ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
And so the managerial merry-go-round at Rowley Lane continues. It’s turning into the bit of a soap opera if you ask me and the question is, where will it all end?
The trials and tribulations of London Lions have been well-documented on these pages in recent weeks and it seems the problems have filtered down to the club’s Sunday A-team, who last season won the Cyril Anekstein Cup.
Only recently did Johnathan Meltzer come in to help Eilon Kennet, who returned to the hot-seat for the third time following a stint at Redbridge Jewish Care. But Kennet stepped down before last weekend’s derby defeat against the B(lue) team, with Meltzer in charge.
Club chairman David Pollock is next in line. He will take over when he returns from America, with Meltzer helping him. I hope you’re keeping up.
Kennet this week told me that the “fiasco of the Cyril Anekstein Cup,” forced his hand. Speaking about the defeat to FC Team C, he said: “We had to start with 10 men and ended playing extra time with eight.”
You have to feel for him, but he’s determined to stick with the club through thick and thin. “I remain available to Johnny for any help he wants from me, especially now that we are overseeing the incorporation of the under-18s earlier than we originally anticipated,” he said.”
The latest development saw the club elevate a group of teenagers who had been playing in the Watford Friendly League and throw them into the LML White team that lies bottom of the MGBSFL Premier Division.
"This team is in a transition period and the club are building something really exciting,” said Meltzer.
"We have decided to put some youngsters into the squad that will be supported by three to four men. Aviel Schwarz and Pete Lazard are two really experienced characters that have played a lot of football in the MSFL and can really guide these boys over the next two years.
"We're all singing from the same hymnsheet. We know it will be a tough season, but I think we are putting in some great foundations for the future of these boys and the club.”
Hendon’s proposed signing of Ed Weisz from Lions has hit the buffers. As David Garbacz explained: “It seemed like the whole thing was a formality. However, it since transpired that the player had a small admin issue to sort out with Lions first and consequently they blocked the transfer."
There’s never a dull moment and I can’t wait for the next installment.