"CRAY SUPPORTERS ARE ALWAYS EXTREMELY FRIENDLY"
Mike 'The Mod' Reeves tells Jerry Dowlen
Wednesday 23 September 2009

An important and enthusiastic new face in the Cray Wanderers camp this season is sports therapist Mike Reeves , who is now on call to assist with any on-pitch injuries to players and also to help with fitness preparation during training sessions and before kick-off on match days.

I caught up with Mike during the celebrations at AFC Hornchurch after Cray's splendid 2-0 win on Tuesday night. Naturally enough, everyone in the Cray camp was feeling upbeat - none more so than Mike who told me that already after just a few weeks assisting the Wands he has become fully caught up in the passion of wanting the team to win!

"When that goal went in tonight (Ross Lover's rocket-shot), I was up off the bench and leaping around like Bob Stokoe in that famous moment at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final!"

Mike told me that having recently started to seek some experience of sports therapy by assisting Westcombe Park rugby club , he jumped at the chance to lend some help to Cray Wanderers too. "Football is really my game - I was a regular at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea last season. I have even played on the pitch! - for Chelsea versus Spurs! I had better explain that I paid £250 for the privilege - it was to take part in the Kerry Dixon testimonial game!"

Fortunately for the Wands, there was not too much work for Mike to do on the pitch at AFC Hornchurch, apart from tending to Colin Luckett who went down with a hard knock to the leg and was soon afterwards substituted. "Apart from Colin, who is already on the mend, we have Jamie Wood with a knock and there is Scott Kinch whose knee swelled up but is now improving. So we are not in too bad shape with injuries at the moment, thankfully."

Offering me his own analysis of Cray's convincing win and performance at Hornchurch, Mike said: "It had been coming - there had been three or four games where we had played some good football but without the rub of the green. It was great to see young George Porter (age 17) being given a full debut at Hornchurch and not looking out of place - in fact his full-blooded work rate and commitment was an inspiration to the whole team."

"After a superb team performance such as that, you can find something positive to say about every Cray player . wearing my Chelsea hat for a moment I will say that sometimes the players like Essien and Mikel do not get all the appreciation for the work that they do, and for that reason I want to mention the contributions of Rob Quinn and Stan Muguo on Tuesday night, because central midfield is where the battles take place and both of them were all around the pitch and putting it one hundred per cent in for Cray."

I asked Mike to give me his first impressions of his new role at Cray Wanderers. He replied: "In a word - fantastic! They could not have made me more welcome. I am very pleased with how it has all gone. I hope that I am meeting expectations, and that the players will appreciate the potential help that I can give them with their fitness."

Mike said that the Cray supporters too are always extremely friendly and that he enjoys getting into conversation with them.

In furtherance of learning more about fitness and the treatment of sporting injuries, Mike is shortly off to Spain to attend a course at the Glen Hoddle academy. He is a life member of Bexley Borough Athletic Club, and has represented the south of England in the national junior championships.

Mods and Rockers?! That is another of Mike's interests - and if I tell you that he is an active member of a scooter club, you should be able to guess which side he is affiliated to! "In the 1970s at the Orpington Civic Hall every Wednesday there was a 'Mod Night' - and I can remember that a certain Mr Gary Hillman used to go there, too! In the Chelsea FC museum one of my favourite exhibits is a scooter that is decorated with Blues' memorabilia. I have told Gary that when we get the new ground for Cray Wanderers in 2014 we must have a scooter there on display, decked out in all the amber & black Cray badges!"

Forever Amber footnote: Mike Reeves, the Wands' Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist, took over the reins from last season's Physio, Katie Cheeseman, at very short notice at the start of the 2009-10 season.