5th March 2006 - Peter Snowdon interview.

Monday to Friday he is called “Sir” but – when Saturday comes, he is “Captain.”

The Business and Economics pupils at Gosforth High School know Peter Snowdon as their teacher but the players at Blyth Spartans know him as their skipper. So how is the 24 year old, who has lived in Blyth all his life, coping with success on and off the park?

“Everything is great at the moment” he says while taking a break from marking on a Sunday afternoon. No watching the match on Sky for Peter. “To be playing for Blyth and Captaining the side makes me very proud while the choice of moving from a career in accounting to teaching is also proving to be a good move” he commented.

“I started playing football for Blyth Juniors under Jimmy Hogg, the father of former Blyth defender Graham, and then went on to Shankhouse Under 18s. I then played for them in the Northern Alliance before moving around several Northern League clubs including Ashington and Prudhoe. “But it was at Blue Star in the Autumn of 2004 that Spartans’ boss Harry Dunn spotted me when the clubs played each other. It was a great move for me and I remember well the first game I played for Blyth when we beat Radcliffe Borough.”

Snowdon reflected on how the Croft Park squad has changed from those days. “I reckon that there are only four or five first team regulars left now from those days and I think we are much stronger now with no cliques in the dressing room and a fantastic team spirit which is reflected in the fact that we all go out regularly – even the Gildea brothers from Scarborough, in Newcastle or Sunderland. In addition after training we enjoy a couple of pints and a chat.”

The solid centre half who, as a lad, used to watch players like Steve Pyle and Ritchie Bond entertaining the home crowd now stands poised to be part of a successful promotion team.
Does he think the Spartans will achieve a move up to the Conference North and solidify their position as the region’s top non-league club? “ We’ve talked about promotion,” he said. “The possibility of winning the League outright is not unrealistic. But with a third of the season still to go we have to be pragmatic. Having said that we are not scared of any of the top sides and on our day we can take on anyone. I reckon it will come down to between us, Marine and Frickley. “Our primary goal, however, is to make the play offs.”

With North Ferriby, another promotion rival, travelling north to Croft Park next Tuesday night how does Snowdon see it panning out?

“It will be a tough game despite them having a bit of a sticky patch. It’s likely to be one of those tricky fixtures where we will need to grind out a result” he suggested.

“But the team spirit we have at Blyth is tremendous. We all work for each other over every 90 minutes and a lot of that has to go down to Manager Harry Dunn. These days we are so much fitter and are prepared to work hard throughout the game whatever the position we find ourselves in.

“People ask about how we prioritise promotion against the Northumberland Senior Cup and the Unibond League Cup – in which we are in the semi- finals, but I believe, as players, our job is not to be distracted by any one of them. They are all important.”

Returning to the issue of the Club’s Captainship Snowdon commented, “It is absolutely amazing to me to be Captain of Blyth Spartans. I would never have imagined it happening when I signed for the club. When skipper Richard Forster was injured a few weeks ago and stand in Captain, and Assistant Manager, Graham Fenton was missing too “Fen” asked me if I would like to take on the role – I could have snapped his hand off! And when Graham returned from injury he told me he’d be happy for me to continue to wear the armband and, needless to say, I was both delighted and privileged.”

However Snowdon fully expects that Forster will regain the Captainship when fully fit. But the player who plays at the back but “leads from the front” is not concerned with dropping one of his titles. With true grace he commented, “I would fully understand it.”

At the end of a successful game at Croft Park anyone can spot Peter Snowdon leaving the pitch – he’s the one with his fist in the air and with a grin wide as the Spartans’ current League position compared to last year’s. He may well be called “Sir” at school but he may well also be “Sir Peter” to Spartans supporters at the end of a promotion season.