What the Lundon Williams Trophy means to me - Mick Wickham Jnr

I’ve tried my best in the past to stay away from any writings to do with the tournament! On twitter I’m limited to what I can write which is perfect for me because usually when I start I can’t stop!

For me this tournament is everything. I was never the greatest player of football, at least not at the heights that a lot of the players we’ll see on the day reached anyway. I was lucky though that my hero, my dad, was good enough and when he thought his journey was over, along came the Old Xavs looking for a keeper! I watched him roll back the years and enjoy his Saturdays between the sticks, up until a collision with a young Quarry Bank striker seen him break his leg and kneecap.

Fast forward, he then became Billy Birch’s assistant with the first team, and when Billy moved on he stayed with Ben Williams as his assistant.

I always joked that Ben was the son my dad never had. Haha. Ben lost his dad early so I was always glad he had my dad around him to offer advice when needed. That also meant we became good mates. One of the best mates you could ask for.

When Ben passed away it hit me really hard. I went into my shell, I couldn’t understand why this had happened and for the few weeks following his death I was either drunk or hiding the suffering I was going through. Christmas was a blur, and in January I had my first panic attack. Not knowing what it was I thought I was dying, I thought this was it. I put my family through hell. To everyone else I put a brave face on it and just waded through. It was only after watching a documentary by Jason McAteer on LFCTV which highlighted the suicide of Liverpool fan Neil ‘Yozza’ Hughes and his mate James Bray said if your struggling get help because he wouldn’t want anyone to go through what him and his mates had gone through in losing Yozza. I’ve since met James bought him a Peroni and thanked him for those words. I must stress I wasn’t suicidal but dark thoughts always creep into the brain when we’re at our low points.

Although I’m more than happy to promote men talking about mental health and if you're reading this and struggling please get some help, it’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done, but this is how the journey got me to where we are today. When Ben died I promised him and his family that his name would be remembered and that he would have a legacy.

With the help of Ben’s family and close friends we looked at various ways we could do this. The first being a heart screening day in Ben’s memory. Under the name Follow Your Heart we set up a working group. Unfortunately after having raised the funds for this the pandemic hit and it was cancelled.

Lockdown however boring as it was, saw the creation of the Lundon Williams Trophy.

I don’t actually know Michael personally. My only real recollections of him was when the Xavs played the Dock and he was the lad at the back that had this unreal ability to hang in the air and win every header, not bad for someone under 6 foot. My dad used to work with Michael and has the upmost respect for him so in turn he deserves mine too, and when he became ill I always wanted to do something for him and his family.

So back to the birth of our tournament. I’ve always wanted to organise a football tournament in some capacity. When we were involved with AFC Liverpool I looked into a 5 a side tournament based around the champions league teams, but due to running costs and pitch availability it never got off the ground.

To fundraise for the Follow Your Heart group we aimed to play two games of football per season, a preseason game vs AFC Liverpool and one around Christmas with a good few of the lads who play for our tournament team. It was at one of these games where I said to Kieran Hughes that I’d like to make a donation to Michael Lundon’s fight against MND, and his reply was “why don’t we do a tournament”

That’s literally it, although over the next few months the size and shape of the tournament changed drastically but hopefully you’ll all agree for the better. 

So, after the initial idea we spoke to Simon Grant, Matty Williams and Gaz Hearns who were all sold on the idea, next up Si put us in contact with Michael’s brother in law, Tony Denson who again was sold on the idea.

These were the simple steps, the two biggest hurdles would be the ground and choosing teams.

From a teams point of view we looked at going big from the start, 32 teams, 28 teams which was whittled down to 14 then 8 then 4, after Si and Tony declared they couldn’t play more than 2 games in a day, and I’m glad they did this as it has definitely made this tournament special.

The logistics behind a larger tournament would’ve been a nightmare and let’s be honest we need to learn to crawl before we can walk.

This brings us to the venue. Looking around the city the first thing that springs to mind is the 4G hubs that have sprung up. Simpson’s, Heron Eccles, Jericho and Jeffrey Humble. All were considered but as we were trying to raise money the outlay for such pitches would’ve been impossible looking at their pitch prices.

As I’d been helping out at South Vets I went up to watch APH Over 35s at a pitch I never knew existed... Admiral Park.

The moment I stepped foot there I knew this was the place. Perfect pitch, bar on site, BBQ equipment, changing rooms, seated covered stand and a viewing balcony, and it was available on the date we wanted. Perfect. Only issue was I never actually booked it, thanks to Paul McInerney and Gerard Smith for the kick up the arse in getting it sorted.

The biggest fear now was the reemergence of Covid that could’ve hampered the day actually going ahead.

Team choice for me was simple, Waterloo Dock and Follow Your Heart FC were bankers. Old Xaverians next as many of Ben’s years were spent there as player, captain and then manager. The fourth for me was a no brainer, not because we were using their pitch, but because of their many successes on it and their battles with Waterloo Dock over the years.

So everything was in place for the 1st Lundon Williams Trophy and what a day it was.

I could go on about it forever but I won’t because everyone has their own memories of it. For me it’s a bit of a blur not in a bad way but it was a fantastic learning curve for future tournaments.

I said near the start I was never good enough football wise to play at the top level. But what I lack in football ability I have event planning ability in abundance. I’m not being cocky there anyone who knows me well enough will know I literally can’t take praise.

The words and videos during and after the first tournament were lovely to hear and read but I don’t do this for the appreciation party I do it because a) I enjoy it but for b) for the promise I made about Ben’s legacy. That’s more important to me than anything.

Just because I can’t take praise doesn’t mean I can’t give it out. This is a team achievement and the team only works if everyone wants the same goal. Luckily we all do, a lot of people look to me to make decisions, and I can only do this with the help of Matty Williams and Tony Denson. For me they have the hardest jobs. They are the family liaisons and they put a lot of faith in all of us to deliver on Michael’s and Ben’s names.

Kieran Hughes and Gary Hearns, for sorting the team and doing a lot of running round for both events. I know I’m a control freak and perfectionist so it can’t be too easy putting up with me and for that I apologise.

Simon Grant, you’ve kicked me up the arse a lot in the past two years, helping me to focus on what’s important and not to get too far ahead of myself, which I do way too much. A big thank you for checking in on me over the last few months when I’ve been struggling too means a lot.

Mick Watson, the Straight From The Off podcast reignited my passion for football in Liverpool. Mick put together a hell of a lineup that kept me going through lockdown. Not only that though Mick promoted the tournament through the podcast and social media and sponsored our player of the tournament. I’d never met Mick before the tournament but after I made an appearance on the Three Men and a Football podcast he spotted me at Jericho Lane and introduced himself, shows the power of social media and other platforms that bring people together.

Paul Moran is our official photographer and what a photographer he is. Paul is well known around the northwest and his catalogue of games attended is absolutely unreal. For those who don’t know him, Paul is the son of the great Ronnie Moran of Liverpool FC fame a stalwart of the mighty boot room boys and an absolute legend. Paul’s photos are brilliant and for the last two years he’s snapped our tournament perfectly, the diamond snap for me is the one of all the players and Michael Lundon on the halfway line, it was no easy photo but Paul as always delivered perfectly.

Kev Coogan/Daryl Oprey our chefs. It hasn’t been easy to man the BBQ in the two tournaments so far as we’ve touched very lucky with the weather. Searing temperatures and both have grabbed the tongs and got cooking and for that I’m immensely thankful.

Reg and Paul at Admiral Park have been absolutely vital in this whole process. I hope they’ve seen what potential their site has after letting us use it for our two very successful tournaments so far.

My family, what can I say but without them I’d be lost. All of them every single one have been a rock for me in not only my journey but in the run up to each tournament and on the day itself. From the bottom of my heart thank you all xxx

The players and managers who have given up their time to take part in both events. We try to make it as easy as possible so you can turn up and do your magic on the field. I’ve yet to watch a full game but I’ve been told they are very good.

The Lundon family, my heart goes out to you all, your the real heroes here and the fight you all face in assisting Michael everyday shows the amazing bond you all have, it’s truly inspirational.

The Williams family, what can I say, I love you all very dearly and thank you for trusting me to put Ben’s name on this event and really helping me to get through some of the dark days. Your stuck with me forever now, but not sure if that’s a good thing for you.

Finally to everyone who’s come down to watch or donated online. Without your continued support we couldn’t do this. We couldn’t put on this event, thank you all so much, we will continue to do this whilst the support is there….