Whilst the history-moulding claims of Logica's very own pair of Stans may be greeted with some scepticism by the modern student, dedicated research reveals that this popular myth might not to be a million miles from the truth. Indeed, the unfortunate passed on the Supreme mantle with unseemly haste as if it were the proverbial hot potato, failing to see the opportunities to shape a glorious destiny, father a distinguished footballing dynasty, and earn an automatic promotion place to immortality.
, the recipient of this hoofed managerial spud, did foresee these things, and much more besides. What's more he knew how to achieve them, and safe in this knowledge, he was in no rush. Far wiser to take one's time, search out and assemble the right building blocks, and sculpt them patiently into a masterpiece that would be remembered for all time.
There were to be no draining 80-match winter slogs for his charges, not yet at least. Instead, recognising the fair-weather nature of his fragile pioneers, he opted for a handful of carefully selected friendly matches between September and May to slowly incubate the seeds of success. Once the sun was up, he was prepared to let his budding charges bloom, blooding them in competitive battle - an analogy taken a little too literally on occasions in the Summer Computer League.
This, after all, was a time when men were men and boys were psychopaths; when the tackle from behind was compulsory; and when Vinnie Jones was viewed as a bit of a soft touch. Full-scale rucks were weekly occurrences at the Lea Valley Stadium, which hosted all Summer League matches on balmy, midweek evenings. Assaults with corner flags hardly raised an eyebrow, but there was the time when one opponent was sent off, only to return minutes later from behind the changing rooms armed with a tree-trunk and set off in pursuit of the Logica player that'd had the temerity to be on the receiving end of his red card offence.
It was Logica's footballing apprenticeship, the club's adolescence during which the players grew up. himself led by example: any forward left crumpled in a heap at the feet of the mighty Supremo was consoled with the bon môts, "You tart!". Newcomer would quickly adapt to the physical challenges on offer, and developed the uncanny knack of being able to trigger a mass brawl with the most delicately chosen word or perfectly ill-timed tackle. Sometimes, however, the quality of refereeing was not up to the job, and on one occasion was red-carded himself for head-butting an opponent's studs.
Such an aggressive development programme reaped dividends. Under the previous regime, in the summer of 1984, Logica had finished bottom of the league. Despite his long-term outlook, the new gaffer recognised the need for some instant quality to help nurture growth. To this end, he moved immediately on his appointment in September '84 to sign young Scottish forward from Aberdeen. Probably the most significant signing in the club's history, this imperturbable bean-pole of a striker proved a veritable goal-machine as well as providing vision and thinking outside the box. would go on filling onion bags on Logica's behalf into the 21st Century.
Other young hopefuls were signed over the coming months, and with old hands such as and still around, 's first tilt at glory boasted that much sought-after blend of youth and experience. The outcome was much improved, with Logica finishing a creditable third in that summer of 1985, behind Hewlett Packard and champions NCR. For this was just the first stage of the Masterplan, and with the benefit of some competitive experience, he now had a clearer idea what he was missing. During the winter, he went on an extended shopping spree, picking up a bargain pair of full-backs in and , a midfield string-puller in , and the afore-mentioned - a skilful, spiky left-winger with great flair as well as flare, who would score more than his fair share of brilliant goals.
All the ingredients were there, and set about blending them together to serve up some silverware in 1986. The team started well, but faltered when they were held to a draw by Apex, opponents similarly aiming for the top and who turned out to be Logica's main title rivals. made a few tweaks and rallied his troops, who responded by beating champions NCR (the winner scored by a one-legged ) to trigger a long sequence of victories. But with glory in sight, Logica slipped up in their penultimate match, and allowed Apex to draw level.
It was all on the last game, the return against NCR. It produced an individual performance that would pass into legend, as an incredible six goals and three assists from set up a famous 9-2 win that clinched the first piece of silverware in the history of Logica Football Club. Despite this remarkable individual feat, it was very much a team triumph. The eagle-eyed in goal was well protected by central defenders and , flanked by and . The midfield quartet of , , and combined industry with heaps of creativity to serve the self-proclaimed deadly strike duo of and .
was not one to rest on his laurels, and immediately set in motion the next stage of his strategy. His application for membership of the highly touted winter West End League was quickly accepted. Logica had entered the big-time of competitive football, although the Sunday P.M. Division B was very much at the base of the footballing pyramid.
This new found status placed higher demands on the club, not least the possession of a home ground. With money not really an issue for high-flying IT professionals in the 1980's, Logica shopped around before finally plumping for the famous Kennington Oval Stadium in South London, a venue steeped in footballing history. It had played host to the first FA Cup Final a few years earlier in 1872, in which the Wanderers defeated the Royal Engineers 1-0, and went on to showcase a further 19 finals of football's greatest Cup competition up to 1892.
To meet the challenge of this marathon (at least compared to the Summer League sprint), recruited some personnel that could handle the tough, arctic climes of winter. A confident Geordie striker by the name of was acquired on a free transfer from Manchester U. at the end of the summer, and a young Scottish defender, , was the first product of the club's youth academy to graduate to the first team. "Nutter was the only player to ever request an extra sheet of paper when filling in his LFC application form," recalled with a smile years later.
The pundits were predictably pessimistic about Logica's chances in the big time, but not for the last time they had reckoned without the tactical genius of . That first 1986-87 season saw them more than hold their own in their new surroundings, and although they would ultimately fail to land the title, the craving for silverware was already firmly embedded.
Perhaps inspired by the club's new home ground, the gaffer decided to try his hand at some Cup glory for a little variety. Success appeared to be at the beck and call of and his carefully crafted outfit, and before their first season was out, they had already reached the Divisional Cup Final with minimal fuss, disposing of Barron Casuals 11-0 en route. The Final against Kenboro Allstars was played at the famous old Hurlingham Stadium in Fulham. Perhaps distracted by a 22-man brawl in the warm-up match before the Final, Logica seemed to suffer some big-stage nerves, and despite taking the lead via a text book header from from a corner, the two teams remained level with a goal apiece at the end of extra time.
So to penalties. Logica's first four kicks were converted clinically (by , , and ) whilst keeper had acrobatically tipped Kenboro's third spot-kick over the bar. It was thus 4-4 when up stepped Logica's goalscorer to take the decisive penno in the biggest moment of his brief career so far. Personifying the self-confidence of Logica's young lions, proceeded to pull his shorts down to his ankles for the "benefit" of the Logica supporters in the stands, before calmly burying the Cup winning spot-kick with his 'wrong' foot.
The club soon added the Whitely Bequest Cup to their hastily constructed trophy cabinet, as goals from (2), , the himself, and saw them romp to a 5-0 drubbing of Underwoods in the Kennington rain. Three trophies in less than 12 months represented a rapid scaling of the learning curve for the nascent Logica club. Although ran a strict regime, the glitz and glamour of the silver-tinted football spotlight turned the occasional young head. arrived for his debut at Clapham Common with a clearly star-struck young lady on his arm, and did nothing to dispel this aura by smashing home a fine goal to earn the adoration of the away fans.
The confident young striker proceeded to attend most subsequent matches that season with a different admirer in tow each time. This largely worked to the team's advantage, as thrived on the attention and was inspired to bag himself a hatful of goals in his first campaign. Occasionally, the star's Bestian lifestyle had a negative impact, however, such as when it was his turn to wash the kit. Doubtless way-laid by some A-List celebrity champagne event on the eve of the game, he failed to appear until half time, his team-mates being forced somewhat sheepishly to perform in boxer-shorts for the first 45 minutes.
Perhaps this steep ascent to the glorified peaks had come too quickly, for the following season (1987-88) was disappointing, described by himself as a "gap year". The season was beset by selection problems of the worst kind, with Logica regularly taking to the field with less than a full XI, and results reflected these difficulties only too accurately. It was no coincidence that had inexplicably been loaned out to some Australian outfit for a season. once more began scouring the transfer market, but the effect was slow. When a nervous young forward called made his debut in March 1988, Logica mustered eleven players but still crashed to an 8-1 defeat.
But persisted, unearthing a substantially talented midfield wizard in , and a polite and modest young all-rounder going by the name of (for it was he). By the time the Cup season came around, things were beginning to gel, and a Whitely Bequest semi-final 8-1 victory over Selfridges in April saw reveal his talents for the first time in a Logica shirt. duly scored on his debut, and and also bagged their first goals for the club, but it was four goals from that stole the show. The regenerated team was not quite the finished article yet, however, for Logica failed to retain the trophy. They went down 4-1 in the final, uncharacteristically blasting a penalty into orbit at the match's pivotal moment.
The team were on the road to recovery, but had spotted a more significant under-lying symptom of the club's temporary malaise. This was 1988 and the quite unimaginably dark days before all-day drinking. Consequently, an afternoon kick-off put a severe dent in the Sunday drinking hours for the more conscientious footballer. acted swiftly, and Logica were quickly elevated to West End Sunday A.M. Division 3.
Once again, the merchants of doom were out in force, predicting unmitigated humiliation for 's naïve young talents in the face of the wily know-how of accomplished Sunday morning ale-house warriors. But this was simply the next level in the Supremo's strategic game of adventure. His eye for talent was undimmed, and further quality in the shape of missilic defender would soon establish himself in the big time. The large presence of was installed in defence in front of new keeper , and the maturity of was added to the midfield. But perhaps the most significant tactical switch came closer to home, as selflessly terminated his own career as a striker to concentrate on pulling the strings from the back, inventing the role of cultured libero in the process.
Season 1988-89 saw Logica hit the top of Division Three early doors, and the club's new stadium at Surrey Quays saw a feast of scintillating football. The team smashed a record 105 goals in just 24 matches, and conceded just 27 goals in the league. 's experience as a striker stood him in good stead as he conceived and deployed an unstoppable SAS force – the attacking triumvirate of , and scoring a net-bulging 70 goals between them.
But the newly fashioned footballing juggernaut began to wobble in February. A bad-tempered 2-1 defeat to title challengers Sarkpoint established a bitter rivalry at first sight that would simmer for the next four years. In their next game against Old Coffee House, Logica threw away an early lead to trail 4-2 at the interval. This was the moment of truth. gave the half-time team talk of his life, and his charges returned to the fray invigorated. Two goals from completed a hat-trick and restored parity, and then with minutes remaining calmly struck home a penalty to snatch probably the most famous victory in the club's long and illustrious history.
The wheels were back on, and normal service was resumed. No further points were dropped and Logica romped to the title in May with a 4-2 victory over Dynamo Landor. The preceding Sunday, the team had faced newly installed nemesis Sarkpoint in the prestigious Memorial Shield Final at Hurlingham Stadium, and battled with grit and no little skill in the early afternoon sun to clinch a famous 2-1 win in extra time. The goals came from , and an exquisite individual effort from to win the Cup.
So a season in which had been expected to struggle to keep his head above the relegation line, had instead seen him claim a quite remarkable and stylish League and Cup Double. But the surprises were not limited to this on-field success. Even before a trophy had been lifted, shocked the footballing world by resigning his post. Was not the plan, masterfully conceived, only half-completed? Two league titles and three cups in his four-year reign represented a remarkable CV, but surely was aiming for the top tier? Rumours abounded that had been lured away by the promise of serious money, but speculation was swiftly cut short when a second seismic shock left the critics agog. named his successor to take over the reins the following season. It was that nice young man called .