Hornets bid farewell to fan favourite

Joe Shelley has earned praise from Horsham boss Dom Di Paola after signing for Saltdean.
Joe Shelley / Picture: Steve RobardsJoe Shelley / Picture: Steve Robards
Joe Shelley / Picture: Steve Robards

The pair have been with each other for the majority of their footballing careers with Shelley playing under Di Paola at Clymping, Worthing United and East Preston before the manager took over the Hornets in 2015.

After more than 170 appearances for the club, ‘Biff’ leaves as a fan favourite and Di Paolo told the Hornets website he was sad to see him go.

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He said: “We spoke quite a bit over the lockdown and he’s taken the view that possibly playing Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday every week isn’t going to be for him in this league.

“It’s a big commitment playing at this level at 39, and there’s not many players in our league who are still playing at 39. He’s got other priorities away from football and you can’t do everything.

“He’s been a brilliant player for us, a brilliant player for me, and been involved with everything good that we’ve ever done. He goes down as a legend of the football club, in my opinion, because of what he’s done over the past four/five seasons.

“Everyone loves Biff. You never really hear from him, he just turns up, plays his football, goes home. He always performs and people don’t realise just how good a player Biff is until they play with him. He’s quite a complex character but we’ve always managed to get the best out of him.

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“There’s been many players like him down the years; Bozzy, Alex Duncan, Wezzo, Ian Browne, but unfortunately in football, people eventually move on or stop playing. His time was always going to come, you have to just accept that as people get older, they can’t commit to the level or they want to do other things in their lives.

“It’s a shame because I’d love to have seen him finish (his career) with us but that’s football. We have to adjust and move on. He goes with my best wishes.”

Shelley confirmed his move was down to personal reasons.saying: “I need to be at home a bit more so with the travel and commitment it takes at this level, I just couldn’t commit. I spoke to Dom and he was quite understanding.

“It was a hard decision. I saw myself retiring here, I didn’t want to move on or go anywhere else, I just wanted to be at Horsham. It’s an amazing club, I love the players and love Dom, I’ve been with him for years, but it just I cannot commit. It’s not fair on the club or the other players if I’m put ahead of anyone else if I’m hardly ever going to be available.”

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Biff started his Hornets career in midfield but he admits he was impressed with how he adjusted to playing in defence for his first season playing in step three. He said: “I felt like I coped with it. Dropping back into the centre of defence helped as my legs aren’t what they used to be.

“There were definitely some tough games but I felt like I coped okay with the level and didn’t think it was too much of a struggle. I felt really fit last year and was able to keep up with most of the faster players.”

Having been at the club for so long, Shelley was grateful for the impact playing for Horsham has had on his career. He continued: “Horsham is the best club I’ve played for, without a doubt. There’s just so many nice people involved at the club.

“I would have loved to have retired at Horsham but I just can’t commit to every training session and every weekend game.”

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Dozens of fans, managers, current and former teammates responded to the news with messages on social media, and Joe revealed he was surprised by the outpouring of support.

He said: “It was quite overwhelming to be honest. You never know what people actually think of you but to see all those messages was amazing. Me and my partner were sitting there reading them together and I got a bit teary and upset. It’s nice to see that people respect you and like you as both a person and a player.”

He said of the Horsham fans. He said: “They backed me, even when I left for a season and then came back. They never have a bad word to say about any of the players, they’re just amazing fans, always there and always loud wherever we go. Thanks for everything.”

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