Steve Claridge has been named manager of 10th tier club Fleetlands FC, and is hoping to rediscover his love for football again.
The 57 year old is now tasked with meeting the ambitious plans of the Wessex League Division One side.
The appointment was described to be a great coup for chairman Iain Sellstrom who initially brought him in back in May, in some sort of role.
Claridge has since been confirmed as Fleetlands’ first-team coach, filling in the vacancy left by Dan Greenwood’s departure after the season ended, finishing 8th with 59 points from 38 games.
For the avoidance of doubt, Steve Claridge is the first team manager and will be taking charge of the side for 2023-24 season. The legend is a Copterman 🚁❤️🖤 https://t.co/4hNqfO3skm
— Fleetlands FC 🚁 (@fleetlandsfc_) June 16, 2023
‘We parted company with Dan,’ explained Sellstrom, as per The News, Portsmouth. ‘I wanted to take the club to another level and Dan wasn’t the man to do that.
‘I’m not faulting Dan at all, on the field we did really well. But I’ve always said to my managers that it’s not all about results on the pitch.
‘It’s about managing other sides in the club, about managing relationships in and out of the club, and managing relationships with other clubs.
‘I want to take it up a notch. I said when I arrived I had a five-year plan to get into the Wessex Premier. I’ve been here four and two of them were dead years due to Covid.
‘I make no bones about it, the minimum I will be expecting next season is the play-offs.
‘What can Steve bring? He will bring his name. People are already starting to talk about Fleetlands,.
‘We’ve had 14,000 views since we announced it on Twitter – we’ve never had that before for any announcement.
‘We’ve always kept in touch since. We were chatting and I said – almost tongue in cheek really – ‘do you fancy doing something with us?’
‘When I first got off the phone with Steve, I was thinking ‘you know what, he might be interested’. I was cock-a-hoop, and I wouldn’t let go after that.
‘Steve is the complete package for a club of our stature.
‘He is realistic, he knows we don’t pay wages. There’s no budget, unless someone wants to give us one!
‘But I’ve always thought if you get the right players with the right attitude, then you will get the right team. I’d rather have a team of players rather than 11 mercenaries.
‘It can be done,’ said Sellstrom on using the template of Petersfield Town who won promotion through the play-offs without paying their players. ‘The pool is not that big around us for attracting players, and there’s some serious clubs.
‘But not every player wants to play for money, some just want to play and have some fun.
‘Some players just want to be part of something and, Jesus, we have a great project.
‘We want to get into the Wessex Premier, and we want to build a new clubhouse. It would be nice to leave a nice legacy.’
STEVE CLARIDGE’S CAREER
Youth
Portsmouth
Senior – *Club domestic league appearances and goals
1983–1984 – Fareham Town – 13 games (2 goals)
1984–1985 – AFC Bournemouth – 7 games (1 goals)
1985–1988 – Weymouth – 110 games (28 goals)
1988 – Crystal Palace
1988–1990 – Aldershot – 62 games (19 goals)
1990–1992 – Cambridge United – 79 games (28 goals)
1992 – Luton Town – 16 games (2 goals)
1992–1994 – Cambridge United – 53 games (18 goals)
1994–1996 – Birmingham City – 88 games (35 goals)
1996–1998 – Leicester City – 63 games (17 goals)
1998 → Portsmouth (loan) – 10 games (2 goals)
1998 – Wolverhampton Wanderers – 5 games (0 goals)
1998–2001 – Portsmouth – 104 games (34 goals)
2001 → Millwall (loan) – 6 games (3 goals)
2001–2003 – Millwall – 85 games (26 goals)
2003–2004 – Weymouth – 47 games (24 goals)
2004 – Brighton & Hove Albion – 5 games (0 goals)
2004–2005 – Brentford – 4 games (0 goals)
2005 → Wycombe Wanderers (loan) – 4 games (0 goals)
2005 – Wycombe Wanderers – 15 games (4 goals)
2005 – Millwall – 0 games (0 goals)
2005 – Gillingham
2005–2006 – Bradford City – 26 games (5 goals)
2006 → Walsall (loan) – 7 games (1 goals)
2006–2007 – AFC Bournemouth
2007 – Worthing
2007 – Harrow Borough – 4 games (2 goals)
2009 – Weymouth
2011–2012 – Gosport Borough – 11 games (4 goals)
2017 – Salisbury
Total – 829 games (256 goals)
Managerial career
2000–2001 – Portsmouth
2003–2004 – Weymouth
2005 – Millwall
2015–2022 – Salisbury
Honours
Birmingham City
Second Division: 1994–95
Football League Trophy: 1995
Leicester City
League Cup: 1997
First Division play-offs: 1996
Millwall
Football League Second Division: 2000–01
Individual
PFA Team of the Year: 1995–96 First Division
Aldershot Player of the Season: 1988–89
Birmingham City Player of the Season: 1994–95
Millwall Player of the Season: 2001–02
Portsmouth Player of the Season: 1998–99, 1999–2000
As a manager
Portsmouth – 12 October 2000 until 25 February 2001 – 23 G, 5 W, 10 D, 8 D, 21.74 win %
Weymouth – 1 July 2003 until 20 October 2004 – 55 G, 26 W, 17 D, 12 L, 47.27 win %
Millwall – 21 June 2005 until 27 July 2005
Salisbury – April 2015 until 13 October 2022 – 204 G, 133 W, 24 D, 47 L, 65.20 win %
This is what fans said as Steve Claridge is named manager of the 10th tier club hoping to rediscover his love for football again…
@BemertonHeathFC: Good luck to Steve and your good selves for the coming season 👍🏼
@eiffel_71: Best of luck Steve! #UpTheCoptermen
@WrapsonJackie: Good news for our club. Xx
@KWrapson: Welcome to the family Steve. Great to have you at the club 👍
@pompeystu2010: Welcome to the fleetlands Family Steve . One club, One Vision 🚁🚁⚽️
@G1964Lee: Brilliant news…. I got my renewal for the season.. Happy days ⚽⚽⚽
@Ffunkdupp: Good luck to the man
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