Goalkeeper Marcus Garnham reflects on winning the double.
DK: You've got a bit of a habit of winning leagues, it must be nice to have done it with another club?
MG: Yeah, 100%, mate. Why not? Treat yourself. Yeah, I think it's just a coincidence, mate. I was in the right place at the right time, stumbled into the right club at the right time. It's like, oh, yeah. Oh, right. OK, then I'll see you later. I'll go and have another club, thought. Oh, Sudbury, you want me? OK. What's going on here, then? Oh, won the league again, have we? Oh, OK. All right. Needham Market. Oh, let's try not to get relegated this year. Oh, actually, why don't we go one better and just win the league? Oh, OK, no worries. We'll do that as well, shall we? It's just crazy how football works out, man. You go on a run, you get that belief, you get that mentality and all the crappy bits, like, you know, like the working hard, running after people when you lose the ball, all the bits that people don't like doing.
It just becomes so easy. Then last year, how tricky it was to even have a shot on target, let alone, like, winning games and beating teams, like, much bigger than ourselves. Just crazy, man. Just like, it's just got a snowball in it, like, just snowball effect just kept, the run just kept going and going. And then when we lost, it was like, we just always have, like, the next Tuesday night, then we knew the next team was going to get battered. Do you know what I mean? They were just going to get it the next game, on a Tuesday. It's just one of those strange seasons, isn't it? I don't think Needham destroyed many teams locally for a long time.
DK: Well, you've got two trophies, your 10th Premier Cup. Doesn't get much better!
MG: Yeah, it's nice, man. It's always nice to win things, like, I don't know, I just, yeah, I like to think of myself as a bit of a winner, demanding of people, I guess, you know. Passionate about what I do, I guess. And that's what I've always been like, just give everything I've got, 110 percent. And when that's no longer good enough, then just kind of like, stop, I guess.
DK: Very vocal leader from the back.
MG: Well, having a go at everyone, yeah, that's about right. Yeah, just hammering Dan and hammering Keiran, and then Keiran and Dan just hammering me back, and that's basically it. Or swearing about a striker when they miss a chance up top, and you hear me at the other end going, what is he doing? Yeah, that's about right. And that's what normally happens, because I can hear people laughing when I lose my head. Like, when we're down by the balcony end, when I'm like, at that end, first half, normally, and we miss a chance at the other end, I think people just look at me and they just see, like, how animated I am, like, what the heck's he doing? What are you doing? And I can hear people chuckle, and that's quite funny.
DK: It's the goalkeeper trait, isn't it? You see what other people don't see.
MG: Yeah, you're right. It looks so much easier from where I'm standing, I'll tell you that. Yeah. Like, there's some times where you just want to run out of your goal, run upfield, and just pelt the ball yourself. Volley one in, show them how it's done. Did that in training a few times, you see, that was fun. Like, when Poddy was down the other end, we played, like, short-sided games with a full-sized goal, so we were about 35 yards apart. Yeah. And I saw he wasn't paying attention, I just dropped the ball and zinged it in the top corner, and everyone's going absolutely ballistic. And I'd done it one week, and then a week after, I did a half-volley, and stuck it in the bottom corner. From, like, 35 yards out. Just hammering him, I loved it. Just shouting at the lads, that's how it's done, boys, that's how it's done. And they're just all rolling around laughing at me.
There's nothing worse, your goalie's laughing at you after you've just absolutely shanked one, your goalie's just in the goal laughing away. And I see it in Seth, me and him just go at each other at training all the time. I'll go up to him, I'll tell him he's shocking or something, I'll go, you're so shocking, Seth. And then he'll go, you're an old big something. Then we go at each other, and then there'll be training sessions where he's on fire, and there's nothing I can do. There's other training sessions where I'll just get in his head, and he just gets worse and worse and worse, and I'm just laughing at him, or I save all his shots. I'm making saves, and as he's shooting, I'm laughing as I'm saving it. And he's like, back off Marco. He's absolutely mental, I love it. He's such a great lad. He takes it well, to be fair. Well, I always say to all the boys, if I didn't speak to you, that means I don't like you. If I take the mick out of you, I like you a lot. Do you know what I mean? That's how it works. I've always said to Nico, if I take the mick out of you and I talk to you, that means I like you, so don't take what I say to you to heart.
DK: Overall, how do you reflect on the season?
MG: From a team perspective, it couldn't have gone any better. The boys were phenomenal. You just go through the team. Tommy Smith signs for us, and it looks like he's been playing for our team for five, six years. He's been unbelievable, so consistent, and then you go through to Dan. Only setting up, I know that you can just stick it on either foot of his, and he can pick a pass 35, 40 yards away. Always makes great blocks. Keiran, he likes to think that he can just head and kick it, but he brings so much more to the team. He's decent on the ball. He tries to play centre-midfield in training, which I think is quality. I think he's unreal, but he's always like, no, I prefer centre-back. He's phenomenal, mate. He goes unnoticed, so it's really nice to see.
You see him get his awards and stuff. I was really made up for him. It's nice to see him smiling as well, and really enjoying himself, which is great.
Then you've got Jakey Dye right back. He's just Jakey Dye, up and down. He's just superb.
Then you look at Dyl. He just looks casual. He's an unbelievable player.
Just superb. Just gets on the ball, tight situations. Looks like he's going to lose it, and then rolls his studs over the ball, and then he gets past someone, and he's off.
Tev's just tenacious. One of the most annoying guys, but I love him. He's quality.
He just does all the crappy things in football. He does really, really well, but then he's got a lot of quality on top of that, that sometimes goes missed. People don't think of it, but he's got so much quality on top of that as well.
He's had a fantastic year himself. He should be really proud of himself. Then we got By(ron Lawrence) come back.
He came back from injury. It's great to see him play back on the pitch with him. So that's really great to see, and I really hope he does well in whatever he does next.
Jacob's play adjusted really well. Gets on the pitch really quick. He should be really proud of what he's achieved this year.
He's a lovely, lovely boy, and it's a pleasure to play with him. Ingers is just Ingers, man. Mr Needham, a bit like Keiran, plays down his ability, but he's just a brilliant bloke and a fantastic player.
I know people call him Pengram, but he's so much more than that. He scored some important and unbelievable goals this year, and his work rate is unbelievable, especially when he's not throwing his arms around, when he doesn't get the ball. Hammy's just superb.
He just plays where he wants, mate. I think he just knows football so well that he can just play in any position and get a seven or eight out of ten. So he's been superb.
Then you look at the strikers. I hammer Seth all the time, but he's great. He's top goalscorer this year.
Didn't realise, thanks to Stowmarket, with his 17 goals in one game. He's brilliant, and I really hope he does well and goes on to better things than playing with me for another year or so. Jamie McGrath. Since he's been doing his one-to-one coaching, with his missus in his back garden. He's been an unbelievable player, and also learnt how to play a centre field as well. And he's notched 18 as well.
Nico's a great lad. I've been speaking to him today.
He's just a fantastic lad. Just such a lovely boy with so much talent. I said to him, you'll always be welcome back at Needham, because you've got so much quality. I'd like to not see you again, in a good way, if that makes sense. So that shows that he's made the step up sort of thing. Yeah, I'd take him in a heartbeat if we ever got a sniff of getting him back at any point next season.
But he's got a lot of talent, great attitude. He will go far, whether it's at Ipswich or not, is to be said. But I think if he carries on with the way he's going, he's not going to be short of a few offers of clubs.
So I'm trying to go through the team and pick out players, and when they reflect back, they should realise what a fantastic group of players they are, and that they're so much better than they actually think they are. Throughout the whole season, no-one's got big time. Everyone's been in it together, and they should all be so proud of themselves, because I don't see many teams doing what we've done in our area, in our county, for a long time, I don't think. If you look at where we are budget-wise in our league, and where we've ended up, we've overachieved massively. I mean, talent-wise, we've got a lot of talent, but if you look financially, we're punching well above our weight in relation to that.
Personally, if I reflect on the season, I've had a quieter year. I like to think that I've made saves when I needed to. I've helped out when I can.
Made important saves when I've had to make important saves. Yeah, a couple of things. In games, sometimes you look back and go, I should have done better with this, and done better with that.
But if you can keep the amount of mistakes you make in a season on the ball, or making saves on one hand, it ain't worse.
DK: What would your save of the year be, Marcus?
MG: Made a few important saves. I think one of the most important saves I made this year, probably Leamington away. Maybe the pen, then getting up and blocking the second shot. That was not a great save, but it was just an important save at the time, because we needed the win, didn't we? They were on us that game. They were on us. On the day, they were better than us, let's face it. We managed to grind out a win, didn't we? So yeah, it was important. Come towards the end of the season, it was like a playoff championship rival. Going there and getting the point, and helping the team get over the line. The way we did was exceptional, I think. I've made other saves that have probably looked better, and I can't really remember.
DK: What's the favourite goal scored this year by a Needham player?
MG: My favourite one. So you've got Hammy's one that won the award. Yeah. But I loved Luke Ingram's left-footed one against Telford. I also liked Luke Ingram's one when he was too lazy to run down the wing with the ball, so decided to just smash it in the goal from about 60 yards out. From near the halfway line, because he didn't want to run anymore. Then you've got Tev's free kick. I think it was against Leamington, where they've shifted it and he's hit it the same side as the goalkeeper, proper side netting. Or even his lefty against St Ives, which went in the top corner. But I think for me, when we beat Telford 2-0 away from home, and Ingram's just dug that one out on his weak foot on the angle and smashed it in the top corner, I thought, blimey, this season's going to get a bit silly, I think. If we're doing this to teams away from home, this is ridiculous.
DK: Did you have a good angle of that one? Because Tev and Tommy picked that one out and they both said that they had a good angle of that one.
MG: Oh, it's just that he's just stepped onto it and he's just not even thought about it. He's just gone wham and it's just gone flying in the top corner. I was like, oh my God. And I don't know what the score was at the time, but I was like, oh my gosh, we're going to win this game and these fans are not going to be happy in the second half when I go down their end. But the rocket started us off on the game.
DK: What other moments stand out to you from the season?
MG: Um, York City away was quite special. I made a couple of saves first half, I think, early doors. Then we just matched them for the whole game, you know. That was quite good to play against them.
DK: And there was Jake's superb goal line clearance.
MG: Yeah, and then falling down like he'd been shot, as well. That was quite funny. It was like something out of Saving Private Ryan or something, you know.
Like, slow motion. It's so dramatic. Other great moments. I mean, there's been so many this year. There's been a few games where I've been busy. I mean, there's not been many. But no, it's just been a lovely experience this year, really. I can't really pick out lots of individual things we've done, but as a team, it's just been an absolute pleasure to play with the team that we had this year. Yeah, it's brilliant.
DK: Not long ago, I saw on Instagram, I don't know if you've seen it, but there's a Derby player went out in his training kit with his medal on. That reminded me a bit of the videos I saw of you doing that when we got our league trophy.
MG: Yeah, because some of Tom Rothery's mates from work came with us to Ipswich. I dropped them off at the taxi rank and I carried on walking up.
And I bumped into my mate Jack Newman and I just started cheering and dancing with him. It was funny because I was going up to another bar to go see Tev. Love it.
DK: What emotions do you feel when you reflect back on winning the league?
MG: Just feel like the older you get, it's different. When you're young and you win things, it's lovely. But the moments go really fast and before you realise it, it's like midweek and you're like, oh, OK, well, it's done now. But with this one particularly, yeah, I just tried to take it in as much as I could. When everyone was dancing with Kevin, the first thing I did is I went over to my mum and I went over to my dad and just spoke with them really to just savour the moment and just watch. Rather than be in it, I just wanted to watch the boys enjoy themselves. And I just felt really proud.
DK: Has it sunk in yet that we've won it? Not really, to be fair.
MG: I don't know. I know we're there. I've seen the list of teams for the league, but I'm like, until we play our first game and we're using the different balls, we've got all the different things in the ground, the Vanarama stuff goes up, all that sort of stuff.
And we've got the Vanarama stuff on our kit, and our training gear, and all that sort of stuff. I don't think it will properly sink in until then, do you know what I mean? Yeah. Obviously, you know you've won the league. You've got the cup, you've got the medal. I've been wearing it ever since. So until I feel like it's not really going to properly sink in until we're literally, we start up again in a few weeks.
DK: Are you wearing your medal right now then, Marcus?
MG: 100%. I just wear it around the house now to do the cleaning. So I did a bit of mopping. So I wore that. And then I went to Aldi, actually, and I wore it to Aldi, which was quite nice. I bought myself some fish fingers for my fish finger sandwich I want to make later when I'm watching the boxing.
People just looked at me, smiled and laughed and carried on walking.
DK: Who is your player of the season?
MG: I believe Keiran was my player of the season. And I texted him after the last game of the season as well. I just said, this is... I do text a lot of the teams midweek, just checking on them, seeing how they are. That's kind of like my thing that I do, really, and telling people well done and all that sort of stuff. But for me, Keiran has been phenomenal, really. He needs to score more headers from set pieces.
Because every time I say to him, you've got to score from a set piece today, he goes, no chance. He just shakes his head. But yeah, he's just phenomenal, isn't he? I think when you play at a certain level for so long, you're that good for so long, people just take you for granted. And people just think, oh, that's that person. They play at that level all the time. But I think it was really nice to see, last night especially, him getting the appreciation that he fully deserves for all of his efforts for all these years. So, he was my player of the year. Yeah, it's good to see people getting recognition and that, like, not just the players, but other people as well. Like with Ken and that, and yourself, and yeah, it was really good.
DK: Yeah, you spoke about in the FA Cup run against York when we matched them up for literally all of that 180 minutes, other than that deflection goal that they got. It's another incredible FA Cup run to accompany the two trophies.
MG: Yeah, I agree. I think we haven't got a much dissimilar side than what we've had the past two years, maybe? Three years? Yeah. We've only got three or four extra lads. And we've matched a lot of Conference teams, what, maybe five or six in the past few years? We've matched them up, to be fair. We've done well against them. Obviously, you have to ride your luck, don't you, in any game or any Cup game? But, yeah, I think we can take a lot of heart in the fact that we've put in good performances. It's just like, instead of producing a performance as a one-off, we're going to have to produce performances like that week in, week out to be able to survive at this level.
DK: And speaking of next year, what are your aims for it?
MG: Hopefully win the league with Lowestoft when I sign with them next week. And then go from there, really. Nah, I wouldn't have been invited to the dinner if I was off, mate. Tom would have made sure I was not sitting on his table. I'll tell you that right now.
DK: Similarly, how will you approach next season?
MG: Just do what I do. That's what I've always done and I'm not going to change it. Just do what I do and just go for it. Give it everything I've got and then that's it, really. That's what you can do.
DK: Which, in your words, is dive around, save a few shots, annoy Keiran and Dan, have banter with the away support, get abused for 90 minutes and laugh it off.
MG: Pretty much, yeah. It's just a standard Saturday afternoon in the life of me, really.
We've got some funny old characters. Jacob Lay, we went abroad, I sat with him and Tommy Smith. We sat together and we just laughed the whole time over the most stupid, trivial things.
We just had such great times. Brilliant. We were saying how much better Jamie is now. Now she's doing some one-to-one coaching in the garden with him. He's a much better player. I personally think she should have got an award last night for being coach of the season.
DK: Can't be much better as a goalkeeper than to keep clean sheets?!
MG: Yeah, it's not bad. Not bad feeling. I don't count them. Someone mentioned that I've kept quite a few. Then I started counting them. I thought, that's quite a lot.
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