, so if you have any to share please let me know.

Crayzy