A Short Spell with the Seasiders: Dermot Drummy 1961 - 2017
Dermot Drummy was born in Hackney, London, on 18 January 1961 and although, at just 19-years-of-age, he only spent a very short time at Blackpool Football Club, he is still an integral part of the history of the club.
He was a midfield player who was signed by Blackpool on loan to the end of the 1979/80 season in March 1980 from Arsenal. He had joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1974 and became an apprentice before signing for the club as a professional in January 1979. At the time of his loan he had made no first team appearances for Arsenal but he was highly rated there.
On his signing, Blackpool’s general manager Freddie Scott commented, 'It is very hard to break into the Arsenal first team because of all the competition for places at Highbury.' And Blackpool manager Alan Ball commented on the highly rated centre or right sided midfield player, 'This lad could keep me out of the side.'
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Exeter City on 15 March 1980 when Blackpool won 1-0 and he was 'quietly brilliant in the first half when Doyle’s appetite for the fray gave him the necessary space'. Indeed, 'MacDougall, Fletcher and Drummy were all close to goals in the first half and a host of chances went begging.' However, he 'went off a touch, often because of a swirling wind, in the second half' but player-coach Ted MacDougall expressed the view 'Dermot impressed me. I’ll tell Bally that he’ll be pushed to shift this lad once he’s had a couple of games. He was quietly beavering away, making pieces of the jigsaw fit with players he had only known for two days. His lack of physical presence was more than compensated for by his vision, and speed of reaction. It would have been fitting had a fine shot near the end beaten Ian Main and not been met with a good save.'
His second and third appearances for the club both ended in defeat, a 2-0 defeat by Carlisle United on 18 March 1980 and a 4-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 22 March 1980. In both games he had quiet games and did nothing noteworthy.
He made what turned out to be his final start for Blackpool in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980 when, unfortunately, his most notable moment was when he was booked for 'an off the ball scuffle with Roberts'.
Although he was left out of the starting line-up and sat on the substitute's bench for the game against Barnsley on 4 April 1980, Alan Ball made it known, 'He is still part of the club’s plans.' And what turned out to be his final game for Blackpool was when he replaced Peter Noble as a half-time substitute in that game and he 'came into midfield and played his best football for Blackpool'. The game was drawn 1-1. In view of this latter comment, it was something of a surprise that he did not appear for Blackpool again and his loan spell saw him play four League games and make one substitute appearance for Blackpool in the 1979/80 season. He then returned to Arsenal, who, with a wealth of talent on their books, released him in the close season, without him having appeared in their first team.
He joined Isthmian League side Hendon for the 1980/81 season and, after leaving Hendon, he went on to play for Wealdstone, Enfield, Ware and St Albans City. He was later player manager at Ware in the 1996/97 season but he left the club halfway through the season to become youth team coach at Arsenal.
He moved on from Arsenal and he was team manager at the Chelsea Academy from 2009 to 2011 and he was in charge of the Chelsea side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009/10 when they defeated Aston Villa 3-2 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 at Villa Park and winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in front of a crowd of 10,446.
He went on to become reserve team manager at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014 and he met with further success when he was in charge of the side that won the Under-21 Premier League in the 2013/14 season.
In June 2015 he was apparently offered the manager's job at Brazilian side Bangu but he turned down the offer. Then on 27 April 2016 he was appointed head coach at Crawley Town and he remained with the club until 4 May 2017, overseeing 54 games of which 15 were won, 12 were drawn and 27 were lost..
He died on 27 November 2017 at the age of only 56. Crawley's official heart-warming tribute to him was 'Everyone at the club is devastated by the news that our former manager Dermot Drummy passed away earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We will be issuing a full statement tomorrow after speaking to Dermot's family. Dermot was a real people person. He had time for everyone at the club and he loved to make us laugh! He brought many of the current squad to Crawley and they are as stunned as we all are at this terrible news.'
And Swansea boss Paul Clement, who worked closely with him at Chelsea, commented, 'Shocked to hear of the death of my former colleague from Chelsea FC, Dermot Drummy. Very sad. Rest In Peace.' Indeed, rest in peace Dermot and thanks for the short spell that you had with the Seasiders.
He was a midfield player who was signed by Blackpool on loan to the end of the 1979/80 season in March 1980 from Arsenal. He had joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1974 and became an apprentice before signing for the club as a professional in January 1979. At the time of his loan he had made no first team appearances for Arsenal but he was highly rated there.
On his signing, Blackpool’s general manager Freddie Scott commented, 'It is very hard to break into the Arsenal first team because of all the competition for places at Highbury.' And Blackpool manager Alan Ball commented on the highly rated centre or right sided midfield player, 'This lad could keep me out of the side.'
He made his League debut for Blackpool against Exeter City on 15 March 1980 when Blackpool won 1-0 and he was 'quietly brilliant in the first half when Doyle’s appetite for the fray gave him the necessary space'. Indeed, 'MacDougall, Fletcher and Drummy were all close to goals in the first half and a host of chances went begging.' However, he 'went off a touch, often because of a swirling wind, in the second half' but player-coach Ted MacDougall expressed the view 'Dermot impressed me. I’ll tell Bally that he’ll be pushed to shift this lad once he’s had a couple of games. He was quietly beavering away, making pieces of the jigsaw fit with players he had only known for two days. His lack of physical presence was more than compensated for by his vision, and speed of reaction. It would have been fitting had a fine shot near the end beaten Ian Main and not been met with a good save.'
His second and third appearances for the club both ended in defeat, a 2-0 defeat by Carlisle United on 18 March 1980 and a 4-1 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on 22 March 1980. In both games he had quiet games and did nothing noteworthy.
He made what turned out to be his final start for Blackpool in a 2-2 draw with Millwall on 29 March 1980 when, unfortunately, his most notable moment was when he was booked for 'an off the ball scuffle with Roberts'.
Although he was left out of the starting line-up and sat on the substitute's bench for the game against Barnsley on 4 April 1980, Alan Ball made it known, 'He is still part of the club’s plans.' And what turned out to be his final game for Blackpool was when he replaced Peter Noble as a half-time substitute in that game and he 'came into midfield and played his best football for Blackpool'. The game was drawn 1-1. In view of this latter comment, it was something of a surprise that he did not appear for Blackpool again and his loan spell saw him play four League games and make one substitute appearance for Blackpool in the 1979/80 season. He then returned to Arsenal, who, with a wealth of talent on their books, released him in the close season, without him having appeared in their first team.
He joined Isthmian League side Hendon for the 1980/81 season and, after leaving Hendon, he went on to play for Wealdstone, Enfield, Ware and St Albans City. He was later player manager at Ware in the 1996/97 season but he left the club halfway through the season to become youth team coach at Arsenal.
He moved on from Arsenal and he was team manager at the Chelsea Academy from 2009 to 2011 and he was in charge of the Chelsea side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2009/10 when they defeated Aston Villa 3-2 on aggregate, drawing 1-1 at Villa Park and winning 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in front of a crowd of 10,446.
He went on to become reserve team manager at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014 and he met with further success when he was in charge of the side that won the Under-21 Premier League in the 2013/14 season.
In June 2015 he was apparently offered the manager's job at Brazilian side Bangu but he turned down the offer. Then on 27 April 2016 he was appointed head coach at Crawley Town and he remained with the club until 4 May 2017, overseeing 54 games of which 15 were won, 12 were drawn and 27 were lost..
He died on 27 November 2017 at the age of only 56. Crawley's official heart-warming tribute to him was 'Everyone at the club is devastated by the news that our former manager Dermot Drummy passed away earlier today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. We will be issuing a full statement tomorrow after speaking to Dermot's family. Dermot was a real people person. He had time for everyone at the club and he loved to make us laugh! He brought many of the current squad to Crawley and they are as stunned as we all are at this terrible news.'
And Swansea boss Paul Clement, who worked closely with him at Chelsea, commented, 'Shocked to hear of the death of my former colleague from Chelsea FC, Dermot Drummy. Very sad. Rest In Peace.' Indeed, rest in peace Dermot and thanks for the short spell that you had with the Seasiders.
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