Dave Challinor Interview

Total Tranmere brings you a small snippet of Dave Challinor's in depth interview with the Totally Tranmere podcast last week.........

Last week, ahead of Tranmere’s friendly against Colwyn Bay, Totally Tranmere caught up with Dave Challinor, for former Rovers defender and current Colwyn Bay manager. 

Challinor talked in depth about his career at Prenton Park, stating how much he enjoyed playing for Rovers, the club he supported as a boy, as well as discussing his current managerial aspirations.

"Growing up I watched Tranmere, I went to the four Wembley games for the Leyland DAF final and the play-offs, so when I finally signed as a pro it was a little bit daunting to be honest.  It was a great bunch of lads and I’ve still got a lot of friends from my time there. 

"But it took me a lot of time, going to training every day having not done a YTS, it took me 18-months to get in the swing of playing football every single day with injuries and everything it entailed, but once I found my feet it was great and like I say it’s a great club, a club that no matter when or who’s played there, you’ve got an affiliation.

"The highlight that stands out is the Wembley game, and that season to be honest was an unbelievable season, just in terms of the highs and lows.  We obviously got to the final of the Worthington Cup, the Quarter final of the League Cup and we struggled in the league because of the amount of games we had.  So it was a strange one. 

"For myself personally, just in terms of the Wembley game, we went down on the Thursday.  I twisted my ankle on the Friday and it looked 90% certain that I’d miss the game.  I was fortunate enough that Les managed to strap me up enough to play the game and finish the game with ankle ligaments that basically weren’t intact! 

"In terms of the run, the Wembley game, it’s true what people say.  You don’t take it on board.  I certainly don’t remember much about the game because we lost, but the game that most sticks out is the semi-final, the Bolton game. 

"To go to Bolton and win 1-0, and that rivalry with Big Sam and Aldo, they didn’t like each other which was well known.  The second game we came out absolutely flying and to score two goals in the first twenty minutes was fantastic.  The second half, the atmosphere was just fantastic.  We knew we were at Wembley.  The game that, if I was going to watch back is the game I’d tend to watch.  It was a game of massive pressure but the way we performed first twenty minutes took that pressure off and it was a really enjoyable night for everybody.  

"The Wembley game was unbelievable, coming out of the tunnel with the fireworks and to have 35,000 people singing out my name was a surreal moment.  But even in terms of that, a lot was made of the throw in during the final and detracted of what we were as a team, we had some really good players who’ve gone on and done really well for themselves.  We weren’t too bothered about that though. 

"On a different day we could have gone on to win the game.  Leicester were a really good side, they did well, and after the game Martin O’Neill came into our dressing room and spoke nicely about the lads.  It’s just disappointing because on the day we really fancied ourselves.  To go all that way and lose was a big blow to everybody.

"The most talented player I played with in terms of my whole Tranmere career was Jason Koumas, just in terms of ability.  The ability Jase had to go past players was unbelievable.  I feel he could have played for one of the really, really big sides.  However, an awful lot of players who could change the game in a blink of an eye, especially in that Wembley team. 

"Parky had a really good run that season, Alan Mahon, again, bags of ability.  There’s lots and lots of different players with different attributes, and I think the big thing about us during that time was the team ethic we had.  It was fantastic.  It wasn’t a case of individuals, it was a massive team effort, something that’s been renowned for Tranmere for a long time that people some time take for granted.  We used it to the max.

"It was really disappointing (when Aldo left).  We started the next (2000/01 season) full of ambition if you like.  Obviously we’d done really well and I thought we’d do ok.  For me personally, I broke my leg at Notts Forest, came back into the side on a similar sort of run, on the bench for the Everton game and played against Southampton.  We were having another good run in the cup but struggling in the league.

"When Aldo left, it not so much finished but signaled my end (at Tranmere).  A new manager came in with new ideas and ultimately I moved on to Stockport in January.  It was difficult.  From there a lot of the team split up and the team sort of sutrggled from the side they’d been pushing from when I’d been watching.  Getting relegated was a massive blow for the club and it’s getting difficult because teams are throwing massive amounts of money at it and Tranmere can’t do that.  It’s getting very difficult to get out.  To be pushing for the play-offs when Ronnie was there they were battling miles above their station if you like and last year it was a fantastic achievement from Les and the lads to finish the way they did.  Hopefully they’ll do the same this year."

The current Colwyn Bay manager, who led his side to promotion last season, then talked of how he got into management and his aspirations for the future.

"I’d always wanted to get into management.  Obviously I got injured at Bury, came back into see Les and he couldn’t get it sorted out.  I managed to get a scan and got advised to finish playing or longer term I might be struggling with the problem I had.  I had to go into part time football and ended up playing at Cammel Laird for a few games.  Neil Young was assistant manager there and he moved on to Colwyn Bay and asked me to go with him. 

"I’d applied for a few different Non League jobs but you just never seem to get a break really.  Then Neil moved on to Chester, I applied for the job and they offered it to me.  Last year I played as a player manager until I got injured against Halifax in January.  Obviously we were successful and we managed to get promoted which was fantastic. 

"I’m enjoying the management side, I’m enjoying watching.  It’s like being a player again.  You start from the bottom and work yourself up.  I want to get back into full-time football as a coach or manager, but opportunities are few and far between so it’s just about having as many strings to your bow as possible.  Ideally I’d love to manage, but this is my sort of apprenticeship again if you like as a manager."

Then, to conclude the interview, Dave talked of his favourite memories from his time in football.

"My favourite memory ever in football, you’d probably split it professionally and Non League.  Certainly since going to Colwyn Bay we’ve had some great success.  First year we lost in the play-offs on penalties, second year we won in the final.  In terms of achievement they rank right up there, because there’s more losers than there are winners in football, especially in terms of promotion.  I never got that opportunity as a professional. 

"In terms of Tranmere we had some fantastic achievements and they far outweigh anything I did when I moved on to Stockport or Bury.  To get to the Cup final was massive.  The only disappointment was to not finish it off when we fancied ourselves realy strongly.  But in terms of the size of the club to achieve what we did in getting to that final was brilliant.  It’s a day that’ll live long in the memory of not just Tranmere players but Tranmere fans as well. 

"For us to take 35,000 people to Wembley was fantastic.  I’m comically reminded, every body I see the first thing they say is “I went to Wembley”.  It was a really good occasions that drew the whole, if you like, city together.  The whole local area was buzzing.  I don’t think much bigger things come than Wembley appearances."

Total Tranmere would like to thank Dave hugely for his time and wish him all the best this season with Colwyn Bay.

You can hear the Dave Challinor interview in full by downloading it from iTunes (search for Totally Tranmere in the iTunes store) or by listening online at www.totally-tranmere.podomatic.com.