Publsihed: 16 May, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

A TRUE “team of winners” came together one last time on Saturday to help their gaffer say an emotional farewell to the game he loves.
Cutting an instantly recognisable figure on the sidelines, Kevin Ryland is the man who knows how to build a winning team.

In a career spanning more than 20 years he tackled some of the top amateur leagues in north London and won countless trophies as he guided Cumberland FC, Camden Hawks and Colossal FC to glory.

But in what he described as “the darkest time of his life”, King Kev struggled with an alcohol problem and admits he devastated the friendships that he built up both on and off the pitch.

As he closes in on his third anniversary of being sober, the 41-year-old decided to celebrate the only way he knows how, by bringing a squad of his best players from Camden and Islington together for a farewell friendly.

Camden Hawks joined forces with Cumberland FC to take on Colossal FC for the right to get their hands on the Global Media Leads Cup at Wingate and Finchley’s Harry Abrahams Stadium.

Colossal lifted the cup but for the first time the match wasn’t about the silverware at stake.

“I just wanted a day where I could say thank you to the players, and goodbye,” said Kev afterwards. “It was emotional, I still love football but the buzz of managing has long gone.

“The players, who we all winners, deserved a day for all the early mornings they’ve given me. For all the rainy, miserable mornings when they’ve turned up still smiling and given me everything.”

But Kev would be the first to admit that it was far from just smiles and silverware playing during his reign, especially when he’d been drinking.
“The last time I managed Colossal my pre-match warm-up consisted of drinking two bottles of vodka. We were losing 2-0 at half time and I’d tried to fight a couple of the opposing players.

“The next think I knew I was being dragged off the pitch by three police officers. When I was released the next morning I found out we won 3-2, but I don’t think it was my best half-time team talk.

“The fact of the matter is I didn’t want the players to remember me as an aggressive drunk,” he added.

“I wanted them to see the new me, the healthier me, the better me.

“I am, of course, taking things one day at a time. But I’m a born winner, and can happily say I’m now achieving my most important goal of all, staying sober.”