CHELMSFORD, UK – Ahead of Sunday’s big local derby between the Chelmsford Chieftains and the Haringey Greyhounds, Greyhounds coach Lee Mercer has taken a swipe at the Chieftains management and responded to comments made about him and his team on the Chieftains website.
On the club website, director Nolan Smith made claims that there were personal reasons why he was ecstatic when the Chieftains defeated the Greyhounds 5-0 earlier in the season.
It no secret that the Greyhounds coach, Lee Mercer, was one of the ones who asked a lot of tough questions during the much documented meeting in the summer that sent the former EPL side into the English National League division 2.
Mercer denies he was to blame although he did comment.
“ I was not the ring leader but I did have some input into questions that were put to Nolan. Nolan showed no respect to the league or what it stands for. I asked him if I came to you with loads of money would you go straight back to EPL he said “yes“. I then asked if he would stay in the league for a min of 5 years he said “no”. So I to made it clear to him and the league that any team that has money problems can’t come to our league for one year then go back to the EPL and as they are a new club to the league they should start from the bottom and work their way up. So if the likes of Romford or Guildford fold they should start in division 2 as well,” Mercer said.
When it comes to personal issues remaining between Mercer and Smith, Mercer had this to say about his old boss, “I have no ill feeling at all. I loved my short time in Chelmsford, but Nolan will know why I’m hostile towards him. If he says sorry I’m willing to work with him and put this all behind us and move on”.
There were some suggestions that the Scotsman would be telling his players to target Chieftains players, as he appeared to be doing when the Chieftains visited Alexandra Palace earlier in the season when BT Williams was on the receiving end of rough treatment throughout the game.
“Nope, we have not and will not target any player. Our aim is to win every shift on the ice by whatever means possible, within the boundaries of the sport. I have a lot of time and respect for Dean Birrell, who I rate as the best coach outside the Elite league, and his team and have no ill-feeling towards the guys doing the job on the ice and bench,” Mercer said.
“I do however want to see my team do well and win games. Failing that we are not a team that takes kindly to being humiliated,” Mercer added.
“When I played for the team last year for a brief time I really enjoyed my time there. I hoped to learn some coaching skills and management skills, but I was not able to. I gave my time for little money and I wanted more money to cover my costs. I was told the only way I would get a pay rise would be if I went out and fought every game to boost crowd numbers. That told me early on (Mercer left the Chieftains in October 2007) that there were money troubles at the club and that they were struggling. I was delighted to have been instrumental in bringing on Danny Cox to an EPL club though. The club was not listening to me about how good this kid is until I took him to training with me. The club signed him up straight away after seeing him play. He really took that chance with both hands and its no surprise to see him back in the EPL this year with Romford.”
As more and more people have come around to the idea of the Chieftains playing in division 2, Mercer too was expecting a line to be drawn under all the sniping soon.
“Of course, I want to get a win and move on from all of the above. We hope we will play each other in the league next year assuming the Chieftains get promoted. I hope all the fans will not see this as bad feeling as it is not! The Chieftains are a great club, it was just badly run, but I’m sure we will all learn from this and wish each other all the best after Sunday. It should be a tough hard fought game which will be a great spectacle”.
The Chelmsford Chieftains face-off Sunday night at 6:30pm against the Haringey Greyhounds in what should be a hard fought encounter with both sides out to prove separate points. The Chieftains will be looking to prove that the 5-0 win in Haringey was no fluke and that the club can compete with the division 1 side.
On the other side of the coin, the Greyhounds will be going all out to avenge that painful defeat. It is expected that both teams will want to play a tough game, as per the previous game, and that has not gone unnoticed by the fans.
One group of fans on the club’s forum has gone so far as to start a campaign against the Greyhounds players and management, but only in the realms of hockey rivalry and not getting personal. A vocal fan even went as far as to say ‘Let’s make them feel really uncomfortable and give them a hostile reception.’
Scenes from the Slapshot movie are potentially going to be recreated in the Essex county town on Sunday evening.
Contact the author at pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com .
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