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Manager to stay on at Evergreen FC following attack (From Watford Observer)
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Manager to stay on at Evergreen FC following attack
5:09pm Friday 21st September 2012 in News
By Ben Endley, Senior reporter
Manager to stay on at Evergreen FC following attack
A football manager who was attacked by an angry father after dropping his son from the team has branded the police caution he received ‘ridiculous’.
Dean Kingshott, 39, had only been in charge of the Evergreen FC reserve side for two weeks when the decision to leave one of the players out resulted in him being punched, head-butted and hit with a corner flag.
The former Spurs, Watford and Barnet youth team player who now works for Barnet Council was left with a badly bruised face following the incident last Saturday (September 15) at the club’s home in South Way, Abbots Langley.
His attacker, a 40-year-old man from Abbots Langley, left the scene but was tracked down by police and arrested three days later. He was issued with a police caution for assault and causing ABH.
Mr Kingshott, who lives in Watford Fields, insisted the attacker was a stranger to him and denied there had been any animosity between him and the footballer, 18, or any of his team-mates.
Discussing the sentence, he said: “It’s ridiculous to only give him a caution, I have got a massive red bruise on my cheek from where he threw a punch at me.
“It’s just a joke, the FA have come in to investigate it now.
“I said to his son, are you eight or 18? You had to get your dad to come and fight your battles for you.
“The dad wasn’t even at the game, he was apparently down at the pub until his son called.
“I went to Watford police station and the police told me they took account of his previous good character and let him off with a caution.”
A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesman said the offender received a police caution for assault and ABH.
The incident left Mr Kingshott questioning whether to continue managing the side, but he says his passion for the club was the deciding factor in his decision to stay.
He said: “On the day I thought nothing of it, but when I tried to get to sleep that night, my brain was buzzing and I thought ‘do I need to be a part of this?’.
“I still think Evergreen is a fantastic club, I have been involved with them for a long time and up to then I have had no trouble whatsoever.
“I am going to carry on, the father has been banned from the club, but it just puts fear into your mind, amateur football shouldn’t be about this.
“There is so much good that can come from amateur football, but this sort of thing undermines the efforts of the whole club.”
The attack has already been condemned by club officials including Chairman Ron Smith who branded it “very, very serious”.
He commented: “Having been at the club for over 20 years it is one of the worst cases I have had to deal with.
“It is very difficult to find good coaches and officials to give up their spare time to help organise football in the area.
“Dean was working as a match official at the time of the incident.
“A full report following the investigation will be given to Herts FA when complete. I will also be asking the FA for guidance throughout the hearing.”
Hertfordshire FA spokesman Andy Burrows said: “We are aware of the alleged incident and are investigating the matter.”
Comments(18)
Huntjb
says...
6:34pm Fri 21 Sep 12
DuffmanWFC
says...
7:46pm Fri 21 Sep 12
Hornets number 12 fan
says...
10:54pm Fri 21 Sep 12
londomollari
says...
11:01pm Fri 21 Sep 12
Sorry, but the club must ban the player and parent.
LSC
says...
11:36pm Fri 21 Sep 12
Anything goes if you are worth money to someone. And sentences are either soft, as in this case, or minor in the first place and then reduced as in Troy Deeney's case.
If you send that kind of message out, what sort of society do you expect in return? How do you think people will act?
Reap what you sow.
LSC
says...
11:47pm Fri 21 Sep 12
He nearly killed someone in a drunken rage and went to prison for a short time.
He now still runs around most mornings and sits around on Saturdays on a bench. On the same wage, of course.
And you wonder why some people aren't afraid of beating up innocent people doing their job, like in the above story?
jesus loves you
says...
8:12am Sat 22 Sep 12
Football in the area has always had this "nutter" element. I remember many years ago hearing a story that somebody was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver because he decided to join another team - don't you love our national game?!
Andm Troy Deeney shouldn't be back at Watford, he's a part of the root cause.
The Rover
says...
9:30am Sat 22 Sep 12
What can the FA do about this. Will their report have any influence on the police to reinvestigate?
crazyfrog
says...
3:10pm Sat 22 Sep 12
jasonwatford
says...
7:31pm Sun 23 Sep 12
mummy_1
says...
9:41pm Sun 23 Sep 12
However 3 questions: Why was the boy not told before he arrived for the match that he was dropped?
2. Why did Mr Kingshott feel the need to challenge the kid about his father's actions so aggressively? Maybe, just maybe it was that tone he took with the kid prior to the incident that upset the kid/enranged the parent!
3. Have we the whole story here? Devils advocate.
jesus loves you
says...
12:08pm Mon 24 Sep 12
mummy_1 wrote:Mummy_1
I have just re-read the article and in no way do I condone the father's behaviour.
However 3 questions: Why was the boy not told before he arrived for the match that he was dropped?
2. Why did Mr Kingshott feel the need to challenge the kid about his father's actions so aggressively? Maybe, just maybe it was that tone he took with the kid prior to the incident that upset the kid/enranged the parent!
3. Have we the whole story here? Devils advocate.
I think I have some answers (maybe)
1) having played Sunday morning football as a kid and an adult you can never be sure how many players you will get so you need the squad there. Also, if you are dropped, you then support your team out of respect to your team mates.
2) because he's 18? If it was me and I told my dad, his reaction would be train harder, work harder to get your place back and when you do, play well so they can't drop you. What happens if this young adult (at 18 he's not a kid) get fired from a job? is his dad going to go round to the employer and kick off? Learn to fight your battles your way.
3) I suspect we don't have the full story but you don't throw punches at anybody on or off the field of play (or in life!!). We just don't have enough people wanting to give up their own time to ref or run football clubs due to these sorts of actions. It's one reason I gave up playing football and why some of my friends gave up reffing on a Sat and Sunday morning.
This "kid" is 18! He's going to have a lot more in his life to overcome than just getting dropped from kicking a ball around for 90 mins. His father isn't a good role model as you can't get violent if things in life don't go your way.
garston tony
says...
2:40pm Mon 24 Sep 12
Mummy 1, often decisions about who is playing arent made until near kick off time. And maybe the manager had strong words with the boy because that boys father had just violently assaulted him! I agree we may not have the whole story but nothing else we could hear would excuse this behaviour, all it might do is maybe clarify the sons actual role in what happened.
I try and defend the police as I think on the whole they do a good job in difficult circumstances but have to agree that a simple caution wasn’t enough. So what if he is of previous good character, people of good character don’t attack other people because their kid doesn’t get a game of football.
chaltons 12345
says...
5:01pm Mon 24 Sep 12
abbotshornet
says...
8:52pm Mon 24 Sep 12
There is no excuse for attacking anyone, the father was very lucky to get off with a caution.
And I don't think things are worse in Abbots Langley than anywhere else!
LSC
says...
12:36am Tue 25 Sep 12
abbotshornet wrote:I think Deeney has everything to do with the discussion. He has proved that football is willing to put up with violence as long as you are worth some money and are good enough to score goals.
Well done to Dean for carrying on. Not sure what Deeney has got to do with the matter?
There is no excuse for attacking anyone, the father was very lucky to get off with a caution.
And I don't think things are worse in Abbots Langley than anywhere else!
That is what the kids will see; and what we see, we learn from.
Expect more of this behavior.
cheeky210
says...
12:22pm Mon 8 Oct 12
My guess is this kid is not that good at football and couldn't really hack it ringing his daddy to come up. The club will ban him but would you really want to show you face again after crying to daddy hahah!!
andyandyandy says...
5:25pm Fri 21 Sep 12