Geraint made his Casuals debut back in 1994 and is one of the fourteen club centurions with 105 appearances to his name.

 

The "G-Force" played a significant role in the club's first league championship win in 1998/99 playing in 10 of the last 13 games during which time he scored vital goals in the 1-0 win v Northolt Saints and the 1-1 draw with Rank Xerox.

 

Casuals Appearances/Goals: 105 / 7

94/95 17 games - 1 goal

95/96 15 games - 0 goals

96/97 24 games - 0 goals

97/98 8 games - 0 goals

98/99 10 games - 2 goals

99/00 23 games - 4 goals

00/01 7 games - 0 goals

02/03 1 game - 0 goals

 

Debut: 1994/95 season

 

Final game: 22 March 2003 v Kingston Albion thirds. The KDFL Division 3 title was already in the bag and Geraint made his only appearance of the season. The game finished in a 1-1 draw with Jim Paley heading the Casuals goal.

Team: Wolsey, P Shepherd, Barnard, Richards, Thomas, Paley, Cates, J Shepherd, Bennett, Malcolm, Hardy.

 

Number of Bridgend Tours: 3 (1995, 1996, 1997)

Honours: 1995/96 London Commercial League Div 7 Runners up, 1998/99 London Commercial League Div 3 Championship, Arabian Cup 1996.

 

Nickname: "G"

 

Birthplace: Bushey, Herts (a small corner of a foreign field that will be forever Wales)

 

Date of Birth: 14-1-1967    

 

Resides:  Twickenham

 

Occupation:  Head of Dispute Resolution for a national law firm

 

Preferred Position:  Centre Back

 

How did you come to join the Casuals:  I was at University with the Gaffer

 

Why did you leave:  Vets' football is so much less hard work

 

Who else did you introduce to the club:  Steve Cates (sorry, everyone)

 

Highlight of Casuals Career:  Winning the Commercial League Div 3 Championship in some style.

 

Lowlight of Casuals career:  Slicing a cross-field pass (against Rank Xerox or possibly Maxsum) from midway in our own half so badly that it beat our own keeper.  Or possibly the headed goal mentioned under "Most memorable Casuals goal you scored" below. 

 

Most Embarrassing Moment:  See above

 

Best Casuals manager you played under: The one and only Gaffer (what about Catesy? - Ed)

 

Worst player you played alongside: All were committed to the cause, so it would be unfair to name names.  It was never our style ...

 

Funniest player:  Comedy was always an essential part of club life in the Casuals, although Rulo (Michael Rootes) deserves special mention.  The use of Bridgend Town's PA system to announce the substitution of Bart (Graham Bartlett) on a Bridgend Tour was inspired. The look on Bart's face when he realised he was not being replaced - Phil had taken him off simply because he was getting in the way - was also memorable. 

 

Most memorable Casuals goal you scored: Scoring from the halfway line.  With my head.  In a cup match.  Into our own goal.  

 

Funniest thing you have seen during a game:  See above.  To this day I do not know how it got past our keeper, Danny Grimes (aka Granny Dimes).  I also recall an incident involving Vinny (Djemal) and Nicky (Markham).  A loose ball rolled slowly towards them but unfortunately on Vinny's right side and Nicky's left.  As those that played with them will know, Vinny doesn't have much of a right foot and Nicky doesn't have much of a left foot.  Result: they both fell over and the opposition's striker ambled between them to collect the ball.  

 

Funniest thing you have seen on a Casuals night out:  A Christmas night out in the Roadhouse in Covent Garden that turned into a wild-west style free-for-all, with fists, chairs and tables all being thrown.  Of course, the Casuals had nothing to do with it.

 

Favourite Bridgend tour memory:  This is hardly a favourite, but is the one I have found hardest to forget, despite my best efforts.  When a few of us took an early morning trek up the scaffolding on the outside wall of our hotel to return the letter "H" some scally had earlier removed from the word "HOTEL", we had the misfortune to spot Graham Nash the Bash "letting off steam" whilst reading a "gentleman's magazine" in the supposed privacy of his hotel bathroom. 

 

Are you still playing: Yes, sort of.

 

Who for:  NPL Vets (Teddington)

 

How would you like to be remembered:  For my extraordinarily long life. 

 

Best thing about being a Casual: Team spirit, on an off the pitch.  We often beat teams that had better players because we were better prepared as a team, fought harder for each other, and did not want to let each other down.

 

Message to the current team:  At the risk of being trite, enjoy every game - your footie career really doesn't last forever ...

 

 

Q&A completed on 30 Mar 2006.