John Maggs....a decade in charge

It might not have been quite the afternoon that he would have hoped for but boss John Maggs was able to leave the quiet surroundings of Gorings Mead at the weekend full of pride after commemorating 10 years in charge of the Hornets, despite the late postponement of the Ryman League clash with Bognor Regis Town.

The former Crawley stalwart's hopes of marking the occasion with victory over their county rivals were dashed by a frozen pitch but that didn't stop the club from presenting Maggs with an engraved crystal bowl in recognition of a memorable decade in charge of the Hornets.

Ironically it was a series of postponements that had delayed Maggs' Horsham managerial debut, having taken over from Nick Coombes in December 1999 after a dreadful run of results that had seen the club languishing in the bottom three of the Division Two table, seven points adrift of the next placed side Molesey.

"I really thought we had to change managers and with John's record he was, to me, the obvious choice," recalled club President Frank King. "John told me that he thought Horsham Football Club was a sleeping giant and he would like to wake things up on the playing side so we appointed him as our first team manager." "I actually promised Frank that I would get Horsham on the telly. His eyes lit up but I don't think he really believed me. But we did it....twice!", laughed Maggs. Little wonder, then, that the man who had experienced so much during a near 40 year career at Crawley should regard the FA Cup ties against Swansea City as the highlight of his career. "We put Horsham on the map and made the club an awful lot of money from that cup run, and those two ties in particular."

Such heady days looked as likely to the club's loyal fans at the end of the last millennium as the prospect of a man so synonymous with their loathed local rivals of taking over at their cub. "A lot of people at Horsham reacted negatively to the new boss, purely of his Crawley connection. I was one of them," admits long-time fan and matchday programme editor Adam Hammond. "When Frank King told me of his appointment my reply was 'I'm gutted'. It didn't take me long to work out that I was completely wrong." Maggs himself was only too aware of the resistance to his appointment. "Pete Tanner was another who was quite outspoken and told me to my face that I wasn't welcome. But I'd like to think that I've won him and the other doubters over and would consider him and many of our supporters as friends now !"

The records will show that it didn't take long for Maggs to make his mark on the side, bouncing back from a debut loss at Marlow to register 4 successive victories and steering the club to 17th place, seven points clear of the drop zone. The following season, his first full term in charge, saw a continued improvement in the team's fortunes, finishing 7th and ending the season as the division's 3rd highest goalscorers as well as reaching the final qualifying round of the FA Cup. "Going to Yeovil in the 4th Qualifying Round stands out as one of the highlights for me because they were top of the Conference at the time, had a 100% home record, yet we went there and held them to a 1-1 draw. We went in to the hat for the 1st round and would have faced Colchester at home if we'd won the replay but it wasn't to be."

The FA Cup would become a regular source of excitement for the supporters throughout Maggs' reign, although the euphoria of reaching the last qualifying round on two further occasions was tainted by the despair of replay defeats to Team Bath and Stevenage Borough, both of whom went on to face league opposition in the next round in the shape of Mansfield Town and Leicester City.

Maggs certainly had the club moving in the right direction and 2001/2 provided supporters with an exciting glimpse of the future with the introduction of talented youngsters such as Jamie Taylor, Lee Carney, Eddie French and Luke Gedling. With the pressure apparently off due to the League's restructuring, denying clubs the right to promotion for this season only, the Hornets became embroiled in a long battle for the title with Lewes whose controversial victory at Queen Street in April effectively decided the destination of the championship trophy. "That was the turning point," admitted Maggs. "They beat us with a controversial penalty but I feel that we would have won the title if we'd not lost that game." However, the season ended in glory when the Hornets secured their first cup triumph since 1976 with a Floodlit Cup Final victory over Crawley Town. Ali Rennie, Maggs' assistant at the time of the dramatic penalty shoot-out success, remembers the occasion passionately. "Although not the most prestigious trophy, the delight for John to beat the team where he spent nearly 40 years was amazing. I was honoured to be part of that victory for him and Horsham." Rennie, now manager at Redhill, speaks fondly of the 5 seasons he spent as Maggs' right hand man. "The highlights of my time working for John at Horsham are the FA Cup runs and getting promoted. However, to see the smiles on the faces of not only all the Horsham fans but, just as importantly, John and all his family on the night we beat Crawley Town just about steals it for me."

Jamie Taylor's departure to AFC Wimbledon during the summer of 2002 saw Maggs return to the Broadfield Stadium to tempt one time Everton target Rob Collins to Queen Street and he spearheaded the Hornets attack to ensure that the side remained among the frontrunners for promotion until a late dip in form saw them finish in 8th place as well as knocking on the door of the FA Cup First Round again only to lose out on spot-kicks to the 'students' from Bath.

The 2003/4 campaign was arguably the most disappointing of Maggs' tenure so far, and one in which the manager came in for his first noticeable piece of criticism. A poor start led to early cup exits and disappointing league form, including a 6-1 hammering at eventual champions Lewes, prompted comment from the West Sussex County Times after another defeat, ironically at Marlow, the team against whom his Hornets career began. The article read "The poor performances that put Horsham in freefall at the end of last season still plague the Queen Street club and with only 36  points from 33 league games since January their form this calendar year is that of a side facing relegation." Crucially, the fans continued to back the under-fire manager and Maggs was typically upbeat about the situation. "There are all sorts of rumours flying about myself and whether they want me to stay or not but my message goes out that I'm not going anywhere. I don't have to prove anything. I just don't tolerate failure, it's as simple as that. Judge me at the end of the season. We have some good players at the club, my appetite is still there and I certainly wouldn't go on a low anyhow. We will bounce back." Thankfully, the board kept faith in their man and, although the team struggled to find some consistency throughout the remainder of the year, they would suffer just 5 defeats after Christmas to end the campaign in 15th place and take the Brighton Charity Cup for a second successive year.

Having suffered his first 'mini-crisis' since taking over at the club, Maggs quickly began to prepare his side for the new season but there was no hint of the drama that was to come after a heavy opening day loss at Bromley. Horsham recovered to find themselves in 4th spot, going in to October, when the mercurial Jamie Taylor returned for a 3rd spell and his goalscoring prowess would help the club to a 3rd place finish only for a heartbreaking Play-Off Final defeat to Bromley to consign the club to a further year at least in Division One of the Isthmian League.

Support for the club was continuing to gain momentum, though, with the average league attendance more than double that which came through the turnstiles during the 1999/2000 season, providing further evidence of Maggs' belief that the club's fanbase would support an entertaining and successful side.

And entertainment was the name of the game in 2005/6 when the club finally achieved their aim of competing in the Isthmian League top flight, finishing narrow runners-up to Ramsgate by the margin of 7 goals, to clinch an automatic place in the Premier Division. Maggs continued to show a shrewd eye for talent, bringing in Dover's relatively unknown Carl Rook in the January to partner Taylor up front, and the two shared more than 30 goals between them as Horsham produced some big wins such as 8-2 at Pagham, 7-0 at Ashford Town, 7-1 versus Bashley, 6-1 v Chalfont St Peter and 5-0 v Molesey. There were a few blips along the way, a 3-1 reverse at Lymington & New Milton among them, but early cup exits merely served to focus Maggs' mind on the title and an enthralling battle with Ramsgate and Tonbridge Angels followed, with both of their contenders beaten in dramatic style in front of large crowds at Queen Street and the appearance in the Senior Cup Final further reinforced Horsham's standing within the county.

Anyone doubting Horsham's ability to compete in the higher division were given a pleasant surprise as they stormed to the top of the pile by the start of December, boosted by players of the calibre of Lewis Taylor, Jacob Mingle, Stuart Myall and Kevin Hemsley. Some fine performances against highly-fancied sides like Chelmsford, Bromley, AFC Wimbledon and Billericay Town made it a memorable debut for Maggs' men who ended with another Charity Cup final medal with victory over Chichester City United, although an injury-hit final few months led to a disappointing, yet highly satisfactory, final league position of 8th.

The pièce de résistance would come the following season in what was to be a bitter-sweet time for the club. The prospect of moving out of Queen Street after 104 years was always going to be an emotional time for those associated with Horsham Football Club but Maggs and his side delivered the perfect distraction by reaching the 2nd round of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history, appearing on Match of the Day and Sky TV to spread the Horsham name to a global audience. Sadly, another crippling injury list saw the promotion chase tail off with a mid-table finish providing further consolidation.

A season in exile at Worthing was always going to be tough for Maggs. Support inevitably fell away, sponsorship deals became harder to secure, and the job of 'selling' the club to potential newcomers put the the manager's skills to the ultimate test. Yet, once again, Maggs' reputation for attractive, free-flowing football stood him in good stead and we kicked off the season with virtually an entirely new and talented squad. Once again, a good start saw Horsham among the promotion chasing pack and Conference 'giants' Stevenage Borough were held at home in the FA Cup. But league form fell away, with Maggs' proud claim never to have suffered relegation as a player or manager coming in to doubt. However four points over the Easter period guaranteed survival, ultimately Maggs' primary aim in a season of upheaval, and better news was to follow with the announcement that a groundsharing agreement had been put in place with Horsham YMCA.

This season Maggs has taken the side to the fringes of the play-off places once again, despite being restricted by one of the lowest playing budgets in the division, leaving few in any doubt that his achievements over the past decade fully warranted the club's recognition and thanks. Despite leading the club to arguably its finest spell since the early 1970s, Maggs insists that is he who should be the most grateful. "The privilege has been all mine," he modestly suggested. "I am absolutely delighted to have served 10 years as manager of Horsham Football Club. When I was appointed, it took a little time to convince people that I was serious about taking the job on but I would like to feel that I now have their respect and I genuinely mean it when I say that the privilege of being involved with the club has been mine.

I have made a lot of friends here and Janet and I appreciate the support that I'm sure I still have in these difficult times. The job can be very wearing sometimes but I can appreciate that the club are in a position whereby a lot of the focus is on the relocation to a new ground, and I understand that cuts may have to take place on the field, but I can assure everyone that I will continue to do my utmost to put out a side based on quality and entertainment.

The 10 years that I've been here has seen some good times and some bad times but I'm sure that the good times far outweigh the bad. One of the pluses that I've had as manager has been the fanbase that Horsham has had. I believe the club is very fortunate to have such loyal supporters and that has been proven over the last couple of seasons. The excitement of the FA Cup on one side of the coin then Worthing and now YM on the other side if you like. But most have stuck with us and I'm very thankful to them for that.

Janet and I were very grateful for the recognition and presentation that was given to me before the postponed match with Bognor on Saturday and I would like to express my sincere thanks for everything and hope that I can be around when Horsham Football Club does occupy its new stadium."