THE M(S)FL 'TEAM
SECRETARY OF THE YEAR'
TROPHY COMES TO
TEMPLE FORTUNE FC
At the M(S)FL and MMFL Awards Presentation evening held on Thursday 14th June 2007 at EDRS Stonegrove, THE JACK WOLFF MEMORIAL TROPHY for the TEAM SECRETARY OF THE YEAR, which is one of the Maccabi (Southern) Football League's most prestigious awards, was presented on behalf of the Club to Chairman Nigel Kyte.

Earlier in the week, Nigel was invited to the awards presentation without knowing what was in store for him or the Club. He won another award earlier in the evening when presented with the Maccabi Masters Football League Referee of the Year award but an even better accolade was to follow which completely took him by surprise. "I was completed surprised to receive the Team Secretary of the Year Trophy," said Nigel. "It is an award which I felt always eluded the Club due to our administration structure and more importantly politics. All previous recipients were guys who actually attended matches week in, week out and who did the donkey work mostly on their own, but at Temple Fortune admin has always been more of a team effort."

The Club's Chairman continued: "So, although I may have organised things behind the scenes, without doubt the matchday organisation of Garry Simpson, Mike Kaye and Mike Shorvon have been as important to the First Team's sound administration as anything I have done. Therefore, I dedicate the Jack Wolff Memorial Trophy to them as much as me. It's been a team effort and this cup is very much a trophy for the Club as a whole." Nigel added gleefully, "yes, I am extremely chuffed to collect this trophy for the Club, especially at the climax of a season where we commemorated 30 years of participation in Maccabi football. It's a great way to round off a memorable season for Temple Fortune Football Club!"
However, the view within the Club is why it has taken so long for the M(S)FL to recognise how well TFFC is run each season? "We have always stood up and been counted here and we have never accepted injustice lightly, " said the Chairman. "Which means that I have contested many wrong-doings over the years and naturally that hasn't always reflected well upon me personally nor the Club. I have long felt that it's a case of if your face doesn't fit, you've got no chance! I have heard stories from ex-Officers regarding how the Team Sec of the Year is decided. I understand that quite a few times my name has been mentioned over the years but I have been looked over because of personal issues and conflicts with top individuals within the League. I don't do this for accolades – I do it because I love this Club. So c'est la vie!"

One major injustice against the Club came in 1986 when TFFC had amazingly revived after an extremely arduous 1984/85 season. Most of the First Team walked out mid-season in December 1984, leaving the Club decimated with only a squad of about 18 players, mostly Second Teamers, to fulfil both sets of fixtures for the remainder of the season. Peter Kyte picks up the story. "Somehow we survived the season with both teams intact. We were helped by Fixtures Secretary Lol Leiberman who shifted games about as best as he could. Also the commitment of our remaining players against such adversity was just incredible. I know we forfeited a few fixtures but amazingly not too many. I will never forget our worst day... when the Firsts lost 17-1 against Marshside of the Premier in a cup tie in the morning. It was a quarter-final and we had to use mostly our Second XI to fulfil it! Eight of that team then had to shoot off to Cassiobury Park for an afternoon kick-off to play Bushey in a league match. We lost 10-2!" Laughing as he relays the story, Peter continues, "27 goals conceded in one day – surely a record of some kind! How we kept both teams going to the end of the season remains a miracle. We actually celebrated our survival at the end of the season with a dinner, as though we had won something! There was a real sense of achievement!"

Both teams were relegated at the end of the 1984/85 campaign, yet the Club picked itself up, dusted itself down and worked very hard to revive the following season. "With Nigel at the helm, the Club completely overturned the adversity endured the season before," continues Peter. "Not only did the Firsts win the Second Division championship, but we went through the entire season without a single fine for BOTH teams. It was an amazing achievement of recovery in anyone's book. That was under Nigel's guidance and committed hard work. He should have pissed the Team Sec of the Year award but was incredibly overlooked." Almost in annoyance, Peter adds, "a young newcomer to the League, David Kay, took the prize in his first season with MAL Monday. Two ex-Officers admitted that Nigel would have won it but for his previous conflicts with a certain individual on the M(S)FL. It was a major injustice which left a sour taste at Temple Fortune for years. It was no surprise to see David Kay on the M(S)FL Management Committee the very next season. His face fitted, Nigel's didn't. It's as simple as that!" He concluded by musing, "so Nigel has won it twice really!"

Nigel admitted that he received the Trophy with mixed feelings. "Yes, I was pleased, of course. But Peter is right. This Club should have been recognised back in 1986 and several times over since then. It shows you the type of politics which go on in the League which is a great shame."

Nigel's Masters Referee of the Year award makes him the first referee to collect both Referee of the Year prizes. He won the Harvey Hoffman Memorial Cup for the M(S)FL Referee of the Year in 1998/99. "Bizarrely, I enjoyed a similar 'double' then," he concluded. "We won the M(S)FL Ron Saunders Sportsmanship/Turnout Trophy after I had received the M(S)FL Referee of the Year award. And now I've been presented with two awards again!"