Whilst the first ever winter World Cup out in Qatar is no longer a distraction for football fans, Accrington Stanley were of course, unaffected by the enforced domestic European pause on some league fixtures taking place, but the club has had to deal with two disruptions of their own given the time of year we find ourselves in.
Our home clash against Portsmouth earlier in the month of December was postponed owing to a frozen pitch, and unfortunately Saturday’s clash away at Port Vale suffered the same fate as England suffered with the most recent incredibly cold temperature snap. It will mean a slightly more hectic second half of the season as we plumb in the additional fixtures to the existing list, and given the financial consequences of home games in particular not going ahead, the club will be hoping no further games fall foul of the weather.
With a short break now until Accrington’s next fixture against Barnsley on Boxing Day and people will be hoping that is a starburst, fans may well want to twist their own attentions to Tuesday’s evening FA Trophy third round tie at Chesterfield Town’s Technique Stadium as they face a visit from seventh tier side Coalville Town.
Why would Accrington fans be interested in such a tie, well, former fan favourite and Stanley scoring machine Billy Kee is now turning out for them on a semi professional basis having previously hung his professional boots up so he could better focus on the mental health challenges that he was facing a few years back.
The 32 year old former Leicester City trainee first came to Accrington back in the 2009/10 campaign on a loan spell as he was learning the ropes, and he netted nine goals in 19 starts and 25 substitute appearances. Having then toured around Torquay United, Burton Albion, Scunthorpe United, which a short loan spell out with Mansfield Town, he returned to the Crown Ground as a free agent in the summer of 2015.
By the time he had taken the decision to step away from the club in February 2020 and the professional pressures he faced, Kee had added an additional 168 starting appearances to his club tally, with 12 more showings from the bench, but he had chipped in with another 74 goals across all competitions and helped us to the League Two title in the promotion winning campaign of 2018.
Having been open about his struggles with depression, anxiety and bulimia when he retired three years ago aged just 29 years old, there will be many in the fanbase who will be pleased to hear he has found a good balance now that suits him – and it continues to this day.
Having left the game of professional football, he has taken up bricklaying as a career and combines that with being a part time player for Coalville, who he signed with back in 2020. Speaking to the BBC to discuss his struggles when he had come back to football with Coalville, he explained.
“I still have my days when I am down and full of anxiety. There are a lot of people who don’t want to admit they need help. If I can encourage one person to reach out and get help, brilliant.”
An admirable outlook many will agree. As for his part time football return, he added.
“They said ‘come and play, no pressure, just enjoy it’. I hadn’t done any training and they started me the first game. It’s a good family club and my wife and kids come to games. It’s given me a life again with football. It fits in with my work schedule and I enjoy it.”
Some Stanley fans have travelled for previous games to show him support, I imagine that will continue.
Photo by Unsplash
