Bognor Regis Town Football Club - The Rocks, Nyewood Lane, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK

Mixed fortunes for the Rocks – crisis at Croydon Ath.

Friday 3rd September 2010

It’s hard to know where to start this Bulletin. Perhaps with that tighter-than-expected defeat of Ringmer in the FA Cup? A one-nil home win against County League opposition is hardly the resounding victory that Rocks supporters were hoping-for but a win is a win and sets up an exciting home tie against Hastings United in ten days time. That’s reason enough to be cheerful, surely? To say nothing of the £1500 prize money! Managers Darin Killpartrick and Jamie Howell must also have been pleased to keep a clean sheet and to see last term’s top scorer, Jason Prior, open his account for the season with a trademark finish, climbing above the opposition to power home an unstoppable header from a superb cross by Richie Hudson.

In truth, although they couldn’t quite manage that all-elusive second goal, the Rocks never looked like slipping-up against a Ringmer side who, though hard-working and well-organized, posed little threat up front. Other D1S sides weren’t quite so lucky; there were a few banana skins around with Horsham YMCA losing 4-0 to South Park, from Division One of the Combined Counties League; Chatham going down 2-1 away to Combined Counties Premier outfit Chertsey Town and Merstham losing by the same score away to Wessex League strugglers Alton Town. Elsewhere, Whitehawk needed a replay to get past another Combined Counties League club, Hartley Wintney, whilst Dulwich Hamlet lost their replay, against Kent League side Tunbridge Wells, going down 1-0 at Champion Hill on Monday.

Sadly, though, there were no giant-killing acts by Sussex County League sides, only two of whom have made it through to the First Round Qualifying. Many perished earlier, in the Extra-Preliminary Round, and Saturday’s Preliminary Round accounted for most of the rest. Arundel were thrashed 6-0 at Worthing (with striker Terry Dodds scoring a hat trick) and Pagham went down 2-0 away to Faversham. Worthing United lost 3-0 at Walton Casuals, Peacehaven were beaten 2-1 at home to Ashford Town (Middx) and Lingfield suffered a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Corinthian Casuals. Lancing also lost heavily, suffering a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Slough Town. With Three Bridges losing 2-1 at Guildford City, there are now just two County League sides left in the competition. Hassocks overcame Combined Counties side Farnham Town 3-2 at The Beacon and will now play Southern League new boys Sholing Sports in the First Qualifying Round. The result of the day, though, was surely East Grinstead Town’s 4-1 away win against Combined Counties Premier outfit Raynes Park Vale. Town now face a difficult away trip to Ryman D1S side Whitstable Town in the next round, after they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 home win over Croydon.

So much for the Cup; next we turn to league action though it’s probably best not to dwell too long on the Bank Holiday defeat at Burgess Hill. You can’t help feeling that the Rocks were extremely unlucky to leave Leyland Park without at least a share of the points. After all, they dominated play for much of the game and hit the woodwork three times, yet still went down 2-1. To rub salt into the wounds, both the Hillians goals came from disputed set-pieces; a soft penalty and an even softer free kick that took a huge deflection before finding the net. Both awards were contentious to say the least and we can only hope that the standard of refereeing we witnessed in this game is not typical of life in Division One South. If it is, we’re in for a bruising season! Still, that’s football. As a wise man (or was it Mark Lawrenson?) once said, “it’s a funny old game” and you just have to accept the odd bad result and look to the next game. Fortunately, we Rocks supporters are a pretty sporting lot, generous in victory and dignified in defeat, so I’m sure there’ll be no hard feelings. (Mind you, I did overhear one spectator plotting to get even with the referee; he said he was going to wait till the ref was in the shower, then pinch the stabilizers from his bike!)

Anyway… moving swiftly on; that win puts Burgess Hill top of Division One South, with seven points from three games. Also on seven points are D1S newcomers Faversham Town. They are followed by six teams on six points, though Godalming Town, Met Police and Chatham Town have only played two matches each, due to FA Cup replays, whereas Bognor Regis Town, Fleet Town and Leatherhead have all played three times.

At the other end of the table, poor old Horsham YMCA still prop up the rest, with no points from three games and a goal difference of minus 10. YM are one of four sides who have yet to take a point, the others being Ramsgate, Whitstable Town and Corinthian Casuals. And what of other Sussex sides in D1S? Well, Whitehawk are 18th with one point from two games; Eastbourne Town lie 16th with two points from two and Worthing are 13th with three points from three games – all courtesy of a 5-0 home win over Horsham YMCA, in which most of last year’s YM side turned-out for Worthing, including striker Terry Dodds who bagged his second hat-trick in three days!

Next up for Rocks it’s a home game against Sittingbourne on Saturday, followed by a trip to Walton on Thames, to take-on Walton and Hersham next Tuesday. Fifteenth–placed Sittingbourne have yet to win this season, having drawn all three of their league games and lost in the FA Cup. The Brickies started their league campaign with a 2-2 draw against Dulwich Hamlet and followed that up with a 4-4 thriller away to Eastbourne Town. They then went out of the FA Cup, losing 1-0 at home to Southern League Andover, before a 1-1 home draw with Merstham last Monday.

One place above Sittingbourne, in 14th place, are Walton and Hersham. The Swans have only played twice in the league this season, opening-up with a 3-0 home win over Ramsgate before losing 2-0 away to newly-promoted Faversham Town. They are also through to the next round of the FA Cup, thanks to a comfortable 3-0 home win over Bracknell Town who these days ply their trade in the Hellenic League.

There are a couple of familiar faces at Stompond Lane these days. Former Millwall owner and current BBC ‘Dragon’ Theo Paphitis (who also happens to be the man behind the Isthmian League sponsors, Rymans) is a director of the club, whilst the manager is a certain John Crumplin, whom older Rocks supporters will remember as a stalwart of Bognor sides in the mid 1980s, before he joined Brighton and Hove Albion in a two-player deal that also saw Geoff Cooper head to the Goldstone Ground. (Older Brighton supporters remember ‘Crumps’ too; they still talk about the way he marked John Barnes out of the game in a drawn Fourth Round FA Cup tie at Anfield in 1991. He did it again in the replay, too, though Liverpool still won the tie by three goals to two.) Although he was born in Bath, Crumps is steeped in Sussex football, having managed at Ringmer, Selsey, Three Bridges and Redhill before joining the Swans.

Now, finally – a question for you. What is the connection between Croydon Athletic FC (aka The Rams) and the Pakistan cricket team? The answer, according to several national newspapers, is 35 year-old cricket agent and “wealthy Surrey-based businessman” Mazhar Majeed. If you’re not familiar with this story (where have you been all week?) last Sunday’s News of the World alleged that journalists including Mazher Mahmood, aka the ‘fake sheikh’, had posed as Far Eastern businessmen and paid a middleman £150,000 to arrange for Pakistan players to deliberately bowl no-balls to order in last week's fourth Test against England at Lord's, as part of a ‘spot-betting’ scam. Following the newspaper report, Mr Majeed was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives before being released on police bail.

More arrests followed on Monday, when two men and a woman, all from the London area, were questioned as part of an investigation into money laundering – though a spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs refused to confirm or deny that the arrests were linked to the alleged betting scam. Now it has emerged that Majeed is the owner of Croydon Athletic FC, with at least one national newspaper alleging that he has admitted buying the club as part of a money-laundering operation.

Predictably, the News of the World allegations have prompted a host of investigations by police, customs authorities and sporting bodies around the world. They include the FA and The Ryman League whose secretary, Alan Turvey, has promised a detailed investigation into Croydon Athletic’s finances and ownership. Of course, this is not the first time that scandal has engulfed the Rams. Regular readers (of the D1Scussion, I mean, not the News of the Screws) may recall that the club’s previous owner and chairman, Dean Fisher, was recently sent to prison for fraud and embezzlement, having conned his employers out of approx £500,000. He is said to have spent more than half that money bankrolling Athletic’s rise to the Ryman League Premier and much of the rest on a gastric band operation! When it was confirmed that his former bosses were considering legal action to recoup their money, Athletic fans feared that the club might go bust. At that time, Mr Majeed’s arrival must have seemed a miraculous piece of good fortune. Now, however, one wonders whether the club can survive. They have already lost their Chief Executive designate. According to the Croydon Advertiser Martin Eede, who left Fisher FC in the summer to re-join his old club, Dulwich Hamlet, as CEO, had just agreed to move again, to Athletic. He was due to take up the reins last Tuesday (Sept 1st) but told the paper that he has since had second thoughts. "I was very happy to come and join the club” he said “but in view of the information I now have, I have changed that decision.”

Fleet sunk, Hawks grounded… Rocks are on a roll!

Thursday 26th August 2010

As the first week of the new Ryman League season draws to a close, the Rocks sit third in the Division One South table, with maximum points from their two opening games. Two superb strikes from Ben Johnson and Dan Royce gave us a 2-0 opening-day victory over Fleet Town last Saturday and the Rocks followed this up with a tight 2-1 win over Whitehawk on Tuesday, courtesy of two Dean Maynard goals.

The Rocks are in third spot because leaders Godalming have a slightly better goal difference, having started the season with a 2-1 away win at Whitstable Town and followed that up with a 4-1 home demolition of Whyteleafe. Similarly, second-placed Met Police, whom many are tipping as possible champions this season, recorded a 3-1 opening-day home win over Horsham YMCA, then beat strongly-fancied Surrey neighbours Leatherhead 2-0 at Fetcham Grove.

Chatham Town, in fourth spot, are the only other side to have won both their opening games; Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Corinthian Casuals being followed by a 2-0 victory at Merstham.

So, what can we read into these early Rocks results? Are we witnessing the start of a genuine promotion challenge or should we simply be grateful that we’re currently six points above the relegation positions? Time will tell, I guess, but managers Darin Kilpartrick and Jamie Howell must surely be pleased that their slightly unorthodox pre-season strategy has been so handsomely vindicated. At times, the Rocks have played some excellent football and in Fleet and Whitehawk, they have already beaten two of the Division’s stronger-looking sides.

Inevitably, Rocks supporters are now wondering whether we can keep the league run going. We’ll have to wait until next Bank Holiday Monday (August 30th) to find out; that’s when we’re due to meet Burgess Hill Town at Leyland Park in a 3.00pm kick-off. However, that’s assuming neither club is involved in an FA Cup replay. Both clubs are involved in Preliminary Round ties this Saturday (Aug 28th); the Rocks at home to County League, Division One outfit Ringmer while The Hillians travel to Surrey to take on Leatherhead. If either of those ties is drawn, the replay will take precedence over the planned League encounter, so remember to check with www.therocks.co.uk before you travel!

It would be something of an upset if the Rocks were to slip-up at home against Ringmer, though they’ll be taking nothing for granted. The East Sussex side – who beat East Preston 4-1 in the previous round - won their last encounter with Bognor Regis Town when they came from behind to record a 2-1 victory in a Sussex Senior Cup semi-final played at Queen Street, then home to Horsham FC. A win for the Rocks on Saturday would set-up an intriguing First Qualifying Round tie at home to Hastings United. Surprisingly, the U’s are the only side in the Premier Division of the Ryman League to have won both their opening matches. They began the season with a 2-0 home win over Wealdstone on Saturday and followed it up with a 4-2 victory over Maidstone United at The Homelands, erstwhile home of Ashford Town, on Tuesday.

If the Rocks do manage to get past Ringmer, they will meet the U’s on Saturday 11th September. By then, we should have five Ryman League matches under our belts - and will have a slightly better idea of the kind of season we are in for. First up, of course, it’s Burgess Hill, then Sittingbourne at home and Walton & Hersham (not to be confused with Walton Casuals) away. So how have those sides fared in their opening encounters?

Burgess Hill are currently unbeaten and in fifth place, having opened their campaign with a slightly fortunate 2-2 home draw against Walton Casuals (according to the Hillians website), before beating Horsham YMCA 4-1 at Gorings Mead. The YM match saw the debut of loan signing Sacha Opinel, a much-travelled left back who has joined the Hillians from Farnborough on an initial one-month loan. Wanting to know more about him, we checked out the Farnborough and Burgess Hill websites. The former described him as “a hot-headed French defender” and implied that he would not necessarily be returning to Cherrywood Road at the end of his loan period (!) whilst the Hillians site refers to him as an “experienced and fiery left back” whose previous British clubs include Raith Rovers, Plymouth Argyle, Leyton Orient, Crawley Town and Ebbsfleet United. It will be interesting to see how the fiery M. Opinel fares against the likes of Richie Hudson and Dan Royce.

Meanwhile, Sittingbourne have drawn both their matches; 2-2 at home to Dulwich Hamlet and 4-4 away to Eastbourne Town (coming back from 4-2 down in spite of having a man sent off). And Walton Casuals have four points from two games, having followed up that draw at Burgess Hill with a 3-1 home win over Worthing.

Finally, five sides have so far failed to take a point and therefore occupy the wrong end of the season’s first league table. Bottom of the pile, on goal difference, are Horsham YMCA (beaten by Met Police and Burgess Hill), then Ramsgate, who lost away at Walton & Hersham and at home to Chipstead. Third from bottom are Whitstable (beaten by Godalming Town and Dulwich Hamlet); then come Worthing, followed by Corinthian Casuals (beaten by Chatham Town and Fleet Town).

You have to feel a bit sorry for YM. First, they were rocked by the unexpected departure of manager Chris White, to Worthing. And by the time new boss Colin Jenkinson was installed at Gorings Mead, ten first team players had followed White to Worthing. The popular ‘Jenks’ – formerly Youth Development Manager at Crawley Town - has therefore had to work fast to pull a new squad together and reports from their opening league matches suggest that his players are still getting used to one another. By the time they have settled-in, YM are likely to find themselves playing ‘catch-up’. And, as if that was not bad enough, the Gorings Mead clubhouse was burgled last week, with equipment stolen and the place vandalized. It all sounds kinda familiar, doesn’t it? You have to wish them well. Especially when they play Worthing!?!

Mind you, things don’t seem to be going much better for the Rebels, under new boss White. His new-look Worthing side have yet to register a point, after losing 2-1 at home to Leatherhead and 3-1 away to Walton Casuals. It’s still very early days, of course, and things could have changed dramatically by the time of our next round-up… don’t forget to check back after the Bank Holiday!

Quality not quantity at Nyewood Lane …..

Thursday 12th August 2010

With just ten days to go to the big kick-off, it is time to reflect on an unusually quiet pre-season at Nyewood Lane. At the time of writing (touch wood, cross fingers) no buildings have burned down, there has been no mass exodus of players and we have heard no reports of major upheavals ‘behind the scenes’. In fact, the nearest thing to a crisis so far has been a spat about the opening of the Sports Club turnstile! Stability and continuity are the order of the day, it seems. Joint managers Darin Killpartrick and Jamie Howell are thankfully still at the helm - and working with a squad that includes a number of familiar faces. And general manager Jack Pearce happily appears to be back in good health as he approaches his 40th season at the Lane. So what has been happening at the Lane this summer? And what do we make of a pre-season programme comprising just five friendly matches that have yielded two draws and three defeats?

In fact, it isn’t hard to see why Dabba and Jamie have opted for fewer friendlies than usual. Though they have made a number of new signings over the summer, their squad is much more settled than it was at this stage last year. Many of the players they’re working-with were either at the club last season or are former Rocks stalwarts, returning after playing elsewhere. As a result, there’s less need to play friendlies. Sure you need to get everyone match-fit but why risk injuries playing two games a week when your squad is more or less decided? Instead, the two men have opted to spend more time coaching and preparing the squad, playing just one friendly match – Tuesday night’s 3-0 home defeat by Conference South outfit Farnborough – in the three weeks immediately prior to the first league match at Fleet Town.

The results of those five friendlies are unlikely to worry the Rocks management team either, since the quality of the opposition has generally been higher than we can expect in Division 1 South of the Ryman League. As well as a strong Brighton & Hove Albion team, the Rocks have faced three Conference South sides – Bromley, Dartford and Farnborough – along with traditional pre-season opponents Moneyfields. And if results haven’t exactly gone Rocks way, the general consensus among supporters seems to be that our performances have been pretty encouraging.

This ‘quality not quantity’ approach seems to apply to the squad, too. In recent years, due to circumstances beyond the managers’ control, we’ve grown accustomed to large, constantly-changing squads; the Rocks used fifty-six players in all competitions last season. This time round, we’re told, the plan is to work with a ‘core’ squad of around sixteen players, backed-up by a further four or five ‘promising youngsters’ signed on dual registration forms with County League sides. So which of the twenty-seven players who have featured for the Rocks pre-season, can we expect to see turning-out for the Rocks in the forthcoming campaign? Here’s a short guide to men in contention.

Starting at the back, former Portsmouth apprentice and Rocks legend Craig Stoner makes a welcome return in goal, following a spell at County League Littlehampton. He’ll have competition for the keeper’s jersey, though; the highly-rated

Tom Boyle having signed from Wessex League Moneyfields.

There’s a second signing from Moneyfields, too; the evergreen Guy Rutherford returning to Nyewood Lane for his third (or is it his fourth?) spell in the Bognor colours. Now in his early forties, Guy showed that he had lost none of his fitness or class when he returned briefly at the end of last season, to help shore-up an inexperienced Rocks defence during that infamous run-in of six away games in ten days. Guy will probably again be used to provide cover for a defensive unit led once more by captain James Crane . This term, the former Arundel and England Colleges defender will probably be partnered in defence by Matt Whitehead or David Piper . Whitehead is a new recruit; still in his teens and a recent England Schools under-18 international, he was on Brighton’s books for six years before a spell at Lewes. He then spent last season at home town club Worthing, signing for the Rocks during the close-season. By contrast, the experienced Piper needs no introduction; the popular full-back was a regular in the Rocks Conference South side a few seasons ago, having previously played in the Conference for Yeovil and Woking. ‘Pipes’ retired from the game briefly to concentrate on his business interests but later had a spell at Burgess Hill, where Jamie Howell was manager.

Ahead of the full backs, Stuart Axten and Tim Bond should form a strong central pairing. Formerly with Salisbury City, centre-back Bond returns for a second season at the Lane whilst the 21 year-old Axten is a summer signing from Worthing. After an outstanding season in 2009/10, he was widely tipped to join Conference South side Bishops Stortford this term, so his arrival at the Lane is something of a coup for the Rocks. There’s no Mickey Demetriou this term though; he’s off for a second spell at the Glenn Hoddle Academy. Everyone at BRTFC will surely wish him well with that, though we understand that Dabba and Jamie haven’t entirely given-up hope of his returning later in the season. Mickey’ss departure may mean an early opportunity for young centre-back Will Sturgeon , who has recently returned from a spell in the USA and featured in the friendly with Moneyfields.

With the loss of Dan Beck , the Rocks midfield could have a slightly unfamiliar look to it this season. There were unconfirmed rumours earlier in the summer that Becks would sign for Whitehawk and although that hasn’t happened yet (as far as we know) he has not trained with the Rocks or featured in any of our five pre-season games. Former Pagham man Matt Wood is back though. Matt’s performances were one of the highlights of a disappointing season for the Rocks in 2009-10. Sadly, he’ll miss the start of this season through injury; he broke a wrist in the friendly at Moneyfields and will be out for around six weeks. Into the Rocks midfield, then, come three (yes, three) new signings. Formerly with Littlehampton and Wick, Phil Turner plays on the right-side of midfield. In January this year, the Worthing Gazette & Herald nominated him for their ‘County League side of the decade’, praising his pace, his attacking style and his eye for goal. He’s joined by former Bristol Rovers midfielder James Fraser , returning for his second spell at the Lane, after spending last season at Blue Square Premier outfit Eastbourne Borough. The trio of newcomers is completed by Clive Snell , another Eastbourne Borough old boy who played for County League Div Two side Peacehaven last term, where he was highly-regarded as a central midfielder and playmaker. And talking of highly-regarded playmakers… the new boys will, of course, be lining-up alongside the inspirational Micky Birmingham . What can we say about Birmy that hasn’t been said a hundred times before? Formerly with Portsmouth, the midfield maestro was brought to Nyewood Lane by Jack Pearce in 1994 and went on to become a true Bognor legend, acting as player, captain, coach and manager in an illustrious Bognor Regis Town career.

Managers Killpartrick and Howell will want more goals from their midfield players this term, to take some of the pressure off the strikers. Given that the Rocks suffered a second successive relegation last season, it is perhaps stating the obvious to say that they did not score enough goals in 2009-10 but there were spells in most games when they outplayed the opposition but failed to translate their superiority into scoring opportunities. Up front, they were too reliant on Jason Prior and whilst the hard-working ex-Moneyfields striker led the line superbly (who can forget that magnificent hat trick, at the home of champions Dartford?) he often lacked support. That’s what prompted managers Killpartrick and Howell to bring former Portsmouth striker - and Rocks legend - Luke Nightingale back to the Lane, on loan from Havant & Waterlooville. Luke teamed-up beautifully with Jason and scored four goals in two games before a knee injury brought a premature end to his season. How different things might have been had he stayed fit! Ah well.. the good news is that the two front men, with their contrasting but complementary styles, are reunited at the Lane this season – or will be when Luke has recovered from a knee op. and Jason has overcome a groin strain!

Back, too, are skilful wide-man Richie Hudson and the diminutive Charlie Marshall , whose performance against Hastings United at the Pilot Field last April was another highlight of the season. And the Rocks attacking options this season are further bolstered by two new signings. Former Brighton apprentice Dan Royce joins from Lewes. A tricky right winger, Royce is a local lad whom boss Killpartrick expects to make a big impact. The same is true of nineteen year-old front man Dean Maynard , formerly with Newport County and Cheltenham, whom Dabba describes as “young, raw and strong”.

Completing the picture are the four youngsters mentioned earlier, who may be signed on dual registrations and allowed to gain further first team experience in the County League. The four are full back John Martzelli , former Plymouth Argyle trainee and Eastbourne Borough midfielder Dan Smith , Bosham defender Toby Pointing , and former Worthing United (and Sunday Rocks!) man Billy Rayner .

Rebels keeper told to leave the country!

Wednesday 28th July 2010

We start this D1Scussion with the shock news that Worthing are currently without a first choice goalkeeper after Tony Di Bernardo was told that he has to leave the country! Di Bernardo is one of ten players signed from Horsham YMCA by former YM boss Chris White, after he took over the reins at Woodside Road (oops, sorry, the A2B Stadium) earlier in the summer. However, the keeper has now been told that he has to return to his native Canada for four months because his working visa has expired. Manager White is urgently looking for a replacement. According to the club’s website, White is also still hoping to persuade last season’s top scorer Jamie Brotherton to stay at Woodside Road – though the Argus reported a week ago that Brotherton had already become the fifth Worthing player to leave for Whitehawk, where he will join Glen Woodburn, Luke Denton, Alan Mansfield and Karl Akehurst. Anyway, just to prove that it’s a two-way street, Worthing have now signed Hawks striker Ryan McBride.

And talking of Whitehawk… the big-spending East Brighton club had an amazing season last time out, clinching the County League title and making it to the semi-finals of the FA Vase. Within two weeks of the season’s end though, the club was rocked by the resignation of co-manager George Parris; the Board having to deny newspaper stories that the former West Ham and Birmingham City legend had been pushed out. Parris’s departure left joint boss Darren Freeman in sole charge and he has continued to spend heavily in order to strengthen the squad in readiness for the club’s first season in Division One South. Freeman’s tally of summer signings reached double figures recently with the acquisition of former Eastbourne Borough captain Paul Armstrong. The signings of Armstrong and Brotherton must have left Horsham boss John Maggs tearing his hair out; both men were targets for the Hornets earlier in the summer. However, Maggs got his own back, tempting former Brentford and Crawley defender Jay Lovett away from Whitehawk to join him at Gorings Mead for the new Ryman Premier campaign. Lovett previously played for Maggs at Crawley and said he was excited by the prospect of rejoining his old boss. (Wonder if he still felt that way after seeing the Gorings Mead pitch?) Anyway, Whitehawk visit Nyewood Lane for our first home game of the season, on Tuesday 24th August, and in spite of all their new signings, Rocks fans may detect a familiar look to their side. Former Rocks Scott Kirkwood and Darren Budd now line up for Whitehawk – and unconfirmed rumours persist that Dan Beck may be about to join them.

Further afield, there’s confirmation, if any were needed, that Leatherhead will again be a force to be reckoned-with in Division One South this term: the Tanners beat last season’s Premier Division Champions Dartford on their own turf last Tuesday to win the revived Isthmian League Charity Shield. A Princes Park crowd of 483 saw the League Cup holders take the lead through a Kev Terry goal on 21 minutes - and that was enough to win the match, the Tanners hanging-on thanks to a spectacular late save by ‘keeper Chico Ramos, from Dartford sub Danny Crouch. Bognor fans will need no reminding that Leatherhead beat the Rocks on their way to last season’s League Cup triumph, in a match that had to be postponed several times because the infamous Fetcham Grove pitch was under water. The sides could meet again before long – this time in the FA Trophy – if the Rocks can first get past Whyteleafe, at Nyewood Lane. Following our relegation to Div One South, of course, we’ll also be meeting in the League this season. The Rocks are due to visit Leatherhead on Saturday December 18th and will be hoping for better luck – and better weather!

Finally (for now)… it looks as if Maidstone’s ground-share at Ashford really is over; the Stones are talking to former landlords Sittingbourne about a return to Bourne Park. Most Stones fans would prefer a move to nearby Chatham Town but this is thought to be unlikely as the Chatham ground is not up to Premier Division standard. Worse news still for Stones supporters is the news that, because the proposed move back to Sittingbourne comes after the Ryman League finalized and published its fixtures (and Sittingbourne and Maidstone home games coincide) Stones may have to play their ‘Saturday’ home games on Friday or Sunday.

The D1Scussion – Fleet all at sea as Sinton jumps ship?

Friday 23rd July 2010

Rocks first opponents of the new season have had an eventful summer. After failing to clinch a Ryman D1S play-off spot on the final day of last season, the Hampshire outfit were rocked by the departures of chairman Graham Smith and manager Andy Sinton. It was Smith who left first, with former Spurs and England man Sinton – a close friend of the erstwhile Fleet chairman – resigning two weeks later to take over the reins at ambitious Conference North club AFC Telford. Fleet’s committee then moved quickly to offer the managerial vacancy to Sinton’s assistant and former Newport IoW and Burnham boss, Steve Mellor.

Mellor has since been busy appointing a new coaching team and trying to put together a competitive squad for the new season. However, he appears to have had only limited success in persuading the members of last season’s squad to re-sign. Darren Wheeler, Darren Campbell and Dan Read are set to return but Steve Noakes, Ed Smith, James Field and Ty Smith have all moved to D1S rivals Met Police whilst Tom Bird has joined Premier Division Kingstonian and Nathan Smart has signed for Conference South side, Basingstoke Town.

Better news for the Calthorpe Park faithful is that two former Fleet players, Jamie McClurg and Phil Cousins, are set to return to Fleet, who also appear to have benefitted from something of a clear-out at League Two club Aldershot. Several youngsters released by the Shots at the end of last season have been attending pre-season training at Fleet and two - Calum Nimmo and Mike Siemak – have definitely signed for the club. So too have former Aldershot defender Mark Kleboe and midfielder

Lee Collier, who spent last season at Bath City.

No doubt the Fleet squad will continue to take shape over the next four weeks; it is certainly much too early to predict their line-up on August 21st, when their League campaign gets under way with a home match against the Rocks. However, the Fleet website may just give us one clue to what we can expect that day; a notice announces that the planned friendly game at home to Ash United on 31st July has been cancelled “to allow more work to be done on the pitch ahead of the new season.”

You couldn’t make it up…

Thursday 22nd July 2010

Let’s begin this bulletin with what has surely to be the oddest story of a very odd summer; the jailing of Croydon Athletic chairman Dean Fisher. Fisher pretended he had cancer and embezzled £0.5m from his employers, spending just over half of his illicit gains (around £260k) on paying the football club’s bills - and much of the rest on a gastric band operation! Earlier this month, the 36 year-old father of four was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to fraud. On a brighter note, of course, Athletic won Div 1 South and were promoted to the Ryman Premier! However, it remains to be seen whether the club will be able to cope at the higher level without the financial assistance of their chairman and with his former employers trying to reclaim their £260k.

Even events at Worthing can’t quite compete with that. It’s been a pretty tumultuous close season at Woodside Road, nonetheless. Back in June, the local newspaper carried stories saying that the club was about to go out of business (because of loans being called-in) and speculating that a ‘phoenix club’ might apply to join the Sussex County League. However, the club’s owners dismissed these claims, which they said were put about by a consortium interested in taking the club over and hoping to get it ‘on the cheap’. It was, they said, ‘business as usual’ at Woodside Road next season, though economies were necessary and the club’s playing budget would have to be cut. This announcement prompted the resignation of manager Simon Colbran, who was swiftly replaced by last season’s Horsham YMCA manager Chris White – who brought TEN of his first team squad with him!

The Rebels have also signed John Lansdale from neighbours Burgess Hill Town, whilst the Hillians have signed goalkeeper Joel Harding from County League Hassocks, as a replacement for Chris Winterton, who has joined Blue Square South side Lewes.

Meanwhile, at least six of last season’s Worthing side have left, with Stuart Axten and Matt Whitehead joining The Rocks and four others going to Whitehawk. The Hawks have also signed ex-Albion striker (and Rocks loanee) Joe Gatting. The son of Steve and nephew of Mike, Gatting is also a professional cricketer with Sussex and will join Hawks when the cricket season ends.

It’s been an even more traumatic close season at Ashford Town who will not now be lining-up against the Rocks this season. A long-running and bitter dispute between the Chairman and one of his Directors has not been resolved in time for Ashford to take their place in the Ryman League and the club has therefore resigned it’s place. They hope to transfer to the Kent League and the Ryman League says it will not object to this “providing all monies due to the League are paid”.

The ongoing power struggle behind the scenes at The Homelands is potentially bad news for Ryman Premier outfit Maidstone, too, with the Ashford Town Chairman claiming that they have breached the terms of their groundshare deal and will not be allowed to continue playing there this season. Stones deny any wrongdoing and insist that their deal with Ashford remains in place. They have also denied rumours on the club’s message board that the Stones are in discussions with Sittingbourne of Div 1 North.

Meanwhile, league and FA officials met recently with representatives of Grays Athletic and East Thurrock United to try to resolve the (unspecified) problems that appeared to leave Grays without a league to play in or a ground to play on. Bottom of the Blue Square Premier last season, Grays applied for a voluntary double demotion to the Ryman Premier but were denied entry. They have now been placed in Division 1 North - and will, after all, ground-share with East Thurrock.

This last-minute decision looked as if it would result in Division One North kicking-off with 23 teams but Ashford’s resignation means that Chatham Town – who a few months ago were transferred from D1S to D1N against their wishes – have been reinstated in D1S.

Meanwhile, it seems to have been an interesting close season at Dulwich Hamlet, with former manager and chairman Martin Eede returning to the Division One South club as chief executive on a voluntary basis. Eede stood down as chairman of Hamlet’s tenants Fisher FC last month, having been instrumental in setting up the Kent League club from the ashes of Fisher Athletic. Jack Payne continues as Dulwich chairman and Gavin Rose as manager.

Rose appears to have had a busy but frustrating close season. Goalkeeper Phil Wilson announced his retirement due to work commitments and was quickly replaced by Rob O'Hara, who was first choice keeper at Whyteleafe last term. Rose has also signed much-travelled midfielder Fiston Manuella and former Hamlet favourite Francis Duku, who was at Kingstonian last year. Former Hamlet youth player Ellis Green (who was also with Rose at Beckenham Town) has also joined, from Eastleigh. So far so good, but Rose’s plans have been thrown into turmoil by the loss of no fewer than four star players. First team regulars Nic Plumain and Frankie Sawyer unexpectedly failed to report for pre-season training, as did Rose’s two biggest signings of the summer; striker Omari Coleman (who was to have joined Hamlet for a third spell spell) and midfielder Ryan Martin.

More D1S and Sussex news in our next bulletin!

Close season carnage…

18th July 2010

You can’t help wondering sometimes why non-league clubs (and their supporters) go to all the trouble and expense of playing or watching some fifty football matches a year when, all too often, results on the pitch are then rendered meaningless by the army of lawyers, accountants and football officials who emerge from the wings, rule books and bank statements in hand, as the players quit the field. Of course, non-league clubs are sometimes the authors of their own misfortunes – not that that is any consolation to their supporters - but there are others who, having performed well on the pitch, are compulsorily relegated for reasons that, frankly, beggar belief. Anyway, rant over… ‘twas ever thus. Here are a few highlights from this year’s catalogue of close-season carnage

Chester City were a Football League club just two years ago; now the reformed Chester FC will kick-off the new season in the lower reaches of the Evostik (Northern Premier) League.

Meanwhile, Salisbury City, who finished in tenth place in the Blue Square Premier last season, have nonetheless been relegated for a technical breach of financial regulations (which have since been amended). As a result, Forest Green Rovers escape the drop.

Over in South Wales, the winding-up of Merthyr Tydfil FC created a temporary vacancy in the Premier Division of the Zamaretto (Southern) League. Filling the vacancy appears to have necessitated a huge amount of ‘to-ing and fro-ing’ among clubs in the Zamaretto and Ryman leagues (see below). Meanwhile, the reformed Merthyr Town FC find themselves banished to Step Six of the pyramid. Their new season gets under way on August 7th with an away trip to Shepton Mallet in Division One of the Toolstation Western League!

A little closer to home, Grays Athletic currently have no ground to play on and no league to play in. After selling their ground for redevelopment – and having finished in the relegation places in the Blue Square Premier - Athletic sought a voluntary ‘double demotion’ to the Ryman Premier – their intention being to ground-share with East Thurrock United. However, the Ryman League turned them down, citing unspecified problems with their application, and it looked as if Grays might therefore have to drop all the way down to Step Five and join the Essex Senior League. This threat looked to have been averted when the FA then upheld the club’s appeal against their rejection by the Ryman League, prompting the League to announce that they would run a 23-club competition this year, in order to accommodate Grays without penalizing anyone else. Since then, however, both the League and the FA have issued further statements, saying that Grays “do not meet the entry criteria for the Ryman League” and cannot therefore play at Step Three. A meeting of all parties is being arranged to try to reach a solution.

Elsewhere, following the demise of Kings Lynn - who were relegated from Blue Square North in 2009 because of ground- grading problems, then lost so much money that they were wound-up a year later in the High Court – the new Kings Lynn Town will kick-off 2010-11 in the Turnstile (United Counties) League.

Meanwhile, partly as a result of all these other changes, our old friends at Weston Super Mare appear somehow to have escaped relegation from Blue Square South for the third (or fourth?) season in a row!

How – if at all - does all this close season mayhem impact on Bognor? Well, for a start it affects the make-up of our Division. Merthyr Town’s move, for instance, was apparently partly responsible for the Ryman League’s decision to send Chatham Town back to Division 1 North, and to reprieve Eastbourne Town from relegation! (Town finished bottom of Div 1 South last term and were preparing for a return to the Sussex County League.)

There have been other dramas in Division One South, too, involving (among others) Ashford Town, Horsham YMCA and Worthing. More on those in our next bulletin…

Aiming high, but feet firmly on the ground?.

17th July 2010

Early days yet, but the 2010-11 squad is taking shape and looks to have more than enough class and experience to hold its own in Division One South. So can the Rocks go one better this term and win promotion back to the Ryman Premier? Actually, as our old friends over at Worthing have discovered (and as Jamie H knows from his Burgess Hill days), this is a very tough Division to play in - and a harder one to win. If Rebels fans are to be believed, we are about to enter a world of physical, route one football, played at ninety miles an hour, over bumpy pitches unsullied by any prolonged contact with the ball. (Yes, you?re right. It does sound just like Aveley.)

In truth, there probably isn?t that big a difference between the two divisions. Anyway, after back-to-back relegations, the Rocks first priority this term ought surely to be to stop the slide down the leagues and consolidate at this level. Promotion? Well, a late run for the play-offs would be a nice bonus if it happens but, after witnessing those two relegations, most Rocks supporters would probably be glad to settle for the safety of mid-table ? and maybe a bit of Cup run? So too, it seems, would the management team. Dabba and Jamie have been quick to play down any talk of promotion in the press or among the Nyewood Lane faithful. The fact is that, although the club?s financial position is now reasonably stable, the two men will again be working with one of the smaller playing budgets in the Division, so consolidation at this level will constitute a real achievement.

Actually, whether we?re promotion contenders or not, there?s quite a lot to look-forward to this term, including a string of Sussex derbies against the likes of Burgess Hill Town, Eastbourne Town, Horsham YMCA, newly-promoted Whitehawk and the ? old enemy? Worthing. Our lowly league status also means an earlier start to our FA Cup and FA Trophy campaigns - and recently-announced home draws in both competitions should hopefully give us an opportunity to get a little much-needed prize money into the coffers. In the Cup we start with a home tie against East Preston or Ringmer, with the winners at home to Ryman Premier outfit Hastings United (so one or two more Sussex derbies in prospect). By contrast, the first two rounds of the Trophy pit us against sides from Surrey; victory over Div 1 South rivals Whyteleafe at Nyewood Lane would give us another home tie, this time against newly-promoted Croydon Athletic, last season?s champions of Division 1 South.

All in all, then, it promises to be a fascinating season and whilst promotion may be too much to ask, there?s nothing wrong with aiming high ? just so long as you keep your feet (and, occasionally, the ball) on the ground.

Once again, a new season beckons. What will it hold for the Rocks?

16th July 2010

Aprils incredibly punishing run-in (six away games in ten days!) ultimately proved too much for an improving young side who at one point were climbing the table and looking as if they might just pull-off the great escape. However, it wasn?t to be; the Rocks eventually finished bottom of the Ryman Premier and so suffered a second successive relegation. As a result, we find ourselves back in the lower reaches of the Ryman League for the 2010-11 campaign, which kicks off on August 21st.

On a positive note, it looks as if, for the first time in three seasons, the Rocks will start the new season with a reasonably settled squad. Inspirational club captain Mickey Birmingham is back, as are team captain James Crane, Richie Hudson, Charlie Marshall, Jason Prior and Matt Wood. Tim Bond and Mickey Demetriou could also return, though all three have other possible irons in the fire. And we may also welcome back four (yes, four!) former Nyewood Lane favourites from our Conference South days.

Goalkeeper Craig Stoner, forward Luke Nightingale and defender David Piper are definitely back and the word is that they could be joined by Ben Johnson. New signings are anticipated too, with Stuart Axten and Matt Whitehead (ex Worthing), Callum Saunders and Clive Snell (ex Peacehaven) Phil Turner (ex Wick) and centre-back Will Sturgeon (recently returned from the States) all training with Rocks and expected to feature at some point in the opening friendly, against Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday 16th July.

D1Scussion

6pm Thursday 15th July 2010

Welcome to the D1Scussion -- our new feature for the 2010-11 season. Here at www.therocks.co.uk, we’ve always tried to bring you all the latest Rocks news.

Now, we’ll be trying to keep you up to date with news from all the other Div 1S clubs too.

(You’ll find a brief guide to those 21 clubs - and directions to their grounds - here. )

As the clock ticks down to the big kick-off on August 21st, we’ll be looking ahead to the new season and asking how a turbulent summer (even by non-league standards) has affected clubs in Division One South.

We’ll also be taking an early look at the emerging Rocks squad for next season and checking on the signings being made by some of our competitors.

We’ll bring you the latest info on the friendly matches being lined-up and looking further ahead to the Rocks’ opening League, FA Cup and FA Trophy encounters.

So get the D1Scussion habit and keep checking back for the latest news on all things BRTFC…. “

You can look at this page any time by using the logo below on the front page.

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