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BOSTON |
| Ah, Boston, I'm going to get to watch Gazza aren't I? |
| Sadly, no. G8 (the footballer formerly known as Paul Gascoigne, formerly known as Gazza) quit Boston earlier this month for 'professional reasons', stating that he was planning to go on a Sammy Lee-run FA coaching course at Lilleshall. Since then he has adopted his new moniker (which encompasses one of his initials and his shirt number and 'sounds a bit like great') as part of his continuing attempt to free himself from the past. He's also been repeatedly linked with the forthcoming series of "I'm a Celebrity…" with reports suggesting that he has demanded more than double the current offer. |
| That's a shame. No doubt they've signed some other big names though? |
| They certainly have. You're likely to get to see top scorer Jason Lee strut his stuff. Lee became famous in the mid '90s for his haircut as much as his football when Fantasy Football League's David Baddiel and Frank Skinner branded it "a pineapple on is head" and sang the chant on their show. The following day Forest were away at Chelsea and the whole crowd started singing it when Lee came on. The chant took off amongst away fans everywhere, Lee's form (never exactly brilliant) deteriorated as he became an even bigger figure of fun and eventually he drifted down the divisions. Boston are his eleventh club in total so it's probably fair to call him a journeyman now. Just don't mention the pineapple. |
| And didn't I hear that Darren 'Sicknote' Anderton was going there? |
| Boston did make an audacious bid to sign Anderton from Birmingham after Gazza's - sorry, G8's - departure but Birmingham turned it down. So we're afraid it's just Lee on the big names plus some journeymen colleagues. |
| Journeymen colleagues? Surely no one is near Lee's eleven clubs? |
| Well,
defender Greg Strong comes close with Boston making it ten for him.
And Boston also signed Martin Carruthers in the summer but he's since
moved to Lincoln - his eleventh club - in a swap deal for Dean West
who is a poor replacement in journeyman terms, having only chalked
up four. One other player to look out for is Courtney Pitt. He's only 22 but Boston are his sixth club and you may remember him from BBC 2's "Football Diaries" programme earlier this year. In the programme Pitt was shown being taken to buy a flash new car by his agent Sky Andrew (who was, it should be said, urging a little caution) and when asked about his probable purchase the player said, "I want to show that I've arrived." Whether Boston United equals arrival for Pitt is anyone's guess. |
| Speaking of money, wasn't there some scandal at Boston a while back? |
| There
certainly was and it centred on Boston's promotion from the Conference
in 2001/2 when they finished ahead of Dagenham and Redbridge on goal
difference. That in itself wasn't a problem but the way in which
they got to that position was. At the beginning of the season there had been more than a few eyebrows raised when the Lincolnshire club made the decision to go full-time and employ a lot of ex-league players and as time went on more and more rumours and questions about Boston's finances were asked. Eventually - and it took some time - an investigation took place and Boston United, its then Chairman and its manager were all found guilty of financial irregularities. The manager, one Steve Evans, got a 20 month ban from football and an £8,000 fine, the Chairman, Pat Malkinson, a 13 month ban and £5,250 fine and the club was fined £100,000 and deducted four points. The problem was that the four points were deducted from the forthcoming season (2002/3) in Division Three rather than the 2001/2 season in the Conference when the offences had taken place. Not only did this ruling enable Boston to profit from the benefits of being in the Football League (which may well be greater than £100,000 anyway) it also denied Dagenham and Redbridge a place which many feel was rightfully theirs. |
| Hang on a minute, Steve Evans, that name sounds familiar… |
| And so it should. Just over 20 months on from the sentencing (check that figure against the length of the bans) Steve Evans, the manager at the heart of the financial scandal was once again in charge of The Pilgrims. Evans' return was, it seems, engineered by the current Chairman of Boston United, Jon Sotnick. It emerged in February 2004 - at the same time that Sotnick took over - that Evans was working for a US division of Hemmingway Employment, which is, you guessed it, owned by Sotnick. Shortly after the takeover was complete, the previous Boston manager Neil Thompson left 'by mutual consent', and a friend of Evans', Jim Rodwell, was brought in as caretaker and naturally, after Evans' ban was complete, Rodwell moved upstairs to become Director of Football and the way was clear for his return. |
| Right…and Boston have been making lots of signings haven't they? Including Gazza. |
| Don't even go there. In fact, can we change the subject? |
| OK, what's all this Pilgrims stuff about that I keep seeing on Soccer AM? |
| Boston's nickname dates back to the Seventeenth Century when the town was a Puritan stronghold. Boston, Lincs was the inspiration for the naming of Boston, Massachusetts when, in the 1630s, some 250 of its residents left for the New World. The Pilgrim Fathers had first tried to sail (illegally it seems) to Holland in 1607 to try and find 'religious freedom' but were caught, tried at the Guildhall (the building is still in Boston) and imprisoned there until 1630. |
| Is there anything else to see in Boston? |
| Yes, it's worth looking out for 'The Stump' the tower of the 14th Century St Botolph's Church (the largest Parish Church in England) which stands at over 270 feet and dominates the surrounding flat Lincolnshire landscape. On a clear day you can reportedly see Lincoln Cathedral, 32 miles away, from the balcony of the tower. |
| After climbing up to see that I'll need a beer. Is there anywhere decent to get one in Boston? |
| The Eagle on West Street (near the Station) is decent enough with a reasonable range of food. In the town centre the Olde Magnet Tavern is on South Square opposite the Guildhall where the Pilgrim Fathers were tried and the Ship Tavern is nearby on Custom House Lane. All the usual Wetherspoons & co suspects can also be found in the town centre while nearer the ground The Coach and Horses is just off York Street on Main Ridge. |
| And the ground? |
| Well,
it's basic as many ex-non league grounds seem to be. Away fans get
the Town End Terrace @ £13 (£9.50 senior citizens, £6.50
juveniles) and seats are also available at £15 (£10.50/£7.50). Chairman Jon Sotnick announced plans for a super new 7,500 (no, no zero missing!) all-seater stadium in the Boardsides area of town in July of this year. The £8m development will apparently be funded by the sale of York Street and Boston Town's Tattershall Road ground for housing. Somewhat controversially Sotnick only announced that he had 'secured' the latter from its landlords, Sportsfunds, at the press conference for the new stadium and even more remarkably it was the first that officials of Boston Town had heard of the deal. Town will apparently have a new pitch, changing rooms and grandstand next to the new stadium complex which will include a hotel, restaurant and conference facilities. Sounds a tad suspect to an outside and no further details seem to have been announced since July - a case of watch this space? |
| Anything Else I Need To Know? |
| While not on the scale of Macclesfield's recent orange away kit, it might be worth taking some sunglasses along as this season's home kit is particularly garish. Maybe that's why G8 left? |
© gasheads.com
2004