Vines joins YM
FORMER Crawley boss Francis Vines has joined YM as a player.
The 43 year old has been kicking his heels after being axed from the Broadfield Stadium hot seat a fortnight ago and after a chat with YM boss and friend John Suter has signed on for the County League champions as a forward.
"I phoned him up and he was not doing anything," explained Suter. "I asked him if he had thought about playing again. He used to be a good centre forward in his day. He came to training last week, signed on and was on the bench on Tuesday night. He enjoyed it. There was a buzz when people found out he was here."
Vines was appointed Crawley manager in January 2003 and oversaw the club's most successful period, guiding them to the Dr Martens League title in 2003/4 before taking them to 12th position in the Conference.
However, the former postman was sacked after a poor start to the season, the humiliating 1-0 loss to Braintree Town in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round being the final straw.
But Crawley's loss is YM's gain, according to Suter.
"He's such a nice and knowledgeable bloke. It's good to have him around, if only for a short while. He is not here in any official capacity but we are picking up things from him," added the Gorings Mead chief.
An unused substitute in the narrow defeat to Worthing, Suter added that Vines liked what he saw.
"He was very impressed with how we played and with the players we have here," saidj Suter.
With Vines joining Suter - the County League's longest serving manager - and assistant Tommy Sampson, who has won a host of trophies as a manager in Kent including the FA Vase, few clubs in non-lleague football, let alone Sussex, can boast such a wealth of experience.
"I just hope I won't become the bag boy," joked Suter.