Many thanks to Simon Rudkins for asking the questions and to Nigel for taking the time out to answer them.
Q. What, in your opinion, were the main reasons why United missed out on a play-off spot last season?
A. Ultimately, it was not reaching our target of seventy-five points. We were on a good run, but the turning point was the Kingstonian game away and the referee's decisions, which cost us a penalty, Razor being sent off, and him subsequently missing three games, as well as the defeat that night. Razor is important to us and it is no coincidence that we did not win a game without him last season. From the last fifteen points available, we gained just four, when we needed eleven. That was disappointing. Over the season though, before and after I took over, I would say that disciplinary problems were a huge factor in our inconsistent form. However, I can see positives from some of the changes we had to make, Nima and Tim doing well in midfield. At the start of the season, I personally think that there were too many changes in our playing staff. There were too many loan signings too, and that was not good for the morale of the rest of the squad. At the start of next season, I will know my strongest XI and that is important. In an ideal world, I would not want to use more than thirty-two players over the course of a season. And finally, well, I won't comment on the officials.
Q. How hard was it to take over from Neville Southall?
A. When Pat Brown and I took on the job after Neville, it was like a fire-fighting exercise. I think, initially, the players that we had at that time just saw us the most senior players helping out. After a few games though, the players realised that we were making sure they prepared properly for games, the players knew we had researched the opposition, and they saw that, before games, our team talks were structured and prepared. I am sure we earned their respect and I think that began to show during the Walton game at home. Yes, we lost that game, but that was really when the fire-fighting stopped and we started to build our own strategy and game plan.
Q. There appeared to be an upturn in fortunes and morale when Ryan Light got involved.
A. Ryan has played a big role since he joined Pat and I, helping out with coaching and taking on the role of Reserve Team Manager. We have a good working relationship and that helps of course. What else helped us at that time though, was Russell Eldridge joining the squad. It also helped that we were beginning to field a more consistent line-up, that helps the players when they are playing in a side week in week out. We also changed training nights, which is what the players wanted.
Q. And to next season, do you know yet which players will be here from last season?
A. Well, I am sure that 90% of the players from last season will be here.
Q. Can you be more specific? There have been rumours about certain players, Chris May for example, and also, many supporters would like to see Marc Whiteman at the Club next season. Also, how is Ade Olorunda’s injury?
A. I can't be more specific on who's staying and who's going at the moment, but can assure you that the majority that finished last year will be here next. Chris May has not said anything to me about a desire to leave. I have heard the rumours and I would persuade him to stay with us, but if players want to leave, whether it be for financial reasons, to play at a higher level, or other circumstances, then it is best that they go. What I want here are players who want to, above all, play for Hastings United and who have a hunger for success. With regards to Marc, he said that he enjoyed his short spell at the Club and enjoyed training with us too. To be honest, I would not want him on a dual registration basis next season. I either want him to be a Hastings United player or not. I would like him involved of course, and have left messages for him, but I believe that he has been away. I really think he could be the missing piece of the team for us. Ade has a stress fracture and has seen a Consultant, but is waiting to see another about his injury to discuss the things he can do to prevent further damage and aid his recovery. He is naturally fit and I don't see a need for him to be involved too much, if at all, in pre-season, so I am confident that he will be ready come 19 August.
Q. You hear all the time of other Clubs signing this player and that player. Why is that not the case here at The Pilot Field?
A. Well, I guess you are referring to other Clubs that can afford to put players on contract. We are not really in a position to here, and we are not really in a league where that happens much, maybe with the exception of Dover. But I am happy with the squad we have and the nucleus of a good side is here already. The most important thing for me is getting together a group of players that enjoy their football, that want to play for Hastings United, and, as I said before, are hungry for success. I do not want players here just for the money that are not enjoying it. I think the players showed how much they enjoyed it at the end of last season, the Kingstonian game for example. However, whilst we are not in a position to sign anyone on contract, that does not stop us speaking to players that are available, and that is what we are doing, although, of course, it would not be in their interests or ours to divulge any names now.
Q. What areas of the squad do you think need strengthening?
A. Well, to achieve success and win the league, we have to firstly score more goals. Ade, I believe, is a twenty goals plus per season striker. Only injury and suspension meant that he could not achieve that last season, but I am confident that he can be a regular scorer, if he gets a good run in the side. If we can add another proven goalscorer, then we will have a very good chance of success. Last season, the squad we have here proved that they can beat the better teams, Dover twice, Tooting, Croydon and Met Police for example. So, the players we have are good enough, some were playing their first season at this level last season and can only have improved from that experience. But, if we can improve in certain areas, we will, although there is no point getting players in, if they are no better than the good young players we have already. Obviously though, we will be looking at players in pre-season. We also have to look at some of the current squad and make sure that the players are in their strongest positions, or can we adapt our style and play different formations and get more out of what we have. And another plus point for next season, is a return to Saturday Reserve football.
Q. And what are the main things the team need to work on that cost us points last season?
A. I think that the main thing, defensively, is working on defending set pieces. That is something that did cost us goals over the course of the season and we have to do better. Everyone must take up their responsibilities at set pieces, but we can do more in training to tighten up at the back. One of the reasons why I think we were sometimes found out with set pieces was the number of players we used. I think that, with a more settled side, players will be more switched on and know their jobs. I also think we need to be more creative in attack at set pieces, so we will be working on that too. If we can reproduce the type of football we played against Kingstonian in that final game, then we will entertain and we will get points. That was a great advert for non-league football. It was an entertaining game all round and that will be our benchmark for next season.
Q. What have you learnt from your start in football management?
A. There is a lot of work behind the scenes, it is not just about Saturdays and training, it is something that is with you all the time. I have also learnt that it costs a lot on my mobile phone! I have certainly learnt not to approach referees at half time and full time as well. It is just counter-productive, but you learn from your mistakes and that is something I have done. You also have to learn quickly. Overcoming adversity has been another challenge, getting last minute calls from players, saying that they are not available, and having to call on others, or change tactics, or formations. No matter how well plans are laid out, you have to be ready to change them.
Q. And what have you learnt about Hastings United Football Club in your year at The Pilot Field?
A. Well, I have said it before, and many people say it, but this Club is a sleeping giant and we should be playing at a higher level. There is a loyal following, but the negativity of some is frustrating. Every club has that though, but overall, I would say that the foundations are in place, on and off the pitch, to get to that higher level. What we really need, is for everyone to pull in the same direction, the players have to, and so should the supporters and everyone associated with the Club. The players want success, supporters have to want it too, and we all have to do our bit. Back to the support, it is great to be at a well supported club, and the long standing supporters are fantastic. But, we have to attract more people, people that are new to the town, people that have lived here all their lives, people that support other teams but live here. We have to appeal to them all, if not as their first Club, then as their second. Some of this must be through off the pitch activities. I remember, when I was at Romsey, a small village, the football club’s social club was always packed. It was the centre of the community and that will not happen here, but there needs to be more going on off the pitch to appeal to more people.
Q. The Club has just announced a promotion to find next year’s main sponsor. What are your thoughts?
A. It is a great idea. I was really surprised with the sponsorship amounts the Club received in the last couple of seasons, especially for this level. Hopefully, this new idea will be a success. I am sure it will be.
Q. And finally, having seen the line-up for Ryman League Division One South, which teams do you think will be up there come the end of next season?
A. Well, us of course! The others I'd go for would be Dover, Maidstone, Dulwich and Kingstonian. It will definitely help us not having long trips to Newport, Bashley and Lymington. There are a lot of Kent sides and they will have a lot of derbies, which will make the league interesting and could help us. Not long now until the real work begins again, training starts on 8 July at Helenswood School.
Hastings United Football Club has announced an innovative new format for finding a main sponsor for the 2006-07 season.
Interested parties, be they companies, associations, or individuals, are invited to purchase tickets that will enter them into a draw, from which the new sponsor will be selected. The cost of each ticket will be only £100 plus VAT.
The innovation is that ALL ticket holders will receive a guaranteed benefit in the form of advertising or sponsorship via one of the various packages available from the Club, ranging from the matchday corporate package (worth £30), to ballboys / ballgirls sponsorship (worth £125).
So, in short, this is how it works and yes, it really is this simple!
1. Buy one or more tickets for £100 plus VAT per ticket. There is no limit on how many tickets any company or individual can buy.
2. The draw will take place on 29 July 2006, during the friendly fixture against Beckenham Town.
3. The holder of the first ticket drawn will be the Club's new main sponsor for the 2006/07 season.
4. The draw will continue, with every entrant guaranteed a prize from the following list. There will be an equal number of each benefit included in the promotion and they will be drawn at random.
SEASON TICKETS (Value £118)
BALLBOYS / BALLGIRLS SPONSORSHIP (Value £125)
MATCHDAY BALL SPONSORSHIP (Value £40)
MATCHDAY CORPORATE PACKAGE (Value £30)
Further prizes will be allocated if there are more than seventy entrants.
For further details, please call Dave Walters on 07970 165102.
In addition, the Club has also relaunched its corporate and sponsorship packages, and announced an increase in admission prices for the coming season. Full details are available via the Club Info and Sponsorship pages.
The Club is currently undertaking various projects at The Pilot Field, both for supporters' comfort, and to meet health and safety requirements related to ground grading issues. There have been many offers of help, either financially, or through various people giving up their time to help out with the tasks at hand, and the Club is extremely grateful for everyone's support. The following is a summary of some of the work that is going on.
Steps from terraces to track
The Club has received an offer to build concrete, emergency exit steps on the track surrounding the terraces. These steps will be built at the emergency exit gates that form part of the perimeter railings around the ground. At the same time, some unfinished concreting in front of the Cole Warren Stand will be completed and it is also hoped to concrete the area in front of the groundsmans' shed.
The pitch
Remedial work on the pitch is underway and the soft sandy areas have been removed and renovated. The pitch has been seeded and fertiliser and top dressing was due to be applied this week. Then, let it rain!
Stand tea bar
Following a meeting between Christine Russo and Bryan Warren two weeks ago, the Club is waiting to hear when the work that has already taken place in the tea bar will be put right. A wall that was taken down needs to be replaced and the extractor fans that were fitted do not allow for urns to be filled and emptied. Until these two issues are resolved, the remainder of the work cannot be undertaken. It should be pointed out that the Club itself is responsible for the health, hygiene and safety of operating this tea bar. Therefore, the Club has to be aware of what further work will be carried out to ensure that it fulfils its responsibilities regarding the relevant standards for catering facilities.
Main tea bar
Some flaking paintwork will be rubbed down and the ceiling will be repainted in June. The Club is very grateful to Andy in the tea bar for agreeing to carry out this remedial work personally.
Gents' external toilets
Work will begin next week, removing the old urinals in the toilets near the entrance to the ground. The Club did receive a quote for £750 plus VAT for two new stainless steel urinals and, following an appeal, have had one supporter that has agreed to fund one of these units. This has been ordered and the Club is extremely grateful to Trade Counters in Old London Road for providing a competitive quote. As soon as the new urinal is delivered, it will be fitted, and thanks again to Andy from the tea bar for donating his plumbing expertise. If the Club is able to fund a second unit, or if there is another supporter that would be willing to assist with the funding, please let the Club know. In addition to the new urinal, work will also be undertaken to address the flaking paint and to erect a more substantial privacy barrier.
The Club is always grateful to hear from anyone that is happy to help out in any way, be that in giving up their spare time, or in donating funds of any amount. If you have some free time this summer, during the day, or in the evenings, then please contact Simon Rudkins by email, simonrudkins@hotmail.com, or call him on 01424 719146, and he will make sure that your details are passed onto Paul Greenaway, United’s stadium manager. Simon would also be pleased to hear from anyone who may be willing to act as a matchday steward for First Team and Reserve Team games next season.
Finally for this news round-up, United Youth were lucky enough to be selected to run out with one of the squads at this evening's opening encounter in the non-league Four Nations Tournament, between England and the Republic of Ireland at Eastbourne Borough's Priory Lane ground. The Club was proudly represented by the Beckett triplets from the Under 8s, accompanied by their elder sister from the Under 11 Girls, Ben Haydon from the Under 8 Colts, and from the Under 10s, the Russo twins, Harry and Christina, James Bisson, John Clevett, Sam Featherstone and Ryan Jinks.
The kids were due to take part in a demonstration match during the evening and were cheered on by United's First Team management duo of Nigel Kane and Ryan Light, along with several officers from the Club and the Youth section. The children will have been sporting their new rain jackets, which have been kindly donated to them by a sponsor as a memento of the occasion. They were also to present a Club pennant to the captain of the side that they ran out with, and another to their opponents in the demonstration match.
For the record, in the main event of the evening, England beat Ireland 2-0 with a couple of late goals, and former Hastings keeper Shwan Jalal, now with Conference side Woking, played the full ninety minutes in goal for the home side.
United Chairman Dave Walters has issued the following statement, after deciding to turn down a further offer from the consortium of United supporters, who have been looking to purchase his majority shareholding in the Club. The statement was issued on Sunday 14 May, so apologies for its belated appearance on the site.
"The revised offer to buy my majority shareholding has been rejected for the simple reason that it is not for sale. I have indicated that, under certain circumstances, I would be prepared to sell some shares, but at no point have I suggested that I am prepared to give up being the majority shareholder. I hope that is clear enough to everyone and will bring an end to any further speculation.
Plans are already underway for next season, with Nigel Kane continuing to be in charge of First Team affairs, assisted by Ryan Light. We expect the majority of the squad to re-sign for the Club and are looking to strengthen the squad where possible. We have applied to join the Sussex County Reserve League, which will mean a return to Saturday football for the Reserves, and this side will be managed by Paul Greenaway. Paul has successfully managed one of our Under 18 sides this past season, winning their League Cup competition and coming runners up in the League to our other Under 18 team, managed by Dean Jinks. We are very proud of their achievements and congratulate all involved for their success.
Next season’s Under 18 side will be managed by Andy Thompson, who hopes to see his side compete in the County Youth League. They have also entered the FA Youth Cup. With other youth sides joining us for next season, we feel our future is in good hands and feel confident that some of our current Youth Team players will go on to become First Team regulars very soon.
It is our hope that everyone with the Club’s best interests at heart will pull together and help to propel us to bigger and better things in the not too distant future."
As was mentioned above, Paul Greenaway's Under 18 Colts side recently picked up some silverware after winning the Crowborough & District League Cup final, with a 2-1 win over Forest Row in a match played at Ringmer Football Club. The United goalscorers were Scott Greenaway and Adam Thompsett and the man of the match award went to United's Wes Irving.
Many congratulations to Paul and his squad, which featured Louis Jensen, Jake Stiles, Joe Perkins, Jamie Sidders, Andy Shearer, Ricki Baldwin, Wes Irving, Dean Boyd, Glen Woodhurst, Alan Foster, Scott Greenaway, Rob Usherwood and Adam Thompsett.
The F.A.’s Leagues Committee this morning agreed the make-up of the National League pyramid at steps one to four for the 2006/2007 season, this following recommendations made to the Committee by the Alliance yesterday. The structure next season will be 1 - 2 - 3 - 5, with both the Isthmian and Southern Leagues operating with two divisions at step four and the Northern Premier just the one.
The relegation of only three clubs from step four was confirmed, including that of cash-strapped Banstead Athletic, who have resigned from the Isthmian League and been elected to the Combined Counties League. Corinthian-Casuals and Newport IoW, who finished in the relegation places in Ryman League Division One, both won a reprieve to retain their level four status.
United will remain in the Isthmian League and will play in the newly formed Division One South, where they will be joined by three of their old Kent based Southern League rivals in Chatham Town, Dartford and Sittingbourne. Sussex County League champions Horsham YMCA join the set-up after winning promotion last season and they are accompanied by Kent League champions Maidstone United and Combined Counties League champions Godalming Town. Making way for the newcomers are Bashley, Lymington & New Milton and Newport IoW, who have all switched to the Southern League Division One South & West.
The complete twenty-two team line-up will be Ashford Town, Burgess Hill Town, Chatham Town, Corithian-Casuals, Cray Wanderers, Croydon Athletic, Dartford, Dover Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet, Fleet Town, Godalming Town, Hastings United, Horsham YMCA, Kingstonian, Leatherhead, Maidstone United, Metropolitan Police, Molesey, Sittingbourne, Tooting & Mitcham United, Walton Casuals, Whyteleafe.
Saturday's Ryman League play-off final will be an all-Kent affair, the two pre-season favourites for automatic promotion, Tonbridge Angels and Dover Athletic, due to meet at Longmead, after both won through their semi final ties today. Craig Wilkins was on target for Dover in their 1-0 win against Metropolitan Police at Imber Court, while Tonbridge overcame the first half sending off of striker Ray Powell to beat Tooting & Mitcham United 2-0, thanks to goals from Jon Main and Nicky Barnes, the decisive second coming after the visitors had also had a player dismissed.
At Priory Lane, Conference South side Lewes proved too strong for Horsham, winning 3-1 after extra time to lift the Sussex Senior Cup. Lewes had a man sent off for a professional foul barely a quarter of the way through the contest and Carl Rook then gave Horsham a half time lead, but Lewes equalised with a second half penalty, before clinching the win with a goal in each period of extra time.
Ahead of this afternoon's final league game of the 2005/06 campaign, the Supporters' Club handed out its traditional end of season awards and recognised the efforts of one of United's true unsung heroes, when Jimmy Elford was named player of the year, having polled over 55% of the votes cast. Of the current, active playing squad, only Duncan McArthur has made more appearances in a United shirt than Jimmy, who has occupied more than his fair share of different on-field positions for the Club throughout his career, but has settled very nicely into much more than just an emergency left back this season, essentially making the position his own with a string of reliable performances to the point where it is hard to envisage a starting eleven with his name on the team sheet. Runner-up to Jimmy was last season's unanimous victor, skipper Sean Ray, with striker Ade Olorunda in third place.
The goal of the season awards were also presented today, with the overwhelming winner of the home goal trophy being Russell Eldridge for his magnificent effort against Whyteleafe at the end of February, although he may feel obliged to share the award with Duncan McArthur, who surely deserves the assist of the season prize for the pass that led to Russell's superb finish. A discretionary award was also made to Sam Adams for the away goal of the season, scored against Worthing in a Sussex Senior Cup tie in December, a strike worthy of a far better result than United achieved on the night.
Back on the pitch, the final set of Division One matches were played out this afternoon, with Ramsgate being formally crowned league champions, despite a single goal defeat at Imber Court. Horsham required a massive and completely unrealistic goal difference swing to affect the final outcome, and although they put seven past Bashley, they needed double that number as it turned out. Tonbridge claimed third place and home advantage in the play-offs, as a below strength line-up managed a draw at bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals, while Metropolitan Police's win was enough to give them fourth place, setting up a home tie with fifth placed Dover. As Kingstonian stumbled at the Pilot Field, Tooting & Mitcham's win on the Isle of Wight saw them steal sixth place and a trip to Longmead, whilst three consecutive 1-1 draws to finish the season left Croydon down in eighth. Final day wins for Leatherhead and Cray saw them leapfrog United into the top half of the table, leaving United right in the middle in twelfth place, thirty-three of United's sixty-seven point haul having been taken from the sides that finished above them and thirty-four from those below them, a statistic that nicely sums up a curiously frustrating season.
Today's Division One results in full. Ashford Town 1-3 Molesey, Corinthian-Casuals 1-1 Tonbridge Angels, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Banstead Athletic, Croydon Athletic 1-1 Fleet Town, Dover Athletic 4-1 Whyteleafe, Hastings United 3-3 Kingstonian, Horsham 7-1 Bashley, Lymington & New Milton 3-0 Burgess Hill Town, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Ramsgate, Newport IoW 1-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Walton Casuals 0-3 Leatherhead.
The two play-off semi finals will both take place on Bank Holiday Monday, with the final to be hosted by the highest placed of the two participants next Saturday. Monday also sees the final of the Sussex Senior Cup between Horsham and Lewes, the game being staged at Eastbourne Borough F.C. The results will be posted on this page as soon as they become known.
And so ends another season, with the next one due to commence on 19 August. There will of course be the usual glut of pre-season friendly fixtures in the build-up to the big kick off, including one against Brighton & Hove Albion, and details will be announced as they become available. The players will reconvene for pre-season training in late June or early July and I will endeavour to bring details of new and re-signings as soon as possible. In the meantime, my full review of the 2005/06 season should be added to the site by the middle of May and the lively debate will continue on Paul Golding's new Fansite Forum (see the Links pages if you have not found it yet). Don't forget to support United during the summer by visiting the Clubhouse for those England World Cup games and, most important of all, just have a good time!
Two play-off places are all that remain up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the regular season, after several issues were decided, or effectively at least, after Saturday's results went largely as expected for a change. The biggest surprise of the day was arguably at the Southwood Stadium, where champions elect Ramsgate were held to a goalless draw by Ashford, but the point means that only a seven goal defeat at Metropolitan Police this weekend, coupled with a seven goal win for Horsham at home to Bashley, will deny the Rams a second successive league title. The Hornets come from behind win at Molesey on Saturday, with two goals from Carl Rook, and that won them promotion to the Premier Division, a year after they missed out in the play-off final at home to Bromley.
In this year's play-off race, Metropolitan Police and Tonbridge both booked their places with wins at Dulwich and at home to United respectively. The Angels will be favourites to finish third now, with an extra game to play at home to Molesey tomorrow, before they visit bottom club Corinthian-Casuals on Saturday. Wins for Dover and Kingstonian on the final day will see them complete the line-up, although Tooting & Mitcham and Croydon Athletic will both be waiting to pounce on any slip-ups. United must beat the K's at the Pilot Field next week to be certain of finishing tenth, otherwise they could be surpassed by Leatherhead and Cray. At the bottom, Newport finally lost their fight against relegation as they were beaten at Banstead, and only a glitch in the F.A.'s latest restructuring proposals will save them from a drop to level five now, although they have announced an intention to return to the Wessex League no matter what, while Banstead also appear set to drop out of the Ryman League in favour of a switch to the Combined Counties League, which might yet earn Corinthian-Casuals an unlikely reprieve.
These were all of Saturday's results. Banstead Athletic 3-0 Newport IoW, Bashley 3-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Burgess Hill Town 1-1 Croydon Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet 1-2 Metropolitan Police, Fleet Town 1-2 Dover Athletic, Kingstonian 5-0 Lymington & New Milton, Leatherhead 3-0 Cray Wanderers, Molesey 1-3 Horsham, Ramsgate 0-0 Ashford Town, Tonbridge Angels 1-0 Hastings United, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-0 Walton Casuals. And on Tuesday, Tonbridge Angels 2-0 Molesey.
The penultimate game of United's 2005/06 Ryman League Division One campaign takes Nigel Kane's squad thirty miles up the A21 tomorrow afternoon to tackle promotion chasing Tonbridge Angels. United's own play-off aspirations were virtually ended by Easter Monday's draw at Ashford Town, but the Angels still harbour slight hopes of snatching an automatic promotion place and both sides know that nothing less than a victory will suffice towards their respective ambitions.
As of Friday afternoon, Nigel was still unsure as to the availability of striker Marc Whiteman, whose Conference South employer, Maidenhead United, all but mathematically lost their level two status last week, but fellow forward Ade Olorunda is unlikely to be asked to put himself through any more agony this season, allowing his shin splints injury an extra week of rest before the summer break. Tim Olorunda is also doubtful for tomorrow's game and Sean Ray completes his three match suspension, but Nigel does hope to have Russell Eldridge, Nima Cham and Rhys Whyborne back to varying degrees of fitness, and Reserve goalkeeper Sam Harris-Green will also link up with the squad once again.
United have named the following, provisional, seventeen man squad for the visit to Longmead. Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Matt Piper, Danny Spice, Ben White, Marc Whiteman, Rhys Whyborne and Daniel Williams.
Congratulations go out tonight to Ramsgate, as last season's Kent League champions followed in the footsteps of AFC Wimbledon by winning back to back promotions and moving up to level three of the non-league pyramid at the first attempt. This afternoon's victory at home to Dover, witnessed by a season high crowd of 1,121 and in which they twice came from behind, gave them an unassailable advantage over all other sides bar second placed Horsham, who now trail the Rams by five points after conceding a last gasp equaliser at home to Burgess Hill. None of the four sides in the play-off positions managed a win, with Metropolitan Police at least having the forgiveable excuse of not being in action. Tonbridge and Dover both lost, while Croydon could only draw at home to Whyteleafe, allowing Kingstonian to edge closer again with a big win at home to Walton. Tooting & Mitcham's third straight defeat still has them only two points outside the top six, with Bashley a further two points behind, edging ahead of United this afternoon. At the bottom, Newport's shock win at Fleet keeps the relegation battle alive, but the Islanders still need to win their final two games and hope that Ashford or Banstead lose each of theirs, in order to avoid finishing in that second bottom position.
Here are all of the Bank Holiday Monday scores. Ashford Town 2-2 Hastings United, Banstead Athletic 1-2 Leatherhead, Corinthian-Casuals 2-0 Molesey, Cray Wanderers 2-0 Tonbridge Angels, Croydon Athletic 1-1 Whyteleafe, Dulwich Hamlet 2-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Fleet Town 1-2 Newport IoW, Horsham 3-3 Burgess Hill Town, Kingstonian 4-0 Walton Casuals, Lymington & New Milton 0-1 Bashley, Ramsgate 3-2 Dover Athletic.
Ramsgate - Ashford Town (H), Metropolitan Police (A).
Horsham - Molesey (A), Bashley (H).
Metropolitan Police - Dulwich Hamlet (A), Ramsgate (H).
Tonbridge Angels - Hastings United (H), Molesey (H), Corinthian-Casuals (A).
Dover Athletic - Fleet Town (A), Whyteleafe (H).
Croydon Athletic - Burgess Hill Town (A), Fleet Town (H).
Kingstonian - Lymington & New Milton (H), Hastings United (A).
Tooting & Mitcham United - Walton Casuals (H), Newport IoW (A).
Bashley - Corinthian-Casuals (H), Horsham (A).
Hastings United - Tonbridge Angels (A), Kingstonian (H).
Cray Wanderers - Leatherhead (A), Banstead Athletic (H).
United make their shortest away trip of the season on Easter Monday, paying a visit to Ashford Town's Homelands ground to take on their struggling Kent rivals, who have recently signed former United players Danny Simmonds, Stuart Playford and Shaun Loft. Ashford's form has improved as a result and last week's 2-0 win at home to Bashley virtually guaranteed their Division One survival after a second successive relegation battle.
Nigel Kane's charges find themselves on the verge of mathematical elimination from the play-off race following two consecutive goalless draws and their desperate need to return to winning ways tomorrow has been hit by two major injury setbacks. Ade Olorunda's ongoing shin splints problem will rule him out of contention, while Russell Eldridge is a serious doubt after picking up a dead leg against Fleet. Jimmy Elford also picked up a knock yesterday, but he should be fit enough to play, and Rhys Whyborne came through his first ninety minutes of First Team football since 14 January and will retain his place as cover for Sean Ray. Nima Cham has sufficiently rested his injured hamstring to return to the squad, while Ben White also comes in, and Nigel may be forced to name himself on the bench if Russell fails a morning fitness test. Reserve goalkeeper Sam Harris-Green is unavailable due to work commitments.
The full sixteen man squad will be Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Russell Eldridge (or Nigel Kane), Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Danny Spice, Ben White, Rhys Whyborne and Daniel Williams.
There were some significant results at the top and bottom of the Division One table this afternoon, as the 2005/06 season nears its conclusion. At the very top, Ramsgate recovered from a goal down at half time to win at Leatherhead and move three points clear of Horsham in the race for the title. Metropolitan Police beat Bashley to pick up their first win in four matches to consolidate third place, ahead of Tonbridge on goal difference, after the Angels' win at home to Kingstonian. Dover jumped back into fifth and consigned Corinthian-Casuals to relegation with an easy win at the Crabble, while Tooting & Mitcham dropped out of the top six for the first time in several months. Defeats for the bottom five saw no change at the foot of the table, and Newport will be unable to avoid finishing second from bottom if they lose at Fleet on Monday.
Here are all of the Easter Saturday scores. Burgess Hill Town 1-4 Cray Wanderers, Dover Athletic 4-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Hastings United 0-0 Fleet Town, Leatherhead 1-2 Ramsgate, Metropolitan Police 2-1 Bashley, Newport IoW 2-4 Dulwich Hamlet, Tonbridge Angels 1-0 Kingstonian, Walton Casuals 1-0 Ashford Town
United entertain Fleet Town at the Pilot Field tomorrow as their Easter programme gets underway with the first of two surely must win games to keep their play-off hopes alive. Already without suspended skipper Sean Ray, who is banned from United's next three matches, Nigel Kane's plans were dealt a blow when striker Marc Whiteman was ordered back to Maidenhead United for their vital Conference South fixture at home to Lewes, which will almost certainly mean that Ade Olorunda's shin splints injury will once again be tested from the start in partnership with Sam Adams. Midfielder Nima Cham has struggled to shake off a persistent hamstring injury this week and is rated as doubtful, but that news can be offset by the fact that Duncan McArthur belatedly made a welcome return to training this week and is likely to go straight into the starting line-up if Nima doesn't make it, while Rhys Whyborne is favourite to replace Sean at the back. Dominic Cruttenden, Bernard Asante and Ben White are in contention for a place amongst the substitutes.
Nigel is yet to finalise his squad, but will select from the following eighteen players on Saturday. Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Danny Spice, Ben White, Rhys Whyborne and Daniel Williams.
The Easter weekend began today in the Ryman League, with three games in Division One. Croydon's win at Tooting & Mitcham lifted them up into fifth place. Horsham missed out on a chance to go top after only drawing at Whyteleafe, while Lymington & New Milton made it six games without defeat and moved up a couple of places after a comfortable win over Banstead. Good Friday's results were Lymington & New Milton 3-0 Banstead Athletic, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-2 Croydon Athletic, Whyteleafe 1-1 Horsham.
Dover Athletic edged back into the play-off zone this evening following a goalless draw at Leatherhead. They now have a one point advantage over Kingstonian, who drop out of the top six, with United four points adrift of the Whites in ninth place. Horsham thrashed Fleet at Queen Street, with Carl Rook scoring twice, to move within a point of leaders Ramsgate and eight clear of Metropolitan Police in third. Tonbridge's game against Molesey was rained off, while Burgess Hill and Walton shared six goals at Leylands Park.
To confirm, Tuesday's results were Burgess Hill Town 3-3 Walton Casuals, Horsham 4-1 Fleet Town, Leatherhead 0-0 Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels P-P Molesey.
Easter Saturday sees United take on Fleet at the Pilot Field, part of a weekend in which six of the top ten sides are in direct opposition with each other. Bank Holiday Monday takes United to Ashford, but the big game will be the Kent derby between Ramsgate and Dover.
United's two dropped points in the New Forest today proved to be not quite as costly as they might have been, as the gap between them and the elusive top six remained at three points heading into the final four games of the regular season. Kingstonian remain the target, at least for the time being, after they threw away a two goal lead to only draw at home to bottom club Corinthian-Casuals, but they have now left the door open for Dover, whose big win at home to Tooting & Mitcham allowed them to move level on points with the Ks, with a game in hand to come at Leatherhead on Tuesday. Croydon's narrow win at home to Banstead saw them join Kingstonian and Dover on sixty-seven points, two behind Tooting & Mitcham, and three behind Tonbridge, who matched United's recent achievement in coming from behind to win at Burgess Hill, and Metropolitan Police, who lost to Molesey for the second time in less than a month. United edged above Bashley on goal difference into ninth place, after they lost at Ashford, and it looks like the fight for those four precious play-off places is now down to eight sides, with the likes of Dulwich, Cray and Leatherhead seemingly too far off the pace.
The top two sides look to have a decisive advantage in the battle for automatic promotion and leaders Ramsgate are back in pole position for the title, after thrashing managerless and crisis torn Newport this afternoon. The Rams opened up a four point lead over Horsham as a result, the Hornets needing another last minute Carl Rook goal to salvage a point at Dulwich today, although they do have a game in hand at home to Fleet on Tuesday, and could then go top with a win at Whyteleafe on Good Friday. Tonbridge remain an outside bet for automatic promotion and face a must-win game in hand at home to Molesey on Tuesday. Despite their excellent draw at Kingsmeadow today, Corinthian-Casuals will be relegated if they lose at Dover next Saturday, whilst Newport may also be left to face up to life at level five, if they are unable to win three of their last four games, or if other results don't start going their way.
Here are all of this afternoon's scores. Ashford Town 2-0 Bashley, Burgess Hill Town 1-2 Tonbridge Angels, Croydon Athletic 1-0 Banstead Athletic, Dover Athletic 4-0 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dulwich Hamlet 2-2 Horsham, Fleet Town 0-2 Walton Casuals, Kingstonian 2-2 Corinthian-Casuals, Lymington & New Milton 0-0 Hastings United, Molesey 3-2 Metropolitan Police, Ramsgate 6-0 Newport IoW, Whyteleafe 1-1 Leatherhead.
Tuesday's results were Burgess Hill Town 3-3 Walton Casuals, Horsham 4-1 Fleet Town, Leatherhead 0-0 Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels P-P Molesey.
United's late season play-off challenge continues with a first ever trip to Lymington & New Milton's Fawcetts Field tomorrow, with Nigel Kane's squad boosted by the return from suspension of striker and leading scorer Sam Adams. After a run of only one defeat in nine Ryman League matches, United have soared to the top of the form guide, although the New Forest side have also shown an improvement in form of late and are currently unbeaten in four, including draws away to Metropolitan Police and Leatherhead in their last two fixtures.
Sam's timely return from a three match ban could allow Nigel to give the in form Ade Olorunda another much needed rest, as he continues to struggle with shin splints. Recent signing Marc Whiteman picked up a knock to the head in a rare start for Maidenhead United on Tuesday, but is expected to be fit enough to play, while Nima Cham has a hamstring problem and John Bradley a slight back strain, although again, both should be able to take their places in the sixteen man squad. Dominic Cruttenden will also be travelling as cover for any last minute withdrawals, but there looks to be no place for fellow young striker Colin Johnston. The match will be Sean Ray's last before he begins a three match suspension.
The full squad will be Sam Adams, John Bradley, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Marc Whiteman, Rhys Whyborne and Daniel Williams.
The races for positions in the automatic promotion places and the play-off zone remained unbelievably close today, after another interesting afternoon of results in Ryman League Division One. The top two were in action in West Sussex, with second placed Horsham nicking a 2-1 win over leaders Ramsgate, courtesy of a last gasp goal from former United favourite Carl Rook. The Hornets now lie two points behind the Rams and have a crucial game in hand against Fleet in ten days time. Metropolitan Police in third lost ground after being held to a 1-1 at home to Lymington & New Milton, while two penalties from John Hastings took Tooting & Mitcham United back into fourth after a 4-0 win at home to ten man Fleet. Tonbridge slipped to fifth following the postponement of their home game with Molesey due to waterlogging at Longmead and sixth placed Kingstonian failed to cash in on last Monday's victory over United, as they suffered a 3-2 defeat at Bashley. Croydon's defeat at the Pilot Field saw them fall three places, as Dover (2-0 winners at Walton), Bashley and United all moved above them, while Cray swapped places with Dulwich after beating them 2-1. Leatherhead are still mathematically in touch, having seven games left to play, and ended a run of four defeats in five matches by beating Burgess Hill 2-0 this afternoon. At the bottom, Corinthian-Casuals look doomed after losing their relegation six pointer 1-0 at home to Ashford, and Newport appear likely to finish second from bottom after a 2-0 defeat to Whyteleafe.
Here are all of this afternoon's Division One results. Bashley 3-2 Kingstonian, Corinthian-Casuals 0-1 Ashford Town, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Hastings United 1-0 Croydon Athletic, Horsham 2-1 Ramsgate, Leatherhead 2-0 Burgess Hill Town, Metropolitan Police 1-1 Lymington & New Milton, Newport IoW 0-2 Whyteleafe, Tonbridge Angels P-P Molesey, Tooting & Mitcham United 4-0 Fleet Town, Walton Casuals 0-2 Dover Athletic.
There were just two midweek matches in Division One this week. Ashford Town 0-1 Croydon Athletic and Leatherhead 1-1 Lymington & New Milton.
United head into the final four weeks and half a dozen games of their 2005/06 campaign tomorrow, with Croydon Athletic due to visit the Pilot Field for another play-off six pointer. Monday night's defeat at Kingstonian saw United slip four points behind sixth place and that gap was increased to six points the following evening, as United dropped back down to tenth place. The Rams currently sit in seventh place, just a single point clear of United though, and head into the game on the back of an indifferent run of form, the highlight being last weekend's 3-2 win at home to Tonbridge.
Manager Nigel Kane will face less of a selection headache tomorrow, with Ade Olorunda, Daniel Williams and Rhys Whyborne all recovered from injury, whilst new signing Marc Whiteman is in line for his senior debut after scoring for the Reserves on Wednesday. Despite having seen out his latest three match suspension, Duncan McArthur has not been considered for an immediate recall to the squad, and Sam Adams sits out the final match of his own three game ban. Sean Ray faces a similar sanction after his third sending off of the season at Kingsmeadow and will miss United's Easter fixtures against Fleet and Ashford, along with the trip to Tonbridge on the penultimate weekend of the season.
To cover for any last minute withdrawals, Nigel has named the following provisional seventeen man squad for tomorrow's game. John Bradley, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Colin Johnston, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Ben White, Marc Whiteman, Rhys Whyborne and Daniel Williams. The unlucky players from Monday to miss out are Bernard Asante and Dominic Cruttenden.
Marc Whiteman's arrival at the Pilot Field has only been made possible thanks to another generous donation from one of the Club's loyal supporters. Chairman Dave Walters said, "I would like to make special mention to one of our supporters who has agreed to fund Marc’s wages for the rest of the season. This supporter would prefer to remain anonymous and of course I will respect their wishes. We now have three supporters who have made anonymous donations this season (two to specifically help fund players wages) and I can't thank them enough. It is so reassuring to know that there are still people out there who genuinely have the Club’s best interests at heart and who do not require recognition, or anything else, in return for their generosity. I know all genuine supporters will appreciate your gestures."
Manager Nigel Kane has today confirmed the signing of striker Marc Whiteman on a dual registration basis from Conference South bottom club Maidenhead United. Marc was an early season target of then manager Neville Southall, following his release from Lewes last summer, but he ended up signing for the Berkshire side along with his former Lewes teammate Lee Newman, himself fresh from a brief spell at the Pilot Field. Marc started his career as a trainee at Manchester United, and signed for Bury following his release from Old Trafford. He then spent a season with Weymouth and two at the Dripping Pan and, still only twenty-three years old, should prove an excellent addition to the United squad heading into the final month of the season.
Marc has recently found himself out of favour at Maidenhead though and United have fought off competition from several other sides, including one at Conference South level, to secure Marc's services, hopefully for the remainder of the campaign. Marc is due to make his first appearance in United colours in this evening's Reserve Team encounter against Crawley and is also expected to link up with the First Team squad for Saturday's vital Division One clash against Croydon Athletic.
NB. Marc did indeed feature in United Reserves' final Alliance League fixture this evening, but a debut goal was not enough to prevent Crawley Town running out 2-1 winners.
Tuesday: Banstead Athletic 0-1 Lymington & New Milton, Bashley 2-1 Molesey, Walton Casuals 5-1 Burgess Hill Town, Whyteleafe 0-3 Tonbridge Angels.
Monday: Kingstonian 2-0 Hastings United.
Saturday: Ashford Town 0-7 Horsham, Burgess Hill Town 1-2 Hastings United, Croydon Athletic 3-2 Tonbridge Angels, Dover Athletic 1-0 Leatherhead, Dulwich Hamlet 3-1 Banstead Athletic, Fleet Town 3-3 Cray Wanderers, Kingstonian 2-0 Metropolitan Police, Lymington & New Milton 4-0 Newport IoW, Ramsgate 3-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Whyteleafe 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United.
United head into arguably the most important eight days of their season with a visit to Leylands Park tomorrow to tackle West Sussex rivals Burgess Hill Town. Manager Nigel Kane is forced to make changes to his squad, as leading scorer Sam Adams begins a three match ban, which will also preclude him from Monday night's crucial trip to Kingstonian and next weekend's home clash with Croydon Athletic. New signings Colin Johnston and John Bradley are both included in a provisional sixteen man line-up, after making their debuts against Westfield on Tuesday, with Colin the most likely to deputise for Sam, unless United decide to opt for the pace of Bernard Asante in an attacking role. What seems certain is that United will have to keep a close eye on Ade Olorunda's fitness over the course of the ninety minutes, with the in form striker still suffering with a painful shin injury that may somewhat restrict his involvement. Left back Jimmy Elford appears to have shrugged off the dead leg he suffered on Tuesday evening, which should be good news for his fans in the Hastings Rampant Crew, several of whom are planning to make the trip to tomorrow's game to cheer the team on.
The full squad named for the game is Bernard Asante, John Bradley, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Colin Johnston, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Daniel Williams.
One striker who may well have played his last game for United is Shaun Loft, who has been out of action since limping off early in the home game against Whyteleafe on 28 February. It is believed that Shaun's groin injury is still a few weeks away from healing sufficiently for him to return to action, but United have nonetheless received a seven day approach from Ashford Town for Shaun's services. Reports that Shaun had already signed at the Homelands this week were a touch premature, but as a non-contract player, Shaun will be free to talk to the Nuts & Bolts in due course over a possible move, to maybe link up with Danny Simmonds and another former United favourite in Stuart Playford, who was reported to have joined Ashford from Folkestone Invicta this week.
One result in Division One tonight. Molesey 5-1 Walton Casuals.
Having reported barely twenty-four hours ago of the impending arrival of former United star Danny Simmonds, the Club was today rocked by the news that the Eastbourne Borough utility player had turned down the opportunity to return to the Pilot Field, in favour of a permanent move to United's Ryman League Division One rivals Ashford Town, who are facing a battle to avoid relegation this season.
Danny's change of heart comes as a hammer blow to United, as they prepare for Saturday's Sussex derby at Burgess Hill Town in the knowledge that leading scorer Sam Adams will miss the game through suspension, while Shaun Loft continues to struggle with a groin injury and the in form Ade Olorunda's shin problem is also giving cause for concern. Colin Johnstone and John Bradley both made their United debuts in this evening's game against Westfield and both may well be in the frame for a place in Saturday's squad, with manager Nigel Kane now forced to carefully consider his options, as United attempt to extend their six match unbeaten run that has taken them to the brink of the play-off zone.
Wednesday night's result. Burgess Hill Town 0-1 Bashley.
As United head into the final six weeks of their 2005/06 campaign, still very much a contender for a Ryman League Division One play-off place, the Club has sought to find cover for striker Sam Adams, whose three match suspension starts on Saturday, and for midfielder Duncan McArthur, who remains banned until the following weekend.
Manager Nigel Kane hopes to be able to unveil three new signings in tomorrow evening's Hastings Senior Cup semi final against Westfield, one of whom will be a familiar face to United supporters in Danny Simmonds, who amassed over 350 appearances for the Club in an eight year stay at the Pilot Field between 1995 and 2003. Danny has spent the last three seasons with Eastbourne Borough in Conference South, but has recently found himself on the fringes of Garry Wilson's First Team squad at Priory Lane, and has agreed on a return to United colours on a dual registration basis for the remainder of the season.
Two other Borough players should be joining Danny in the squad for the Westfield tie, as the Club are hoping to sign attacking midfielder John Bradley, currently on loan at Rye & Iden United, and right sided midfielder Colin Johnstone, presently with Eastbourne United Association and previously with Rye & Iden United, on dual registration terms as well. John is yet to feature for Eastbourne's First Team and Colin has made just the one appearance to date, but both have forged a reputation as goalscoring midfielders in the Sussex County League this season and have earned their chance at a slightly higher level.
Assuming that there are no late registration issues or other unforeseen problems, all three will be in the United squad tomorrow and Nigel was also intending to use the game as an opportunity to give starts to the likes of Danny Spice, Ben White and others, who have seen only limited playing time of late. The full squad will not be finalised until after this evening's training session though.
United's fifth win in six matches at home to Molesey yesterday afternoon took them to within one victory of reclaiming a place in the top six for the first time since the middle of November. Just four short weeks ago, that gap was ten points, but while several of their promotion rivals have started to slip up, United have hit a rich vein of form at precisely the right moment, and other results continued to go United's way this weekend.
At the very top, things are looking really good for Ramsgate, whose win in the New Forest took their incredible run to just one defeat in twenty-one league games. The Rams now have a four point cushion over Metropolitan Police, who moved into the top two for the first time this season after a comfortable win over Burgess Hill. Horsham slipped to third, but have games in hand on both sides above them and would still be favourites to take an automatic promotion spot at this stage. United are one of eleven sides in with a realistic chance of claiming one of the four play-off places, but are the only one in top form at present, although Tonbridge did manage their first win in five yesterday.
Corinthian-Casuals were without a game this weekend and visit Ramsgate next week, so their prospects of avoiding relegation continue to look slim. Newport and Ashford both picked up useful points against promotion candidates, but the Islanders have played a game more and are still a point behind the Kent side, who do appear to have a slightly tougher run-in though.
Here are all of Saturday's results. Banstead Athletic 1-1 Fleet Town, Bashley 0-1 Ramsgate, Cray Wanderers 2-2 Croydon Athletic, Hastings United 3-0 Molesey, Horsham 2-2 Kingstonian, Leatherhead 0-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Metropolitan Police 3-0 Burgess Hill Town, Newport IoW 1-1 Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels 3-1 Lymington & New Milton, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-2 Ashford Town, Walton Casuals 0-0 Whyteleafe.
There is only one scheduled midweek match this week, as our next league opponents Burgess Hill entertain Bashley on Wednesday. The match between Molesey and Walton Casuals has been brought forward to Friday evening, but is part of next weekend's fixture list, which also sees Croydon take on Tonbridge, Kingstonian play Metropolitan Police and Dover face Leatherhead in another weekend of potential six pointers.
Molesey visit the Pilot Field tomorrow to take on an in form United side hoping to extend their unbeaten run to six matches in their late surge to be involved in the end of season promotion play-offs. After a tremendous run of wins over Leatherhead, Dover and Tooting & Mitcham, United will surely have to guard against over-confidence against a Molesey side lying in the bottom six of the league table, albeit well clear of relegation danger and fresh from a 1-0 victory at third placed Metropolitan Police on Tuesday. The winner that night came from the league's twenty-two goal leading scorer Phil Ruggles and United will have to work hard to keep him as quiet as he was in the earlier game between the two sides, United winning 1-0 with a late Sam Adams strike back on 1 October.
Manager Nigel Kane again appears likely to name an unchanged starting eleven, assuming that Ade Olorunda and Nima Cham are able to shake off slight injury concerns. The only planned change to last week's squad is the return from injury of defender Rhys Whyborne in place of Nigel himself. The full provisional squad is Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Ben White, Rhys Whyborne, Daniel Williams.
United's Under 11s Girls side will be mascots at tomorrow's match and, together with the Under 18s, will perform a lap of honour to celebrate their achievements in competing in last weekend's Hastings Half Marathon and Mini Fun Run. United's Club physio Carl Milton and chief steward Simon Rudkins were also amongst those to complete the course and Simon hopes to have raised over £300 to purchase kit and equipment for Sean Ray's new Under 14s side. Thanks to everyone for their generous sponsorship and anyone still wishing to make a donation should please see Simon at the main gate ahead of tomorrow's game.
United Reserves' penultimate Alliance League fixture ended in a 5-1 defeat at Burgess Hill last night, a result that consigns them to a last place finish in the league table, irrespective of the outcome of their final game at home to Crawley in a couple of weeks. One time United Reserve defender Simon Stickney was amongst the Burgess Hill scorers at Leylands Park.
Tuesday's Division One results were Dover Athletic 1-1 Kingstonian, Metropolitan Police 0-1 Molesey, Tonbridge Angels 1-1 Bashley.
Sam Adams red card for kicking out at Tooting & Mitcham United midfielder Ryan Gray in the first half of yesterday's Pilot Field encounter was United's tenth sending off of a season that has been beset by disciplinary problems. If United are ultimately unable to convert their current fine form into a final top six finish, they will surely point to the continual absence of key players through suspension as one of the main reasons for not doing so, although play-off dreams remain very much alive after recent victories over promotion rivals Leatherhead and Dover, as well as Tooting & Mitcham.
Given that the inevitable consequence of Sam's actions will be a three match ban, United will have to do without their thirteen goal leading scorer for the forthcoming visits to Burgess Hill and Kingstonian at the end of March, as well as the home match against Croydon Athletic on 1 April. Duncan McArthur's own suspension will overlap the first two of those fixtures, although he remains on the sidelines with his infected ankle in any case. The loss of Sam can be offset by Ade Olorunda's return to form and fitness, but with Shaun Loft also struggling with injury at present, United have sought to boost their striking options by putting in a seven day approach for Eastbourne Borough's John Bradley, an attacking midfielder, who has been impressing on loan at Rye & Iden United of late.
In the Ryman League Division One yesterday, it was a good day for the top three, as Ramsgate, Horsham and Metropolitan Police all won to open up a slight gap on the rest of the automatic promotion contenders. Tonbridge will still believe themselves to be in with a shout, having a couple of games in hand on three of the sides above them, but defeat at home to Walton yesterday saw them lose ground, along with Tooting & Mitcham, Croydon, Cray and Leatherhead. Kingstonian were without a game and the gap between them in sixth and Dulwich in fourteenth is down to a mere six points, with United now four points beneath the play-off zone in tenth. At the bottom, it continues to look grim for Corinthian-Casuals, Newport and Ashford, although the latter still have games in hand on the other two.
Here are all of yesterday's results. Banstead Athletic 0-3 Horsham, Burgess Hill Town 0-1 Dover Athletic, Cray Wanderers 0-1 Ramsgate, Croydon Athletic 0-1 Bashley, Dulwich Hamlet 2-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Fleet Town 1-0 Ashford Town, Hastings United 3-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Lymington & New Milton 1-2 Whyteleafe, Metropolitan Police 2-1 Leatherhead, Molesey 3-0 Newport IoW, Tonbridge Angels 1-2 Walton Casuals
A United side brimming with confidence returns to the Pilot Field on Saturday, hoping to add another victory to their present four match unbeaten run, when fourth placed and free scoring Tooting & Mitcham United pay them a visit. After Tuesday's magnificent win at Dover, manager Nigel Kane makes only one alteration to his sixteen man squad, dropping himself in favour of substitute goalkeeper Sam Harris-Green, and is surely unlikely to change his starting line-up at all. Duncan McArthur remains sidelined with an ankle problem, as does striker Shaun Loft, whilst defender Rhys Whyborne is still nursing a hamstring injury. The visitors are eleven points and eight places above United going into the match, although United do have a game in hand, but whereas Tooting & Mitcham are still very much involved in the automatic promotion race, United are content to be aiming for a play-off berth at this stage, but they will need to win most of their remaining ten fixtures to stay in the hunt.
Saturday's squad in full is Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Sam Thompson, Ben White, Daniel Williams.
Half of last night's proposed fixtures fell victim to the frankly awful weather conditions, with all five matches called off because of waterlogged pitches. In the games that did go ahead, leaders Ramsgate stuttered at home again, having to come from behind to draw with lowly Banstead. Fourth against third at Imperial Fields also ended all square, while Cray moved up to eighth with a win at bottom of the table Corinthian-Casuals and Dulwich stayed on the edge of the play-off hunt by winning at struggling Ashford.
The results were Ashford Town 1-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Corinthian-Casuals 1-2 Cray Wanderers, Dover Athletic 2-3 Hastings United, Ramsgate 1-1 Banstead Athletic, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 Metropolitan Police.
This evening's Alliance League match for the Reserves away to Burgess Hill Town Reserves was also postponed because of the rain. The game has been rescheduled for next Thursday, 16 March. United's other outstanding fixture, at home to Crawley Town Reserves, is yet to be rearranged, although Wednesday 29 March has been cited as a possible date.
Having reported only yesterday on Duncan McArthur's latest suspension, due to start in a couple of weeks, United manager Nigel Kane has tonight confirmed that the talented midfielder is a major doubt for tomorrow evening's visit to Dover Athletic. Duncan is suffering with an infected ankle and is rated as only 50:50 to play any part in the game and has not been named in United's provisional sixteen man squad for the trip to The Crabble. Also missing from the squad are defender Rhys Whyborne, who has suffered a further reaction to his recent hamstring problem, and striker Shaun Loft, who remains on the sidelines after picking up an injury against Whyteleafe last week. Nima Cham should have recovered sufficiently from a weekend knock to feature, while United welcome back Sam Adams and Tim Olorunda from suspension and Danny Spice, who was unavailable on Saturday.
The provisional squad named by Nigel is Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Nigel Kane, Chris May, Ade Olorunda, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Sam Thompson, Ben White, Daniel Williams.
One result tonight; Kingstonian 2-0 Croydon Athletic, which saw the two sides swap places in the table and puts United ten points beneath sixth place once again.
Duncan McArthur is facing his fourth suspension of the current campaign, after picking up his fifteenth booking in twenty-five appearances this season at Newport yesterday. Having missed several games at the start of the season, thanks to a ban carried over from his time at Rye & Iden United, Duncan has subsequently served one and two match bans for his ever-increasing yellow card count and will now sit out a further three games, those against Molesey, Burgess Hill and Kingstonian towards the end of this month. He will be available for this week's visit to Dover however, as will Sam Adams and Tim Olorunda, who both missed the Newport game yesterday, serving one match bans of their own.
Saturday's results saw leaders Ramsgate slip to a rare defeat and second placed Horsham close the gap to just two points. A run of one defeat in fifteen games has taken Metropolitan Police up to third, ahead of both Tooting & Mitcham and Tonbridge, neither of whom won yesterday. Croydon deservedly moved back into the top six and, even though the gap is now up to nine points, United in thirteenth will still reckon to be in with an outside chance of getting into the play-offs if they can put a strong run together to finish the season. At the bottom, it now looks like any two from three for relegation, with third from bottom Ashford still looking favourites to survive with their games in hand, although yesterday's thrashing at home to Lymington & New Milton will hardly have fuelled their confidence levels.
Here are all of Saturday's Ryman League Division One results. Ashford Town 0-5 Lymington & New Milton, Bashley 3-2 Cray Wanderers, Corinthian-Casuals 0-1 Burgess Hill Town, Dover Athletic 1-0 Molesey, Horsham 1-0 Tonbridge Angels, Kingstonian 1-3 Fleet Town, Newport IoW 2-2 Hastings United, Ramsgate 0-1 Croydon Athletic, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 Banstead Athletic, Walton Casuals 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Whyteleafe 1-2 Metropolitan Police.
After two successive wins that have rekindled United's play-off ambitions, Nigel Kane takes his side to St George's Park tomorrow to tackle a Newport team lying second from bottom in Ryman League Division One, without a win in six matches and on the back of a 5-0 mauling at Burgess Hill Town on Wednesday evening. United have a few selection problems though, with leading scorer Sam Adams and midfield dynamo Tim Olorunda both suspended, Danny Spice unavailable, and Shaun Loft out injured. Nigel has opted to name just a provisional, fourteen man squad, which includes the manager himself and the returning Bernard Asante. Ade Olorunda's successful, goalscoring return from a month-long injury lay-off could not have been more timely and he will surely lead the attack, while Jimmy Elford would seem likely to earn a recall to the starting eleven in midfield.
The full squad is Bernard Asante, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Nigel Kane, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Ade Olorunda, Matt Piper, Sean Ray, Sam Thompson, Rhys Whyborne, Daniel Williams.
The Reserves' Alliance League campaign is nearing its conclusion and, sadly, failure to win their penultimate fixture at Burgess Hill next week will see United consigned to finish bottom of the table. United's latest setback came at Priory Lane yesterday evening, when they were beaten 5-0 by a strong Eastbourne Borough side. who themselves need just a single point from their two remaining games to win the title. United's gameplan was far from assisted by the absence of a recognised goalkeeper and Club captain Sean Ray volunteered to don the gloves in the end, performing heroics to keep the score goalless at half time, only for Borough to finally run away with the game after the interval.
Dave Walters has issued the following press release in response to the takeover story published in last week's Hastings Observer newspaper.
"A verbal offer was recently made by a consortium wishing to buy the majority of shares in Hastings United Football Club Limited. The consortium requested a meeting, which took place after the home game against Walton Casuals, with two of its three members attending. The consortium requested confidentiality at the time, but have subsequently issued a press release, to which I am glad to respond, as confidentiality no longer appears to be an issue."
"The offer was politely declined, although two aspects of it left us surprised and concerned. Surprised that it had come via a third party and not directly to either Chris Russo or myself, and concerned because one of those involved in the offer was Dave Ormerod, who was, at the time, the Club’s treasurer and company secretary. Dave learned of this concern from Bryan Warren, another of those involved in making the offer. Unfortunately, our misgivings were somewhat misquoted and caused Dave sufficient concern for him to tender his immediate resignation, although Bryan was good enough to later apologise for the error in communication. Despite the misunderstanding, Chris and I reluctantly decided to accept Dave's resignation during a meeting later that week, although, by that time, Dave had actually changed his mind, having learned the truth of what had been said. However, we felt that his actions were not in keeping with those of someone holding such a position of trust within the Club."
"The offer itself was both unsolicited and unacceptable. I had previously stated that some shares could be made available to a supporters' trust, with the possibility of selling the balance to the trust at some point in the future. The money paid by Chris for her shares has gone back into the Club, in the form of an interest free loan from myself. I remain prepared to sell some shares and to accept donations from anyone who wishes to help the Club’s finances. I would suggest that, if there is any further such interest, I be contacted personally, to avoid any unnecessary confusion."
"I would urge all supporters to get behind the team and the Club, as we all want the same thing, ie progress, and there is still an outside chance of a play-off place this season."
The midweek Ryman League Division One results were as follows. Banstead Athletic 0-4 Kingstonian, Cray Wanderers 2-1 Horsham, Croydon Athletic 0-0 Corinthian Casuals, Dulwich Hamlet 3-3 Ramsgate, Fleet Town 1-1 Bashley, Hastings United 3-1 Whyteleafe, Lymington & New Milton 1-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Walton Casuals, Molesey 0-1 Leatherhead, Tonbridge Angels 0-0 Dover Athletic. Burgess Hill Town 5-0 Newport IoW.
United supporters will be delighted to learn that influential skipper Sean Ray has finally ended his dispute with the Club over the validity of his £10 fine for being sent off in the home game against Banstead last month. Having refused to pay the fine, Sean was left out of the side that played Metropolitan Police on 7 February and was then suspended for the following two matches anyway, but returned to the United line-up at Leatherhead yesterday afternoon. This followed a meeting with manager Nigel Kane, in which it was agreed that the Club would review its current code of conduct policy to maybe pave the way for players to be able to appeal against more controversial dismissals, or perhaps even abandon fines for sendings off as a result of certain offences. The skipper's return to the fold has left Nigel with something approaching a full strength squad, as United look forward to matches at home to Whyteleafe on Tuesday and away to Newport on the Isle of Wight next Saturday. Pending the seriousness of the knock that Daniel Williams picked up yesterday, Ade Olorunda could again be the only enforced absentee on Tuesday and even he may be fit enough to return to the squad next weekend, although his brother Tim will miss that match through suspension.
News of a takeover bid hit the headlines in the Observer on Friday, after three long-term United supporters, Roger Sinden, Dave Ormerod and Bryan Warren, issued a press release detailing the recent offer that they made to purchase the controlling interest in the Club from Dave Walters. With the consortium apparently having requested confidentiality in the first instance, the Club had not prepared an official release of its own, but I will be able to provide Dave's comments in response over the next day or two.
As a by-product of the takeover bid, Dave Ormerod tendered his resignation from his positions as United's treasurer and company secretary, bringing to an end a thirty-eight year association with the Club. Once again, I believe that Dave Walters intends to comment on the specifics of the situation in an official statement, but the Club would of course like to thank Dave for his unstinting and loyal service over the last four decades. Peter Knight also stood down from his role as stadium manager last week and Dot Knight from hospitality in the boardroom. The Club would also like to extend its grateful thanks to Peter and Dot for all of their help and efforts through the years and to wish Dave, Peter and Dot all the very best wishes for the future.
Those of you who choose not to frequent the unofficial United forum will have missed the on-line question and answer session, in which Dave Walters kindly agreed to take part this week, in preference to hosting another Clubhouse event at some point in the near future. Several supporters posted questions and Dave provided as many candid answers as possible, in what was generally accepted to be a worthwhile exercise. I have created a separate page on the official site, running through most of the salient details, which can be accessed via the following Fans' Forum link.
One of the potential money making ideas mentioned by Dave in the question and answer session, centred on this summer's World Cup finals tournament, which is now little more than three months away. With many people believing that this could be England’s best chance of winning the competition since 1966, interest will be high and most, if not all of us, will watch the England games and a few more besides. So, why not do this and help the Club at the same time? We have a good sized function room and a large screen TV, as well as two smaller screen TVs, and if a number of United supporters came along to watch the games at the Club, you would be amongst fellow supporters, hopefully creating a good atmosphere, and buying a drink or two at the same time, which all helps the Club of course. We also want to try to encourage supporters from other countries to watch their games at the Club. Do you know anyone from another country that we could contact to let them know about our facilities? We are thinking of offering incentives such as cheap beer, pizza, pre-booked taxis, etc, but we need your help to make it work. Could you put a poster up at work or in some local shops? Could you encourage friends to come and watch the games with you? Do you have any ideas to help make this work? We have to try to maximise the use of our facilities, in order to take the Club forward. Contact us via the website, or on 01424 430517 and let us know what you think.
Finally for this update, here are all of Saturday's Ryman League Division One scores. Bashley 0-3 Dulwich Hamlet, Corinthian-Casuals 0-0 Banstead Athletic, Dover Athletic 0-3 Metropolitan Police, Kingstonian 2-2 Cray Wanderers, Leatherhead 1-2 Hastings United, Newport IoW 0-1 Tonbridge Angels, Ramsgate 2-0 Fleet Town, Tooting & Mitcham United 2-2 Burgess Hill Town, Walton Casuals 2-0 Lymington & New Milton, Whyteleafe 3-1 Molesey.
Ramsgate extended their lead at the top to four points ahead of Horsham, who were without a game. Tonbridge moved level on points with Tooting & Mitcham in third and fourth, while Metropolitan Police's excellent win at Dover now has them within touching distance of the automatic promotion places. Croydon's match at Ashford was postponed, but the Rams remained in sixth place and now have a game in hand on most of the sides above them. United are still in fourteenth place, despite inching a bit closer to the fringes of the play-off race once again. The bottom of the table remained largely unchanged, with none of the bottom seven managing a win between them.
With leaders Ramsgate kicking their heels and inactive this weekend, the spotlight fell on the other promotion contenders yesterday afternoon. Horsham missed out on the chance to return to the summit, although were probably still largely content with their draw at play-off chasing Croydon Athletic. Tonbridge were hammered at home by United's next opponents Leatherhead, allowing Tooting & Mitcham to reclaim third spot, while Metropolitan Police's big win over Newport took them to within three points of the Angels in fifth. Kingstonian's win at Dulwich saw them move into the top six, but Dover dropped another couple of points to slip to ninth, just two clear of Bashley, Fleet and Cray. The bottom three all lost, but Burgess Hill continue to move in the right direction after putting five past relegation rivals Ashford without reply.
Here are all of Saturday's results. Banstead Athletic 1 2 Bashley, Burgess Hill Town 5-0 Ashford Town, Cray Wanderers 3-1 Whyteleafe, Croydon Athletic 1-1 Horsham, Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Kingstonian, Fleet Town 1-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Hastings United 3-4 Walton Casuals, Lymington & New Milton 1-1 Dover Athletic, Metropolitan Police 5-1 Newport IoW, Molesey 0-1 Tooting & Mitcham United, Tonbridge Angels 1-4 Leatherhead.
United's latest defeat saw them remain in fourteenth place, a point behind Dulwich and a distant ten points beneath the play-off zone. Their disciplinary woes show no sign of ending, with Luke Shand collecting United's ninth red card of the season, while bookings for Danny Spice, Tim Olorunda and Sam Adams took the tally of yellow cards to sixty-six. Tim's caution was his fifth of the season, so both he and Luke will be unavailable for the visit to Newport on the Isle of Wight on 4 March. There will be a team coach running to that game, with limited spaces available for any supporters who wish to make the journey. Please contact Tony Cosens at the Club if you would like to book a seat, the cost for which will be around £20, with the coach due to depart on the day at 10.00am.
United have announced that Pat Brown has decided to take a break from football for personal reasons, stepping down from his role as joint First Team manager at the Pilot Field with immediate effect. Nigel Kane will therefore take sole charge of First Team affairs for the remainder of the campaign, with Ryan Light continuing to assist him in a coaching capacity. The Club would like to thank Pat for his loyal service this season, especially for his tremendous support and assistance in the wake of Neville Southall's dismissal late last year.
Nigel has named a provisional seventeen man squad for tomorrow's crucial first ever home encounter with Walton Casuals. Danny Spice returns from a three match suspension, while Shaun Loft and Rhys Whyborne should both be available once again, although Sean Ray and Ben White will both be absent serving bans for recent red cards. There are question marks over the availability of Duncan McArthur and Wes Lopez for the match though, a contest that United must win to merely stay on the fringes of the play-off race, having now dropped to fourteenth place after a run of four games without a win and three without even a goal.
The provisional squad in full is Sam Adams, Bernard Asante, Nima Cham, Russell Eldridge, Jimmy Elford, Sam Harris-Green, Nigel Kane, Shaun Loft, Wes Lopez, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Tim Olorunda, Matt Piper, Danny Spice, Sam Thompson, Rhys Whyborne, Daniel Williams.
The Club this week received a visit from a representative of Hastings Borough Council's Environmental Health Department and as a result, it is disappointing to have to advise supporters that the tea bar beneath the main stand must remain closed for some time yet, as the premises are still some way short of the standards required to pass a safety inspection. Some of the works that need to be carried out are as follows.
The Club would naturally like to enquire if there are any supporters, who may be willing and able to assist with any of these tasks. If so, please contact Chris Russo on 01424 430517, or the Club itself on 01424 444635.
Russell Eldridge became United's latest new signing at the end of last week, when he agreed to join for a third spell with the Club, twelve months after quitting the Pilot Field, after falling out of favour with then manager Neville Southall. Russell came on for a late substitute appearance at Dulwich yesterday, his seventy-eighth in all for United, in which time he has played as a left sided midfielder, a left back and a central defender. Russell has spent the majority of this season playing for Horsham YMCA in the Sussex County League Division One and had been instrumental in their fine form, being recognised with representative honours for Sussex along the way.
A date has been set for United's Hastings Senior Cup semi-final against County League Division Two neighbours Westfield. The match will take place at the Pilot Field on Tuesday, 21 March with a 7.45pm kick off. Westfield won through to the semi-final thanks to a surprise 2-1 away to Sidley United in round one. The winners will take on either Rye & Iden United or Bexhill United, who meet at The Salts this coming Tuesday, in the Pilot Field final probably some time in April.
Please be aware that two forthcoming matches have been postponed. This week's Alliance League Reserve Team encounter against Crawley Town has been called off at the visitors' request. The match was due to take place on Thursday, the same night as the latest Supporters' Club quiz, and an alternative date will be sought as soon as possible. At this stage, the Club is unaware of the reasons behind Crawley's inability to once again fulfil this fixture, which has already been rearranged on one or two previous occasions. The First Team's Ryman League trip to Kingsmeadow on Monday, 20 February has also been postponed, as Kingstonian have been asked to play a Surrey Senior Cup tie at Leatherhead the following night.
Finally, here are all of yesterday's Ryman League Division One results. Ashford Town 0-0 Leatherhead, Bashley 0-0 Tonbridge Angels, Dover Athletic 1-1 Croydon Athletic, Dulwich Hamlet 2-0 Hastings United, Horsham 3-1 Walton Casuals, Metropolitan Police 4-3 Banstead Athletic, Molesey 0-2 Cray Wanderers, Newport IoW 0-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Ramsgate 5-0 Lymington & New Milton, Tooting & Mitcham United 0-1 Kingstonian, Whyteleafe 0-0 Fleet Town
Skipper Sean Ray has stunned the Club by threatening to leave after a row over the validity of a standard £10 fine imposed on him for his sending off against Banstead Athletic ten days ago. Sean evidently believed the second of his two cautionable offences to be unjust and has refused to pay, stating his intention to quit the Pilot Field if the Club refuses to back down. However, such fines have been included in the players' code of conduct since the start of the season and the Club has thus far declined to make an exception of this incident, which in turn led to Sean missing this evening's trip to south-west London for the rearranged fixture against Metropolitan Police.
With Rhys Whyborne and Danny Spice also remaining on the sidelines this week, United moved quickly to fill the gaps in their back four by signing another young defender on a dual registration basis from Eastbourne Borough today. Twenty-two year old Daniel Williams joins his Borough defensive colleague Matt Piper at the Pilot Field and went straight into the starting line-up at Imber Court tonight. Daniel has been at Priory Lane for several years, progressing through Borough's Youth and Reserve Teams, and has made twenty-three First Team appearances to date. United have also signed Luke Shand from local football and he also travelled with the squad to Imber Court as a non-playing substitute.
The midweek Ryman League Division One results have been. Kingstonian 2-4 Ashford Town, Corinthian-Casuals 0-3 Croydon Athletic, Metropolitan Police 0-0 Hastings United.
As United attempt to combat an ongoing suspension crisis and an increasingly worrying injury list, Nigel Kane and Pat Brown have announced two further additions to their First Team squad. Matt Piper becomes the latest player to join United from Conference South neighbours Eastbourne Borough, where he has been unable to command a regular First Team place this season. Matt is a right sided defender or midfielder and made his debut for United as a right back in yesterday's defeat to Bashley. He was on Brighton & Hove Albion's books until his release at the end of the 2004/05 campaign.
Also arriving at the Pilot Field is central midfielder Sam Thompson, who signs from County League neighbours Sidley United, although he had been at the Gullivers for barely a month after leaving Bexhill United, where he had sat out much of the opening few months of the season with a broken arm. Sam also went straight into the United line-up yesterday. Attempts to sign a striker have met with continuing frustration this week, with former Hastings favourite Stafford Browne, currently playing for Worthing, amongst those to reject the Club's various approaches, although efforts will continue to strengthen the currently depleted squad.
Clearly, the lack of playing options has not been helped by the recent spate of red cards and the suspensions that naturally follow. Danny Spice missed yesterday's game after his sending off at Cray two weeks ago, and he will also miss the trips to Metropolitan Police and Dulwich Hamlet. Sean Ray's dismissal at home to Banstead last weekend will see him banned for two matches, one for the red card itself and another as it was his second sending off of the season. Sean will be unavailable for the Dulwich game and the visit from Walton Casuals in two weeks time. Ben White will also miss the Walton game, serving a one match ban for his dismissal yesterday, although Shaun Loft will be eligible to return to the squad that travels to Imber Court on Tuesday, after completing a one match suspension for accumulating five cautions.
Here are all of yesterday's Ryman League Division One results. Banstead Athletic 0-1 Ashford Town, Burgess Hill Town 3-1 Molesey, Corinthian-Casuals 3-0 Whyteleafe, Cray Wanderers 0-3 Newport IoW, Fleet Town 1-1 Metropolitan Police, Hastings United 0-2 Bashley, Kingstonian 2-2 Dover Athletic, Leatherhead 2-4 Horsham, Lymington & New Milton 0-1 Dulwich Hamlet, Tonbridge Angels 2-3 Tooting & Mitcham United, Walton Casuals 0-1 Ramsgate.
The Ryman League Division One has new leaders this evening, as Ramsgate hit the front for the first time this season after a single goal win at Whyteleafe, their twelfth game without defeat. The Rams head Tonbridge on goal difference, with Horsham deposed as leaders after a heavy defeat at Metropolitan Police, during which Carl Rook was sent off. Excepting Tooting & Mitcham United, who had the weekend off, all of the other clubs above United in the table collected three points and Metropolitan Police have now climbed above United as well. At the other end, Burgess Hill's win at home to Fleet gave them a five point cushion over the bottom three, with Corinthian-Casuals now three points adrift at the foot.
Here are this afternoon's results. Burgess Hill Town 3-2 Fleet Town, Dover Athletic 2-1 Bashley, Hastings United 3-5 Banstead Athletic, Leatherhead 3-2 Corinthian-Casuals, Lymington & New Milton 0-2 Croydon Athletic, Metropolitan Police 4-1 Horsham, Molesey 2-3 Kingstonian, Newport IoW 1-1 Ashford Town, Tonbridge Angels 2-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Walton Casuals 0-1 Cray Wanderers, Whyteleafe 0-1 Ramsgate. Tuesday's scores: Croydon Athletic 0-0 Dover Athletic, Tonbridge Angels 0-1 Metropolitan Police.
United's joint management have been talking to programme editor Simon Rudkins this week about recent developments at the Pilot Field. Here is what they had to say.
Q. Ryan Light has joined the Club as First Team Coach and Reserve Team Manager, so how did that come about?
A. Well, as you know, we have been searching for a coach since we took over as managers. We were approached by various people, one from London had lots of experience, having been at Bromley and Fisher Athletic, but in the end, the travelling was an obstacle. A second candidate approached us, again with good credentials, but money was an obstacle. We have a budget for the team and out of the money we have to cover all wages, including coaching staff. We felt the money would be better used to ensure we can have the best players at the Club as possible. Dean Jinks from the Youth Section then told us that Ryan was keen to get involved and we agreed that we would see what he could do and let him take control of the warm-up for the Corinthian-Casuals game. Our decision was made and, having worked with Ryan for a couple of weeks now and seen his warm-up at Cray Wanderers last week, we are delighted to have him on our team.
Q. What do you expect him to bring to the team?
A. He has worked with many of the players from his days at Rye & Iden United, so he knows what gets them going. He has undoubted talents in preparing players for games and his methods encourage good team spirit, which is vital.
Q. Are there any more developments on the coaching set up?
A. We don't foresee any. I (Nigel) am working on the player's fitness. This is something that not all the players enjoy, but it is so important that the players can last ninety minutes, as we do not want to be losing games in the last fifteen minutes. Some players are naturally fit and look after themselves without us needing to get involved. Others need some help and we will be monitoring the fitness of all the players throughout the rest of the season. We (Nigel and Pat) discuss tactics and formation on match days and Ryan takes more of a back seat once the game is underway and we all contribute in training through using different methods and organising small games between the players. In training, we have tried to spend time looking at defending set pieces. I would estimate that two thirds of the goals we have conceded this season have been from set pieces. But now the players know their roles and what is expected of them and they have responded well with four clean sheets in a row.
Q. There have been lots of questions amongst supporters about Chris Honey. What is the current situation with Chris?
A. We contacted Chris in early December. He told us that he was a month away from starting training. Around Christmas, we contacted him again and he told us that he was still a month away from training. We told him the training schedule and said that we would be delighted to see him at training soon.
Q. Are there any developments on new players?
A. We are still looking at a midfielder and a left footed defender. They have attended training but that's as much information as we can give you. However, we have signed Dan Reeve, a former Norwich City and Colchester United player. However, we would never just put him straight into the side. If he wants to be involved, he will have to attend training, play in the Reserves and then he will be considered. We have been in touch with Brighton & Hove Albion to see whether there is a striker that they could loan us. Our strikers are fantastic and they work hard, but if we could get hold of a player that adds something different to our attack it would be great. Sam Adams is great and Shaun Loft has done well but Ade Olorunda is struggling with injury so some more cover would be useful. It also appears that Doug Loft is continuing to impress which is great for him.
Q. You have both been in the role over a month now. How do you think things are going?
A. We are both enjoying it. The results have been good and we are two points ahead of our target. Things have settled down nicely and all of the players are working hard for themselves, their teammates, us and the supporters. There is now a buzz amongst the players, which was missing when we took over. The players are sticking together and that was shown last Saturday at Cray when Tim Olorunda was head-butted. We do not expect our players to get involved excessively, but the fact that they stuck together shows us that they are together and are truly a team.
Q. What has been harder than you expected?
A. We have been a little unlucky with players dropping out at the last minute. Wes Lopez when he injured his back, Jimmy Elford and Rhys Whyborne have all been last minute casualties lately. That has been difficult, but we have been able to adapt. Obviously, the disciplinary record was not good when we took over and that was something we were keen to address, as we want our players available and not suspended. We introduced a new code of conduct, which applies on and off the pitch, and which all the players have signed and this has now been implemented. There are fines if players turn up with dirty boots, are late, kick a ball before they have warmed up etc. In the first week, there were a number of fines, but that has already improved. We all have to be as professional as we can and, for a Saturday game, the players must begin to prepare on the Friday, ensuring that their kit is clean and that they do not go out socialising on the evening before a game. The players must be tuned in to the fact they are playing for this Club.
Q. What were your thoughts on the Cray game?
A. In the first half, Cray showed good movement and, although they were a bit shaky at the back, they were lively going forward. Our players did not show good movement in that first half and we pointed that out at half time and told the players that they had to replicate what Cray were doing. I thought the response was excellent and, in the second half, it looked as if we could break them down at will. At the end of the game, we were pleased with the players' fitness and the efforts that they put in.
Q. And looking ahead to Saturday, what do you expect from Banstead Athletic?
A. There are no easy games. They are having their difficulties, but their players will come here, maybe like wounded dogs and will fight to get something out of the game. They scored three goals against Walton Casuals recently, so we will have to make sure that the players approach the game with the right attitude.
Doug Loft's name cropped up in that interview and, as the former United midfielder continues to press for a First Team squad place at the Withdean Stadium, his new employers at Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed that they intend to send a full strength side to the Pilot Field for a pre-season friendly, in order to recompense United for Doug's departure. Doug was not on contract at the Pilot Field of course, having only joined the Club upon his release from Gillingham in November, and United are most grateful to Brighton for this gesture.
United return to action at the Pilot Field tomorrow for the Ryman League visit from financially stricken Banstead Athletic. As was suggested in the above interview, United will be missing the services of injured striker Ade Olorunda, while defender Rhys Whyborne is still struggling to shake off the effects of a hamstring strain, which caused him to miss the Cray match last week. On the positive side, Steve Yates and Nima Cham both rejoin the squad tomorrow, allowing Nigel Kane to omit himself from playing duty to concentrate on off-field matters.
The full sixteen man squad is Sam Adams, Nima Cham, Dominic Cruttenden, Jimmy Elford, Danny Ellis, Sam Harris-Green, Shaun Loft, Wes Lopez, Chris May, Duncan McArthur, Tim Olorunda, Sean Ray, Danny Spice, Ben White, Rhys Whyborne, Steve Yates. The match will be sponsored by one of United's Business Partners, Duncan Riordan Building Contractors, and the Club extends its grateful thanks for their continued support.
Ryan Light's second game in charge of the Reserves last night ended in a 4-0 defeat away to Lewes Reserves, as United's Alliance League campaign continued. Defeat against the league leaders saw United remain rooted to the foot of the table, although still just the three points behind Burgess Hill Town Reserves and Worthing Reserves. United's next scheduled match is away to Horsham Reserves next Wednesday evening.
To end with a couple of items of Youth Team news. First, the Club's two Under 18 sides met in a Crowborough & District Football League Division A match last Sunday, with United Youth running out 3-1 victors against United Colts in an excellent match, played in the right spirit, between two highly talented and competitive sides. The sides are due to meet in the League’s Knockout Cup semi final on 12 February, but this prelude to that meeting was the first between the two in the league itself this year. The Colts went into the game lying in second place in the table, whilst the Youth had moved up to third last week.
The match got underway at a frantic pace and there was some excellent football played by both teams. Twenty minutes into the first half, Youth's goalkeeper Joe Suggitt race from his area to clear a through ball and, in doing so, was injured in a 50:50 challenge with a Colts player. Joe was unable to continue and was replaced by Josh Willis, before being taken to hospital by ambulance to be diagnosed with soft tissue damage to his lower leg. The Colts took the lead shortly after the substitution, but Youth equalised just before half time through Jason Miller. Both teams kept up the pressure on each other into the second half and Youth went into the lead through Darren McDonald and extended their advantage with a goal from Scott Quinn. Colts won themselves a penalty after Josh brought down an attacking player, but the resulting spot kick struck the post and went out, leaving Youth clear winners in the end.
The Youth squad for the game was Joe Suggitt, David Colvin-Morgan, Ryan Sheargold, Josh Dando, Sam Richardson, Dominic Cruttenden, Liam Martin, Simon Baker, Scott Quinn, Darren McDonald, Jason Miller, Jacob Archer, Josh Willis, Adam Garlick and Tom Felstead. Details of the Colts line-up have not been made available.
On an altogether sadder note, spectators at tomorrow's First Team match will notice players from the Under 18 squads around the ground in their kit holding collection buckets. This is in aid of their teammate Ashley Paine, who was seriously assaulted on Sunday 15 January. Ashley was the victim of an unprovoked assault whilst playing for the Club in a league fixture, leaving him with a head injury and three fractures to his jaw. After examination at the Conquest Hospital, Ashley was transferred to East Grinstead Hospital, where he underwent surgery, before returning home on the following Wednesday to begin a period of convalescence.
The opposition player involved has been thrown out of his club and is awaiting punishment from the Sussex County FA. The incident is also subject to a Police investigation. Due to these injuries, Ashley is now unable to play for the remainder of the season, which is a great shame, as he had forged an excellent partnership in the heart of the Under 18 Youth defence with Josh Dando. Joint Manager Ryan Light has stated that Ashley is one to watch for as a future First Team player at United.
Ashley was born and raised in Westfield and has played for their Youth Teams under the management of his father Barry. He has also played for the Reserve and First Teams at Westfield. Ashley is the grandson of Mick Muth, who, many will recall, was involved with our Club during its original time as Hastings United. Everyone at the Club would like to send their best wishes to Ashley and wish him a speedy recovery after this sickening incident. Please look out for Ashley’s teammates tomorrow and put in a donation for him if you can.
The top of the table teams enjoyed a better day than many of late, with the leading four sides all winning to extend their advantage over the rest of the league. Just two points continue to separate Horsham, Tooting & Mitcham, Ramsgate and Tonbridge, with the Rams nicely improving their goal difference this afternoon by thumping seven past Molesey. There is then a nine point gap to Leatherhead and ten points to Dover, both of whom are without a win in four matches, although the latter have a number of games in hand on everyone else, while Kingstonian, Croydon, United, Bashley and Fleet are all now within a single victory of a place in the top six. The bottom four all lost today, so positions remain unchanged, with Newport and Corinthian-Casuals still filling the relegation places, and Ashford and Burgess Hill just above the safety line.
Here are all of this afternoon's Ryman League Division One results. Ashford Town 2-3 Tonbridge Angels, Banstead Athletic 3-3 Walton Casuals, Bashley 1-2 Tooting & Mitcham United, Corinthian-Casuals 1-2 Lymington & New Milton, Cray Wanderers 0-2 Hastings United, Croydon Athletic 2-1 Metropolitan Police, Dulwich Hamlet 1-0 Whyteleafe, Fleet Town 1-1 Leatherhead, Horsham 2-1 Newport IoW, Kingstonian 3-2 Burgess Hill Town, Ramsgate 7-1 Molesey.
United Reserves belatedly kicked off their 2006 fixtures under new management at the Pilot Field this evening and Ryan Light led an experienced line-up to a 1-0 victory over a youthful and spirited Burgess Hill Town Reserves side in his first match at the helm. United named a strong starting eleven, with all bar one of the players having played First Team football this season. Danny Ellis made a welcome return from a hernia operation, which has forced him to sit out the last eight weeks, and was prominent in much of United's attacking endeavour in a goalless first half. The only goal of the game finally arrived in the sixty-sixth minute, as United slowly began to make their superior quality and fitness count, Ben White driving forward from his central defensive position and firing an unstoppable thirty yard shot to the goalkeeper's right. Ben later hit the crossbar from similar range and Duncan McArthur was denied by a superb late save, as United comfortably closed out the game, with Sam Harris-Green enjoying a reasonably relaxed evening in the United goal.
The victory was only United's second in eight games in the Alliance League and was not enough to lift them off the foot of the table, but they moved to within three points of Burgess Hill and Worthing this evening, with games in hand on each. As the league campaign enters its final couple of months, United can now look forward to a match in each of the next six weeks, starting with a potentially daunting trip to league leaders Lewes next Thursday. Tonight's line-up: 1 Sam Harris-Green, 2 Jimmy Elford, 3 Steve Yates, 4 Sean Ray (c), 5 Ben White, 6 Damani Campbell, 7 Danny Ellis, 8 Duncan McArthur, 9 Ade Olorunda, 10 Shaun Loft, 11 Dominic Cruttenden, 12 Josh Dando (for Yates 63), 14 Dan Skelton, 15 Liam Baker (for Loft 45), 17 Mario Campbell (for Olorunda 70), GK Josh Willis.
Recent Ryman League Division One results have been as follows.
Saturday: Burgess Hill Town 2-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Dover Athletic 0-0 Horsham, Hastings United 3-0 Corinthian-Casuals, Leatherhead 0-1 Bashley, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Cray Wanderers, Molesey 3-1 Fleet Town, Newport IoW 1-3 Kingstonian, Tonbridge Angels 1-0 Banstead Athletic, Tooting & Mitcham United 1-1 Ramsgate, Walton Casuals 1-2 Croydon Athletic, Whyteleafe 3-2 Ashford Town.
Midweek: Fleet Town 0-0 Ramsgate, Metropolitan Police 0-0 Kingstonian, Cray Wanderers 3-3 Molesey.
After having been forced to call off last Thursday's Alliance Reserve League trip to Horsham due to a lack of players, United were looking forward to the visit of Conference side Crawley Town this week, only for that game to become the latest in a continuing series of postponements. Crawley have cited Tuesday's Sussex Senior Cup quarter final tie against Bognor Regis Town and their desire to give several of their Reserve and Youth Team players a game as the reason for calling off the match, which will now need to be played in the last two weeks of February to fit in with the fixture deadlines imposed by the County FA.
United's two Under 18 sides have both progressed through the quarter final stage of the Crowborough & District Under 18 Knockout Cup and have subsequently been drawn to play each other in a Pilot Field semi final on Sunday 5 February, guaranteeing the Club a representative in the final. The Colts side beat Junior Club Tackleway 6-1 to reach the semi final for the second year in a row, thanks to two goals from Scott Greenaway and one apiece from Alan Foster, Wes Tate, Rob Usherwood and Louie Irwing. The more senior side also reached their second successive semi final with a 3-2 victory over Eastbourne Old Town Boys, goals coming from Darren McDonald, Scott Quinn and Jacob Archer.
United's inactivity yesterday saw them lose a little more ground on the top six and sink another place in the table to tenth. Such is the congestion in the middle of the table now, that only six points separate Bashley in seventh from Cray in fifteenth, although it will require a strong run from any of those sides to challenge for a play-off spot. The top two did the rest of the league a favour yesterday as both lost, Horsham in spectacular fashion at home to Tooting & Mitcham and Tonbridge by a single goal at Fleet. Ramsgate's consistent form continued and they now have games in hand that could take them top for the first time, while Dover continued to struggle to find their best form at Dulwich, where a goalless draw was marred by violent scenes as the players left the pitch after the final whistle. Four sides are becoming cast adrift at the foot of the table, with Newport stuck on the bottom after their defeat at Croydon, the Rams moving above United in the table as a result.
Here are all of Saturday's results. Ashford Town 1-2 Metropolitan Police, Banstead Athletic 0-0 Molesey, Bashley 1-0 Whyteleafe, Corinthian-Casuals 3-4 Walton Casuals, Cray Wanderers 2-5 Lymington & New Milton, Croydon Athletic 1-0 Newport IoW, Dulwich Hamlet 0-0 Dover Athletic, Fleet Town 1-0 Tonbridge Angels, Horsham 1-6 Tooting & Mitcham United, Kingstonian 2-1 Leatherhead, Ramsgate 1-0 Burgess Hill Town.
Kingstonian and Bashley were the only sides to pick up two victories over the festive period, as the leading sides continued to stutter in their respective quests for promotion. Horsham became the first side to rack up a half century of points after their draw against United yesterday, and they remain four points clear of Tonbridge, who have three games in hand. Tooting & Mitcham's form has taken something of a dive and a return of just a single point in two matches saw them slip to third, ahead of Ramsgate and Leatherhead. Dover have dropped off the pace to sixth, after a shock defeat to Ashford yesterday, while Bashley and Fleet both moved above United on goal difference. United are without a game this weekend and could find themselves as low as thirteenth in the table by the time Corinthian-Casuals visit the Pilot Field on 14 January.
Boxing Day's results: Bashley 2-1 Lymington & New Milton, Burgess Hill Town 0-3 Horsham, Dover Athletic 1-1 Ramsgate, Hastings United 2-0 Ashford Town, Leatherhead 4-0 Banstead Athletic, Molesey 1-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Newport IoW 2-2 Fleet Town, Tonbridge Angels 1-0 Cray Wanderers, Tooting & Mitcham United 0-2 Dulwich Hamlet, Walton Casuals 0-1 Kingstonian, Whyteleafe 1-1 Croydon Athletic.
New Year Bank Holiday results: Ashford Town 3-2 Dover Athletic, Banstead Athletic 1-0 Burgess Hill Town, Bashley 3-0 Newport IoW, Corinthian-Casuals v Metropolitan Police, Cray Wanderers 3-3 Tooting & Mitcham United, Dulwich Hamlet 0-1 Molesey, Fleet Town 2-0 Lymington & New Milton, Horsham 0-0 Hastings United, Kingstonian 3-1 Whyteleafe, Ramsgate 3-3 Tonbridge Angels.
In their latest Alliance League outing this evening (Thursday), United Reserves were well beaten 5-0 at the Pilot Field by an experienced Eastbourne Borough Reserves side. The United line-up included First Team skipper Sean Ray, who missed yesterday's Sussex Senior Cup visit to Worthing through suspension, joint First Team Manager Nigel Kane, Peter Mortley and Ben White, but they proved no match for their opponents, who fielded the likes of Scott Ramsey, Daniel Marney, Matt Piper, Matt Smart, Kevin Hemsley and Loui Fazakerley, as well as Pete Featherstone and Liam Baitup, both of whom are currently jointly registered with United. The visitors scored three times in a one-sided first half and, after substituting some of their illustrious starters, added two more in the second period. The win lifted Eastbourne into third place in the table, still with games in hand on the top two sides, Lewes and Crawley, while United remain bottom, four points adrift of Burgess Hill and Worthing.
This evening's encounter saw the end of Peter Mortley's twenty-one month stay at the Pilot Field, during which he made fifty-two First Team appearances. His playing time for the senior side has been restricted by injuries this season though and Peter has decided to quit the Club, no longer favouring the travelling from his Medway home, and will seek a more geographically convenient club when he has returned to full fitness.
United have also received a seven day letter from Ryman League Premier Division side Folkestone Invicta for Stuart Playford, who has made nine appearances in two brief spells at the Pilot Field this season, although last week's trip to Fleet saw him notch up his 400th appearance in total. If the move goes through, Stuart will link up with former United teammates Tony Kessell, Adam Flanagan, Stuart Myall and Paul Jones at Cheriton Road.
United return to league action on Boxing Day, when struggling Ashford Town call in at the Pilot Field for the traditional post-Christmas local derby. Sean Ray will return to the First Team squad for the game, although Ade Olorunda, Danny Spice and Duncan McArthur are all suspended.
Merry Christmas on behalf of everyone at Hastings United Football Club.
United's new management duo of Pat Brown and Nigel Kane have today announced their first permanent signing since taking full control of First Team affairs at the Pilot Field. Goalkeeper Chris May, who played in Tuesday evening's defeat at Fleet Town in place of the unavailable John Sullivan, has been persuaded to sign on for the remainder of the season and should provide some much needed stability to a role that United have struggled to fill on a permanent basis since the departure of Dave King at the end of the 2002/03 season. Meanwhile, the Club will prepare to cancel John's registration to allow him to return to Brighton on a full time basis, which he does with the Club's thanks for his efforts over the last couple of months and best wishes for his future career.
Pat and Nigel have also decided to grant Ben White a reprieve, after he was initially released by United for a series of disciplinary breaches last week. Ben has shown great contrition towards the management team and his fellow players since the conclusion of this unfortunate episode and took part in last night's Reserve Team encounter at Worthing, although he was unable to prevent United from suffering a 5-1 defeat. Ben should now return to the First Team squad that also visits Woodside Road for next Wednesday's Sussex Senior Cup third round tie, whilst the winners of that game will be away to County League Division One strugglers Shoreham in the quarter finals. The other ties will be Hassocks or Wealden v Horsham, Lewes v Eastbourne Town and Crawley Town v Bognor Regis Town, with all four games due to be played during January.
Saturday's Ryman League Division One results. Banstead Athletic 0-2 Cray Wanderers, Bashley 1-1 Horsham, Burgess Hill Town 3-0 Lymington & New Milton, Fleet Town 1-3 Croydon Athletic, Leatherhead 2-1 Walton Casuals, Molesey 1-1 Ashford Town, Ramsgate 4-1 Metropolitan Police, Tonbridge Angels 3-1 Corinthian-Casuals, Tooting & Mitcham United 3-1 Newport IoW.
United have confirmed that caretaker duo Pat Brown and Nigel Kane have been installed as new joint First Team managers until the end of the current season. Chairman Dave Walters made the appointments after a second, still unnamed, candidate declined to take up the post, following Francis Vines' decision to do likewise at the start of last week. Pat and Nigel have been in temporary charge of on-field affairs since the departure of United's previous management team two weeks ago, and have now been rewarded for stepping in at short notice and providing valuable support and assistance to the Club in such trying times.
Goalkeeper Chris May re-signed for United this week to fill the void caused by John Sullivan's unavailability for last night's visit to Fleet. John was due to be involved in Brighton & Hove Albion's FA Youth Cup tie at home to Port Vale this evening and has also been withdrawn from United's Sussex Senior Cup tie at Worthing next week.
Also arriving at the Pilot Field this week is seventeen year old striker Liam Baitup, who joins United a few days after being released by Conference South rivals Eastbourne Borough. Liam played his Youth Team football at Lewes, before signing for Borough at the start of the 2004/05 season, making seven First Team appearances in total, and has also spent time playing for Sussex County League side Hailsham Town. He made his United debut at Fleet last night.
Next week's Sussex Senior Cup tie at Worthing has been put back twenty-four hours to Wednesday, still with a 7.30pm kick off. As a consequence, United Reserves' midweek Alliance League match at home to Eastbourne Borough Reserves has also been put back a day to Thursday, with a 7.45pm kick off.
The fans' forum that followed this afternoon's unfortunate defeat to Tonbridge was rather more sparsely attended than Tuesday's event. Some issues were discussed again, for the benefit of those unable to attend in the week, but the new matters arising were as follows.
The new manager. After Francis Vines ruled himself out of contention for the job, Dave's focus switched to an as yet unnamed second candidate and a decision was anticipated from this individual before the start of the coming week. News would be made available on the website as soon as possible.
Terry White. Dave had held further talks with Terry during the week and remained aware of his desire to be considered for the vacant manager's post. Were the job to go to another individual however, Dave would certainly not rule out Terry's return to the Club in some other capacity, although that would of course depend on the wishes of the new man at the helm.
The playing staff. It was confirmed that Ben White had been advised that his services were no longer required, due to a 'number of disciplinary reasons'. Simon Rowland had decided to leave the Club after a recent disagreement with the caretaker managers. Discussions were ongoing about the possibility of offering skipper Sean Ray a contract. The Club is preparing to appeal against Ade Olorunda's red card at Bashley last weekend. The process would cost £150, but Dave felt that it was worth the money in an effort to overturn a perceived injustice, although appeals are seldom successful due to the obvious lack of video evidence.
The playing budget. Dave explained that this was not a stumbling block in his negotiations with managerial candidates and that he believed the Club's budget to be amongst the highest in the division. There also remains the potential for growth this season and, should the Club be successful in its promotion bid, the transition to a Premier Division budget would be seamless.
Back on the field of play, Horsham continue to march on at the top of the Division One table this evening, after hammering Molesey. Tooting & Mitcham's surprise defeat at Walton allowed Tonbridge and Ramsgate to close the gap with victories, although Dover and Leatherhead could only manage a point apiece. United stay seventh, now five points behind the top six and ten off the promotion places. The mid-table positions are becoming ever more congested, with three points separating the seven clubs below United. And right at the bottom, there are now four sides level on points, with Burgess Hill's draw at Croydon lifting them off the foot and out of the bottom three.
These were this afternoon's results. Ashford Town 0-3 Ramsgate, Corinthian-Casuals 1-3 Bashley, Cray Wanderers 3-3 Leatherhead, Croydon Athletic 0-0 Burgess Hill Town, Dover Athletic 1-1 Fleet Town, Hastings United 0-3 Tonbridge Angels, Horsham 5-0 Molesey, Lymington & New Milton 2-4 Kingstonian, Metropolitan Police 1-0 Dulwich Hamlet, Newport IoW 0-2 Banstead Athletic, Walton Casuals 2-1 Tooting & Mitcham United.
Danny Spice collected his fifth booking of the season this afternoon and he will now be suspended for one match as a result, missing the Boxing Day clash with Ashford Town. Duncan McArthur picked up another caution this afternoon as well, his tenth in only fourteen appearances this season, and he will now be suspended for two matches, the Ashford game and the visit to Horsham on 2 January. Subject to United's appeal. Ade Olorunda will also be missing from those two games, as well as the Sussex Senior Cup game at Worthing on 20 December, from which Sean Ray is also banned.
After last night's victory over Metropolitan Police, United chairman Dave Walters held the first of his two forums this week, a well attended event, at which a patient gathering heard him respond to a number of questions, not surprisingly dominated by the recent turnover in managerial staff at the Pilot Field. There follows a brief summary of his responses to the main topics of debate and don't forget that there will be a second opportunity to quiz the chairman after Saturday's game against Tonbridge. As there is a function taking place in the Clubhouse that day, the event will take place in the Boardroom instead, although not until it has been vacated by home and visiting officials of course.
Neville Southall. United's erstwhile manager was relieved of his duties due to a number of issues, on which he and Dave appeared to have differing points of view, training, discipline on and off the field, the perceived lack of quality players that Neville had attracted and team tactics to name four. Dave was at pains to stress that at no time had he tried to interfere with team affairs and, when his concerns began to surface after the home defeat to Newport on 5 November, he called a meeting to debate certain matters and felt satisfied that things were still heading in the right direction. As results did not improve and certain tactical decisions remained questionable, specifically the continued omission of Sam Adams from starting line-ups, Dave had essentially decided to dispense with Neville's services after the Dulwich game, although still allowed him one final opportunity against Ramsgate, before calling time the following afternoon. Dave stated that he genuinely believed Neville to have been the best man for the job, from the list of applicants, and refuted any suggestion that he had been installed simply because of his celebrity status.
The caretaker role. Following Neville's departure, Dave confessed that the subsequent resignation of Vinnie Moorton, Terry White and Alan Green had been completely unforeseen, as it had been the intention for Vinnie and Terry to look after the team until the new appointment had been made. Terry had initially been undecided as to whether or not to accept the job, but had ultimately felt it necessary to decline. Dave accepted that Terry may well now have had a change of heart, but would not be drawn any further on that subject. It was suggested to Dave that he enlist the assistance of Pat Brown and Nigel Kane to look after the First Team at Bashley and Dave expressed his gratitude to both for unequivocally agreeing to this request. Dave decided to select the team and tactical formation in order to shield them from any flak that might still be flying. Dave also expressed his thanks to Peter Mortley, Norman Kane, Ken Dullaway, Dean Jinks and Paul Greenaway for their support and assistance in ensuring that Saturday's Reserve Team game had been able to go ahead.
The new manager. Dave had hoped to have filled the position already, but as had been reported in the press, former Crawley Town boss Francis Vines had elected not to take the job, due to the perceived inconvenience of travelling from his home in Aldershot. One other name was firmly in the frame, although Dave was unable to divulge the person's identity. Dave accepted the ideal of having a locally based manager at the helm, but questioned the current availability of such an individual and stated his firm belief that the job should simply go to the best candidate, irrespective of his location. The question of 'local being best' provoked a lively debate between two supporters in the room, proving that not everyone is going to be satisfied with any appointment that is made. Dave categorically stated that he had no desire to manage the Club himself and would surely have taken the opportunity to do so when Steve Lovell resigned, had he wished to. Nigel and Pat were not being discounted from taking on the manager's job at this stage, but were seen as more ideal candidates to look after the Reserves for now, in order to gain more experience.
The Club's future. The idea of a Supporters' Trust taking over the Club had been discussed when Mick Maplesden announced his intention to sell his majority shareholding two and a half years ago. Dave declared his desire to see such a scheme take control of United in the long term, as and when he decides to depart the scene. As for any decision making that goes on at present, Dave observed that he in no way takes vital decisions without first debating issues with his fellow director, Chris Russo, or other key people, in whom he feels he can confide, although he ultimately accepts full responsibility for his actions. He mentioned the possibility of there being a supporters' representative on the board, by way of a share purchase, although the acceptability of any such potential buyer would need to be carefully considered.
The Reserves. The decision to withdraw United Reserves from the Kent League had not met with universal popularity, but Dave reiterated the reasoning behind the choice to join the midweek Alliance League. The other senior clubs in Sussex had all signed up for the new league and it was thought that United's younger players would benefit from play