Harty on Gordon Smith, youth football and Chelsea

Sources close to the club indicate that there have been a number of quality applications. Clearly, it goes without saying that they need the right man for the job, but if he had an Albion pedigree, would that not be even better?

It’s been reported that former Albion 80s favourite, and scorer of one of the most famous goals in the club’s history*, Gordon Smith, has applied for the post.

His impressive record running the Scottish FA speaks volumes. Not only was he a great player, but he knows how things work off the field as well.

The new chief executive at the Amex will hopefully oversee the club’s rise to the Premier League. While the club has changed in the last few years, it’s still good to keep a link with the past.

For me, Smith ticks all the boxes.

*While Smith will be remembered for that last-gasp chance in the 1983 FA Cup final, fans will also recall that he opened the scoring in that game, giving the Albion a 13th-minute lead.

It was the annual Worthing Dynamos presentation evening on Friday at the Assembly Hall, where I had the pleasure of acting as compère.

In these difficult times, both at home and abroad, it’s always good to see youngsters both celebrating and receiving recognition for their achievements.

It was also good to see some representation from the local council, albeit the opposition, in the form of deputy mayor Bob Smytherman, Lib Dem leader Alan Rice and fellow councillor Norah Fisher.

My stance remains the same. Worthing Town FC and in particular chairman Ian Stewart have raised the bar and, with the help of the council and the Football Foundation, have created a state-of-the-art facility at Palatine Park.

What the council needs to do now is help the other clubs in and around the town, Dynamos, United, Minors and Rebels in a similar way where possible.

Without wanting to sound like a cracked record, but to re-iterate, all the time we are investing in our youngsters through sport, music, drama, whatever, it all goes to shaping them into adulthood and makes Worthing a better place to live in.

Rocket science it isn’t . . .

Fresh from the Assembly Hall, I took the commander-in-chief away on Saturday for a short break, part of which involved sitting in a bar on Saturday night watching the Champions League final.

As tribal as football can be, it appeared that a whole nation of football fans were united in their support of Chelsea on Saturday evening, except Tottenham obviously.

I do wonder how I would feel if Crystal Palace ever reached the dizzy heights of a Champions League final, would I really support them?

Then again, that really is entering the realms of fantasy football, because the only way Palace would ever get in Europe is by writing a song . . . by the way, good luck, Englebert.