IHC Employee Benefits SME account manager Tim Clarke speaks to Health & Protection about his second life as the voice of Weston-super-Mare FC (pictured) following the side’s historic FA Cup third round exploits this past weekend.
Clarke, whose day job includes looking after benefits consultants and working on renewals at IHC, discusses how he landed his role moonlighting for the non-league team and what it means to him and the town.
Only went in to sell some advertising
“I used to work for the local newspaper,” Clarke (pictured) recalls.
“I was trying to get involved with the football club because I felt like the locals around Weston-super-Mare needed to know what fixtures were on, and this was way before we got where we are now in the National League South.
“I got them in the room and the secretary at the time Richard Sloane said, ‘You’ve got a lovely voice’. I said, ‘Sorry?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, you’ve got a really lovely voice.’
“I thought, that’s a bit weird – I went down to a meeting thinking I was going to get a 52-week advertising contract and in the end, I was asked if I’d like to be public announcer for the football club.
“I’ve been there more than 10 years now.”
Build-up excitement
A decade into his time at Weston-super-Mare, the club reached the FA Cup third round for the first time in its 138-year history.
Last year the team narrowly lost out to bitter local rivals Bristol Rovers in a heated first round clash, but this year made it two steps further to the stage where stage Premier League giants such as Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United enter.
However the Seagulls faced a trip to Grimsby who knocked Manchester United out of the League Cup earlier this season.
And despite being one of the only squads of part time players in its league, Clarke revealed the build-up feeling around Weston-super-Mare was one of excitement.
“It was really, really exciting,” Clarke continues.
“It was really nice to see the town come together, the shops around the area cheering us on and saying they want us to do well.
“The feeling was it could be an onslaught like it was with Man City and Exeter, but it could also be something really special.”
Pride in the players
Clarke adds that his pride in the players remains despite a narrow defeat at the hands of its hosts at the weekend.
“To walk away with a 3-2 defeat to a full-time team was an achievement,” Clarke continues.
“We’ve got a part-time team. We’re one of the only part-time teams in the National League South now.
“We’ve got painters, decorators, plasterers, teachers, physios – all of that, and they’re playing football.
“For us to go toe-to-toe with a team that trains five times a week, I was absolutely amazed at the level the players reached and it was amazing to watch.”
Clarke maintains the performance on Saturday was no exception.
“Every time I’ve watched them this season they’ve been a force to be reckoned with,” he continues.
“There have been games we would have drawn or lost by the odd goal last year and this year, we’re actually going for it.“
Keeping the momentum going
The feeling of a family and community base is vital to the club as they look to keep the positive attitude going for the rest of the season and a promotion push.
“We’re a family club and the players respect that and they’ll go and speak to the fans afterwards,“ Clarke says.
“They’ll chat with anyone that speaks to them and it’s really nice to see.”
As for his expectations for the rest of the season, it’s a case of manager Scott Rogers and his men keeping the momentum going.
“It might be a bit too early for us to be promoted because there is still a lot going on with the club,“ Clarke explains.
“We’ve just been given planning permission to expand the ground which is great.
“But it could be if we get promoted it could dampen things and have the reverse effect; if we start getting hammered every week, the attendances might drop, the players will start feeling that and then it will get worse.
“We don’t want to do that. We want to keep the momentum going of where we are at the moment, which is a fun, family day out.”
