Stevenage were the worst team in the Football League five years ago, dodging relegation through a combination of Bury’s expulsion and Macclesfield’s points deduction. “We fell away,” owner Phil Wallace tells Sky Sports. “But we have come back again.”
Now, Stevenage, the club that Wallace saved in 1999, is up in League One, an example to others with their investment in infrastructure. Nearly a million pounds has just gone into a fourth site. Fifteen years after entering the Football League, this is a football town.
“Twenty-two acres of beautiful land and buildings,” says Wallace, with justifiable pride at the club’s impressive growth. At 75 years old, he is enjoying it again. “I cannot tell you how bad it was to be last of the 72 clubs. That was a horrible experience. Unpleasant.”
Over from Jersey, he is speaking to Sky Sports in his office overlooking the paddock, one of a number of plush pitches at the training ground. These are better days. “Especially in the closed season when you are not playing so you can’t get beat,” he jokes.
He is reflecting on some of the highlights. Beating Aston Villa in the FA Cup. “It was fantastic. That probably cost me a new hip, dancing with the players.” Winning the FA Trophy in the first ever game at the new Wembley. “Those were really good times.”
He adds: “If you love football it will love you back. That is all I used to keep thinking.” But it has required much more than money and belief to turn Stevenage around since that miserable pandemic-hit season. There has been a sea change in thinking at the club.
“It is all about camaraderie and team spirit. Everything we do is about that. We really go into people’s backgrounds before we sign them, for example. And I think it shows. I am not talking forever. We have only been doing this for the last two or three years.”
One of four sites in the town that Stevenage have developed under Phil Wallace
‘We reset the whole culture’
Over in the communal area at the training ground, Leon Hunter, the club’s sporting director takes up the story to explain. He sees that dalliance with the drop as the key moment. “Staying up that season, we reset the whole culture,” he tells Sky Sports.
The arrival of Steve Evans was significant. “The environment changed when Steve came through the door.” That might surprise some on the outside given the caricature of the man, but he was the first to buy into the idea of the alignment that has been vital.
Hunter recalls Evans being willing to change his mind over a centre-back signing because the club’s own analysis made the case for an alternative. Dan Sweeney, brought in on a free transfer, went on to help Stevenage to promotion in his first season.
“I just asked Steve to put aside an hour to watch the clips. He came back to me and said, ‘You are right.’ So that was a groundbreaking one. Every signing before Steve was just the manager’s decision. Now there is much more collaboration and alignment.”
Hunter himself is in his second spell at Stevenage. He had a brief stint at Nottingham Forest. “I got seduced. Famous name. Champions of the Europe.” But that was a decade ago and he prefers the culture here. Everyone, it seems, is in it together.
“There’s Sally at the stadium, who has been here years. There is Alfie Dinsey.” He is the club’s head of media, who has been here for seven years now. Hunter even mentions the first-team chef. There is a strong sense of togetherness throughout the club.
He explains: “That has helped with the success that we have had in the last few years. Everyone is on board. They all have a feel for the club are a crucial part of who we are. Alignment is hard to achieve but easy to lose because ego is a pandemic in football.”
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Phil Wallace on why he is backing Alex Revell as the club prepares for the season
‘I would go to war with Revs’
Alex Revell, Evans’ successor at Stevenage, has helped with that. He understands the role. “Steve wanted experienced players but that was not sustainable,” explains Hunter. “If you look at our recruitment post-Steve, we need players who can help us win and have the potential to be sold. We have to get the balance right.”
Revell had been part of Evans’ staff when Stevenage were promoted back to League One and is in his second spell in charge. He had to interview for the job when Evans left for his beloved Rotherham. “Alex had the edge because he knew the environment.”
There is no questioning his work ethic. “He works too hard,” laughs Hunter. “Alex and I have a little fight every morning to be here first. I lost today. He rang me at 10pm last night to talk about a player. Come on, watch a film or something, talk in the morning.”
Hunter adds: “He has perspective with his wife’s job.” She is a paediatrician. “And he is not just a manager, he is a counsellor too. He has that emotional intelligence.” Wallace himself recognised that during the conversation that persuaded him to reappoint him.
“I was really impressed. I came away thinking, I am going to back Alex,” he says. “Replacing Steve was not going to be easy. The fans wanted me to sign a top manager. If I were a player, I would go to war with Revs. He breathes loyalty and that is unusual.”
Stevenage boss Alex Revell has been praised by Leon Hunter for his ’emotional intelligence’
Wallace describes himself as “really proud” of the team last season but a finish of 14th was five places lower than the previous campaign. It reflects the context in League One. “It is super challenging,” says Hunter. Wallace’s assessment is a little more blunt.
“Football from the Championship down is on a path to self-destruction,” he argues. “Everything would be great if there was not rampant player inflation. As an industry, we have got to get to grips with because it will be last man standing if it carries on like this.
“I suppose one day we have got to sit back and say, is this right? Is this the right way to do it? If clubs are continually making losses, when does that final day of reckoning come? Because it looks like it might come. It is catastrophic for communities and fans.”
Stevenage’s training ground is an impressive base for the League One club
‘We are punching above our weight’
He is more optimistic about Stevenage’s own situation. “We will compete because we are smart. I suppose one of the advantages of spending 25 years building an infrastructure is that it is kind of all done. So we can focus now on players.”
And besides, part of him revels in this underdog role. More money was spent in League One last season than in the eight previous seasons combined. But Stevenage will find a way. “We will be fine because we like the fight. We like overachieving,” says Wallace.
“I like that feeling. I get a lot of satisfaction from what we have built here. I do not think there are many clubs that are solvent. The fact that we are smart with our money, I like that. There are a lot of clubs who would like to swap places with our financial figures.”
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Stevenage chairman Phil Wallace tells Sky Sports that wages are out of control
One day, he could sell. “I get interested parties a lot.” Asked whether he believes Stevenage has the potential to be a Championship club under the right circumstances because of the building blocks that are in place, he is clear. “Of course,” he replies.
“Everything is laid down for that. We are close to London, we are solvent, we are well run, leading edge in a lot of the things we do so we are punching above our weight and lots of people like to do that. Investment changes everything. Look at Wrexham.”
But, for now, he is enjoying the challenge, still as engaged as ever. Hunter checks in with him daily. “He is across everything that happens,” says the sporting director, who cites a number of internal targets, including selling an academy player for a million pounds.
“We want to improve the training ground. We want to improve the facilities at the stadium. Winning for us is improving the fan engagement. Winning is improving on the pitch. There are loads of different ways that we can win.” Wallace runs with the theme.
The owner-chairman talks of his aims “to be sustainable, to be successful, always competitive, enjoy ourselves, enjoy the people, enjoy the fans, marvel at our fantastic facilities here” – and after their struggles at the start of the decade, they are determined.
“Maybe we are an underdog, but we are getting closer and closer each year,” he concludes. “Who knows what the season is going to bring? So, we will have another go. We have got a stronger squad now than we had this time last year. So, we will go again.”
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