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Taskmaster’s Alex Horne – ‘When Liverpool score, I nod. With Chesham, I punch the air’

Taskmaster’s Alex Horne says ‘When Liverpool score, I nod. With Chesham, I punch the air’ in an interview ahead of the FA Cup this weekend.

The much loved comedian shared his passion for non league football as his club prepare to take on League One side Lincoln City on Monday night, a game he unfortunately is unable to attend having already had a tour scheduled in prior to when the TV selections were made.

So for those watching him in Edinburgh, you might notice a distracted Horne, trying to keep an eye on or listen out for the Chesham score, with the game getting underway around 30 minutes before his show is due to begin.

He said to the Guardian: “Elton John apparently watched Watford’s FA Cup final on an iPad on his piano during a gig in Copenhagen. But it’s mainly about the occasion, so it’s gutting I’m not there.”

He did however help be part of the planned intro which is set for broadcast on the night, which he recalls being “weird, because you’re trying to be a comedian, and it’s very easy to take the piss out of a non-league football club. But you also want to show that it’s genuine and, you know, I really love the place”.

Chesham’s shirt sponsor Horne’s Channel 4 show Taskmaster, which has help raise the profile of the club, the average attendance boosted to over 1,000, and for the FA Cup game on Monday, over 4,000 is expected coming through the turnstiles.

“Last season we won the first seven matches in the league and we’ve had that momentum ever since, because people suddenly realised we’re quite good.”

“The FA Cup’s weird because you can’t drink in the stands,” he says.

“There’s about 50 rowdy-ish people who stand behind the opposition goal.”

With Horne and his cheeky antics, you can imagine just how much he loves winding up the opposition goalkeeper “who can hear every word you’re saying”, while also loving the fact the two sets of supporters switched ends, passing each other come the second half.

“The main thing is, you don’t have to sit down. If you’re going to watch a Premier League team, you can’t move, that’s it, you have to watch the football. At Chesham you see someone over there, go and chat to them for a bit, it’s really sociable.”

He spoke on the late drama, having seen his side progress following a stoppage-time header in the Fourth Qualifying Round against league above Yeovil… “Which is great,” says Horne, “because it’s helped the psychology of the players, and people have stopped leaving early.”

“After the last FA Cup match the pubs and bars in the high street were genuinely full. And we’re starting to see that more, with more away fans coming to Chesham, exploring the town. So that’s got to have a knock-on effect.”

On seeing a growing list of celebrities investing in clubs: “I haven’t chucked millions of pounds of Chesham because I can’t, and my wife would not let me. Wrexham is really interesting because it seems to be an only good news story. But I don’t like that ‘money plus football equals success’. It seems slightly unfair on the other teams.”

 “Before, the chairman and the owner had to dip in their own pockets a lot. Now we’re doing repairs that we’ve needed to do for years.” Chesham breakeven with the help of promotion and increase in attendance, as well as the cup runs and £50,000 broadcast fee set to receive for the Lincoln game, which will mostly be spent on a new toilet block. “No one’s making money in non-league football.”

On of people seeking an alternative to the billionaire-driven, sportswashing world of the top tier, he replies: “I guess the Premier League is putting people off more and more. And the Ballon d’Or fiasco this week, Real Madrid not turning up, that’s all quite embarrassing I think.”

On also having a passion for Liverpool FC: “I think you can have both. There is nothing like seeing the Kop before a game. But equally there’s nothing like being in the stands at Chesham, where you know that every single person lives there. When Liverpool score, I sort of nod and go: ‘That’s good.’ And when Chesham score, I actually get excited and punch the air.”

Ahead of Chesham’s game with Lincoln: “I actually think Lincoln won’t be miles ahead. They’ll be ahead in fitness, but not in skills.

“I speak with the players and they’ve said this is the biggest game of their lives. And you hear people say that about the FA Cup final, or an England match, but you don’t necessarily believe it, because it’ll happen again for those guys. Whereas, for our lot, this is possibly a one-off.”

Chesham United co-manager Michael Murray can’t see why his side can’t cause an upset.

“It’s a really important week, obviously, for everyone top to bottom of the football club,” Murray said to BBC Three Counties Radio following Chesham’s 3-2 win against Enfield Town last weekend, which left the club sitting 10th in the National League South.

“It’s a massive game but we are going to try and keep it as normal as we can in preparation and get ready for what is going to be a tough, tough fixture.

“We want tough games and we’re going to attack that tough game.

“I say it many times, and I say it about going into this league, we’re not going there just to make the numbers up or keep the score down- we’re going there to give a good account of ourselves,” Murray added.

“We believe if we can give a good account of ourselves there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.

“We’re going to need all the supporters, we’re going to need a big turnout on that Monday night.

“Hopefully we can give a good account of ourselves and, if we do that, then who knows?”

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