Football boss still going strong after 60 years in role
Speak to Melville Benney, and you will find that he comes across as a relatively sane individual, but having managed football clubs for 60 years, it begs the question: how on earth has he managed it?To cut to the chase and point you in the right direction, Melville's intriguing career of Sixty Years A Soccer Boss is unravelled club by club by retired Falmouth journalist and author Mike Truscott.AdvertisementWhat we find is someone who has never been known to say no to any challenge that confronts him and, remarkably, that has always taken place in the rough and tumble of "junior" football on the fields of West Cornwall.That's not to say Melville wouldn't have wanted a long career in higher leagues, but it was always the grassroots clubs that regularly knocked on Melville's door.He was the "Red Adair" of the local soccer scene.AdvertisementHe began honing his managerial skills as a teenager at Falmouth's Kimberley Park where he formed Kimberley Park Rangers to provide youngsters with an opportunity to play organised football.Sixty years later and probably Britain's longest-serving manager, he shows no signs of wanting to slow down, which is just as well as there is always a club looking for a man to come in and rescue a sinking ship.His career as a manager is a wonderfully entertaining, lighthearted "read" as he recounts his ups and downs with as much enthusiasm now as he did all those years ago when he first began.AdvertisementHe recalls his biggest coup by signing the legendary goalscoring machine Tony Kellow for free and instructing his daughter Sarah to change her wedding date from the Saturday because he would have to miss a match.And who could ever forget Melville leading Falmouth Post Office to unimaginable success in the Post Office Trackback Cup competition.Or the time he arranged a match at Mylor, but forgot they had no transport and all the players had to walk from Falmouth!AdvertisementThe book is littered with players' names who have turned out for Melville down the years, the clubs he's been involved with, the many tales of being a manager, the state of the game today and much more.Just to add a little bit of spice to the tale, there's also a very revealing insight by Melville's wife Teresa into what it's been like being married to someone with such a passion for football.In aid of Cancer Research UK (priced £5), Sixty Years A Soccer Boss will go on sale at Falmouth Town's Bickland Park clubhouse on Bank Holiday Monday, August 31, at 1.30pm.AdvertisementMelville will sign all sold copies before and after Town's Southern League match with Barnstaple and during half-time.News flash: With Constantine Football Club sadly folding just a few weeks ago, Melville came to the rescue of his next club when Speak Out United chased him to become their new manager and, not surprisingly, succeeded.Sorry, Teresa, the legend is still alive and kicking.
Most Popular
