As announced at last week’s Men’s Awards, Assistant Manager James Speare will be leaving the Dabbers this summer.
At those awards, he spoke openly about how he’s tried to find the right work/life balance between football and his family going back to the start of his playing career in the late 90s as the primary reason for him moving on.
It was a playing career that saw him become a legend at Accrington Stanley in goal with over 320 appearances for them. He also played against the Dabbers a couple of times, including for Colwyn Bay (pictured below in 2007, courtesy of Retro Dabbers), something he referenced in his speech.
His association with the Dabbers grew when he joined the coaching team along with manager Paul Carden in February 2023. Given the tough task of overcoming a large points deficit to escape from relegation with 9 games to go, Nantwich just fell short despite a sharp upturn in form.
‘Spearo’ was also part of the Dabbers’ superb run to the 4th Round of the FA Trophy with the victories over Chester and York and the three penalty shoot out wins in a row.
When Carden departed for Warrington early this season, new manager Jon Moran didn’t hesitate to keep Speare with him, going from coaching the centre back to coaching with him.
While the team just finished away from the play-offs, the numerous win and unbeaten records that were beaten showed the progress that had been made under the new coaching set-up. Despite being in a lower league, there’s a strong argument that Speare leaves the club in a stronger position than it was when he first joined.
Manager Jon Moran said:
“I can’t thank Spearo enough for his support and commitment to Nantwich Town and to me. His personality is infectious and the respect he has developed with the lads and the group is commendable. I wish Spearo all the best for the future and look forward to seeing him return to the Swansway Stadium in the near future.”
Chairman Jon Gold said:
“I would like to place on record my sincere thanks for the dedication and commitment that Jay has shown during his time at the club, especially in his support for Jon when he took over as manager, ensuring a smooth transition and his experience has proved invaluable during Jon’s first season in management. Jay has become a firm favourite with supporters and our players and these are friendships that will continue, though we fully understand his need to spend more time with his family at this time and he will always be welcome at the Swansway as part of the Dabbers family, so thank you Jay”.