Cramer is Thistle’s new coach

New Gisborne Thistle coach Tam Cramer is no stranger to the city, thanks to wife Gaylene’s family ties, but he is keen to learn more about the Jags’ playing strength . . . on the training ground and in action at Childers Road Reserve. Picture by Liam Clayton

A 62-year-old Glasgow-born Partick Thistle supporter is Gisborne Thistle’s new coach.

But while Tam Cramer has yet to come to grips with the playing strength at Gisborne’s oldest surviving football club, he is no stranger to the city.

His wife Gaylene (nee Gilby) was brought up in Gisborne, and Cramer is familiar with the city through visits to his in-laws.

He and Gaylene met in London.

“We were working at the same hospital,” Cramer said.

“I used to be a scientist working in haematology (the study of blood and blood disorders).”

He and Gaylene moved to New Zealand in 1999 and have three children — daughters Sileas, 19, and Davina, 17, and son Euan, 15.

First stop in New Zealand was Upper Hutt, where Cramer was in charge of the blood transfusion laboratory at Hutt Hospital.

After six years there, the family moved to Pukekohe.

“For the past 18 years I’ve been working with the New Zealand Blood Service as part of their IT (information technology) team . . . I went sideways and got into computers.”

When the opportunity of a job in Gisborne for Gaylene came up, the family decided a move out east was in order, and Tam Cramer thought about what he would do when he got here.

“I didn’t know much about the football set-up; I saw the ad on Facebook — for a first-team coach — it was perfect. I applied, and the rest is history.”

He says that from the time his resignation from the NZ Blood Service takes effect, he will be out of full-time work, so he is on the lookout “for anything”.

As a footballer, Cramer played in goal until his mid-teens, then moved into outfield roles, first as a central midfielder and later as a fullback or central defender.

A couple of bad injuries — ankle and knee — put paid to any hopes he might have had of progressing beyond the semi-professional ranks.

He started coaching, in England, in 1990.

“I was playing and coaching, and refereeing as well,” he said.

“I concentrated on refereeing for a while when we came to New Zealand. When we moved to Pukekohe I was playing masters football but after my knee gave out again I decided it was time to stop, and concentrate on coaching.

“Until 2016 I stayed with Pukekohe. I coached the first team at Northern League Conference level and coached the reserve team before that.”

He also had spells coaching the Pukekohe under-19s and the u15 and u16 boys’ and girls’ teams.

When Franklin United started in 2016, they got him to coach their under-19s.

He returned to Pukekohe to coach the girls then, in 2018, Franklin asked him to coach their first women’s team, which he did for a year. Then he was asked to coach the Franklin men’s u23/reserve team, a role he has held until now, along with a position as first-team assistant coach.

He holds the Oceania Football/New Zealand Football C Licence for senior and youth coaching, and is keen to meet the Gisborne Thistle players and see them in action on the training ground.

“I’m hoping to move down to Gisborne in January, and the start date for training will depend on the club and the teams,” Cramer said.

“I’m not coming in saying how we’re going to win everything. I want to see where they are — I’ve heard they’ve had a tough couple of years — and come in and lift them again.

“I want to leave the team in a better space than they were in when I arrived.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the players and helping them rise to the challenges that lie ahead.”