CARDIFF, UK – Cardiff ENL Devils defenseman Phil Manny believes that improving on his league runners-up medal from last season will be a tough ask, but he and his team will relish the challenge.
The 26 year old Welsh native has adapted successfully from his previous forward role to add grit to the ENL Devils blue line under the tutorage of Head Coach Mark Cuddihy. Last season his side finished behind champions Invicta Dynamos in the league before crashing out of the Play-offs. Ending with personal ‘best’ of 115 penalty minutes in 2009/10, Manny’s aggressive style of hockey epitomised the team’s approach to hockey, and in part ensured that they were unbeaten on their own ice during the regular season. For his part, Manny insists he is not a fighter and says that the team has an unlikely enforcer:
Photo by Tim Bowers
“Yeah that is the personal highest I’ve had in PIMS” said the 6’ 2” defenseman. “I don’t consider myself a fighter at all, but I will drop the gloves if needed. I was kind of pigeon-holed into that role when signed in Invicta and if anything, Mike Brabon is the enforcer in my eyes; he’s the Ron Hextall of the ENL,
“I am only joking, he’s one of my best mates and very passionate. He has a lot of abuse from opposing fans but is a class goalie who did a great job for us last year, My role last year became more important from January onwards as we picked up a lot of injuries and only had three regular defensemen, so myself Gareth Dixon and Chris Hart had to clock up a lot of minutes every night,
“It was my first full year as a defenseman and I still have a lot to learn but Cudd (Mark Cuddihy) seemed happy with my performances”
Manny aimed to build on those performances with a novel pre season training regime in the Far East during the off season. A chance opportunity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia opened the door to a potential stint in the Malaysian League this summer. The thought of a manic Phil Manny charging through a team of Malaysians will undoubtedly bring a smile to the faces of most ENL hockey fans; however it was not to be:
The Hextall of the ENL%3F
“I work for an International Media house GDS international and was asked to move out to Kuala Lumpur to head up a Social Media event called Istrategy in Singapore” Manny explains. “They required experience to manage a team of very inexperienced Sales executives and basically ramp up the sales revenue. I worked out there for two months and had planned on playing hockey for the Kuala Lumpur Cobras in the Malaysian League, however things didn’t work out to plan on a professional level so I’m now back working in the UK office on an Oil & Gas initiative in Africa”
Manny’s sojourn to the Far East is certainly not the first time he has left the comfort of Wales. Manny has had a roller coaster hockey career since bursting onto the scene as a fresh faced forward with the Devils in the British National League eight years ago. Since that time he has played in the Elite League with the Devils, before adding Solihull, Edinburgh, Wightlink and Romford to his jersey collection. Far from being a wanderer, Manny believes it is bad fortune that has contributed to his movements:
“Far from seeking change for change’s sake, stability in the teams I played for would have been great as I seemed to pick teams that went into money trouble” Manny points out. “Solihull was good to play for, a low budget team that did well with the resources they had, however with crowds averaging only 90-100 per game, by Christmas they had to make major cut backs so a lot of the paid players were released once they knew the play offs were out of reach,
“The move to Edinburgh is an interesting one, I had signed for Wightlink Raiders after leaving Solihull and had been away playing for GB Universities in the world university games in Torino, I returned from Italy and had a phone call from the owner at the time on February 1st saying that the personal sponsors who had financed my wages had suddenly pulled out. Due to the deadline for the EPL and ENL being January 31st I was in basic terms screwed and very frustrated by the lack of professionalism by the Raiders organisation at the time,
“The only option I had was the Elite league as the deadline there was 31st March. I was aware that Edinburgh had a lot of injury problems so I approached Scott Neil and due to me being based in Cardiff agreed that I would play all away games South of Manchester. That was a great experience as I got to play against the Devils in the first game and pick up an assist, but bloody hard as I hadn’t been on the ice for a month”
Looking forward to the coming season, Head Coach Mark Cuddihy expressed confidence in the team’s prospects in an interview with Pro Hockey News only a couple of weeks ago. The team is broadly the same as last season with only a few departures, and Manny echoes the sentiments of Cuddihy, whilst at the same time admitting he has had to fend off interest in his own services:
“I am looking forward to the season, but it’s going to be a lot tougher this year with more money teams joining the league and it becoming ever more professional. Teams have recruited a lot of ex EPL and Elite players and games will be tighter and that is only going to beneficial for the development of the game and make the league more exciting. It’s clear to see who the ‘money boys’ are in the league,
“Of course losing players is a blow, whether it being for their on-ice performance, dressing room banter or on ice tricks (Alan Armour springs to mind) but as a completely amateur team I feel we have the passion to do well as all the boys play for the shirt not the pay packet,
“I also had a couple of teams interested in me signing this year however I didn’t fancy long distance travel and also playing for my hometown team is great. Like any hockey player my ambition is to win more silverware and win the league as a Cardiff player and prove that money doesn’t buy success. It would be great to eventually have EPL hockey in Cardiff but it’s tough to get the crowds with Elite league being here”
Photo by Tim Bowers
One debating point discussed by fans on English National League message boards last season (and in previous years), is the playing of the Welsh National Anthem before home games at the Cardiff Bay Arena. Some fans believe that God Save the Queen should also be played; whereas others believe it simply adds to the pre game atmosphere. Manny for his part has his own thoughts on the subject:
“To be honest I think there’s more deep rooted issues behind opposing fans having a dislike of the Welsh Anthem” he says. “If you take for example the Elite League Devils, you never hear of opposing fans complaining that the Welsh anthem is played, at the end of the day we are Welsh team playing in the league,
“People say we should play ‘God save the Queen’ as it’s the English national anthem when in fact it the British anthem. As a Welsh man I am proud of my country and if people have time to write on forums about this issue then either they have to much time on there hands or have a deep rooted issue with a Welsh team playing in the ‘English National League,
“For years I have heard so called fans call Cardiff boys ‘Sheep S*****rs and it just goes to show the narrow-mindedness of some of the supporters. Of course banter is part and parcel of sport and is accepted by all players however the anthem issues in my opinion have deeper roots”
The ENL Devils are strongly rumoured to be adding some foreign flair to their ranks this season with an import possibly joining the squad soon. They start their league campaign with a tough trip to face Bristol Pitbulls on 4th September, where they will face the trickery of former player Alan Armour. Manny will be one of those charged with making sure none of those tricks come off.
Contact the author: david.carr@prohockeynews.com
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