United cup run ends in breakup

WORTHING UNITED'S first historic FA Cup adventure has ended in acrimony. Player-manager Paul Curtis got rid of his No 2 Glenn Houchen after Houchen had substituted defender Curtis in the second half of their exit on Saturday.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Oct 2006, 14:31 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 00:48 BST

After the club had banked 7,250 in FA Cup prize money, chairman Gary Downie found himself telling the Herald on Tuesday morning that Houchen had left the club, then phoning Houchen immediately afterwards to tell him this was now the case and it was because Curtis did not feel he could work with him any more.

After the match on Saturday, Curtis had told the Press he did not know why he had been taken off and was unsure whether being removed from the game was a political or a power statement by Houchen. He added, though, that he did not want to tarnish what United had achieved and that it had been down to bonding and team spirit.

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On Tuesday, Curtis told Herald Sport: "Glenn and I have had a few differences of opinion and now it's time to move on. I just wish him all the best in the future. It's an internal matter, it's been dealt with and it's now in the past. I don't want to wash the club's linen in public."

Houchen said about the substitution: "I don't think I made a mistake but I made a decision that involved Paul and he didn't agree with it. Paul plays and he wants me to manage the team from the side. But does that mean I can only manage 10 men?"

For full report, see this week's Worthing Herald.