Behind The Scenes

Ricky Hamilton - First Team Manager

John Tewsley - First Team Coach / Assistant Manager

Nigel Dyer - Reserve Team Manager

A true Swans legend, Nige arrived at the club from West Chiltington in the late-eighties. Having captained the front side during some of its most successful times, he eventually retired from playing in 2005, having had a brief stint as player manager a few years earlier. Got bored not playing though, so decided to build the Swans a new clubhouse, which was quite nice of him. After guiding the Reserves to unprecedented success, including the section Cup triumph in 2006, he stepped up alongside old buddies & team-mates Searle and Chalaye a year later, marking the first day of the new season with his seriously overdue wedding. One can assume that as a married man his previous taste for Belgian lager will now subside.

Joe Joiner – Third Team Player-Manager

What a career this bloke has had, and he’s still only 23. A promising teenage referee, he decided to join in the game in 2002, and made his first team debut that season as a flying 18 year old winger. Tragically discovered white-wine spritzers, meaning a sudden plunge to the 3rd XI (one of these days he’ll find out about women too, and probably stop playing altogether). The phoenix began to rise from the ashes when he took over as manager of the side, leading them to the West Sussex Div 4 North title in 06/07, and Joe has become a mightily important figure around the club. Abusive speech at the end-of-season bash somehow didn’t end with him getting his head kicked in, surely a sign of the respect he commands from his troops. This can only be the result of regular tears/blood/ejections/sleeping on nights out, not to mention a propensity for vomiting during training sessions.

James Peake – Bar Steward/Youth Team Manager

Another local lad with Storrington FC at the very epicentre of his soul, Peakey is also a fine all-round sportsman, who strikes a football as sweetly as anybody in the club, without exception. Fortunately for aging strikers desperately clinging on to the vestiges of a first team career, he is more partial to chips than training, and is content to thrash in hatfuls of goals in the successful 3rd XI, 47 of them in 06/07 in fact. And each Monday he cheerfully awards himself top marks on the 3rds website for the weekend’s game. Girlfriend Jess is always good value at club nights too but then you'd have to be a special girl to tackle the cuddly monster that is James Peake. Peakey has taken on management duties for both the bar and the U18 team for 07/08, which is quite a commitment, and I watch with interest to see which role suits him better…. anybody who thinks that perhaps the two jobs represent a certain dodgy conflict of interests clearly doesn’t understand the needs of the modern teenage footballer.

Steve Dalmon – Youth Team Coach

3rd team skipper Trev this year becomes the third admirable young fellow to get involved behind the scenes as he joins team-mate Peakey in the U18 dug-out. His own playing career should prove a source of inspiration for his new charges – a cultured footballer, Steve arrived in his twenties injured and well out of shape, but worked determinedly to get back to form and fitness, and got his rewards as he led the III’s to league glory last term. Daft as it may sound bearing in mind their occasional lunatic Saturday night behaviour, but the Dalmon-Peake-Joiner generation ensures that Swans long-term future is in safe hands. And if Stevie is anything like his father, woe betide the youth player who mucks about too much…

Malcolm McMichael – Chairman

Subtle. Calm. Reserved. Discreet. Judicious. A master tactician. All adjectives that are never used to describe Swans’ esteemed chairman. Malc’s enthusiasm surely cannot be questioned though (a current golf fad is a bit of a worry, but I’m assured he’s rubbish, so it won’t last). A rugger bugger in his youth, he somehow found himself managing a successful Steyning under 18 football team in the early 90’s, and subsequently brought most of them to the Rec to play under him. The classic ‘half-moon’ formation (don’t ask) brought promotion to Division 2 and cup success in 1998, but everybody knew he was winging it, and so he was summarily booted upstairs to the far more suitable post he now occupies. Loves pinching all the committee room sarnies before the opposition bigwigs arrive.

Keith Dalmon – Secretary

A no-nonsense Swans defender in the 70’s and 80’s, Keith now applies equally stringent measures when collecting fines from the yellow-carded – he insisted that Norris set up a direct debit to cover his escalating misdemeanours during the 06/07 season. Keith’s sunny disposition remains reason in itself for visiting the clubhouse on matchdays, and if your lucky you might catch him in one of his memorable poses with Henry the Hoover. Rumoured to be “delighted” with the recent influx of Tottenham fans….

Derek Dyer - Head Groundsman