When Medium Dave Met Big and Little Dave

I’ve interviewed some big names in the past…Michael Garvin, Chris Taylor…myself but I’ve not been this anxious since playing alongside Charlton Phil. Around one year ago I was the only Dave registered with the Sporting Crabs but over the past twelve months I’ve become ‘Medium Dave’ or ‘Average Dave’ – not due to my ability which is distinctly average but my height. Why you may ask? Well I now find myself sandwiched between two more Daves, David Oladapo 30 and Dave Akinde 27 aka Little Dave and Big D.

Whilst the duo didn’t sign at the same time, it feels like they’ve always been a pairing. Oladapo didn’t fully come out of his shell until his close friend Akinde was brought in this summer and since then the nippy winger got his head down and worked his way into the team last year after arriving at half way through last season. Since the arrival of the towering centre back David Akinde, Oladapo has been able to express himself both on and off the pitch, becoming one of the loudest and most interesting voices in the changing room. The Daily Crab dubbed him ‘one of the most important players in Coventry’s squad’ and his own manager had no qualms with admitting in pre-season he was unlike any other player he had and he’d be integral this season.

From John Martin through to James Coventry, The Crabs have made an extra effort to make the club more open to newcomers – advertising online and holding open training sessions during the summer. Oladapo however took the more Hollywood movie route of beginning as a spectator, watching on from the terraces at Peckham Rye equipped with his boots and lofty ambitions. In a world where people hide behind emails and social media accounts, scared to speak in person out of fear of rejection, Oladapo’s approach was refreshing and something that caught then manager Sam Pearson’s eye. This more direct approach perhaps stems from Oladapo’s upbringing, moving from neighbourhood to neighbourhood in Lagos searching for a game of football. And it wasn’t hard to find one according to the winger, ‘As a kid in Nigeria there is no way you can’t not like football because there were no gadgets to occupy your mind and every neighbourhood has at least three or four kids playing football whether they are just doing keep ups, dribbling around or having a proper match’ David remembers fondly. As well as dribbling, one of David’s strengths seems to be his memory, ‘From what I can recall, I began to love football when I was 2 – my dad got me a ball for my 1^st birthday so I kept it with me wherever I went’. I can just picture David’s father ‘Darling come look, our baby boy is dribbling’ only for his confused mother to have seen her 1 year old doing step overs outside the house. If there is any player on The Crabs roster who learnt to play football before they could walk it’s this man, his direct running with the ball has a childlike quality, a stark contrast to the more disciplined wing play of newly converted full back Stu Wood.

David grew up dreaming of being a footballer but he felt his opportunities were limited, the highest level he played was semi-pro for Chessington FC at 23 – which is still very much something to be proud of. Whilst some footballers may look back on this as a missed opportunity to move up the leagues, David sees it as a great experience and he isn’t dwelling on the past. ‘I’m 30 years old but I feel like my footballing years have only just started!’ he says, talking about his rejuvenation since signing for the Sporting Crabs. When asked why he loves playing for The Crabs, David answers straight away ‘Everyone plays and acts accordingly, like were friends and family’, I crease my brow at his choice of words ‘like we’re friends’. ‘The journey has just begun!’ David exclaims philosophically and whilst he is 30, he still has the speed and energy of a teenager so he has many more years to come. ‘I just want to keep playing with Sporting Crabs, twisting and dribbling and banging in goals…so let’s see how it goes’ he adds, nailing his flags to the Crabs mast.

SEMI PRO: From Chessington FC to another world of adventure with The Crabs

Little Dave may have won fans on the pitch but off the pitch he’s also became a favourite for his blunt honesty ‘I feel when you take me off we lose games’ and his carefree approach to monogamy ‘if I was rich, I’d have four girlfriends a day and different ones each day’. Even the gaffer left his first ‘Dave and Dave’ car journey with a smirk on his face. David had his teammates in stitches telling them about his nine year old daughter asking him what a ‘perve’ was only for him to google the word and have an epiphany that he himself might be a perve. It’s moments like this that have brought the laughs back to a dressing room that lost its humour during long spells without a victory last season.

As expected David has broken into the team this season playing more minutes than anyone else and being the only ever present in the green (and sometimes orange) shirt. Some would suggest this was expected considering Oladapo’s obvious natural ability but one of the key reasons for the midfielder emerging from his shell has been the signing of his close friend and work colleague David Akinde.

What can we say about Akinde that hasn’t already been said? From his innuendo laden nickname of ‘Big D’ to his experiences as a bouncer at a Bermondsey boozer, Akinde is a man with many stories and many admirers after finally filling the gap left by Garvin three seasons ago. Akinde is a multi-faceted character husband, father, leader, destroyer and bouncer but behind all these different roles is a loveable happy go lucky man always wearing a smile. ‘He has a lot of love to give’ club captain James Palmer told us when discussing his centre back partner and he’s not the only one who appreciates his influence. Even on his first appearance he felt like a regular, he was a voice in the changing room before even knowing half of his teammates names and he quickly made the centre back spot his own with some assured performances in pre-season. ‘I’m the black David Luiz’ he shouted after a mazy dribble out from the back, and whilst he was making people laugh with his attacking, his defensive side was no joke. Huge challenges, towering headers, surprisingly deft touches – he was a revelation.

Ask any of The Crabs and they’ll all comment on Dave’s friendly personality before anything else but when wronged, Akinde can turn from Dr Jeckyll to Mr Hyde. Dave picked up his first red card in the first round of the cup after a late challenge on a troublesome winger before standing his ground to a queue of disgruntled opponents wanting yet not really wanting to fight the man mountain. Akinde stood his ground and had to be dragged from the pitch but whilst this did show a lapse in discipline and a tendency to become too emotionally involved, Coventry would’ve secretly enjoyed the moment of madness as he saw something that The Crabs have lacked in recent seasons, the willingness to stand up to teams trying to bully their way to victory. Akinde seems to have learnt his lesson and after having his red card rescinded he has channelled that aggression into dominant displays at the back, scaring opponents within the laws of the game.

POPULAR FIGURE: Dave Akinde hits the bar.

‘Big’ Dave Akinde’s path to the Crabs was very different. Born and raised in South London the centre back admits he wasn’t much of a football enthusiast until the age of 12 (Little Dave had been playing for ten years at this point). ‘It wasn’t until my older brother ran away to play a cup final on a Sunday. My family are huge Christians and wanted us to go to church on Sundays. I realised at this point that it was actually really fun!’ Inspired by his big brother, Dave began playing football regularly but due to his size he often found himself in goal not that he minded too much as in his own words he was ‘pretty good’. Things have a funny way of going full circle and anyone who believes in fate will say it’s no coincidence that Akinde’s debut game took place on the very pitch The Crabs play their home games on Peckham Rye. After all the Christian faith does suggest God has a plan for every person so maybe even his parents understood one day he’d end up a Crab? Enough about the doctrine of predestination, David went on to join semi-pro side Chessington with Oladapo as a box to box right back. I scratch my head at this admission, being a full back myself I couldn’t dream of reaching the opponents box but this was Dave to a tee, even now he plays the game with a youthful energy, roaming freely up the pitch when the opportunity arises. ‘I was a lot fitter back then’ he adds.

Based on what Akinde has told me, his journey with his sidekick Oladapo didn’t begin at Chessington so I delve deeper. ‘I grew up on the Aylesbury Estate’ (famous for the channel 4 advert and being featured in the film Harry Brown) he tells me, ‘this is where I met the legend Lil David and from there the rest is history. Our families went to church together and with David being the same age as my brother, they went to school together. It was as if he forced his way into my life’. As Akinde grew older his interest in football increased and he’s not ashamed to admit he switched allegiances from Arsenal to Chelsea. ‘I supported Arsenal purely for Patrick Vieira – which explains my affinity with the number four shirt. I then became a glory hunter and switched to Chelsea’ he explains. Whilst glory hunting and changing teams is looked upon as a cardinal sin of following any sport, I can’t help but let the big man off – firstly because he is twice my size and secondly because he’s a nice bloke. Due to these two factors I’m inclined to find the positive in his betrayal, Akinde is a man who knows what he wants and he doesn’t care what others think. Is it so bad to have a player who hunts glory? I’m trying really hard to put a positive spin on it here.

Prior to our interview I had the chance to sit with Dave on a short car journey through South London in which he reminisced about his experiences as door security at pubs and clubs. Dave laughed off stories of racial abuse at a Milwall supporters pub in Bermondsey, something that may’ve put off others for life only spurred Akinde on to prove people wrong and change their perceptions. He talked of chairs being thrown his way while his colleague called the police. ‘I ended up befriending the locals’ he reveals as a plot twist before adding ‘And the landlady was the first white girl I slept with and I ain’t even lying!’ before erupting into laughter. He also regaled the story of why Little David prefers building security as opposed to clubs and pubs. ‘We were working at a Ghanaian party and a fight broke out. A guy grabs a bottle of Guinness ready to smash it over someone’s head but a lady tries to pull it from his grip. Just at this moment, Little David charges over and the she pulls the bottle out and backwards straight into his face, knocking his tooth out’. Akinde accepts fault for the incident as he was the one who got Oladapo the job. It’s not all slurs and punch ups it seems, Dave once turned up to a game offering to pay his subs with a fifty pound note. It materialised that the money had come from Watford striker Isaac Success who tipped Dave for his services.

There’s been criticisms in the past (not sure who from) that for a team from East Dulwich who ply their trade in Peckham there is a distinct lack of local players. Londoners like Ali Dewji and John Martin made up a minority amongst Northerners like Sam Pearson, Ian Armstrong and Stu Wood. With the inclusion of the two Daves and James Coventry’s North London youth academy, the Crabs are now more 50/50 in geographical terms.

This season represents a big opportunity for some long awaited silverware and if they are to challenge for the title, both Oladapo and Akinde will be integral. What would’ve happened had Oladapo decided not to take a walk into Peckham Rye with his football boots that morning or if Akinde’s brother had opted for church with his parents as opposed to the cup final? Well Chris Taylor would still be the fastest player and The Crabs might have ended their recent cup game with eleven men but one thing’s for certain, the Southern Sunday league would be a lot less interesting.