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Reckless Reminisces with...

Kevin Millett

Reproduced by kind permission of Barnet FC. This interview appeared in a programme earlier this season.

Ask Barry Fry to name his all time 'Mr Reliables' and he will rattle off perhaps three players and one of them would certainly be Kevin Millett.

Kevin was Captain at Underhill in the very difficult years running up to the arrival of the financial lifeline that was Stan Flashman to Underhill in 1986. In his day the players' wages were more than often paid in coins from the social club, the team coach was steam driven, the Underhill pitch was a mud heap and a team pre match meal was regularly a Wendy Burger at a service station.

He is in my all-time Barnet line up because he could read the game perfectly, gave his all at all times on the pitch and is one of the nicest guys you could meet. We met up for a lunch time coffee and he was full of memories and stories about this wonderful football club.

Kevin was born in November 1954 in Luton, grew up in Dunstable and Tottenham was his team. "Jimmy Greaves and Dave McKay were my favourites, Jimmy especially because I fancied myself as a centre forward. I watched a lot of games at Luton Town at the time too, as they were local. I would have been 8 or 9, but Spurs was my team". I asked whether McKay influenced him to become a centre back.

"Not really because as I said originally I wanted to be a goalscorer. At school I found myself on the right wing. I was never blessed with lightening pace so I kind of moved back and back and finally settled in defence because my strong points I felt were my ability to read the play and the desire to be involved all the time, you can never relax in that central position – and even more so playing in a Barry Fry team. I was always working my butt off as invariably me and Crease (Glyn Creaser) would have to do all the clearing up behind the eight forwards!

"I didn't really start playing seriously until my last year of junior school but things went well and eventually I was selected for the County at under 14, under 16 and under 18 and signed Junior forms at Luton Town in 1969. Bruce Rioch and Alan Slough were there at the time and a vivid memory is of an old-fashioned man mountain of a centre half called Alan Branston. But I soon discovered girls and other delights as you do.

"I put on a fair bit of weight and grew my hair. I admit I got distracted from playing and training and I played in one game and split my head wide open. After that I briefly drifted into local weekend football with Luton Boys Club and settled down into a regular job first as a electrician and then into the Print Industry with Cope Brothers who went on to print the Barnet programmes."

Fate struck whist Kevin was playing for a local side run by his Father. "Dad had arranged a friendly against Dunstable reserves and who should be playing up front for them making up the numbers? Yeah, their manager Barry Fry and I was marking him. He didn't get a kick, so after the game he said 'I wanna sign yer my son', so I joined Dunstable Town in the Southern League. Soon afterwards Barry signed George Best, and the lads just couldn't believe it. He sat down next to me in the dressing room and said 'hi lads' and I couldn't take my eyes of him - there he was the legend, absolutely incredible that I played on the same pitch as Best. The added attraction of course was his stunning wife Angie, she was gorgeous - but don't tell the wife!" he laughed.

"I had offers from Wimbledon and a few others but David Pleat approached me to return to Luton Town, which I did for a short while playing in the reserves. I then moved to Hillingdon Borough because of the offer from their new manager, it was a blinding deal, seriously good wages. The Manager was of course Barry Fry who had been sacked at Dunstable. Not to stay at Kenilworth Road is a decision that I have regretted to this day. Paul Futcher left the club and I would have been next in line for the first team but I was young and the money was just too good to turn down. I still think about that decision to this day but that's life"

Kevin teamed up with Fry again and joined Barnet's young squad in 1979 but only after a tribunal settled the transfer fee. "Funny enough Billy Meadows tried to sign me for Barnet in 1977 and I could have played with another of my idols Jimmy Greaves but as it happens I missed him by a couple of months."

We chatted about some of the players at Underhill at the time and then the stories started to flow. "Although we didn't achieve much trophy wise in the early 1980s it was so much fun playing at Underhill and there were some terrific players and some unbelievable characters. Steve Ragan was a handy lad to know and I remember Ronnie Howell upsetting him during a game at Dagenham. Rags told him that he was going to cripple him. At the half time whistle Ronnie legged it to the dressing room and locked himself I the toilet. Rags was banging on the door.

"Steve is also famous for breaking a goalpost at Yeovil, which was hilarious. We were leading and playing well and Yeovil did have spare goalposts but refused to use them. Edwin Stein, John Margerrison and my best friend Steve Brinkman were quality but Nicky Evans was the Rolls Royce - a quite brilliant taker of goals and even now perhaps the nicest man you could wish to meet. Some players had extra shin guards in their bags, Nicky had his hair-dryer." (Brought a tear to my eye that comment did.)

"Defensive partners came and went – names like Steve Oilver, Pat Kruse, Alan Garner, Bill Baldry, Martin Chivers, Tony Bennett but Millett was the first choice in centre defence and was made club Captain."

The highlights at that time for Kevin were the FA cup games against Peterborough, Brighton and Bristol Rovers, the later two including replays in front of big crowds while the disappointments were the unjustified defeat at Northwich in the FA trophy and the Bob Lord Trophy Final defeats against Stafford Rangers and Scarborough. Millett was forever being singled out for praise in press reports, Mr Reliable he was. "I knew we had the potential at the club and felt that if someone could come along and inject some money we would succeed." Stan Flashman arrived just at the right time.

Kevin moved on when Roger Thompson took over the reins at the club and had a very brief spell at Maidstone Utd. "I didn't really enjoy that time as Roger and I didn't see eye to eye and when at Maidstone the travelling from Dunstable got me down too but I did have the company of my mate Bill Baldry who I played alongside at Barnet which made it a little easier."

Kevin soon returned to Underhill when Fry was reinstated by Flashman and became part of the team that in my opinion was the catalyst for the promotion success five years later. That side finished 2nd in the Vauxhall Conference twice in succession to Scarborough and then Lincoln City. Stan got the chequebook out and top new players arrived on a regular basis.

"Steve Whitworth was a brilliant coach and so influential, Glyn Creaser was my partner in defence by now with Pete Brown and Steve Cox the full backs. We were rich in the goalkeeping department with Steve Humphries, Gary Phillips and Andy Lomas. We had a very gifted midfield with the likes of Noel Ashford, Bobby Codner, Nicky Ironton, Barry Little, Steiny and Johnny Marge plus Nicky, Dave Sansom 'Mogsie (Steve Mahoney) and Keith Alexander up front."

That season featured Kevin's all time favourite Barnet performance against Boston in the replayed FA Trophy tie. "We beat them 3-0 at Cambridge Utd's ground and was the perfect game. The pitch suited our style, the crowd were electric and I recall feeling so good in the dressing room before the game knowing we were going to put on a special display. Sammo and Steiny were brilliant that night, great memories."

Such was Kevin's ability that he received offers from the top non-league clubs of the time including Runcorn and Telford Utd but chose to stay at Barnet. "I could have probably bettered myself but I was so happy just playing at Barnet, it was infectious."

The following season was a head to head with the Imps. "We beat Lincoln comfortably in the first game of the season but they were a nasty bunch. The return game at Sincil Bank was an awful experience. The players' coach got a police escort to the ground, so that got me thinking, plus the dressing room floor was two inches deep in water! It was impossible to get changed and the situation stunk of sabotage. The warm up balls were flat and covered in caked-on mud. The crowd were really hostile and we heard at half time about the problems our supporters were experiencing.

"The referee was appalling and we were down to nine men after Ash and Herbie Smith had been sent off. Herbie was a legend - you didn't want to meet him in a dark alleyway I can tell you - but he was blatantly racially abused from the moment he stepped onto the pitch, dreadful behaviour. At a free kick I was standing alongside him and heard all the abuse and saw him throw a great punch! I think I would have done the same thing although I can't really condone his actions."

Kevin scored a rare goal that night. "Yes I did score and we were the better team all night although it was a nightmare evening from start to finish."

Kevin suffered with his fair share of injuries and would have certainly played over 400 games for the club had he kept fit. At the end of the 1987-88 season he decided on semi retirement to concentrate more on his printing business. The club granted him a testimonial against Tottenham in May 1988. His last league game in a Barnet shirt was a 1-1 at Altrincham in September that year. Although he told me that Barry had come around to his house during the summer and spent the best part of two hours trying to persuade him to sign for another season full time.

"I thought about it but I had collapsed after the brilliant 6-0 win at Wealdstone in the April and actually went to hospital. At first it was a suspected brain tumour but thankfully it turned out that I had damaged my inner ear, which started to affect my balance. That played on my mind and basically forced my decision not to play every week at Conference level anymore. I offered my services for reserve games and injury cover and played in all the Club Call Cup games that season, including the final at Telford.

"There was talk of the final being played at Wembley but Barry came into the dressing room after the semi final game against Bishops Stortford and said 'sorry lads the final is at f****** Telford'." All the same that was a great day for me personally, finally getting my hands on a bit of silverware in an amber shirt, it was the only winners medal I ever won with the club!"

Kevin started playing for Vauxhall Motors where his old mate Baldry was manager and then for Langford in the South Midlands League, winning a champions medal. "I moved to Hitchin Town for a few games and then onto Baldock Town as I knew Ian Allinson. I then went back to Dunstable where I had a spell as joint manager with Stevie Brinkman. We were so short of players that I called Barry and he loaned me half a dozen fringe players from Barnet reserves including Jonathan Hunt and a young Andy Clarke! They played on each wing and it was incredible. Clarky blew us away with his pace and ability, fantastic player. Thanks to Barry we finished in the top three in the league. I finally finished my career at Brache Sparta aged 37 again with Brinks alongside me, God rest his soul."

I asked who was his perfect partner was? "Other than the wife it has to be Glyn Creaser," he joked. "Seriously Crease was always there when I needed him, we built up a great understanding and we are still close friends. Yeah, Crease is my choice."

The call of family - his wife Liz had recently given birth to two boys Russell and Josh - was difficult to ignore. "Being a football manager at any level is hard work, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Players on the phone, you on the phone sorting out problems, arranging training. I wasn't enjoying the pressure either."

After coping with a few business problems in 2002 Kevin is now settled as a works manager in the printing trade still living in Dunstable with Liz and the boys plus two daughters, Kirsty and Chloe both in their 20s.

"I make no secret that I wish I was involved in football still and I can't wait until Monday nights when I play five-a-side and Friday nights when I play in a veterans seven-a-side league with my old Barnet buddies, Steiny, Marge, Bill, Duncan Hardy and Crease. I got to the MK Dons vs Peterborough game recently and heard a shout of 'Kev! Come 'ere my son'.

"It was Barry who gave me a big hug. We chatted for a while about the good times at Barnet. I was at Underhill a couple of years ago for a meal in the Durham Suite and Bill and I are hoping to come along again soon." I finally asked about his hopes for the future?

"Simply to be happy, see my family do well and enjoy life. My 14-year-old is a centre back just like me and reads the game really well. I enjoy watching his progress on a Sunday and we have high hopes for him while the older lad is a fine little golfer who would 'muller' me if I dared to go out with him."

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