THE SUNDAY LEAGUE TEAM WHO HAVE BEEN
PROFESSIONALLY FILMING ALL THEIR MATCHES SINCE 1990 !

LAURENCE HUGHES

CHAIRMAN & CLUB SECRETARY

Tel.:  07949 128505 (Mobile)

e-mail:  laurence_hughes@yahoo.co.uk

PROFILE: Now aged 65, Laurence Hughes has been Edmonton Rovers' Club Secretary since the age of 17 and has ambitions only to 'retire' when the club eventually folds !  Although as a player he made a total of 172 Appearances for the club (scoring 14 Goals), well over 100 of them were either as a substitute for an injured player or as a last-minute call-up when players had failed to turn up. This was no doubt down to the fact that he was too small and 'weedy' as a teenager and bottled out of headers and challenges too much, even though he was a skilful winger in his time with 'Beckham-like' crossing and shooting ability. Unable to even get a game for his school 'House Team' because of the standard 'Get stuck in and get rid of it' English football policy of the 1970's, Hughes was therefore never going to be good enough to be a regular in Rovers' side, so being involved as Secretary was probably the next best thing !  On leaving school in 1976 (the year Rovers were founded), Hughes worked for WH Smith at various branches until he left in 1990 to start 'Hughes Video Services', his own Company specialising in the filming of Amateur & 'Non-League' Football matches. This of course included filming Rovers matches, something which has given the club great publicity in recent years (see Video History). A mind of information on anything to do with Edmonton Rovers or indeed Sunday League football in general in the North London area, Hughes admits he is a complete Sunday League ‘trainspotter’ and he is always being subjected to much good-humoured 'piss-taking' from his Rovers team-mates because of that (and his love of 70’s jazz-funk, soul & ‘rare groove’ tunes), but they all accept that without him Rovers would probably cease to exist !

ALAN BARNARD

TREASURER

PROFILE: ‘Barney' made just one Pre-Season Friendly appearance back in 2001 but was unable to join the club at the time due to work and studying commitments in Portsmouth. Still managed to play for Edmonton Cricket Club during the Summer for several years though, which was where he knew some of our players from, and having returned to live in the Edmonton area at the start of Season 2006-2007 he decided to sign up and play for Rovers on a regular basis, albeit a bit reluctantly at first due to Saturday Night partying ?! Immediately gained a regular place in the side as a ‘cultured’ ball-playing central defender/sweeper and was very much a key player who was always in the running for the Players Player Of The Year Award every season, although invariably just missing out !  In addition to being a regular player for us, Barney has also dabbled in snowboarding, running marathons, long-distance cycling and even netball amongst other sports and was undoubtedly one of our fittest players even into his late-30’s. Barney has been a Rovers Management Committee member for a number of seasons where his responsibilities included organising Pre-Match warm-ups & fitness sessions at training, cleaning out the changing rooms & showers after Home matches, and picking up litter from the touchlines. Well, somebody’s got to do it ! Was appointed as Club Treasurer at the start of Season 2014-2015 and has continued in that role despite his retirement as a player at the end of Season 2015-2016 and moving to live away from the area. Is a big supporter of Enfield Town F.C. on Saturdays and probably could have played at that level if he had wanted to.

JOSH WAKEFORD

PLAYER-MANAGER

Tel.:  07852 457361 (Mobile)

e-mail:  

PROFILE: 19-year old goalkeeper Josh is one of our current group of teenage players who joined the club for our ‘Project Re-Start’ in July 2021. He was appointed Team Manager for the 2023-2024 Season as we decided to go back to how we successfully started the club in the late-1970’s with our then 18 & 19-year-old players picking the team themselves. This worked well in Josh’s first season as Player-Manager as we finished Runners-Up in Division Five to earn promotion for this season. We are hoping the club will continue to progress with Josh and other players of his age group in charge with other Management Committee members ‘getting on in years’.

TREVOR HUGHES

CLUB WELFARE OFFICER & ASSISTANT COACH

Tel.:   07894 961484 (Mobile)

e-mail:  cwo@edmontonrovers.co.uk

PROFILE:  63-year-old Trevor is the younger brother of Laurence Hughes and was also a founder member back in 1976 when his school colleague David Ashton founded the club. Was then involved ever since, becoming Treasurer in the late-1970's and then taking over as Team Manager in 1991, a role which lasted 23 years until he emigrated to Cyprus in May 2014. A qualified F.A. Coach, Hughes's appointment as Manager arrested a slide down the Divisions in the Waltham Sunday League as a number of good young players who had just joined such as Conor McGovern, Steve Beasley & Russell Beeden really came of age under his tutelage and it was his 'innovative' tactics of zonal marking from corners, playing with a sweeper and a midfield holding player and defending deep and hitting teams on the break which saw Rovers gain various promotions and eventually reach the Premier Division where an impressive third-placed finish in the 2002-2033 Season was the pinnacle of his achievements. Was an uncompromising central defender in his playing days having been school 'B' Team Captain and then a regular in Rovers 'B' Team when it was formed in 1980. Also played a fair number of games as a regular in Rovers First Team in the early-80's with 145 Appearances for the club in total, although he only managed to score 3 goals (all of them spectacular long-range efforts !) However, he decided to retire from playing regularly at the end of the 1982/83 season (when he was only 21) and as his coaching 'career' developed he stopped playing completely by 1988, although a big increase in weight played a part as well !  During his days in England, Trevor was an Arsenal Season-Ticket Holder and worked as a Magistrates Clerk where he often came into contact with ex-Rovers players while doing his job. With Covid lockdowns having stopped him from travelling over the past few seasons, Trevor is now coming over from Cyprus more frequently to help out with the coaching of our new young team when needed as it mirrors what we did with the club both in the late-1970’s and the early-1990’s in building a new team of young players to progress up the divisions. He has also now taken on the role of Club Welfare Officer for this season, which is a mandatory F.A. requirement.

STUART DORWARD

ASSISTANT MANAGER/COACH

Tel.:  07526 252188 (Mobile)

e-mail:  dorwardstuart@icloud.com

PROFILE: Stuart joined the club way back in 1994 as a 19-year-old after several of his ex-Edmonton County School colleagues (who were playing for us at the time) brought him along. Like his older brother Derek, who also played for us for many years, Stuart was born in Scotland but moved to England at an early age, although both remain fiercely patriotic to the land of their birth (and parentage). Stuart made an immediate impression as an attacking midfield player on his Rovers debut and became a regular in the side ever since, going on to become our Club Captain and breaking the All-Time Club Appearances record which now stands at just short of 400 as he still continues to play when needed, despite being in his late-40’s. Had a lengthy spell playing Non-League Step 5 Saturday football for Spartan South Midlands League side Hoddesdon Town in the mid-90's which really improved his fitness and this saw him being voted as Rovers Player of the Year three times in four seasons by his fellow players who were really appreciative of his work-rate. Due to a persistent back problem he then gave up playing Saturday football in the late-90's and concentrated on playing for Rovers instead, invariably after out-drinking all his team-mates down the ‘Polo Club’ the night before but still managing to play to an incredibly high standard the following morning !  Over the years, Stuart’s most effective position for Rovers was undoubtedly as a sweeper, where his well-timed runs straight down the pitch into goalscoring positions often caught opposing teams out, although towards the end of his career he reverted back to an attacking midfield role with others playing in defence. Won the Players Player Of The Year Award for a fourth time at the end of Season 2006-2007 and is undoubtedly one of the best players to ever pull on a Rovers shirt. Unfortunately, niggling injuries and work & family commitments curtailed his appearances towards the end of the 2000’s as he reached his late-30’s and he finally decided to call it a day as a regular player at the end of Season 2010-2011 to give some of our more promising younger players a chance. Stuart is a Spurs supporter and sometimes misses matches through having to entertain clients in his company’s executive boxes at White Hart Lane and various other venues. After several years of playing Veterans football, Stuart re-joined the club as a Player-Coach for our ‘Project Re-Start’ for Season 2021-2022 with his son Harry joining as a player, and has since had a spell as Manager when Tony McKay stepped down after having a major operation. Increasing work commitments at home and abroad and the desire to continue playing Vets football on Sunday mornings means Stuart can no longer attend every Rovers match, but like Trevor Hughes, he helps out with Management & Coaching from the touchline when needed while Manager Josh Wakeford is busy on the pitch playing in goal.

CHARLIE SAVAGE

CLUB CAPTAIN & FITNESS COACH

PROFILE: 19-year old Charlie was appointed as Captain by Josh Wakeford at the start of last season having previously been Cockfosters Reserves Captain at Step 7 level in the Herts Senior County League on Saturdays the season before that. Charlie is also responsible for organising Pre-Match warm-ups…when the rest of our players actually turn up on time for it !

HARRY DORWARD

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

PROFILE: 19-year old midfielder Harry is the son of club legend Stuart Dorward, and along with his best friends Josh & Charlie, he is the reason for our decision to effectively ‘Re-Start’ the club in 2021 with our current group of young players, most of whom have been brought along by those three. Harry will be on the Committee this season as a ‘sort of’ Assistant Secretary in terms of looking after the kit and other equipment while Laurence Hughes will continue to do most of the admin.

MIKE JORDANOU

ASSISTANT TREASURER

PROFILE: Mike is the father of our regular centre-back Chris Jordanou and he will be responsible this season for ensuring players pay their subs straight after matches. This will therefore enable Laurence Hughes to concentrate on filming our matches as normal.

MAX FRANCIS

SOCIAL & SPONSORSHIP  SECRETARY

Tel.:  07956 893346 (Mobile)

e-mail:  sponsorship@edmontonrovers.co.uk

PROFILE: 19-year old left-back Max is one of Josh, Charlie & Harry’s friends socially, and as such, he will be responsible for arranging club social events and hopefully Club Tours amongst other things. Max will also be responsible for fund-raising and finding sponsorship for the club.

CLUB PRESIDENTS

LIFE-PRESIDENT

Laurence Hughes

LIFE VICE-PRESIDENTS

David Ashton, Trevor Hughes, Demitrius Nurse, Aaron Dart, Gary Southam, Russell Beeden, Steve Beasley, Tim Beeden,
Stuart Dorward & Conor McGovern.