190: Bontcho Guentchev, Ipswich Town, Merlin’s Premier League 95 Sticker Collection

Today Richard Allinson takes us on a trip from the World Cup to the Ryman League via Ipswich which sounds similar to some of the away days we went on while following Dulwich Hamlet in the early 2010s. We had a good laugh watching Gavin Rose’s Pink/Blue Army including witnessing Sittingbourne’s ultras stepping in to help run the clubhouse bar, Paul McCallum scoring a rank hat-trick and getting a move to West Ham United off the back of it and Faversham Town’s no.3 silencing the Champion Hill crowd with an absolute worldy. They still lost though. Over to Rich.

Saturday 5pm; James Alexander Gordon; Sports Report; Out of the Blue; FA Cup weekend; Ipswich Town 4 - Grimsby Town 0.

Other than the scoreline there is no arguing that the above list is irreplaceable. Win, lose or draw getting in the car and driving away from a football ground with the combination of the voice and music always felt like perfection. However, on 13 February 1993 James Alexander Gordon’s announcement missed a beat. “Ipswich Town four - Grimsby Town nil... but if Clive Mendonca had converted his chance in the first half it could’ve been a different story” is how the piece should have gone. But Super Clive missed and Town got stuffed courtesy of a Bontcho Guentchev hat-trick. 27 years on and this was what I mainly remembered Mr Guentchev for, however, I subsequently discovered he played in the Ryman League and this is where we now pick up.

In 2010, and missing live football, I ventured up to Champion Hill, home of Dulwich Hamlet for a Ryman League game. I fell for the club instantly and although there were only 200 people at the match these were 200 people who cared passionately about their team. As my time following Hamlet progressed there seemed to be a rapidly increasing number of people attending matches because “the sort of y’know, pink and blue colours are, totally, like, yeah, cool” or because it would score irony points with a barista from Peckham on Tinder. To me this removed the community feel to the club and transformed what following Hamlet meant, not necessarily for the better. I’m sure the club’s finances appreciated the swell in gate revenue and let’s just hope some of this crowd do stay on in the medium to long term because ultimately this is what will keep the club going. Where did I get to? Ah yeah, not Bontcho Guentchev. Playing for Dulwich Hamlet on my first visit was ex-Nottingham Forest, Gillingham and, more importantly, Grimsby Town star Kevin James. Just seeing his name on the team sheet indicated to me that this was a level of football not to be sniffed at and the fact that ex-Hamlet players Ethan Pinnock and Erhun Oztumer are currently plying their trade in the Championship goes to show really how strong it is. And this is where we get on to the man in the sticker...

11 years before my first date with Ryman League football Bontcho Guentchev was making his debut for Hendon FC. Three years prior to this he was in the Bulgarian national side and even more amazingly seven months before signing for the non-league club he played for CSKA Sofia against Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Cup. An article in The Guardian about Bontcho’s arrival on the wrong side of the Thames sets out how he bizarrely called Hristo Stoichkov beforehand but his phone was switched off. I can only imagine the dilemma: “...here, Stoicho, I’ve got two offers on the table, Hendon or Three Bridges. What you saying?” After joining Hendon, Guentchev explained how he missed the big crowds, but, to be fair this was a man who had represented Sporting Lisbon, played in the Premier League and in a World Cup against Italy. Away at Ramsgate probably wasn’t the same.

Why did he join the Ryman League side? Apparently because he lived 200 yards from the ground. In all honesty I had the same reasoning for going to Pizza Go-Go in Dulwich every night of the week so I sort of know where he is coming from. When Bontcho joined Hendon his first aim was purely to get in the team. You just have to acknowledge this for what it appears to be. A man that loves football wanting to earn his place in a side rather than expect it just because he scored a FA Cup hat-trick past Rhys Wilmot in 1993. Bontcho notched up 9 goals in 52 matches for the Greens before returning for another 18 games after a solitary season at Carshalton following which he called it a day. Ten clubs at home and abroad, 493 games, 114 goals, 12 international caps, played in a World Cup and a European Championship, bit of time in non-league. What a fantastic career.

As outlined above, my personal memories of Guentchev are of a disappointing trip to Portman Road. Ipswich fans obviously and understandably view him differently though. In 2018 the Away Days brewery came up with a beer called Bontcho in honour of our protagonist. And y’know what, despite Clive Mendonca missing a sitter 27 years ago, I’ll drink to that.