Manx Football's Rolls-Royce

This week I'm joined by Manx footballing Rolls-Royce 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 in an episode packed with highs and lows. He candidly talks about his beginnings at St George's, his rise to professional football, them grand slam wins, his Island days and his aspirations to go into management full-time in the future. 

 

We also reflect on the positive and negative aspects of the local game currently. As always we round out the podcast with his ultimate 7-A-Side Manx Football team in 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧-𝟳.

 

This is one for the football purists, 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗡𝗢𝗪. 

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Hello and welcome back to the latest episode of the way
representing clubs like peel stockport county
macklefield and the isle of man national team currently he's
not playing he's not only playing he's also
managing at st george's johnny myers it's
a pleasure to have you on me how's it going yeah going well no
thanks having me no worries johnny so let's get into

(00:27):
this like i do do with all of my guests rewind the
clock back a bit where does johnny myers football and
journey start so you know
funnily enough it started when i was about eight years old so
i wasn't really playing and a friend of mine steven rundle was
playing for st george's at the time so you know
had a sleepover staying at his house went along with him

(00:47):
to training you know i got asked to join in by dave power
he was you know a very influential figure in the
early part of my career so i joined in and then obviously you
know must have impressed signed sort of the next couple
of weeks and that's how I kind of got into to play for
St George's at that time so played for St George's all the
way up until I then got signed for Stockport County

(01:09):
you know the reason why we we kind
of had trials at Stockport was me Chris and Steedo we stayed back a year in
the Center of Excellence and to help the numbers out in the in the year below
and as kind of a thank you Lee Dixon got us a trial at Stockport Buck County
so obviously went over there for a week on the Tuesday I got signed so went on the Monday.

(01:31):
Impressed in the first two days and got offered a contract two years scholarship at that point.
Had some wonderful experiences there obviously played at Anfield played in the
FA Youth Cup played against some really good players like Neil Mellor for Liverpool
and George Santos for Sheppard United people like that unfortunately things didn't work out there,

(01:54):
And then when I was 18, I moved to Macclesfield.
So a guy called Dave Moss was manager there. He used to play for Man City.
So kind of got signed there for six months on a six-month contract.
Did really well there. So I was playing against a guy called George Abbey,
who was on a two-year deal, played for Nigeria.
So obviously went back home at that point, waiting for a call.

(02:16):
Once they've had a chat, unfortunately, he got sacked then.
So it was kind of disappointing on that front. and one regret maybe I would
have had was I didn't really go back out and start trying to find clubs and things like that.
That actually leads me on to a thing from a very good friend of yours.
And a good like a very very good footballer chris bass jr sent me a message

(02:37):
and he basically asked that question he says do you have any regrets about not
trying to stay in the pro great pro game longer than you did yeah so you know
some it's something that i'm over now and i was over,
fairly quickly i say it took a few years to kind of kind of realize but at the
time you know i was i was fit i was playing over here and i was doing really

(02:58):
well kind of like you know i've come back And I was, you know, when Alan played a year,
first year back and kind of like enjoyed that sort of side of it.
So I don't regret that side, but I had offers to go to New Zealand,
Australia, St. Albans, places like that.
I think once you don't go back within a certain timeframe, you kind of get stuck,
not stuck, but you're kind of just happy where you are.

(03:19):
And life was going well, you know, football was good. I was playing in the Island
team going away, you know, with them at a young age.
So it's something that if you if you look back at all the time and
regret it and you know you'll never move forward but
at the time probably when I was up to about 21 22 I
regretted going back but then after that you know I've done
a fair amount in my career where I can you know I could be happy where I'm at

(03:41):
yeah and you you're as long as you're confident in that and you know you as
you say you've not got that regret anymore you've been there you've give it
a go and I think you know within your rights you you've given that your best
effort you've come back and you've been being comfortable back on the Isle of Man.
So when you come back to the Isle of Man, what happens?
Yeah, so just one thing to add. So obviously, I don't know if people know about

(04:02):
ITV Digital, you know, back in the old days.
But around the time I left Macclesfield was when ITV Digital went bust.
So lots of clubs relied on that TV money that they gave to buy players like,
say, me and all the youngsters coming through.
So I think like the turnover was normally like 1,500 apprentices that would
get let go across the leagues. And I think it was like 3,000 that year.

(04:25):
So there wasn't enough money around really. And that's, you know,
probably one of the reasons why I didn't go back because it was going to be
really difficult to fight against them 3,000.
But like, yeah, coming back to the Allemagne, obviously, you know,
I had to get a real job as such.
But football, you know, you're coming straight back into St.
George's and you're playing with all the players I was playing with at the time.

(04:45):
And, you know, you could see we were starting to do something and it was really
enjoyable to help them sort of start that journey.
You know, you like to see Chris Bass, Sean Quays, Julian Bingham,
exceptional footballers.
And then you had like your Craig Luntz and, you know, people like that who were
like Paul Davis even was there, Steve Clarke, Bass Senior was playing.
So it was dead easy just to come straight back in to football and it wasn't

(05:09):
really something that, you know, I didn't have like a period out of the game.
Like I love football like, you know, like more than most people.
You know, if I'm not playing, I'm watching, I'm coaching, I'm talking about it.
And so it was kind of a natural transition just to cap it up playing.
Yeah, so you come back into that St.
George's side and at the time they weren't the big winners at the time where,
you know, the success that St. George's have had and will go on to that.

(05:31):
It's what for you brings that in like how how
do you enjoy playing with them lads is it a group
mentality sort of to get that to get to that
point is that where it begins yeah definitely you've hit
the nail on the head so you have to have people all everyone's got to be on
the same page yeah and it's difficult now because not everyone is and society's
changed a bit but we had we had 16 to 20 lads who were very very good footballers

(05:57):
and who were determined and And they were, you know, they were aggressive in what they wanted to do.
And once you've got that common goal and everyone goes together,
then it's just enjoyable.
And you can see it a mile away. Like I can, I seen it when Corinthians had a
two-year period where they all trained like mad and you could see the momentum.
But you've got to continue to do it all the time. You've got to be doing it

(06:18):
two or three times a week. And that's what we were doing.
We were training extra than anyone else. We were running harder than anyone else.
And you could just see it was a matter of time before we started taking over.
Yeah and it's like you mentioned that corinthians
team and you mentioned how hard you were training you know there's a
lot of people say oh they were there they were getting things
you were going out i think it was at monday wednesday

(06:40):
thursday you were training weren't you were training three times a
week at that point you know you do the football stuff two
days a week but the fitness element of that and i
think that was a big key part of st george's as well
for manx football I think it's
a big cliche to say everyone fit footballers win games
don't they fit football teams win games and yous were

(07:00):
out doing the steps you were you know running on
the prom fireman's runs did that do you
think that also helped us in in like getting there as
well you know being fitter than everyone else you
know you had the talent there but you had to work for that fitness part as well
yeah well like you know one of the managers that that helped me massively Kevin
Manning so his one of his famous sayings was you give me eight athletes and

(07:22):
I'll win you games of football but that should be the base layer like the fitness
element should be a base layer for any player.
You know, I didn't like fitness, but I'd done all the training sessions and
I got to a fitness for my level where I could do 90 minutes and my talent would take over.
You know, but the best thing about doing fitness together as a group is you're
all doing the same thing and you're all in it together. And that's the biggest part.

(07:46):
I think now football's changed. So it's more football fitness,
not pure fitness and then talent.
It's all, you know, you're doing like lots of running with the ball and stuff
like that. I know sprints and things like that.
Yeah, yeah. You're not going for a 10K run.
Yeah, it's plyometric stuff and it's stuff like that. And it's not,
you know, and that sort of stuff we used to do on our own time as well.

(08:09):
And that was, you know, Bas Senior was a real sort of old school manager in that sense.
And I get that the game's moved on and you're not going to get sort of managers doing that all the time.
But you have to have a little bit of it in there. Otherwise, like you say,
the biggest thing I always say about fitness is when you start to get unfit,
when you've got to do a run you always sigh and you always think
i've got to go and run there whereas when you're fit you don't

(08:31):
even think about it and you you just do it off the cuff because you
know it just comes natural yeah and that's it so you get to that point where
you're fit you're enjoying your time at saint george's what happens next so
obviously when we started winning trophies so we had a right ding dong with
laxey because they won the grandstand 2004 i think was Was it 2005?

(08:52):
Yeah, it was 2005. Yeah, so they had a good side and they were difficult to
beat. And, you know, we had really good games against them.
From that point on, we then sort of took over.
And, you know, other players like Kim McNulty came back and Al Harrison and
Jack and Connor Doyle, they were coming in, fresh impetus.
And that made us go on a massive run. And I think it was, you know,

(09:14):
we got to like 2007, 2008, and I kind of just felt like I needed a bit of a change.
Yeah. no no no miles against anyone just you
know just needed the change you wanted to challenge yourself in a different way yeah
and just just kind of see what was out there so i went to
st mary's and st mary's was a real draw at the time because they had
some really good players and playing at the ball and stuff like that and you

(09:35):
know like it didn't work out for one reason or another but you know i still
enjoyed the year there but it was then the season after i think when rick holder
asked me to come down and have a look at peel so went down there and the setup's
brilliant down And, you know, you've got a name like Rick as well,
you know, he's been there, done it in the professional game,
that's a massive law in itself, isn't it?
It is, because if you can't listen to someone that's done it,

(09:56):
like, who can you listen to?
So, yeah, so went down there and, you know, Rick offered, you know,
it was the best scenario, you know, they had the facilities there and they had
the players there that had played with the national team and that was a no-brainer really.
So went there, done really, really well there. So it kind of changed position
for me. So I kind of was playing a bit further forward at people.

(10:16):
I think I scored, I think it was 91 games in two and a half,
in three years and 51 goals, I think.
So it was a decent return and they ended up winning the third Island Player
of the Year there, which is obviously, you know, nice.
But Peel as a club, they're the best club in the island.
Let's not, you know, beat around the bush. They are the best club in the island.
It's a real fan club, you know. After games, you go into the town and everyone's talking about the game.

(10:40):
The team shoots on a Friday night in the pubs, you know.
So it's a real community and it's, you know, it's a really good team to play
for and then obviously after that after three years I decided you know what
to go back to St George's.
I'll keep you on the Peel thing for a second because Daniel Bell is now Peel
manager he played with him in the Ireland squad you obviously played with him

(11:01):
at Peel as well he sent me a message and he just wants to know do you sort of
wish you'd stayed at Peel for a few more seasons?
So yes and no so the answer is
yes I wish I i wish i had spent more time at peel
whether or not it was after the time i was
there or not that's a different question because i did
want to go back i did miss playing with with my mates that i

(11:23):
grew up with and then you know and i could really sense that
like i wanted to win the grand slam now the grand slam at the time had only
been done by you know two or three teams and it was something that you know
we all were striving for so every season started it was we're going to aim to
win the grand slam it was not let's win the league see what happens we were

(11:43):
aiming to win the grand slam.
Obviously, we won stuff for Peel and that was great, but I just felt that if
I wanted to win the Grand Slam, I wanted to go back and do it with these guys.
Luckily enough, first season, we dunked the Grand Slam. The answer is yes,
I would have liked to have played there or gone back and played there a few
more years because it's a great club and great people.
The set-up there, especially now, if you had that chance to go back there now.

(12:07):
You've got the Tommy Klukas Hall, the Kelvin Dawson Hub upstairs,
the people behind the club are all fantastic as well.
I know like Colin Moore has more stats than anyone on the Isle of Man about football.
Like, you know, I think he'd rival Eric Clegg and Hattie for just the amount of single stats he has.
Like, I agree with you. It's a very, very well-run club.

(12:29):
So I do get that. But do you think that law would ever be back to go back there
even just to like one last season sort of thing?
Yeah, I mean, from a playing standpoint, probably not. Because I'm trying to
transition from playing full-time or playing majority time into management.
Will it be a draw as a manager? Yeah, at some point it would be,

(12:49):
depending on the situation that St.
George's will be in or not in at the time.
But I know their young teams that are coming through, like under the Cliffie Dunns and Spud Canes.
The teams that they're coming through now are the next kind of big things.
Again, people coaching them there.
Yeah, and that's what I mean. Cliffie Dunn, legend amongst football.

(13:10):
He played for a number of years. He's a great footballer.
So things like that and you always find that you'll always get a catchment where
there's a group of exceptional players you had it with Peel with Toph Cain Lacey
Megson you had it with Sig Georges with me Chris Quay Callum Pecker Judge.
And then you had it with like Jack McVay and that sort of team and then since

(13:33):
then you probably haven't you've probably had two or three say at Corinthians
or two or three at Peel or two or three at Laxey and
But you're just waiting for that one team that will now come across and just
dominate, like, the youth teams all the way through.
And I can see that maybe that might be Peel coming up in the next sort of three
or four years. Yeah, exactly.
So, you know, so that's something that, you know, people have spoke to me about

(13:56):
and whether I'd be interested further down the line.
And, like, you know, you can never say never. So, you know, why wouldn't you want to?
Exactly. And it's a club that you're very fond of, you know,
you've got a history with, you're passionate about.
Out it's it's manx football at the end of the day you know
people do have two or three clubs that they are like closer
to than others it happens that's manx football so when you

(14:17):
go back to st george's you win that first grand slam it's massive
isn't it you know lax you've done it a couple of years earlier you've now
gone back you've done i think gyms have done it as well previously with
senior in the squad yeah you know when you
go back there how many grand slams does it end up being for you so so when when
i went back and we won the first one and the first one the way we won it when

(14:38):
you know i think i scored to make a three all in 92nd minute against peel and
then we scored 97th minute calum scored to the winner you know it was amazing it's kind of.
I know we only just went back that year but you kind of see the last six years
worth of work um and that's what you're aiming for and i know someone famously
said on the radio like Like, you know, I think Bas Senior said,

(15:00):
oh yeah, we're back at the gasworks looking forward to next year.
And that was his mantra. That was the way he was like. He was always forward for the next one. Yeah.
And, and I kind of, I agreed and disagreed with him because,
you know, even when now, like you've got to celebrate your wins because you
never know what's going to be your last.
But obviously from there, I think we won three Grand Slams in the end,

(15:21):
which obviously is a record.
But it was just relentless. everything was a reliance from training match days
new players coming to the squad we recruited well people wanted to come and
play for us yeah look at some of the players you mentioned that you had at St.
Mary's Frank ended up going from St. Mary's didn't he up to St.
George's who else have you had we had loads of people Liam Cowan was an exceptional

(15:45):
footballer for the five years he was at Geordie's he was consistently the best
player in the team of players that he had,
Liam Doyle joined, you had Connor Doyle was playing for a season or two and
Joey Moulton came in as a youngster, Sam Kane came in as a youngster.
I think you had Gary Quirk there. Gary Quirk was there, Steeda was there,
Terry Regal was there for a little bit.

(16:06):
That's a player, isn't it? Terry was one of them players. I think he has had
more clubs than Tiger Woods, Terry.
He'd always get goals, it doesn't matter who he was playing for,
he'd always find the net.
He's a very, very clever footballer. So I know when he was younger,
he had that pace and that pace, I've never seen anything like it.
Any other man but he's got a very very good brain
and football wise so he he's been training with

(16:29):
us at the minute and he played one game and come
off with a sore hamstring but we've got five aside on thursday
and you can just see even when he's like dropping deep and playing passes forward
he's got a football brain like you know yeah he's got vision and he's got technique
so i think he's going to be good for us between now and the end of the season
in a bit of a different role and but yeah he he was he was fantastic terry yeah

(16:50):
you know we had other players that came in in and out that have done really well.
You know, the guys like Joel Ibanez, Jay Skelter-Mashwell, they give us a massive
lift because... And you look where they've gone.
Them boys have gone to America now, haven't they? Yeah.
And FC Alleman's best player, Jacob Crook, you know, his unbelievable attitude.
Works really hard. I don't think that.
I think, like, I obviously do a bit for FC Alleman, as you know,

(17:12):
write match reports and stuff, but I think he's had, like, the last three Man
of the Matches or something down there as well.
And, you know, there's players down there that are big players and they've picked
him out as their Man of the Matches. He's brilliant, right?
I'll just give you a quick insight to him. So it was like maybe last year or
the year before and he was training with us in pre-season and he asked if I
could help him with his end product.
So I said, yeah, come down early, quarter to six, and I'll do some stuff with you.

(17:36):
And I think in three or four weeks, we must have crossed 500 balls,
just crossing different types.
And then his end product was amazing and he just took him to a new level.
And it just shows you the attitude of him because even when he's in FC Alleman,
if you haven't got a game, he'll come and play for Jordies and you
know if they haven't got a game or they haven't got a trainer he'll come and train for Jordies
just to help us out and just be there you know what I mean and

(17:58):
that's a really good attitude to have and then you know watching
it come to fruition on a Sunday last week you know
that first half you know he's becoming a really really good
player it wouldn't surprise me if he got picked up by a little higher league
in the next like that but that's the aim of FC Allemagne isn't it at the end
of the day you know to give the players the opportunity to shine on a bigger
stage than you get on the Isle of Man and I get that I do I do get that so we'll

(18:23):
roll it back now say George as you've won your Grand Slams.
Where does it start going I wouldn't say downhill where does it start levelling off for you?
So a lot a lot of it was down so I mean priorities change right when you get older.
Chris has got had a couple of children Sean's had some children other
people and then it's kind of people can maybe only train once

(18:44):
a week and you know other people maybe start getting lured to
go elsewhere and then it's difficult to get the motivation
because the guys like Chris and Sean they're
the ones that drive people to train them you know and the Franks and
then you Frank Frank what a different challenge and then Jack what
didn't and you know people start then leaving to go and pursue other
things which which is which happens and you know

(19:05):
I never begrudge anyone anyone leaving no you know i'd rather
just turn up the first day of pre-season and whoever wants to
play and wants to stay are there they're there if they want to go
all the best of them and so i think also
the standard of other people came up so you know it was
always kind of the top it was geordie's and then a little gap
in m3 yeah and i think they closed that gap you

(19:26):
know corinthians did it peel did it i think air was
a little bit russian uh won the league one of
one of the years i think so i think that that sort of you
know and that you know age is is a massive part and
when you're doing something for so long you know injuries take
place and you know is it the right thing and remember chris stepped
away chris bass senior stepped away and then he come back again a

(19:47):
year later so i think it's a it's kind of like
a multiple issues that kind of just all lead into the
natural kind of decline what i am glad
with it wasn't just a real drop off the
cliff yeah like like it is now yeah and that
was the worry at the time i mean you know let's
not dress it up we sacrificed lots of.

(20:07):
The youth structure at the time for.
The for the for the trophies and the success not
on purpose you know we ended up losing like a massive load.
Of like kids to onkin and we kind
of didn't sort of backfill them yeah that's changing now we've got a good youth
system in in in place now with chris johnny fee and all them and they've got

(20:27):
that in place now yeah which is going to come to fruition in the next few years
but like i'm like i said it was just a steady decline and we were competitive
and we were still fighting for trophies and cups and stuff like that,
so so that's kind of how yeah it's it's a mixture of life for people that were
playing and it's it's just that natural thing in manx football isn't it it's

(20:47):
not saint george's are still one of the the greatest clubs in manx football
you know modern era they are the greatest club in the in the last sort of 30
years, if you look at Manx football,
well, maybe not last 30, maybe last 20 years at least, you know,
since then, success has grand slams, you've done it, you've won everything.
St. George's is still there and you've done, I'll say it myself,

(21:10):
you've done an exceptional job to keep that club going because I know behind
the scenes at that club, there's not many people anymore.
You know, again, it's one of them. Your committee was massive.
Again, that's naturally declined.
The work you're doing doing to keep that club going.
With a select few others, like you'll name them, you know, it's fantastic.

(21:31):
You're struggling each week to get 11 out. Somehow you're doing it.
Like I've watched two games.
I think the average age of your bench when I've watched the two games that I've
watched is easily 40, 45.
Do you know what I mean? You know, Tristan Ringham's on there.
His brother's on there. You know, Julian's starting for you.
So you've got three brothers playing for you there.
And then you've got other people that just come in and help out, you know,

(21:53):
a couple of younger lads as well that have picked up
they said i'm not getting a game here and they've gone to your
club i think joe gartland is a perfect example of that for me joe
joe joe he was at all boys and then
he he wasn't really getting the game time he felt he deserved so
he's gone and played for years now and he was playing comedy he's going
to play he plays for your first team every and i think in the cup game

(22:13):
against all boys which i watched he had a very good game but it's
it's a testament to use to you yourself and that
small number of people that you'll probably mentioned in seconds that
that club's still going yeah and let's right it's it's
been difficult to last two years been difficult and
you know it's helped a lot this year with chris coming back from
scl man injury he's taken a lot of the strain with

(22:35):
training and stuff like that that we reduced training like i.
Always say to these youngsters though i'm like right yeah i know
we're scratching for 11 and you know games are difficult but look.
Who you're learning from look around and look you're learning from you
got kieran mcnulty peck quay bassy me
other players you know you're learning from them every
time if someone said to me when i was that age right go go

(22:56):
and play there with all them great players like your langys and
all them i'd love it because you're thinking what am i learning there
and it's it's not that they're going to play majorities for 20 years no
it might be a stepping stone and we're happy with that right at the
situation we're in and you know and yeah the committee
was strong people left or have passed away and it's
coming it's kind of a collective now and it's a lot better now and

(23:17):
the guys that are like you know 40 years old and plus like
you can only ask them to do so much yeah you know and they're all
great you know they'll train once a week and they'll put
their hand up to play but you know it's it's also
not fair on on the other players because you've got like say
Morgan Naylor and Ash Higginbottom and Birchie
and people like that like they don't want to be swimming they

(23:38):
don't want to be floating in a team they want to be challenging with
stuff so it's difficult to try and keep them motivated and
that's that's probably the hardest thing because you know stopping
them going to play in a team where they're going to thrive like
like josh kane fair play to him he made a tough decision
he stayed it was you know he gave us a lot last year and a lot at the start
of the pre-season and then he went to corinthians but he's shining over there

(23:59):
yeah do you know what i mean so it just shows you that you know it's it's it's
a difficult choice for a youngster about what to do and that's that's something
that people have to remember like i know with josh as well josh.
It's quite easy in manx football to be a shithouse when you want to move clubs
and say oh fuck i'm not going there and then just go yeah i know for a fact
josh didn't do that with you did he spoke to you and told you exactly that's

(24:22):
what he wanted to do and he wanted to try and push himself didn't he yeah and
that's what i always said to them i always said to him listen like i said earlier,
if you don't want to be here right it's there's no there's no issue we're not
going to fall out but you tell me i said don't get the you know the whispers
telling tales and i said come to me and and tell them you're leaving and I'll shake your hand.
I said, and that's what they'd done. So the people that have left have come

(24:44):
to me, Nathan Cardy, prime example.
I spoke to him at length and then he had a few weeks, came to me and said,
listen, I think I'll be better playing down through my feelings with people I know.
Wished him well, he's doing great. You know, another good lad.
And that's what you're trying, you're not just a manager, you know,
you're trying to teach these young kids like discipline and manners and you
know, and all that sort of stuff.

(25:05):
The right way to go about things. The right way to go about stuff, yeah, because there is
a right way let's you know you it's foot it's man's football
it's football in general right you're all going to be friends
and what i've found is last year you end up falling
out with people because or at the time last year because they
say they're coming to training or playing and they don't turn up whereas this
year i'm kind of relaxed about it like if

(25:26):
they don't turn up they don't turn up you know and that's kind
of where i'm at but like at the stage of my managerial career
it's at the start so i'll accept it yeah whereas.
I won't accept it you'll you'll grow into that though it's not
going to happen going forward like you know it's common knowledge
that you know if we're not in a position at the start of the season where
i want us to be then our conversations will need to

(25:47):
be had because i'm going to step away from probably
playing all the time i still want to play because i
still feel i can offer something but you don't want
that to be your priority but i can't i can't coach
and manage five players at training i can't work on the
the stuff i want to work on and the way i the
philosophy i've got on how i want to play on my teams to play i

(26:07):
can't do that on a saturday with 11 or 10
and i can't do it if i were training no and that's that's
stopping my progression and that's something that i'll never accept
even being loyal to a club as you've
still got you've still got to have you've got to look after yourself at the end
of the day if you've got a goal to reach
and yours is clearly you like i think i

(26:28):
can see from this conversation we've been here 20 minutes i can see from this
conversation already you want to go into management and you want that success
you had as a player as a manager going forward I think that's fair to say isn't
it yeah that's that's exactly what what it is and it's the transition period
that is difficult more difficult because you know if I if I had if I.

(26:50):
Then you know we'd be in a very good position and i'd
be i'd you know i'd probably be further ahead with my managerial career
than i am with the playing side and the hardest
decision a football has to make is when to call time yeah
right and that is the most difficult conversation with the
family and yourself that you have to have and i only do
that when i've when i know that what i'm going into is

(27:12):
worth it yeah so at the minute i'm happy by playing and
managing and picking this up on the way until
i've got something that i can say right i'm not
going to play now and i can focus fully on that management side yeah and
that's fair enough so that's your playing days
at club level johnny and your management i can't not
have you here and talk about your days playing for the island man you know

(27:32):
you won everything that you could at that
level what was that like you know to get with i know you were playing at st
george's with a great bunch of lads but to have have that extra bit of talent
around you as well what was that like so that the national side right so I know
now it's kind of like defunct so they've only got the Ireland games and it's a shame,

(27:54):
I mean like I know we'll talk about SC Alman in a bit and I'm an advocate for it.
But the national team to me and the guys at the time was a massive thing.
Like going away for weeks at a time in these tournaments, you make you feel like a professional.
And the best teams I've played in have been in that Ireland team.
Two or three of the teams I've played in, you know, I think are a lot stronger

(28:18):
than any team that I've seen over here.
Yeah. Locally and FC Allemand.
That's obviously my opinion and people can have different opinions.
I think a lot of people will have different opinions on that.
But I think looking at that, I can see where you're coming from with that as well.
That's my opinion. I can see that as well. And it's hard to compare generational teams.

(28:39):
It's difficult. When we were growing up, people would say, the John Palmers,
the Langeys and all that team were better than our team and vice versa.
It's a different game, though, isn't it? The game moves on in generations.
From your generation to theirs, football's become a lot more tactical.
To call there's a lot more behind the scenes where yous were more of

(28:59):
a fitness and talent yeah they're they're
more it's a lot more behind the scenes work now
like football's definitely moved on but you know some of some of the games we
played even even towards the end of my national career down the bowl you know
some of the best games i've played in with the five threes the leeds game you
know the final we lost the final we won you know so and that was only kind kind

(29:23):
of six or seven years ago.
Do you know what I mean? But like, I love my time there. You know,
Kev Manning was a brilliant manager.
He was a manager for a long, long time. And he coached us through me,
Bassie, Quay, everyone through him. You know, and he put us in when we were 15.
And me and Julian made our debut when we were 15.
And that's kind of, it was unheard of at the time, really. And Bassie was away at the time, but 2002.

(29:48):
And so it was brilliant. And at that time, you bring players in to train and
then dropped them back out again.
But the biggest thing I thought was it was the same kind of group of players,
There was a group of 18 to 20 players and we were all in that team for 10 years.
There wasn't many people who floated in and out. And luckily enough for me,
I was mostly in the start 11, but also you had a manager that kept the same

(30:11):
team pretty consistently.
So when we were going away on these trips, it felt like you were a club side
because, you know, there was like people from St.
John's, Peel, Russian, and it just felt like you play with them all the time.
Whereas obviously now with the national team,
they get together say once every every couple of
months or whatever it's not but that again

(30:32):
goes back to what you said doesn't it you had them opportunities where
tournaments were available yeah funding was there things were
there to get your way in play games friendlies weren't
as costly as they are now and things like that it just
this leads into very like a very nice question from Hattie
actually you sent me a nice message he said he's been
fortunate to watch you enough enough to watch you

(30:53):
play for the island team on a number of occasions but what
was your most memorable yeah i read
that one it's difficult really surely like
walking out with the england kit on yeah so
obviously i captained i captained the the england.
Side against slovakia and that
was that was unbelievable the first game where we won yeah was

(31:14):
unbelievable i think you know i scored in the final of
that of the first nls cup final yeah that was
good i mean there's lots of them i do think the winning winning
the the last nls because obviously you know
the jersey one where we're at home you know
i'm contrary to opinion i didn't
make a mistake on the first one but i did give the penalty away so you

(31:36):
know after having a really good game you know so and i don't take
them things to heart and they don't you know i've always been
good at bouncing back and not letting that stuff affect me but obviously
beating jersey again and then winning the nls again
that was kind of a bit of sweet moment because it we
kind of knew it was like the last chance we probably have to win
that yeah and that competition you know it's a massive competition i don't know

(31:58):
if the if it exists now i don't think it does i don't think it does it and because
they have the county the you know the county one yeah and i know they applied
for it this year they put it out again and yeah the The Alleman FA said, yes, we'll go into it.
Jersey and Guernsey said no. Right. And the costs come back on it and it was
just too expensive for them to enter.

(32:19):
Yeah. You know, now I think it was, I think, I think a rough figure I was told,
it's about £5,000 plus per game.
Really? And I think that's ridiculous this day and age, isn't it?
I can understand why they're not entering that for the financial reasons.
But like when, so when you, just to give you an idea, so when you actually won
that cup and you got to represent England, England you know you're a professional

(32:40):
you've got dieticians, masseurs, you've got coaches,
goalkeeper coaches, you get full England training kit like you do represent England amateurs.
Every game you get to keep the whole kit you wear another shirt
you know i'm lucky enough to i think i played i
think i got i think i had the record actually i think i played 12 times i
think for them and so i've got lots of shirts which you know different family

(33:02):
members have got up and so it really really is
a good experience and you are a pro you know for
for 10 days you're a professional you're away you're eating
like a pro you're training like a pro you're dressed like
a pro you know yeah it's it's a really really good experience and
it's a shame that the guys won't have a
chance to do that again i get fcl man's a
different a different avenue but this was something that was like

(33:24):
if you ask any of the players that were involved they would
say it's it's an experience that it's not to be missed there's a lot of people
like growing up if you go liking football playing football from a young age
the one thing and i don't think anyone over here yes you might be irish it's
to put a national team jersey on isn't it you know the manx one's good but to

(33:45):
put that that England one on, it's something special.
There's only a very few ever that have walked the planet that have put that
jersey on to represent the English FA anywhere.
It doesn't matter if it's England amateurs, England professionals, women, whatever.
That shirt is like a secret shirt. And if you ask all the players I played with
on that national side, we still call it the national side.

(34:06):
I know lots of people call it the representative side, but we still call it the national side.
We did at the time put on the national shirt and we
still do now and that's something that you know
you can't really take that away from the guys because you know we were playing
in our eyes for the national team yeah and that probably leads on to a question
that I've had from a couple of people okay so Craig Cowan you know from the

(34:32):
kit man for FC Almeria who's at
St Mary's for a while Craig and Bella it's from Bella as well Danny Bell,
It leads into a teaser because we'll go into your seven-a-side team later on.
But who is the best player you've ever played with on the Isle of Man? Chris Bass.
100%, just that simple. 100%, you know, four-round player of the year.

(34:53):
People that, say, wouldn't have played against him or played against him,
you know, every season, but they won't see him day in, day out.
You've got to take everything into consideration.
Attitude, desire, skill, fitness, speed.
You know he he literally single-handedly won
us you know a league one season and then he
won the fourth one when he was like you

(35:13):
know mid mid 30s and he's just
brilliant to play with and and you could see even when he
was playing for fcl a man you know the goal he scored in the oh yeah and the
winner yeah he's definitely the best i mean there are a few players who who
you know would run him slightly close but i mean for me it's a no-brainer and
you know what best part Carter Craig's one of the nicest lads you'll ever meet as well. He's humble.

(35:37):
He's one of the nicest fellas. You know, he's a mate of mine, mate of yours.
You can have a chat with him and he'll talk to you. And even when he was at
that level and at his peak, like I think it's fair to say, you know,
his injuries have knocked him down a little bit.
Now he's still great, but he's not where he was.
Naturally, he's getting older, he's getting injured. But even when he was at

(35:58):
that peak, he'd always have time for people and he'd be chatting about football.
You know, you'd see him in Strand Street.
He'd talk about it. Just a great guy as well, isn't he? Yeah,
he's spot on. And like I said, people won't see the other side when we're,
you know, we're training three times a week.
And don't forget, he's done it now for 23 years. You know, longevity also plays a part.
You know, you could say someone like Ash Webster, who's like unbelievable technically

(36:21):
wise, but you know, you only play against him for three or four seasons.
So there's lots of players like that who would, you know, who are really, really good players.
But I mean he's kind of I think streets ahead of anyone that I would say no
that's fair enough so they're your playing days Johnny okay it's been a great recap of them
what we'll move on to now is the good and bad about Manx football and I asked

(36:44):
all my guests this question I'll start with the good what do you at the moment
think the best thing about Manx football is,
I think the best thing currently is that it's a lot more competitive, right?
So, you know, one year, Peel will win it, Arrow will win it the next year.
And I think that top four, maybe three or four, are quite close together.

(37:05):
Obviously, when there was Jordies were dominating, people would always say,
you're not sick of winning stuff.
And, you know, we'd win leagues by, say, 16 points sometimes,
and you just don't see that anymore.
I also think, you know, because of FC Alleman and the taking away,
the majority of the best players lots of these young players or
the players who are kind of like we're always always on the

(37:26):
fringes they've kind of stepped up now a bit yeah and
i think that's brought the quality up because you might get a thing where
let's use corinthians for example you know they've got the simos with
whitley doyles so they've then gone so that means then
there's big shoes to fill yeah and the likes of say josh
ridens has improved and um all the guys like
that i mean with danny gerrard improved now he's an fcl man ronan improved.

(37:47):
Now he's an fcl man so i think like there's
a lot of that where it's given the chance of other players to actually
step up and it happened with us when we
kind of lost the first the first wave of people to fcl man other
players stepped up to the plate so i think from from
a progression point of view of the players currently in my
school but i think that's that's a good thing yeah and and it

(38:08):
is and i think it gives them people the opportunity
now to shine a little bit and as you say you look
at you've named some of them players there that have got into that fcl man squad
and a training with of them I know they've got a development squad as
well with some of the younger lads as well that are about you
don't even need that development squad though you named Jacob before for
example Charlie Higgins is another one from Ramsey you

(38:30):
know these young lads have got the talent and
they're being allowed to challenge themselves at a
level above local football now it's taken them
out of that game where they're quite comfortable and it is
a bit of a challenge for them now and I think you can
see naturally progression with the younger lads in that
squad yeah and i think and i think one of the one of
the things with that though is like you can you can try and progress them too

(38:53):
quickly yeah and you know it's it's very easy from the outside looking in to
have a you know to have an opinion on fcl man and how they run that and i'm
not doing that it's just that you know do you want to see 17 18 year olds have a couple of seasons.
In the local game and you know and actually you know go into the fcl man squad
with that basis of men's football having two years in there obviously he's done

(39:18):
that with some and some others have probably been thrown straight in and done
really well so it's hard to try and get that balance,
but my style is more trying to let them you know let them develop and turn into
really good players locally and then push them in there yeah,
it's one of that I think a good example of that is someone like Tom Crear.
Tom is a very, he's, I don't think he'll mind me saying this.

(39:41):
I don't think FC Alamama, he's a bit part player for them at the moment.
He gets a few weeks in Manx football and then he'll get a run out.
And I think that kind of balance is quite good for some of them as well.
Because they're still getting the local football and they're still playing each
week. But they're getting snippets of what they could have as well.
And they're not too run down about that. I think the thing is though, right?

(40:04):
If they get asked to play, they're going to say yes. If I was playing to a level
where I can play and they turn around and say, do you want to play for FC Allemagne?
I would say yes, no matter what my local club said.
I would go and play. It's such a great opportunity, but sometimes you have to
be a bit reserved and be like, they're never going to say no.
They're never going to say no to play for FC Allemagne.

(40:26):
It's an opportunity, isn't it? It's a great opportunity. They're never going to turn down. No.
So on the flip side then, at the moment, what
do you think the worst thing about man's football is the numbers
are not great you know i think i had a chat about with someone this morning
about it so i think there was like nine or ten teams now we only have one team

(40:47):
yeah you know five or six years ago that wasn't the case wasn't a thing you
know i'm not blaming the fa and what they're doing for numbers it's just there's
something that needs to be addressed.
I think the state of the facilities and pitches has deteriorated.
You know, five or six years ago, everything was nice and shiny and it was all,

(41:09):
you know, I think they did a thing where everyone has to get the grassroots
thing and they have to do that.
Yeah, and you had to get, I think there was a lot of grant money available at the time.
God rest his soul, Mike Atherton at the time was doing a lot with the clubs.
He was like their pitch advisor.
He was certified by the FA. He'd been away. and he'd go
around and he'd say oh you need this type of grass seed for this soil and

(41:30):
things like that yeah and i think there's a lot of money available yeah
and i guess guess covid hit money money's tight you
know so georgia's round around the grounds and stuff like
that and you know not up to scratch of where i'd want to see our
pitch you know we've got rabbit holes and like all sorts of stuff
and but you know after covid you know
you've got two two or three years in recovery it's probably

(41:51):
going to take longer than that but that's one thing and then
i think just i mean the overall standard you know
other than that top three there's a massive gap yeah like or
top three four there's a massive gap and it's how
you close that and i can't see that being done anytime
soon you know this thing about having 15 year olds can't play but when you turn
16 you can play that opens up a whole hundreds of kids yeah that could play

(42:15):
and they can play in england so well you said yourself earlier didn't it's 15
you made your debut for the island men's team and I get safe gardeners in place
and I have this I've had it's a bug of mine as well to be honest with you I think.
Like safeguarding is a great thing but there's
got to be some sort of leeway with it whereas if

(42:37):
it's a parental exemption form maybe and if
the parents consent to the players playing for that team yeah at
a certain age you're allowed to then do that and as long as you've got
the consent from the parents and the lads maybe get
changed after the men or something like that you know there's ways
and means you can do it i think it's just
safeguarding is a very very yeah it's difficult

(42:58):
subject it's difficult i know you know the fa
know they can't do it yeah so people can
we can have a solutions and opinions of it but you
know people say oh yeah well such and such was 15 and he made
his debut for or 14 for barcelona and stuff
like that and we followed him as fa so why can't we do
that but yeah there's legislation in place you just can't do

(43:19):
it so i know it's not an option but it would be nice it's it's
it's one of them boxes ideal world isn't it yeah and
you can't and you just you can't see where the numbers are coming from though no like
you know i haven't got the numbers of the like the
kids that are coming through i think there's about off the
top of my head last time i heard four thousand
four and a half thousand kids registered to play football on the other map right

(43:41):
but that's from under sixes to under 16s yeah but even then you know you look
at say under 16 teams and teams have got three teams and that's that's that's
the difficult bit or the under-14s.
It'd be nice to see some sort of diversification from, even if like your seat.
Like say a club's got three teams, even if that, because historically they're

(44:05):
ABC, aren't they? Do you know what I mean?
Say one of them clubs engages with a club that hasn't got a junior set up and
says, you can take our C team at this level. Would you be interested?
It'd be nice to see the FA sort of working with clubs to see if they could even push that.
But I get then, it might not be in their catchment area maybe your parents find
it difficult. Yeah, but then if you've got three teams, you know,

(44:26):
36 players there, so when they all turn 16, not all of them are going to play for that club.
Some of them will go off to other clubs, but then some of them will just be like,
no i'm not bothered anymore i just won't play because they
have they can't see a pathway or their friends they can't you know and
then they'll just they'll just stop so there's a fair amount of work being
done i know in the fa and you know you've got to trust that they're

(44:47):
gonna they're gonna find the right outcome fingers crossed mate so
this probably leads on to like a
third question that i don't normally do in this section but i think
it's come in it's a it's a good question it's come from lee gale right and gala
obviously from peel he's one of the top goal scorers at the minute and you know
you've played with Gaylor as well Gaylor says if you could change one thing

(45:08):
about Manx football that's either past or present what would it be what would I change.
I I would I would actually look at the three leagues like I really think it's a good idea,
you know you end up playing you end
up playing like especially when we were dominating you know

(45:28):
know we'd be beating team 16-0 and 12-1 and
24-0 i remember the 24-0 up at royals just because
i keep taking the piss out of cherry for it every year yeah and i think
if you definitely tailored that down to say you
know like three eights or something like that then i think i
think you'd get a lot more competition whether or
not that would mean that you know players would all converge

(45:50):
around the eight teams i don't know but i
just think just having that more competitiveness each
each week you know like imagine you know right
like the old days in scotland when they played each other four times yeah
stuff like that i mean because they're they're the games you want to play
you know you want to play peel four times you want
to play your laxies your russians away you know you

(46:11):
want to have them games so i think something like that on that
as well it's playing teams that you know your
squad is equal to so it might
be for you for example in the heyday geordie's playing
and Laxey Peel rushing three times a season but for
clubs these days you know I look at clubs like I think DAFCA is a perfect example
of this they're in combi too they've got one team and I get it they've got one

(46:35):
team because they want to bring the junior set up through so they can have two
teams in a couple of years and it's great that they've kept the senior club
going to to make that happen.
The other day, I think they played a game 13-7. Yeah. And they've been scoring
double figures most weeks or at least high scoring games.
I think they could go in there, that three league system would be ideal for

(46:57):
a club like that, where they could go in there and play someone like maybe your
Onkins, your Old Boys, Castle Towns,
two or three, and really challenge themselves to push on in the future.
So looking forward, I think that would be... Yeah, and something,
you know, a gripe of mine. So I understand when teams have one,
clubs have one team, they should be a first team, right?

(47:18):
The idea of a combination is a feeder team into the, you know,
it's a reserve team for the first team.
And I get, you know, they want to stay alive and then they think they'll get
smashed and stuff like that.
And that three-league system will be perfect.
Also, you know, there's combination teams there that are better than some first
teams, you know? You don't want them to have to disperse to go and get game time elsewhere.

(47:43):
So logistically, it'll be a bit of a nightmare.
But like if clubs just all said, right, anyone can play on our pitch at any time, right?
And then we all, you know, so you could work it out.
You could definitely work it out. And it's there, isn't it? I think like someone
said to me the other day as well, I think you could, it's set in stone at the
moment that kickoffs are half two or two o'clock when the clocks go back.

(48:05):
You could even stack a kickoff times. Yep. Do you know?
Totally agree. great Friday nights if St. John's want to give that up every
week you know the bowl on us and like people if you offered people in advance
these change to times they would accept it because they play on a Tuesday they play on a Monday,
Wednesdays Friday nights Saturdays you know in the
summer they do it all the time so I think as long

(48:27):
as you give people enough notice they want to do it so it
would be nice to look at and again that's something
you'd want to change personally going forward so
that's the good the bad amongst football ball we'll end
the podcast like i do with everyone johnny you select
seven now i know this team is going to be silly good already you know the rules

(48:48):
you've been through it with me before it's three players that are current still
playing on the isle of man yeah three red three players that no longer play
yeah the goalkeeper can be from any era so he can still be playing or he's not playing.
And also your manager but i think i know who that's going to be i'm not going
to lie so So, Jonny, we'll start with the goalkeeper.

(49:11):
So, I'm fortunate enough to have played with lots of very, very good goalkeepers
in national team and in club level.
But the one that stood out for me, and I was only there three years, was Calvin Dawson.
Another one, attitude, just the man himself, but also some of the saves he made,
you know, were absolutely breathtaking.
And I know we used to do shooting training, me and him after,

(49:33):
you know, training nearly, you know, twice a week, every week.
You know, we'd stay behind, I'd stay behind for an hour after, but he was brilliant.
And even when I grew up and I was watching the Ireland team,
you know, I think he played for one of the other teams that came over,
one of the pro teams in the final.
Yeah. And he was exceptional in there. So, yeah, definitely Kelvin.
And he was always a great talker when he was commanding you

(49:53):
know he talked people his defense through a game
you know he he commanded his box what what a
great player he was so i'll go on now to your
first current player so first current player i'll put chris bass in there so
you know best player i've played with he's probably first name on my team sheet
anytime so he would definitely be in that that seven and also like we remember

(50:16):
the old days we used to have seven aside at saint john's i don't know if you
remember that yeah Full pitch.
And he was a monster on there. He was an absolute. I can imagine that would
give him a bit more space to run around. That was when he was 15.
I was 15. We were playing in that.
And he just ran the show. He ran the show. Absolutely.
So from that, I think Bassey speaks for himself. You know, it's one of them.

(50:37):
Who's your first retired player outfield?
So this is the hardest player I've played against. Yeah. Okay.
So very difficult player to play against.
Very good player. great goal scorer probably one of the greatest goal scorers
that's been it's Peter Langridge you know he could jump he could head he could
finish he was physical you know and he was he was brilliant I was lucky enough

(51:00):
to play with him for the Ireland team for 10 years but yeah,
he's probably one of the best strikers I've played with absolute monster Langy
back in the day as well you know again though,
monster on the pitch nicest guy you'll meet in the street you know have a conversation
with Langy he's a fucking great guy so who is your next current player Johnny

(51:20):
so my next current player is,
Lee Gale so.
Luckily enough to play with Lee at Peel and watch him grow as a youngster. And he's fantastic.
And fit as a fiddle, technically wise. Probably one of the best finishers.
Like, you don't realise how good a finisher he is.

(51:40):
He was an unbelievable finisher, you know, and he's just an all-around nice guy.
But, you know, it's a shame that he's not playing for a shallow man because
I think he'd be thriving in that team myself and he'd give them a lot more direction.
But, yeah, I'd say legal. Gale that's fair enough and Gale again I think he's
due top goal scorer at the moment or he might even be gone ahead because I don't

(52:02):
think Danny Oram scored at the weekend I think Gale did so I think he's now
outright top goal scorer and he's won two Ireland Player of the Year
let's not forget that and he's leading the paper Ireland Paper's Player of the
Year this year and he's always in that team of the year so consistently,
and he can turn do you know what the annoying thing is with Gale he can turn
his hand to anything like literally any sport he's one of them people you know

(52:24):
You know, mountain biking, for example.
He can't beat me in pool or snooker, though. Can't he? Putting that on record,
are you? Yeah. Right. So who's your next retired player, Johnny?
Right. So this is a bit controversial because he did retire and then he's back
playing a little bit now.
I know who you're going to say. I'll let you if you let me in. So Nick Hurt. Right.
Nick Hurt was fantastic.

(52:46):
I haven't seen a player like Nick in a long time.
Composure, getting on the ball. You know, just can keep a ball away from someone
and do a little turn or a little trick.
You know, you don't really see that anymore or I haven't seen anyone close to him in a while.
Still playing now. I know he's just come back and he's, you know,
he started to play a manager again, but like he was always, he always popped up in massive games.

(53:11):
Yeah. Big games, big game play, score all the time, especially for the Ireland team.
And I think for you as well, like knowing Hurti and what he's doing now as well,
like you discussed earlier, your ambitions to go from player to manager.
He's got that opportunity that you were discussing yeah that
you like you know where you've got people training every week and

(53:32):
he gets the players there doesn't he and he's making that transition
now into being a very very good manager where
he's you know i do know his name himself and a couple of
starting lineups this season as well but i played against
him this year you know he's still he's still got
that brain and that's a lot that's a reason why a
lot of the good players are still playing now yeah like me chris like

(53:53):
people like that it's because we it's because you've got a football brain so you
know your physicality doesn't mean a great deal at
the level you're playing at if you know what they're going to do before they
do so and so that's what he had you know
he's got vision and he knows where to be how to
jump early you know all these little things little nuances that that you pick
up along the way and that's what gives him an edge that massive cliche of a

(54:15):
footballing brain again in it you know he's just got that football dying breed
to be honest you know he's killing it yeah you look at the last one i think
you know that's coming through is Jack McVay who's got that vision and that kind of football brain.
Fortunate enough to go to school with Jack as well. You know,
because he went to Middlesbrough and come back, didn't he?
You know, he played for their youth set up for a while. And even back in the

(54:37):
school day, Jack already had that, I think.
He picked that up at a very young age. You know, I'm talking 14,
15, St. Nillian's tennis courts.
Jack was that good then. He was always that player people wanted to play with.
So yeah but hurt what
a great selection for that so who's your next current

(54:58):
player this is your final current player right so
i'm not doing any formation here so no no it's fine
so it's kieran mcnaulty so it was it was i got two down there so it's touch
and go between him and sean quake both exceptional players but i just think
kieran you know from when he come to geordie's you know He scored 403 Premier

(55:20):
League goals since 2007.
That's mad, isn't it? Just astronomical, that sort of stuff.
And especially if we're playing a seven-a-side, he's dynamiting five-a-side,
seven-a-side, skill, pace, finishing, attitude.
He's someone that you'd have to have in there. You just have to have him in
anything. And do you know what?
A lot of people would think, you must have some great service.

(55:45):
He's a strong... You look at Pekka and you don't think, he's a big lad,
you know, he's going to hold you off. Peck is quite a slight lad.
He's strong, he's powerful, he's patient, he is, for Manc's football,
he is your perfect striker for Manc's football.
Even when he was at gyms, he was banging in 30, 40 a year.
You know, and he was kind of like the main man there.
He was doing it on his speed. Whereas then, he came to us and he broke the record

(56:07):
and then he was getting 39, 40, you know, consistently every season.
He was winning player of the year at Geordie's, he won Ireland player of the year.
Just an all-around very, very good footballer. Yeah, and I couldn't agree more
with you there, mate. So, final retired player.
So, continue with the theme. So, he has been retired and he is playing a little

(56:28):
bit of comedy, but Danny Lace from Peel.
So, I just think Danny Lace is one of the most consistent footballers that's
ever been in the All-Ireland.
When I first came into the All-Ireland team in 2002, and two he was left back
very difficult to get past very good going forward great engine even when he

(56:49):
was getting older he was winning a player of the matches in the cup finals against geordies,
always got stuck in doesn't always got stuck in when i went to peel
you know his attitude like he was always at training always
front of the running and he's a proper peel legend
yeah and i just think you know in that
in that team that i said that was the national side
that was i think think the best team the islands had you

(57:12):
know he was he was in that team and and i just
think you know he's one of the best seven that i've played that's and
i think he is peel's record appearance holder isn't he you know he's got that
now he's it just shows the longevity of him as well to do that at that level
still fantastic so that's your playing side i think i know what you're going
to tell me when i ask you this who manages it so i mean i'm going to pick chris bass senior.

(57:38):
But kev manning you know was very close and
you know two different styles of manager some
similarities but you know kev from a national side
he was he was like you know he was
very consistent in his team selection and he he really
liked having the same team in week in
week out or when we played and that was really

(58:00):
good having that trust in him and he i learned a
lot from him but like bass senior would get the best out
of that team and that team would work for him
and i think that if he got a chance to coach
that team there wouldn't be many teams that you could pick that
could be that no i don't think he could and especially if you're playing
seven aside there yeah you know we mentioned the saint john's playing on a full

(58:20):
pitch i think you'd have to play on a full pitch against them even today with
them that team you'd struggle you'd massively struggle even not even playing
in a sports hall i don't think you'd even bother yeah and there's There's obviously
honourable mentions, I'll have to say, otherwise I'll get cut out.
So obviously Jack was an honourable mention. Liam Doyle, when the time I played
with him was unbelievable.

(58:41):
And then obviously Kyle Morrissey, you know.
If he'd have carried on playing for another three or four years after he stopped
to the level he was at, then, you know, he'd have been pushing Peke.
But yeah, I'm happy with that selection. That's a great side.
So I'm going to finish this on one last question that I had here.
And it's from someone I mentioned earlier Tristan Ringham and I think it's a

(59:03):
great question to end on to be honest it says you've been known to score the
odd belter what's your favourite ever goal you've scored in Mags football,
yeah so there's three that just stand out straight away.
To pick one so just well
three of them against max really against he mentions matt
twice so there's one the one from kickoff you

(59:26):
know was was touch and go but the one before that
so i think i think i kind of like got a someone
threw it to me and i'd give him the shoulder and i was on the edge of the d
center circle on my side a little bit wind assisted but you know half volley
from there and then cross barring in against simaries that we won two nil and
i was and Samaris were you know really really good side and so I think that's

(59:50):
that's my most favorite one.
Second would be the one where I um where I
score from the halfway line and then the third one
which not many people know only like the St
George's guys well we played them around when I first come back in the club
I'm around with like second in the league at the time and we're one nil up I
think in the last minute so Bassie took the corner and it was just me in the

(01:00:13):
box seven defenders and And he just pinged it over to the back post and I just headed it top corner,
1v7, to win 2-0.
So that comes a close second.
But yeah, the one against Max in the halfway line. Do you know what?
The two he mentioned was the halfway line volley and the Brown header.
Oh, did he? Yeah, so they were the ones he sent to me. So they were it.

(01:00:34):
Right, Johnny, it's been classmate.
You know, great insight. Great insight to you, your footballing journey and
your hopeful progression into that, your thoughts on Manx football.
So all that's left for me to say is thanks for your time. I'm Johnny cheers forever for me and, uh.
Music.