A sit down with... Harry Stapley of Westfield FC
A sit down with... Harry Stapley of Westfield FC
Harry is first team manager for Westfield FC down in East Sussex. An ambitious step 7 club with a Premier League footballer as their owner. Nottingham Forest's Steve Cook. Harry has been with Westfield for over 10 years from player to manager. In the blog below we find out more about Harry himself and his journey with Westfield alongside just how much pressure comes with your owner being a Premier League Footballer.
Let’s start with you over 10 year
affiliation with Westfield FC, from player to reserve team manager now to first
team manager. When you 1st joined at 18 did you ever thing you'd end up saying
for such ongoing service?
From minute one, it felt like
westfield was the club for me. Giving me my first team debut away to
Storrington after being under 18s captain for a season. The debut didn't go to
well lost 4-0, but it was an experience I really enjoyed. So, making it now to
over 10 years is a really proud personal moment. I've never felt my heads been
turned to go anywhere else, and the chance now to lead the club into our new
home is a great feeling and one I'm really relishing.
A bad knee injury ended your
playing days, was there always a desire to then go into coaching?
I'm from a football family.
Obviously, everyone's dreams are always to carry on playing for as long as you
can, but when your body decides its had enough even for me at such a young age
in my career at just 24. My dad is my idol in terms of football, and probably
second to that is my brother Jack chairman of westfield football club. Watching
dad on the sidelines when he was assistant manager to Sean Ray at hastings
going all the way to the 3rd round of the fa cup away to Middlesborough from
then really it was always a case of when not if i went into management .I
always had ambitions to stay in football one way or another and grateful for
Jack to give me the chance to take on the reserves at such a young age
After a successful season last
season with the reserves (winning the league by 8 points), did you feel ready
to step up to the senior side as manager?
I felt ready at the time and felt
I could bring something fresh to the club leading from the top, I have my own
style of play which I've crafted over the last few years with my now assistant
David Miller who was coach for me in the reserves for the league winning season
and adding jon gardener and andy wallbank to our coaching team we really have
refined it that bit more. Last season was a real joy to be a part of and
winning the league after lagging behind halfway through the season, sitting 3rd
9 points behind the leaders to come out winning by 8 points showed it started
to come together at the right time.
Most in the know will know
Westfield for their Premier League owner is Nottingham Forest's Steve Cook. How
much involvement does he have and does it put the pressure on you knowing the
standards Cook sets himself on the pitch?
Steve's a fantastic professional. Also, he is a really good family friend. His knowledge at the start of the season when I went to him for some defensive advice was vital to our start. Like I was told at the start of taking this job, I'm probably the first manager in westfield history that's got a bit of pressure on my shoulders. Expectations of top 3 were laid out, and so far, we aren't far behind where we need to be.
As we speak your comfortably sat in the top half of the Mid Sussex Premier Division. What were you initial aims for this season?
Our initial aims were top 3. These
aims haven't changed and continue to be where we aim to finish. It's been a
massive swing from last year where the side had a difficult season. We've
turned that around, and anything lower than 3rd for us is failure.
And how far are you looking to
take Westfield? is there an ambition to get into the pyramid at step 6
especially with the Westfield Downs Project for a new ground approved?
The next step up is always the
target. We aim to take them as far as it's possible for us to go. The ground is
nearly ready, which we are all really excited about. If the next steps aren't
the aim, what's the point in doing it is my view.
Footballing
Dinner party. Harry Stapley & 4 guests dead or alive. Who’s getting an
invite?
Johnnie Jackson (ex Charlton captain),
Frank Lampard (My favourite out of the England midfielder debate)
John Terry (favourite captain ever)
Carlo Cudicini (Probably my favourite goalkeeper of all time)
Your all time 5 a side team that
you have either played with or managed them?
1 keeper, 1 defender, 2 midfielders, 1 striker
Goalkeeper - Matt Armstrong-Ford
Defender - Sean Ray
Midfielders - Steve Payne & Alfie Simmons
Forward - Bradley Goldberg
Finally, for anyone reading this
who may want to come and see your Westfield side in action. What kind of
football does your team play and what kind of welcome would you expect at
Westfield Parish?
My style of play is a fast pace
passing game with a high press to try and suffocate teams into mistakes. Anyone
Is welcome at the parish field and will receive a very friendly family welcome
when coming to watch everyone's very approachable and the more people watching
the lads the better.
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 whether that be through the longer form "A sit down with..." or the shorter "In Profile" there's a blog for everyone. I’m really enjoying putting these together with some more exciting future guests to come.
Until the next one
Peace
Luke @PL2NL
