When I was involved with Lynn football club, one of the things that provided me with almost as much satisfaction as winning a game was watching the development of players, with a sprinkling of them making it into the full football league.
The likes of Frazer Blake-Tracy, Cameron Norman, Sonny Carey and, before them, Mark Paul all arrived at King’s Lynn looking to further their football career, be it with the Linnets for a protracted longer spell or for a season or so before a big club came along and snapped up their talents for a bigger stage.
If memory serves me correctly, Blake-Tracy and Norman both arrived from Lowestoft Town, Carey from Wroxham and Paul from Yaxley as unknown quantities but hungry to prove themselves at the next level at that time.
Only Paul never managed to establish himself at the league level; the other three are all playing football league today.
The beauty of non-league football, something which sets it apart from league and premiership football, is the diversity of a non-league team.
Most teams are a mixture of youth and experience, the younger ones dreaming of full league and beyond and the experienced ones, mostly ex pros, winding their careers down but still able to offer advice and life skills to those young pretenders looking to take their place.
I remember well Ryan Jarvis, the former Norwich City forward, taking Sonny Carey under his wing whilst both were at the Walks, offering his knowledge to the young uncut diamond that was Carey back then.
Carey is blessed with a tremendous amount of natural talent, most players who progress through the leagues are, and would have made it to the Championship level he is at today without doubt.
However, the calm head and steady hand of Jarvis were instrumental in the large strides the player took in what was a very short space of time.
Lynn’s current squad also boasts some outstanding young talent, including wingers Joe Nyahwema and Ross Crane.
I rather suspect that the pair of them will, one day, also be plying their trade at a higher level and will also benefit from the likes of present senior players such as Adam Marriott and Michael Clunan to aid their further progression.
It is the finding of these young natural talents and, in most cases, subsequent transfer sales, that continue to remain crucial in the survival of many teams in the non-league pyramid and those of full league stature, whose constant scouring of the bargain basement transfer continues to be just as important.
James Rowe hasn’t been in the Linnets hotseat for very long, but I’m already enjoying the straightforward views of the Lynn boss. He’s very clear in what he wants and expects from his squad, and no one is exempt from his thoughts, be it in a praise situation or one where he feels the need for a constructive prod.
You may have thought that Michael Gyasi would have been in Rowe’s good books following his treble in the 5-0 rout of Spennymoor Town and his fifth goal of the season, which earned Town a point following a 1-1 draw with 10-man Darlington on Saturday.
His manager, I’m sure, is very pleased, secretly with the in-form frontman’s early-season performances, but was quick to remind Gyasi that football continues to be a team game and it’s not all about him looking to try and score when teammates may be in a better position than he is.
They were sobering words that Gyasi heard, but ones which would have been said to better the player in both the short and long term.
All managers vary in their ways as to the tone of their after-match thoughts and as to how they speak on individual performances of their team members.
For example, both Gary Setchell and Ian Culverhouse were always keen to protect their players and would never call anyone out on an individual basis.
Going further back, Tommy Taylor would always be very keen to look ahead to the next game and not dwell on the here and now of that day, whatever the result may have been.
I’ve also noted Rowe’s awareness of a game’s stats, despite the game having only finished minutes earlier.
It’s yet another example of the modern-day game and the changes that have occurred over the years.
Possession, shots on and off target and passes made and tackles won are all part and parcel now of ‘football speak’.
Despite all of the stats from Saturday’s game favouring the Linnets, the most important stat of any game is the final score, and with that showing everything being equal at full time, Rowe’s frustration was understandable.
Had Lynn won the game as they should then maybe the Gyasi criticism would have remained behind closed doors; we will never know.
The manager’s ‘heart on his sleeve’ mentality has been warmly received by the home faithful since his summer arrival and it’s something I suspect the players also quite like, even though occasionally their performance may be slightly clouded in their boss’s eyes from that attitude.
The Linnets now have two home games to focus their attention on following Bank Holiday Monday’s 4-0 defeat at Chorley Town.
Merthyr Town make the long journey eastwards from Wales on Saturday, closely followed by Kidderminster Harriers on Tuesday evening for the first National League North game of the season under the Docherty Walks Stadium lights.
Emmanuel Maja’s red card with barely two minutes on the clock meant that Lynn were always going to be up against it at Victory Park and with keeper Louis Chadwick also seeing red in the second half, the game quickly turned into a damage limitation affair.
Newly promoted Merthyr will provide Town with another early-season test, as will perennial promotion-chasing ‘Kiddy’, who again went close to promotion again last term.
Lynn will need to be patient in both encounters and must not get caught up in forcing things, trying to secure that first home win of the season, because it will arrive very soon.
I’ve spoken to a couple of supporters who have been satisfied with what they have seen to date on home soil, especially the style of play, which has been full of attacking intent.
Most teams will come to Lynn this season happy to take a point before a ball has been kicked in anger, such is Lynn’s attacking threat.
Patience will be key as the team continues to gel after all of those summer changes.
However, I’m quietly confident that next week I’ll be discussing that first home win in this very column.
