WARREN Patmore’s sudden departure early in the 2012/13 season left the First team in a perilous position (to put the matter politely!) and the Club was fortunate that player Matt Trenaman volunteered to take temporary charge as caretaker manager.

However, Matt with Perry Carpenter, had already pledged support to the Reserve team’s competition with a good squad of players to try to win the Reserves team league.

Former player John Veale took over the First team management in November with the team in a relatively good position with 10 points from eight games.

Unfortunately his efforts to strengthen the team were not successful and by the end of the season, after 30 games the team had only acquired a further five points but had forfeited four of these for team misdemeanours and the team finished with one of the worst season’s record ever, with 11 points from 30 games.

By a stroke of luck there was no relegation that season as the Division was already two clubs light.

So the First team escaped yet again. Meanwhile the Reserves had finished as runners-up in their Devon and Exeter League Division Three, with Perry Carpenter and Matt Trenaman over 50 goals between them.

The following season Perry and Matt agreed to take charge as First team joint managers and the majority of the Reserve team from the previous season formed the basis of their team.

In fact only three players, Lee Waring, Ben Pike and Richard Edworthy survived the previous season’s First team. But the club was very grateful to John Veale and the players who stuck with the team for the season to rescue them from a potentially disastrous outcome of having to withdraw from the League.

So the Club was now looking optimistically to the 2013-14 season.

Of the 17 players listed in the club match programme for the first game of the season versus Liverton United, all but one or two had progressed over the years through the Club from the youth section.

Many of the players had also played in Julian Broome’s Under 18’s side a few years previously and had benefited from the coaching experience in John Cornforth’s teams in 2007 and 2008.

Footballers mature as players at different ages and are very rarely the finished article when they turn 18.

Unfortunately the club cannot find a place each season for every player who has reached 18.

In many cases with youngsters now starting to play organised football as “ Under-Six years-olds” they get 10 years of organised football, at least, and, by the time they are 18, many have had enough.

Fortunately the really keen ones will perhaps drift into local football with other senior Clubs in the Crediton area and eventually get back to play for Crediton as has been the case with many players. There always is, however, the opportunity at the Club for youngsters to progress if they are keen enough.

Nowadays so many teenagers leave school and go away to college or University that the "promising prospects" are not available to play anyway. Some of these do return eventually and opportunities are always available for any player wishing to play at a higher level.

The 2013-14 season finished very successfully for the team in a top sixth place.

The 2014-15 season started with a disappointment in that Warren Patmore, by now running Tiverton Town’s Reserve side, had tempted Adam Bilcock and Steve Goss to leave, but on the plus side Steve Avery and Josh Kite transferred in from Witheridge.

Matt Trenaman, with assistant Perry Carpenter, and in later seasons with Emlyn Harris and Richard Blake, instilled some discipline and player pride within his team.

Players were expected to attend mid-week training, turn up properly kitted out in the match day kit provided by sponsors and to support Club fundraising functions.

For five seasons, between 2014 and 2019, “Trendy” and his assistants enjoyed a successful period. They didn’t win any trophies but were playing a good standard of football.

The F.A’s decision to introduce “sin bins” to improve player discipline on the pitch helped to improve the match day experience for supporters.

There was a good team spirit amongst the players, largely fostered on their end of season Club “tours” – usually somewhere in the Spanish sunshine. But sadly their plans for this Whitsun 2020 have had to be abandoned.

The South West Peninsula league now consists of two 20-team Divisions East and West – Cornwall and Devon oriented. We are now playing at the same level, step six in the Non League Football system, as we were when we joined the Western League in 1990.

This coming season 2020-21 will be Matt’s eighth season in charge as manager, nine if you include a year running the Reserves team with Perry Carpenter – a term only ever exceeded by Trevor Atkins’ nine-and-a-bit years.

His assistant for the past two years has been Richard Blake following a very successful playing career.

Richard has decided to retire from the position and Matt has managed to secure the help of long-term Witheridge player and manager, Darren Pike.

The Club is now in a good situation following the Football Association’s revamp of the South West League structure in the summer of 2018. We are playing at a good level and the travelling times and costs are not too much for the club. We have been fortunate to upgrade our floodlights thanks to the support from the F.A and local businesses and to also provide the Devon Air Ambulance Night Landing spot for Crediton.

Hopefully we will get back to playing football sometime later this year. My 10-week account of Crediton United Football Club memories is now up-to-date.

Next week three of the Club’s life members Dave Blanchford, Ian Grinney and myself - aka “The Three Old Farts” are going to each list their own 25 best Crediton United players from 1990 to 2000.

Chris Gillard