“The chairman has pretty much retired me!” laughs the former Reading and Bristol Rovers striker, who remains on the club’s books as player-manager at the grand old age of 47.
“He made it very clear last summer that he thinks I’m more use managing the team and I can’t really argue – it’s the first year I’ve hardly played and we won the league.
“To be fair, the forwards were doing so well that I had no reason to play myself. As much as I want to play, the group is more important and everything was working so well.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough. I still feel like I could do a job. And my son Roma, who is seven, always wants to see me on the pitch.
“He watched me play last season and I scored a hat-trick so every week it’s ‘Why don’t you play?’.
“I feel a bit bad for him because my two grown-up sons saw me play in my prime, so maybe I’ll just send him to the owner and play the sympathy card!”
Cureton’s prime was prolific indeed, featuring 20-goal seasons at every level of the EFL and the Championship Golden Boot with Colchester in 2006-07.
He subsequently featured in Non-League for the likes of Farnborough, Eastleigh and Bishop’s Stortford before joining Enfield FC as player-manager in 2020 and has now clocked up 376 goals in 1,066 appearances.
Domestic bliss
But if this is to be the end of Cureton’s remarkable 29-year playing career, the family legend could yet live on.
Denne historien er fra June 04, 2023-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
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Denne historien er fra June 04, 2023-utgaven av The Non-League Football Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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SHAKERS REVEL IN MAKING HISTORY
DAVE McNabb says Bury's FA Cup heroes are proud to be writing their own chapters in club history.
WILCOX: WE FEEL COMPLETE WITH WIN
RUSS WILCOX'S verdict after watching his Gainsborough Trinity side outmuscle and outplay their hosts was that it was \"probably our most complete performance\".
CRACKER BY KABIA TOPPLES TUDORS!
ASSISTANT boss Stewart Yetton said his Truro City side were good value for their win over table-toppers Hemel Hempstead Town.
BRAKES PUT STOP ON BORO BATTLERS
SEPARATED only by goal difference before kick-off, these sides remain neck and neck in the embryonic table after playing out 90 minutes in the October sunshine that was a great advert for the division.
BOSS COTT'S GOT A REALLY GOOD THING WITH ROVERS
STEVE Cotterill hailed Forest Green Rovers’ first class performance as they produced a spirited comeback to topple fellow high-flyers Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium.
SKIPS STEER HEED'S SHIP
GATESHEAD captains of the past and present are playing a lead role in helping the National League club move on from the departure of FA Trophy-winning manager Rob Elliot.
FA CUP PREVIEW: SWEET! 'DREAM' DRAW IS CHANCE OF OUR LIFETIME
DAVE NORTHFIELD says minnows Biggleswade FC were like 'kids in a sweet shop' when they drew out York City in what he describes as the 'draw of a lifetime'.
PARKER'S HEART IS STILL AT HOME
FORMER England right-back Paul Parker has revealed he would never completely rule out a return to management – but says he would only do so for one of his beloved local clubs.
LOCALS RALLY TO REBUILD BRIDGE
WHEN committee members at Bamber Bridge set out to raise £30,000 to protect the club's future, they were apprehensive about the response they'd get.
RUTHLESS BEES FIND THEIR FEET
ASTERLING second-half performance resulted in league leaders Barnet brushing aside a Boston United outfit that led at the interval through Keaton Ward’s early strike.
