and sponsored by Wrexham Lager
Wrexham fans who where their heart on their sleeve
No. 11: Len Willett
Peter Davies meets a passionate Reds fan who was once a Reds player.
Q. What's your background?
A. 'I went to school in Wrexham - and was at the tech in 1953. I first played serious football at school. At tech I had two sports teachers, Neville Pope and Ron Pierce, who were my soccer coaches. In 1956 I was appointed captain of the Wrexham and District Schoolboys XI. There I played with people like Les Jones, who went on to play for Bolton and Tranmere, Selwyn Pugh, who also played at Burnden Park, Willie Carling - Derby - and Alan Bentham - Liverpool and Everton. I was also a teammate of Idris Price, who went on to play for Wrexham and Dave Gaskell, who starred for both Man United and Wrexham.'
What then?
'I left school and had lots of options. Aston Villa and Wolves said they were interested in me. I went to Wolves because they were probably the best club side in the world in the 1950s. Their forward line was awesome: Swinbourne, Mullen, Hancock, Wilshaw and Broadbent. It was a great pleasure to clean their boots! I was their 12 months. I played for their Reserve side, for their third team, and in the local leagues. I was home-sick though - I really wanted to do a bunk. Eventually I had to make a decision: did I stay at Molineaux or return home? I decided to do the latter - a big mistake!'
What did you do on your return?
'I played local football for Rhosddu and gained an apprenticeship at Thorntons Electricians. Eventually I got the chance to play some football at the Racecourse. In time I became a regular in the Reserve side and played quite a lot of semi-pro soccer in and around the North Wales and Welsh leagues. In my second year Cliff Lloyd took over as Wrexham manager - and that was when I got a place in the first team. My first game was on a Wednesday night against a team called Draconians - a touring side from Scandanavia. The game was played in front of a crowd of 9,000 and we won 3-0. Arfon Griffiths also played in the match - as a forward. I made my full debut against Grimsby in a league match - which we lost 3-1. I stayed involved with the first team, but I didn’t get on in the next game against Southend. In the end that was the nearest I got to another appearance. I didn't even get on the subs bench!'
What then?
'A new manager by the name of Morris came in - and everything went downhill. After three seasons I was given a free transfer. A move to Winsford or Chester was a possibility, but I didn't feel either would have been right. Ken Barnes asked me to go back to Wrexham, but I declined. I eventually ended up at Ellesmere Port - one of the best non-league sides in the north-west. They had an Irish manager, Noel Kelly, and had just reached the third round of the FA Cup. I also had half a season at Caernarfon under Harvey Jones, the player-manager, who had also played for Wrexham and Chester.'
So how did Australia come about?
'An agent in London got in contact and told me about the possibilities out there. It was a great opportunity for a young player. It was April 1967 - a whole new experience for me!'
What was football in Australia like?
'There were a lot of sides and many of them had their own ethnic personality. For example, there were Polish, Yugoslavian, Dutch and Greek sides. I played for UCS Lions and then Merton Rovers. The Merton side was based in Brisbane and I played on the wing for them. Merton had been founded in 1927 and it was full of Italian, Greek and Italian players. In my first season there we won the Championship. Soon after our Danish coach left and I was appointed player-coach. I then got picked for Queensland and ended up captaining the state. Inter-state games were very prestigious and it was a great honour to skipper the Queensland side. I also got picked for the Australian national squad in the run-up to the 1970 World Cup.'
Did you enjoy coaching?
'Yes, I liked working with young players and I moved on to the Brisbane-based Germania club. They were a Second Division side and I took up a player-coach role there as well. We achieved promotion as well - a great achievement. I came home to Britain in 1971 after a spell working as a maintenance engineer in Sydney.'
Did you come back to Wales?
'Yes, I joined Newton as player-manager. I only managed to play for two-thirds of a season because my knees were bad. So I had to retire - and go back to work.'
Thanks a lot, Len!
[In the second half of this interview Len talks about Australian football and the current Wrexham set-up]