A Tribute to Malcolm McMichael

It is with great sadness that Storrington Football Club reports the passing away of our Chairman Malcolm McMichael. Malcolm died on Thurday 12th August after a long battle with cancer. All at Storrington Football Club wish to extend their deepest sympathies to Malcolm's family. The club has lost a great man and one of the most significant figures in the club's modern history. Everyone who got to know Malc through football will also feel that they have lost a good friend. As a tribute to Malc we take a look here at his time in football, specifically his time at Storrington.

The summer of 1996 is, almost without question, the most significant close season in Storrington Football Club's history, certainly in their modern County League history. That was the summer when the committee at the club decided to take a punt on a new manager with no County League first team experience, a gamble that would pay off many times over in the decade and a half that would follow. That manager was, of course, Malcolm McMichael and he would go on to become a success as a manager and a self styled "Director of football" before stepping away from direct involvement in playing matters to drive the club forward off the field. It would be insulting to too many other individuals who have served and continue to serve the club to suggest it was all down to one man but it was with Malc as the clubs figure head that Storrington Football club has gradually been transformed from a struggling Division 3 club with a terribly run down clubhouse and poor facilities to a respectable Divsion 2 outfit with some of the best facilities in the league.

Not a footballer himself during his younger years it was through managing in junior and youth football that Malc first started to fall in love with the sport. Son Paul was a keen footballer from an early age - and would go on to play under his dad at Storrington - and this provided an avenue through which Malc got involved with the Storrington Vipers junior set up. Strangely, considering this early association with football in Storrington and the love affair with Storrington Football Club that was to define Malc's involvement with the game, it was at fierce local rivals Steyning Town that Malc started to get involved in football management at a more serious level. Under 18s youth football was his first significant stepping stone and future Swans regulars Matt Bridle, Adam Bates, Ben Riley and Ryan Rigg all featured in Malc's early youth teams. It wasn't until the 1994-95 season that Malc really started to make waves though as, with Lawrence Pearce as his assistant, Malc put together the team that would arguably bring him his finest hours as a manager. His infectious enthusiasm and fun loving attitude enabled him to lure players from Storrngton, Shoreham and Worthing and Malc built a team that would conquer all before them in Sussex youth football that season. A glorious season ended with Steyning Town's under 18s winning the West Sussex youth league, the Sussex FA County Youth cup and ultimately being crowned County Champions in the East/ West play off match. It was all done with a small, tight knit squad of no more than 15 regulars and from that team, Alan Tucker, Adam Palmer, Steve Stace, Miles Scerri, Paul Wood, Rob Norris, Ben Whitby and Gavin Bridle all went on to play for Malc at senior level.

Despite the staggering success he achieved with the clubs youth team Malc was still viewed by some of the Steyning hierachy as something of a maverick in footballing terms and was kept at arms length as far as the first team was concerned. He was rewarded with the reserve team managers job for the 1995-96 season but when Storrington came calling with an offer of the first team job in the summer of 1996 Malc couldn't resist and with the majority of his youth team still in tact and ever loyal to their manager he headed for The Recreation Ground to build a new team and rebuild the club. Malc's first season was nothing to get too excited about with a lower mid table finish in Division 3. Despite sweeping all before them aside as youth team footballers it would take a couple of years for Malc's youngsters to adapt. Malc wisely sprinkled some experience throughout his team with Nigel and Simon Dyer and keeper Kerry Harding surviving the cull. Simon Friend James, Chris Witten and Adam Bates would all add a little more experience in the next year or two. Malc's second season at Storrington was an altogether different story with promotion back to senior football secured along with the bonus of two cup wins in the Divison 3 cup and the Vernon Wentworth. Malc had achieved his goal to manage in senior football and for the greater challenge that would follow he persuaded former Steyning captain Bob Paine to come on board and coach the side. The McMichael/ Paine relationship was similar to the McMichael/ Pearce set up from Malc's youth team days in so much as Malc was never going to change his approach, even at this more serious level of football. It was still primarily about the enjoyment, the banter, being with his bunch of lads for Malc. Pearce and now Paine were the "bad cop" in the management duo and as with Pearce at youth level, the blend with Paine was initially highly successful. Malc's debut season in senior football - and also that of a significant number of his team - was an astounding success. It was only when the team ran out of legs during the run in that a top three finish slipped away but sixth place was a great achievement for Malc's young team and one that has not been matched by any subsequent Storrington manager. A run to the Division 2 cup final was another fine achievement but a below par performance resulted in a 2-0 defeat to Sidley. This was the closest that Malc would come to winning silverware at senior level. Due to a number of factors, the 1998-99 season didn't provide the spring board to greater things on the pitch that it could have done. Star player Miles Scerri was tempted to Arundel and Bob Paine walked away early in the season due to other commitments. Malc continued to manage the team on his own and retained the loyalty of the rest of his players but try as they might they couldn't recapture the form of the previous campaign. The highlight of the 1999-00 season was a Sussex Senior Cup fixture against Hastings Town, one of Sussex football's giants. Storrington switched the fixture to Hastings, having initially been drawn at home. The official reason was to generate some income for the club but there was more than a suspicion that the prospect of a coach trip and a big day out with his lads was the real reason in Malc's mind, he always loved that side of football. A 4-2 reverse was a hugely respectable result for Malc's side but the season never really took off.

It was already obvious that Malc had one eye on what he could achieve for the club away from the playing side - from day one it was his vision to obtain the funding and local authority permission required to secure floodlights for the club - so it wasn't a great surprise when Malc announced that he would be moving "upstairs". Nigel Dyer also made a step up from club captain to player manager and Malc continued to provide assistance on the playing side as well as concentrating more on plans for the club's facilities. At this time the club house was still a run down building which did little to attract wives, girlfriends and social members, and floodlights remained little more than a dream as even if the funds could be raised the various hurdles and objections of the local councils and residents seemed insurmountable. Malc never gave up though and obtaining floodlights for the club became his mission. It wouldn't be fair not to mention the efforts of others that also went into securing the upgrade of the clubs facilities. Nigel and Derek Dyer and Keith Dalmon probably doesn't cover everyone but they were key players in helping Malc achieve his vision for the club. The impressive new club house came first, a two storey building situated on the half way line providing excellent viewing facilities, four changing rooms plus an officials room and a bar and social area that would be the envy of most County League clubs, including the big boys. All that was outstanding was the floodlights and in 2009 Malcs dream, which at one time had seemed liked nothing more than that, was achieved as the lights went up and the Swans played their first home match under floodlights. Matt Bridle put a huge amount of work into securing the lights but he didn't really have much choice as Malc's son in law - Matt had married Malc's daughter Karen in the summer of 2004 - but there was no doubt that Malc had been the inspiration, that it had been his vision over a decade ago and that he had carried the fight to the local parish and district councils to knock down the barriers in order to achieve this massive step forward for the club.

The majority of people at Storrington football club got to know Malc through football but there can be few that wouldn't have also considered him a good friend having got to know him. When Russell Penticost sadly died in 2007, one of the clubs biggest characters of the last 20 years was lost. If there was anyone who could beat Russell to the crown for character and enthusiam for the game it was Malc. They were very different men but strangely similar in their approach to local football. They wanted to win as much as anybody but it should never be at the expense of the enjoyment, the banter, the laughs and the camaraderie. Malc got as much, if not more, out of a mini-bus trip for a meaningless mid table Division 3 fixture at Buxted with a pub crawl on the way home than he did out of a good win in a top six clash in Division Two. There was never a time when Malc didn't have a tab on the go at the bar and those players that went with him all the way through from Steyning youth team until their thirties would have owed him hundreds of pounds each if he'd ever called in all of the drinks he'd bought them. Whilst those at Storrington football club will cherish memories of Malcolm that will mainly be football related, everybody at the club will recognise the fact that there was a lot more to the man than just football. A highly successful local businessman and a great family man, Malc leaves behind wife Brenda, son Paul and daughter Karen. To them Malc was so much more than a manager, a chairman or a friend and he will be sorely missed. Of course this is sad time for all who knew and loved Malc and of course there will be days in the immediate short term where it's hard to come to terms with but Malc was without doubt a "show must go on" kind of guy and in the long term there are few, if any, who will be able recall memories of the man without breaking into a smile or a laugh.

Storrington Football Club thanks Malc for all he's done for our club. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude and his legacy will be there for all to see for years to come. The memories of the man, the manager, the chairman, the friend, the cigars and the half moon formation will never fade.