Page 518 - NUAFC EBook

He made his mark here early becoming the
Horizontal Champion, winning the Golden Blanket Trophy
through having the loudest snore. We found out later that 1982
this was the reason he was asked to leave In 1981 Lyn Everleigh (Secretary of the Junior
Warkworth - his snoring was interfering with body) press-ganged Bob into coaching his son's 9th
the Warkworth Tracking station. grade team, thus starting his pro career with Narra.
This happened despite Bob's protestations about not
knowing anything about the game. "Just the person we
SEAN CROWE want, then!" said Lyn.
1981-82, 1985-93 That season came and went - and so did Bob!
Sean was born just a short distance north of Then at the Senior AGM in November he found himself on
Ngaruawahia in a place called Manchester where he the Committee closely followed in 1982 by coach of
claimed a playing acquaintance with the Salford Under- the 11th grade, a qualified member of the Waikato
16s as well as Manchester United. Referees Association and also a Junior Committee
Arriving in NZ as a tail-gunner in a Tiger Moth member.
he pulled on the Hamilton 1st Division strip and As a pipe smoker he used this to his advantage on a
warmed the bench for their national league on several number of occasions on foggy mornings to puff out extra
occasions. clouds to convert the fog to smog and get his team to
His transfer to Narra in 1980 cost the Club two score in the confusion!
left football boots and was well justified as he kept
goal well against all players except Steve Williams
back passes. 1977-84
His adoration for Mickey Mouse commenced
when he realised that Mickey had ears just like his Barclay had a rather colourful nickname
own. Although mellowed by the years Sean can still be but, like the Dog of Footrot Flats, it cannot be
remembered for his grasp of the English language divulged.
during training sessions and sometimes in competition Big Bark’ was born in Glasgow (where the
with such memorable utterances as: inhabitants all talk like they have a mouthful of haggis)
and came to NZ when six strapped onto his
• "Get yer ****** inta gear, ya stoopid git!" mother's back.
• "If ya kin doo any ***** better, get in here and
try, ya useless *****." He played schoolboy soccer for Waikato
and North Island Juniors, making his Northern League
debut with AFFCo Rangers when just 14. He continued
IAN MILLER with AFFCo until their amalgamation with Ngaruawahia
in 1977 and has been a squad regular apart from two
1976-96 visits to France.
Known as Jock and sometimes Muller he was
born in that Never Never Land north of England in a In France he worked as a painter on the Eiffel
place called Alva, Clackmannanshire. He reckons that if Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre (where he gave the
Clackmannanshire were in Wales it would have been Mona Lisa that enigmatic smile!). He played part time for a
called Clackmannan-shiregogogog! local team called Callas while part-timing as a grape-
He came to NZ in 1956 as a mere sprogg of 16 treader in a French vineyard.
(not his IQ) as a trainee Haggis-basher. As an avid He took Karen with him on the second visit
soccer player he was recruited into the local Forrest where they worked as Apache Dancers in a Cafe. It
Lake football team (wrong football, they played was learned that Karen did the violent parts of the
League!) before suddenly switching to Tech Old Boys dancing thereby training up Barclay for his future soccer
(before they became Hamilton AFC). He stroked a ball techniques.
about with them for 5 years and in that time represented Always known for getting seasick in a waterbed they
Waikato in the Under-18s under Ron White and Arthur only way he could get to sleep was get Karen to tickle his
Parker. backside with a feather!
A machinist/cabinet maker by trade he put his
skills to the test by building crates for the Apple and 1982-84
Pear Board and knocked together the upstairs bar. Lincolnshire (just out of Taupiri) was the
He is a connoisseur in the rare art of whiskey- birthplace of Richard (Dickie) Plume way back in the
spilling and is invariably conned into betting for mid forties. He was known to many as Hello Sailor and
Scotland against England in soccer internationals, was only just taller than he was wide.
thereby regularly losing all his pocket money. He played for Leicester Senior Amateurs as
As a die-hard Rangers fan Ian was horrified to Captain for three years as well as for Ipswich before
find out that Narra wore Celtic colours (green) until coming to NZ as deck cargo on a submarine. Here he joined
he worked out a compromise by wearing blue up with Caversham, Dunedin City and was an Otago
underwear. As a typical scot you can always nd a representative. He moved on to Rotorua City for a
fork in his sugar bowl and chalk marks up the side of season, and then to Hamilton's National League squad for
his milk container. three years. In 1982 he moved to Narra as a defender.
Ever wondered what happened to the top of his His transfer fee of two jugs of beer and a packet of
finger? Well, he lost it trying to dig his 20 cents back out chips was kept secret until he applied through the Privacy
of the pool table after losing a game to Glen Gray! Act to find out what it was two years later!

Popeye and Olive Oil had a dramatic effect on
Dick's progress as a footballer. His ability to squint at
the referee while biting his tongue was only overshadowed
by the over-sized boots he wore and the severely
combed-back hair style.
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