Following on from the brief mentions so far, and with Chad Snr being away I would like to put forward the following tribute:-
Stan Allan WAS the most successful manager our club has ever seen, and that is with due deference to Ken Barnes, Boothy, JV, Pritch et al and not to undermine the fantastic job Carl is doing at the moment.
He took over in 1987 with the club in the doldrums and having seen a few managers come and go in quick succession. He famously announced he was taking over a ‘sleeping giant’, big words but ones he would fulfill.
Under his management over four seasons the club finished 11th, and 3rd twice in the NPL, culminating in the glorious season of 1990/1 where we won the League and Presidents Cup, appeared on MOTD, and were really unfortunate to lose to Kidderminster in that Epic FA Trophy Semi Final. The seeds were sewn and it was pretty much Stan’s team that went to Wembley the year after.
Stan built a dynasty, but more than that he built a rapport with the supporters, local businesses and the town which saw Witton become the top team in town for the first time in 4 decades.
Long before the money came into the club (Which he spent extremely wisely) he proved his credentials, he developed Mike Whitlow and Neil Parsley into Football League Full backs,(raising a still club record transfer fee of £30,000 in the process) it was a position that he occupied with such distinction, playing over 600 games for Skem and Alty who those of us of a certain age will know were the top non league teams in the 70’s and 80’s. Indeed Stan was the first player to win both the FA Amateur Cup and the FA Trophy at Wembley with those clubs.
We had the fantastic FA Trophy run, beating Yeovil 3-1 on a glorious day at the Central Ground, before narrowly going down to a crack Enfield side of the time.
More than that we had Stan the man, he’d always be available after the game and training sessions, although a quiet man he got funnier and louder as the evenings went on, ‘Just another one Irene’ he would proclaim on numerous occasions as his wife/chauffeur at the time knew that leaving at 7 o clock would become 8,9 and beyond!
He was a manager who worked tirelessly with Paul Broadhurst, Brian Gittings and Eddie Phillips, knocking on doors, getting sponsorship in the close seasons, ever eager to offer himself, he even played for the Supporters Team!
My overwhelming memory of Stan is of the teams he produced, the quality, the work ethic and the flair, yes in his final season we were able to fuse a number of players from Colne Dynamos into our squad, but they had to be managed and rotated as we played 74 games in that season, losing just 3 league games, that takes some doing at any level of football.
My last memory was of 300 Wittoners singing ‘Glory Glory Stanley Allan’ long after the final whistle following this clubs best away win ever at Colchester in the Trophy.
Stan returned to the pitch, to take the acclaim, having been in the shower when his presence was being demanded.
RIP Stan, thank you for the memories and my deepest condolences to the family.
Andy Chad