A sit down with... Jonny Upton Manager of Southwell City
A sit down with... Jonny Upton
Jonny is Mr Southwell City. Current first team manager and also racked up over 100 appearances for City during his playing career.
Firstly Jonny, A huge thank you for taking time out of your day to answer these questions. I really appreciate it.
Let’s start with a bit of background.
Started out at Mansfield as a teenager and was offered a youth contract but
chose against it. What was the thinking behind turning this down?
To be honest we (parents and I) just balanced the pros and cons. The big
things for me were likelihood of making it & the wages you'd get for 2/3
years leading up to a pro, which were like £70pw. Both of those weren't
positive vs an education & a likely uni place, so I opted for the latter.
Each to their own isn't it I guess. There were 5 of us who got offered one, but
Kitch (Ashley Kitchen) was the most complete out of all of us & a great
lad. He played a few games pro for them before they unfortunately cut him away.
I often think that if he didn't make it, I'm pretty sure we (other 4) wouldn't
have done.
Before Southwell you followed Brett
Marshall around a few clubs. Being a young player, how much did Brett help you
develop as a player? And how much of an influence did someone with the
reputation of Brett have on you now as a manager yourself?
After Stags I went back to Southwell & Marsh then came in during the
summer I’d never heard of him but his character & personality was obvious
from day 1. You'd know he was in the room if you shut your eyes. But his man-management was amazing and that's what his success was
built on. He had a really good job outside of football & he was used to
working around people, so he brought that into his football. He then surrounded
himself with people who were experts in their field, eg Tony Cook who did the
coaching & Gwyn who was his physio.
People buy people, & a lot of that is apparent at Southwell now,
it's a proper community club & Brett brought that to life. He gave me my
debut for the club & threw me and a couple of other young lads in at an
early age. He always got the balance of the squad right too, that's really
tough to do. Us youngsters were surrounded by lads who'd played hundreds of
games and won trophies higher up. People didn't play for City because we had
budget, they played because of Brett. So yes, I'd say a lot of what was good
about the club then we're trying to replicate now & I clearly have a big
role to play in that ongoing.
You've also been a big success in the
Sunday football scene. Managing Wheatsheaf. What are the main differences from
Saturdays to Sundays?
Well firstly, the key thing is what's similar, and for me that's the
camaraderie. Sundays are for playing a little bit hungover with your mates,
physical tackles, crap pitches & a few beers after. But through that you
get to learn about your teammates, and at Sheaf we have always kept the nucleus
of the same squad together. That's majorly different to a lot of other Sunday sides
in Newark who chop and change about. Once you realise the talent, loyalty &
you're surrounded with decent lads, we were always going to be successful. I
think across the decade whilst I played and managed, we won so many trophies
that we must be up there in the most successful era for the club. It became
that good that there was a time when most treated Sundays more importantly than
Saturday's - which wouldn't happen now. A lot of the lads on Sunday have played
for me on Saturday for City too which is great for the area.
Moving to Southwell
City now. 150 games as manager and 145 as a player (according to twitter). Did
you ever imagine when you first signed there you’d rack up such numbers?
I should've had more as a player tbh, but injuries shut me down! I did
my ACL at 16 and my hamstrings never recovered properly. Some of that is me and
the lack of stretching etc during the week, but naturally my body takes so much
longer to recover from exercise. Even now after a run I'd feel it - I'm getting
old!
As for management, I didn't really have a game target. When I took it
over from Tom Mac, we were doing okay in the league, but we weren't close to
promotion and more importantly, didn't have the facilities to go up anyway.
Once I was heavily involved the progression of the club off the field, the
games just racked up! 150 in, we've won 88 of them & won 2 trophies so I'd
say it's been a success so far.
Not many non league players or
managers get close to 100 games as a player or manager for a side. You're
pushing 300 all in, what does Southwell City mean to you?
I think Southwell is a special club and there's a reason lots of players
stay around the place for a long time. It's got that feel to it, something you
can't buy or invest in. Obviously, I see it as my club & I’m hugely proud
of where it is now.
First trophy came with the NSL senior
cup. Looking at the cup run, you score the winner on the way to the final then
a 6-1 in the final. What memories do you have of this cup run?
Ha, well there's 2 stories to this. Firstly, we played Cavs away in one
of the rounds, we were short and I was a sub. We went 1-0 down, 2 lads came off
injured & the inevitable happened. I had to come on but ended up scoring
the winner with a decent finish too tbf! That was my last ever goal for the
club which obviously on reflection means a lot.
The 2nd story is that I actually missed the final. Me and 2 mates booked
a trip to Miami & my flight back was due to land on the morning of the game
(I changed it & brought it forward from original date). However, it ended up
being delayed for 5 hours & I missed the game. I landed back in Southwell
just as they brought the cup home! Obviously, I was gutted to miss it but
equally I was more happy that we won it as a club as it was our first
silverware in ages & we battered a decent Stapleford side in the final.
Last season saw you
take Southwell into the pyramid and step 6 football for the first time in the
club’s history. Going unbeaten in the league for 21 games, in what was the last
season at The Memorial Ground. Just how important was it to try and make the
last season at The Memorial Ground a successful one?
The message to the lads was 'whether you like it or not, you guys are the ones who'll be the last ever team to play here, whilst being the first to open Brinkley'. That was responsibility for a club that was founded in 1893 and spent 75+ years playing here. They got it, as I said earlier, most are from the area. But being honest, I didn't think we'd get promoted after 4 games in. We'd only got 4 points & struggled a little, but then hit that run of form which coincided with breaking records & shooting up the table. I think we probably take for granted what a big year it was & so much went off, that to crown it with a league champions medal (which we actually never got!), is something to always be proud of.
Although I’ve not
been there myself (yet), Southwell looks from the outside that it's run in a
way all non league clubs should be. Just how much does having the community
backing the club help you lead the senior side?
Every club is different and I guess there's no right or wrong way to be
successful. The beauty of this club is the thing that makes it special, you
cannot buy. We don't have investors or major club sponsors, everything is
organic. We have a committee of 8 people which I'm part, and our task is help
run the entire club from U6 through to seniors. We have 38 teams now which is
the most we've ever had & we continue to grow. Our girls teams are
basically full up to U16 & both facilities have been heavily invested in to
help continually improve us. From a senior perspective, we've had to work
really hard to drum up the interest and volunteers. We unfortunately lost 2
stalwarts in Ged & Mick who passed away, and they did so much for me that I
probably took their help for granted. But we now have several volunteers who
help on matchday, we try to get the junior section involved where we can &
I think (& hope) the community can see that.
For those that don’t know, Southwell
City have now moved to Brinkley, How much having such a new set up that is a
place for Southwell to call their home. Has this helped the club adapt to
pyramid football?
Before we moved, there was a huge amount of nervousness and reluctance
from lots of locals. "Arnold did that and look what happened". The
risk was always there but I guess there were 2 major differences. 1) we weren't
and still don't pay, and the level of football we were playing at be Arnold was
lower. 2) we couldn't charge any entry as we played on a park, so from a
revenue perspective the only way was up! Yes we'd lose stragglers who'd walk
their dogs and watch 30mins, but for the longer term state of the club we had
to move. Even the sceptics realised that the competition we used to play
against had all moved up a league, so we had to try and join them.
What I would say is despite my nerves at first, what we've done with
Brinkley in such a small space of time is ridiculous & it already feels so
much like home. The quality of the facilities for the level we're at is great,
& we've tried to do everything we can to the best we can within the budget
we've had.
With a clear pathway from youth
football to the senior side at Southwell. How much in the coming years will
this help the senior side as I know this is something that's important to all
at Southwell?
Yes, that's another key trait. We often get asked about it as it's quite
rare but we have no other way but to try and incorporate some of our youth. I think
something like 2/3 of all the appearances over the last three seasons
were by lads who'd come through the ranks, which is quite remarkable really.
I now take a strong interest in how our U16-18s are performing, & we have a
development side as well as a reserves, so the path for any kids at the club is
clear & open. If you're good enough you're old enough as they say, and
that's something I've taken from Brett.
How have you found the step up to
United Counties Division 1?
It's tough! We came into the season bouncing but we've had to face into
several realities. We contacted dozens of lads over the summer but given our
catchment area & the fact we don't pay, it was always going to be tough to
get the strength in depth that we need. We have to keep context and perspective
- and I'm guilty of losing that at times too. Let's realise the level we're at
& relish it. We've played against teams who are paying up to £300 a game to
players, that's my budget for the season and it got us a bus to 1 away game!! I joke but the serious point is there's different levels even within
the league. It's such a strong step 6, money has filtered down quickly and you
can now make a decent living playing twice a week in the UCL across 42 league
games.
What we try to do is maximise everything we can to be as good as we can
be. I've made mistakes this season which I'll learn from and the league is
ruthless, but there's also a load to be proud about. I think social media-wise
we're punching way above our weight, the facilities are great, our new kits are
lovely, we proactively support men's mental health, we're getting
crowds of 140+ on average, we're the cheapest entrance in the league, our
printed programmes are great, we have 3 senior teams & the other 2 will be
challenging for promotion, lots of our players are local, a new stand will be
up around Xmas and I could go on.
It can be frustrating losing games and none of the above wins you
points, but stepping back from the noise, we've made so much progress in such a
short space of time that if we continue to do what we do best, we'll be fine.
With some good side teams in the
league you’re now in, are you and your squad relishing the challenge you have
this season and what is your main aim for the season?
As above really! Let's appreciate where we're at and go from there.
Whenever you get promoted at any level the first step is to secure safety. Once
a club does that, you can then kick on. It's no different for us. We get to
travel to Oadby & Carlton in the cups too, both of whom are step 5 & 4
and that'll be a great test.
Footballing Dinner party. Jonny Upton
& 4 guests dead or alive. Who’s getting an invite?
Thierry Henry,
Arsene Wenger,
Ronaldo (R9)
George Best.
Wenger changed English football, Henry is my hero & the reason I
support Arsenal, R9 would've been one the best ever without injuries & Best
would just be fascinating!
Your all time 5 a side Southwell City
team, you could have played with or managed them?
1 keeper - Max Danby - He won us the league for Sheaf. In his peak, he was the best in the area. A cat. Top lad, too. Love a pint!
1 defender - Dan Brown - The best product to come from our youth since I’ve been here. Dedicated, never missed a game, listened, learned & one of the first on the teamsheet for me. Great lad.
2 midfielders - Ant Brown - One of my best mates. Racked up 170+ games, fit as fiddle before his big injury & was versatile too. Loved a tackle.
Tom Mac - An annoying knack of just being in the right place. You can’t coach what he had. His ACL ended his career but what an asset he was.
1 striker - Romello Nangle - His natural talent is unreal. We only had him for a short time but what a player. His pace is frightening & he should be playing much higher.
Finally, and as I’ve not ticked
Southwell off yet but hope to soon. For anyone that’s at a loose end and sees
Southwell are playing at home. What would they expect from their visit and what
would they see from a Jonny Upton side?
We try to play where we can, attack in numbers and you'll see a side
that doesn't give up. Hopefully you'd catch us when we're in better form than
we're in now!!
A huge thank you to Jonny for taking part and telling his footballing
story so far. I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I did putting this together.
I'm looking forward to ticking Southwell off in the not too distant future and
they are certainly a club at the heart of their community. Best of luck for the
rest of the season and I wish you all the success in the future.
If
you would like to feature on a future interview drop me a message on twitter
and I would love to share your football story through the blog. We all have a
footballing story to tell and I’m really enjoying putting these together with
some more exciting future guests to come.
Until the next
one
Peace
Luke @PL2NL
