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PART ONE - THE CONCEPTION
It all began a long time ago...
...at the London Fire Brigade Ground in Aveley. It was early 2003 and Gidea Park were playing host to relegation
haunted Medway in the Second Division of the Essex Corinthian League. In the reverse fixture in Autumn 2002, Gidea had
stuck eight past their opponents, and when Medway arrived with only ten men, a similar story was expected to unfold.
As it turned out, Park were 4-1 up at the interval, without playing to the best of their ability, a fact that their manager
let them know in no uncertain terms throughout theopening forty-five minutes. A certain individual reacted angrily to the
constant criticism and industrial strength language, and harsh words were exchanged at half time, the upshot being
the on the spot resignation of the long serving GP coach. The full time score was 4-1, but the post match home dressing room
had an uneasy air of tension hanging over it. There was a disagreement among senior players as to whether the manager was
right to take umbridge at the backchat he recieved at the break... accused party Samuel Knowles adopted the same stance as Captain
Redbeard Rum of BlackAdder II fame when asked whether he was right to take issue with his Boss..."Opinion is divided on the
matter," he claimed," Everyone else says I'm wrong... I say I'm not". He walked out of the Fire Brigade Ground for what was,
seemingly, the last time.
In the week or two that passed, Knowles was unable to play for medical reasons, an upcoming
operation prohibiting him from playing sport, only to be invited to play on Sunday February 19th, against North Romford, by
the Club Captain/Assistant Manager whilst on a Saturday night out in Faces, Essex's Premier Nightclub.
Assured that all was forgiven, he turned up at the ground only to be named as substitute by one of the renegade players who
had been left in charge of team selection. To make matters worse, a guy that didn't even play for the club, known
as a ringer in Sunday morning football circles, had taken his place. As a final insult to the intelligence of even the
simplest of creatures, the reason given for this exclusion was that he 'hadn't bothered' to turn up the previous week! Park
won by three goals to two, but it was a dejected Knowles that arrived at the Fatlin & Firkin in Hornchurch to watch The
Arsenal take on West Ham on Premiership Plus. 'Wouldn't it be great to play in a team full of old pals instead any old
Tom, Dick & Harry?' he mused whilst obseving Steve Lomas' dismissal and Thierry Henry's converted penalty, 'Would
things be different if I could become a level headed Player/Manager rather than an ill disciplined whinger?' he wondered while
Jermain Defoe tucked the ball past David Seaman for the equaliser, 'What's stopping me trying?' he asked himself as Dennis
Bergkamp shrugged off Lee Bowyer to set up Arsenals and Henry's second. By the time Henry claimed his hat trick to help send
the Hammers on their way to the Nationwide, his mind was made up.
Looking around the Pub, Knowles noticed Danny & Warren Hardwick guzzling
pints of Stella Artois, Danny Button pointing out where Glenn Roeder had gone wrong to Cy Taylor, the brothers Gillham arguing
over whether to go to the Railway or not, Darren Hodsoll, Terry Soteriou, and Mark Harris claiming the Hammers were to good
to go down, Adam Jeffers feeding money into the Jukebox and Alan Lamont and Danny Trew slowly getting louder and louder as
the beer flowed. Could the banter being exchanged by these boys be converted into team spirit on the pitch next season? Knowles
had seen enough to suggest that it could... "Who wants to play Sunday Morning Football for a team I'm setting up?"
shouted Knowles across the busy pub. The music stopped, the mob fell silent, it was as if time stood still in the Public House
formerly known as 'The Bull'... a solitary hand was raised into the air, followed by a second, then a third. Before
you knew it, it seemed as if the cast of 'Spartacus' had entered the building! The whole boozer held their
arms aloft. "What's the name of this team?", came the cry from the crowd, "Erm, I'm not sure..." mumbled Knowles, "How about...Hornchurch
United?". They might as well been in the Chicken Run at Upton Park after a Frank McAvennie goal circa 85/86,
the roof nearly coming off under the deafening roar... "UNITED!...UNITED!..."
They didn't know it at the time, but the face of Hornchurch football had changed forever
that afternoon. The real work, however, was about to begin...
La Nascita Della Chiesa (Pt II)
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