New boys in hotseat want to climb leagues
The young management team have demanded their players’ ambitions match their own as a new era begins at Wolverhampton United.
Danny Carter and Andrew Carrier are thinking big in their first post as joint bosses at the West Midlands League Division Two outfit, writes Craig Birch.
It’s been a long time since they’ve had much to shout about at their Prestwood Road home, which is in the Wednesfield area.
It’s 41 years since the current guise of United came to being, after Oxley and Whitmore Old Boys merged and joined the West Midlands League.
They have played in all three divisions of that pyramid, with four separate stints in the Premier Division until they were relegated for the last time in 2003.
They went down to Division Two three years ago and finished eighth out of 14 teams last season, so improvement is much needed.
Carter and Carrier have been friends for years and are used to Premier Division football, so will want to climb back to that level.
Carter was a popular player at Wednesfield while Carrier has previous coaching experience, serving at Willenhall Town and Wolverhampton Sporting Community.
Both are just starting out in management, aged 24 and 28 respectively, and are determined to succeed for both themselves and the club.
Carrier said: “I’ve mainly played in the Prem, but I’ve had a few injuries and I’ve been watching football since then and constantly trying to get involved.
“Me and Danny have been friends through football for a long time now, he’s well known and respected in the game. He’s been captain, as a player, at every club he’s been at.
“He’s been trying to get into jobs here and there and, when this came up, he phoned me and asked if I’d be interested. I thought it would be great to work with him.
“We came in quite late, it was three weeks into pre-season but we quickly made a few phone calls to see what players we could get down.
“Danny has done really well to get those lads in, I’ve given him a helping hand with a few numbers and training has gone really well.
“I don’t like to put this in a disrespectful way but a few of them are probably coming towards the end of their careers, although they still have plenty to offer to the game.
“They are all around Premier Division or Division One standard, some of them are the best in the league if you ask me.
“We’ve hit the ground running and me and Danny are not off the phone to each other every day and we talk, at length, about the squad after we’ve trained on a Thursday.
“We talked a bit more in depth after we’ve named the players, then we turn up on a Saturday and go over tactics before we deliver it to the lads.
“We’ve set up a fine list, if you’re late or don’t have a shower or have dirty boots it will cost you. It’s all for the players, though, it pays for their group nights out down the line.
“It gets a bit of a banter going between the lads and they are all trying to get money out of each other. It’s all about emptying their pockets.”
They have been left to concentrate on their jobs, with owner John Lee and chairperson Hazel Keirle taking care of matters behind-the-scenes. Recruitment has gathered pace despite the duo arriving relatively late in the summer, succeeding Liam Fieldhouse after Ben Astley quit at the end of last season.
Centre-half Tony Russon has been brought in and named captain while striker Darren Leonard, even at the age of 43, has vast experience at a higher level.
Midfielder Lee Onions has played in the Premier Division for Wednesfield while Daniel Benbow, Jamal Pinnock and Leon Pugh have all turned out at levels above.
United have started the season impressively with a 4-0 win over FC Darlaston followed by a 1-1 draw against AFC Bilbrook, a 2-1 success against Church Stretton and a 3-1 win at home to Ludlow.
Sitting third in the table, Carter and Carrier expect them to be involved in the promotion race, but have made their intentions clear – they want to be champions.
Carrier added: “This could be a stepping stone, the aim is promotion and we really want to push on here. Hopefully, we can win the league.
“It’s no secret what our ambitions are, I think we will be a force to be reckoned with. From what I’m told, Division Two is quite competitive but, hopefully, our experience can take over.
“Outsiders have asked us what we expect to do and the players are experienced enough to go out there and think to themselves ‘no one at this level is better than us’. We can do it.”
