Welcome to our second pre-season match versus Eastbourne Borough. We hope you have a great day with us. Here’s what’s in today’s progcast:

• Darren from the Dugout
• Chairman’s Notes
• In memory of Ken Carter
• Mr and Mrs Eastwood
• Retired Rooks
• Meet The New Boys
• Men’s Fixtures 2019/20

DARREN FROM THE DUGOUT

Hear Darren’s thoughts on today’s game by clicking the Play button below:

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CHAIRMAN’S NOTES

Good afternoon and welcome back to the Dripping Pan. I’d like to welcome our visitors from Eastbourne Borough and, of course, wish them luck for their forthcoming Vanarama South campaign. It is always great that we meet each other in pre-season, although I am sure we’d all be hoping that next season we will be meeting in a league match rather than a friendly!

For many of us, me included after a family holiday, this will be the first visit back to the Pan since April. I am sure you’ll agree that there’s a lot of fantastic work happening over the Summer and it is looking great. 

The pitch has never been in better condition for years and huge thanks should go to Roger for his daily work on the surface, as well as Dan O’Rourke who’s joined us this season. Our beach huts have had a makeover,  the new bar is looking fabulous thanks to Steve’s hard work and I hope that you’ll enjoy the new beers on offer. 

At the Terry Parris Terrace end we’ve also got a new fence thanks to the generosity of Lewes fan and owner Konrad Adamczewski, who not only donated the wood but also grew it in his own forest!

We’ve had two games so far, recording two wins. I’m sure Darren won’t mind me saying that it is early days and whilst we showed patches of good football, we still need to work on making it a 90-minute effort. The job of building the squad for the new season is still ongoing – this summer has thrown up a number of challenges which I will go into more detail in a few weeks. 

I went down to watch the squad train on Thursday and was impressed with the intensity. It was also great to see Ronnie and Brinky taking part as part of their ongoing rehabilitation from injury and we look forward to welcoming them back in the coming months.

We were saddened to hear this week of the passing of former manager Ken Carter. Ken was in charge of the famous Lewes side in 1964-65 who went a whole league campaign unbeaten, winning the Sussex County League and three other trophies. He is, quite rightly so, considered a legend in our history and he will be sorely missed.

We will be holding a minute’s silence for Ken before today’s game, and there’s a full tribute to him below.

Enjoy the game.

Stuart

IN MEMORY OF KEN CARTER

The club was very saddened this week to learn of the death of our former manager, Ken Carter. Ken was arguably the most successful manager in the club’s near 135-year history, thanks to his achievements with the 1964-65 ‘Invincibles’. Below, club President Terry Parris pays tribute to his former manager and we republish Kevin Brook’s look back at that amazing 1964-65 season.

Terry Parris writes:

Kenny Carter was appointed manager of Lewes in 1964 and 1964-65 was one of our most successful seasons. The team went unbeaten all season apart from the FA Cup, where they lost to Redhill in a replay away from home.

That season we won the Sussex County League Division one, the Sussex Senior Cup 6-3 against Littlehampton and the Sussex RUR Charity Cup. Ken was a leader, a great football coach and also a great fitness coach, having been in the Army working as a PE instructor. He was respected by everyone and was very successful, he liked his teams to be fitter than the opposition.

After promotion to the Athenian league, Ken kept a very good side and in 1968 had a good run in the FA Amateur Cup. I first played for Ken at Eastbourne United in 1972/73. Eastbourne were one of the best teams in Sussex at the time and it was a privilege to play for him and learn so much.

A few years ago we invited that team from 64-65 to our senior cup final at the Amex. It was a great day with a number turning up ,and they thoroughly enjoyed the day and especially catching up with old friends and going on the pitch at half-time.

Kenny had managerial association with a number of other clubs including Whitehawk and Burgess Hill; he also went on to manage the senior Sussex side in 1979 which I played for.

A unique character who started very young in management, he has played such a big part in producing many talented players over the years and he made so many friends. He will be sadly missed by us all and our thoughts at this very sad time are with his wife Maureen and her family.

KEN CARTER’S INVINCIBLES

Kevin Brook charts a remarkable season in the history of Lewes FC

They call the 1889 Preston North End side and Arsène Wenger’s 2004 team ‘The Invincibles’. Ken Carter’s 1964-65 Lewes side deserves to be mentioned in the same breath. We may not be talking about the top league in the land, but the achievements of that season were equally remarkable. Within nine months the club went from County League nearly men to a band of record breakers who achieved things that had never been seen before and are unlikely to ever be repeated.

From the club’s humble beginnings in the Royal Oak pub in 1885 until 1965, Lewes only enjoyed modest success. Two pre-World War I Mid-Sussex League Championships and a couple of Sussex RUR Cups were the sum of 80 years’ hard toil at the Dripping Pan. What must have frustrated the forefathers of Lewes Football Club even more was the amount of trophies which Worthing and Horsham, the powerhouse of early Sussex football, were regularly picking up.

Step forward 27-year-old Ken Carter. When the Lewes job became available in the summer of 1964, Carter threw his hat into the ring, having just coached Whitehawk to the Sussex County League title. Despite his side having pipped the Rooks to the Championship, the ever modest former army PT instructor didn’t expect to get the job. Tom Carr, the Lewes Chairman, took a chance on the former Albion goalkeeper and it paid handsome dividends.

Players follow managers. It’s a fact of life in non-league football and back in the 1960s it was no different. Once Carter was confirmed as the new Rooks boss it took little time for six of his former Whitehawk charges to make the short hop from East Brighton and slot seamlessly into the Rooks XI, continuing their relationship with the man described by the then Lewes Secretary John Bull as “a damn nice fellow”. Carter’s simple ethos of a good atmosphere in the dressing room and a high degree of fitness attracted players and fans alike.   

Flying start

Six weeks of hard pre-season training immediately paid dividends. A 5-0 home win against Bexhill Town, including a brace from striker Billy Ford, set the tone for the season. While a scoreless draw at Seaford Town followed a few days later, it was but a minor blip for the free-scoring Rooks, who took maximum points from their other games in August and September, scoring 23 goals in the process including a 7-1 away thrashing of Shoreham in which Lewes “ran rings around the home defence”. After just six weeks of the season, many were already wondering if they were witnessing the league champions in action. Little did they know they were seeing something far more exceptional.

This Lewes side were relentless. Not only were goals flowing like Harvey’s in the Rook Inn but the defence was equally formidable. John Lynch between the sticks was an imposing figure which few breached, and the old fashioned full back partnership of Peter Martin and Robin Cox had the strength, pace and ability to repel even the best teams in Sussex.

In what would now be the midfield, three players – Andy Lower, Brian Donaldson and Ian Pattenden – were the heartbeat of the side. The versatility of Graham Tuson shouldn’t be overlooked either. Although he found it hard to nail down his own spot, he was successfully deployed in a variety defensive positions throughout the season.

New year, new record

The newspapers of the time were running out of superlatives to describe Carter’s Rooks. They won 12 games in a row between the start of December and end of February, setting a new club record by entering the New Year unbeaten. It wasn’t only team records that were falling. Centre forward Billy Ford was well on course to better Cecil Ray’s club record of 62 goals in 1936. Ford had it all: brilliant with the ball at his feet and unstoppable in the air, with an incredible knack of being on the end of most attacks.

A trip to Selsey on 27^th March ended with a scrappy but important 1-0 win, but it came at a cost. Ford, described by the Argus as “the greatest goal-grabbing machine Sussex football has seen” suffered a broken bone in both his foot and ankle, which ended his season prematurely. Cecil Ray’s Lewes record wouldn’t be smashed, but Ford’s 57 goals in 35 games was simply phenomenal. 

Ford’s injury was a blow but others weren’t shy at getting on the scoresheet. Classy inside forward John Ford – one of the Ford ‘twins’ – was already banging them in before Billy’s injury, but he comfortably filled the void, finding the net 30 times in total that season.

Cup runs

While the lead at the top of Sussex County League was being extended, the cup competitions also proved that this Lewes side were a match for anyone. An early FA Cup exit, 4-3 at the hands of Redhill in a replay, was unlucky, if expected. While the Rooks should have won the first tie, which ended two apiece, the Surrey outfit were a full three leagues higher than Lewes and the Athenian Premier League’s side class eventually showed.

The FA Cup disappointment was put to one side and the three prestigious Sussex cups – the Sussex Senior Cup, the RUR Cup and the Brighton Charity Cup – were firmly within their sights. Light work were made of the early rounds but wins against Athenian Leaguers Worthing, Horsham, Eastbourne United and Eastbourne Town showed against that Lewes were not only the best in their own league but the number one non-league club in Sussex.

The quarter final Senior Cup win over 17-time winners Worthing was particularly noteworthy. The first match at Woodside Road had been built up into the clash between two of Sussex’s finest, but the 1,300 in attendance were subjected to an embittered, scrappy duel that saw three men sent off, ironically including Allan Gunn. Gunn’s left-wing play was unstoppable, but despite his superb efforts in the red and black, Gunn became better known in pure black as one of the top referees in the country, cumulating in refereeing the 1990 FA Cup Final. Whilst being sent off in an incident involving Worthing’s Gerry Offen was bad enough, newspapers reported that “after Gunn had changed and returned to his seat, Offen’s mother left the stand and smacked his face before being escorted away”.

Things didn’t improve for Offen in the replay at the Pan. With the scores at 1-1 in the 75^th minute, Offen had the chance to take a vital lead from the penalty spot but was distracted by… a blanket. The mystery blanket waver, later revealed to be Lewes kit man Pop Page, used just enough gamesmanship to divert the attention of the normally reliable Offen, who hit a tame shot that was pawed away by Lynch. Within ten minutes, Andy Lower grabbed the winner to continue the Rooks’ astonishing run.

Title winners

The Sussex County League title was finally captured, for the first time in the club’s history, with a 1-0 win at second-placed Lancing in mid-April. As part of a five-man attack, inside forward Kenny Baker was vital to the team. An old-fashioned schemer who worked his socks off for the side, Baker weighed in with 14 crucial goals, including that title winner at Culver Road. The Kings of Sussex football were rightly jubilant, but there was still work to do and the small matter of three finals to conquer during May 1965.

In their path to greatness stood Shoreham, Eastbourne United and in the ultimate prize, the Sussex Senior Cup Final, Littlehampton Town. Shoreham were dispatched 4-2 on aggregate in the two legged RUR final and Athenian League Eastbourne United were defeated 3-1 in the Brighton Charity Cup, but it was the big one at Brighton and Hove Albion’s Goldstone Ground that skipper Gordon Howieson most wanted to get his hands on.

Diminutive winger Howieson was king of the assists and, in tandem with Gunn on the left, would send defenders into a spin. Howieson wouldn’t be denied and like everyone else before them Littlehampton were put to the sword. Dave Fellingham helped put the rampant Rooks 5-0 up at half-time and they eventually ran out 6-3 winners. Pacey forward Fellingham was in and out the side that season, but popped up with the goods when required – a first half hat-trick at the Goldstone and a brace against Eastbourne United in the Brighton Charity Cup proved he was the man for the big occasion.

It was a season like no other. Four major trophies collected, every senior club in the county beaten, and not a single defeat in league or three cups. And it wasn’t only the first team who were unstoppable – both Lewes reserves and third team also won their respective leagues.

The 1964-65 league table is a magnificent sight, although it does provide an interesting quirk. Lewes only played 31 matches, with the final league match, an away game at Littlehampton Town, forever unplayed due to the sheer number of fixtures Lewes had to squeeze in. It mattered not, a zero in the defeats column was achieved, and it was to be the final season in the Sussex County League as the Athenian League accepted their application for promotion. Thanks to Ken the Rooks had taken flight in the most breathtaking fashion.

ENJOY YOUR RUBY, MR & MRS EASTWOOD

A very happy 40th wedding anniversary to Mr and Mrs Eastwood, who are joining us at the game today and picking up a special gift from Barry in the club shop.

RETIRED ROOKS

The FaceApp craze has been sweeping social media this week, so we thought it would be fun to see how some of our squad might look in 40 years’ time, when they’re not so fresh-faced. Can you tell who they all are? Answers at the bottom.

Answers: Harry Reed, James Hammond, Frankie Chappell, Stacey Freeman, Darren Freeman

MEET THE NEW BOYS

Darren Freeman has made a number of summer signings. Here’s a brief introduction to some of the new faces you may see in action today and throughout the season.

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LEWES FC MEN’S FIXTURES 2019/20

Tue Jul 23 East Grinstead A

Sat Jul 27 Met Police A

Tue Jul 30 Haywards Heath A

Sat Aug 3 Whitehawk H

Sat Aug 10 Enfield Town H
Tue Aug 13 Worthing A
Sat Aug 17 Bowers & Pitsea H
Sat Aug 24 Margate A
Mon Aug 26 Horsham H
Sat Aug 31 Leatherhead A
Sat Sep 7 FA Cup 1st Qual Rd
Wed Sep 11 FA Cup 1st Qual Rd – Replays
Sat Sep 14 Potters Bar Town H
Sat Sep 21 Wingate & Finchley H FA Cup 2nd Qual Rd
Sat Sep 28 Brightlingsea Regent A
Mon Sep 30 Carshalton Athletic A
Sat Oct 5 Haringey Borough H FA Cup 3rd Qual Rd
Sat Oct 12 East Thurrock United A
Sat Oct 19 Cray Wanderers H FA Cup 4th Qual Rd
Wed Oct 23 Corinthian-Casuals H
Sat Oct 26 FA Trophy 1st Qual Rd
Wed Oct 30 FA Trophy 1st Qual Rd – Replays
Sat Nov 2 Cheshunt A
Sat Nov 9 Hornchurch H FA Cup 1/Trophy 2nd Qual Rd
Sat Nov 16 Kingstonian A
Sat Nov 23 Bishops Stortford A FA Trophy 3rd Qual Rd
Sat Nov 30 Folkestone Invicta H FA Cup 2
Sat Dec 7 Leatherhead H
Sat Dec 14 Merstham A FA Trophy 1
Thu Dec 26 Bognor Regis Town H
Wed Jan 1 Horsham A
Sat Jan 4 Haringey Borough A
Sat Jan 11 Carshalton Athletic H FA Trophy 2
Sat Jan 18 Cray Wanderers A
Sat Jan 25 East Thurrock United H
Sat Feb 1 Corinthian-Casuals A
Sat Feb 8 Cheshunt H
Sat Feb 15 Enfield Town A
Wed Feb 19 Worthing H
Sat Feb 22 Brightlingsea Regent H
Sat Feb 29 Wingate & Finchley A
Sat Mar 7 Kingstonian H
Sat Mar 14 Hornchurch A
Sat Mar 21 Bowers & Pitsea A
Sat Mar 28 Merstham H
Sat Apr 4 Potters Bar Town A
Sat Apr 11 Margate H
Mon Apr 13 Bognor Regis Town A
Sat Apr 18 Bishops Stortford H
Sat Apr 25 Folkestone Invicta A

CREDITS AND LEGAL

“The Isthmian Football League strongly supports the FA statement that there should be a zero tolerance approach against racism and all forms of discrimination. Accordingly any form of discriminatory abuse whether it by reason of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, sex and sexual orientation or any other form of abuse will be reported to The Football Association for action by that Association.” (The FA 0800 085 0508 / Kick it Out 020 7253 0162).The Isthmian League and all Member Clubs in the League are committed to promoting equality by treating people fairly and with respect, by recognising that inequalities may exist, by taking steps to address them and providing access and opportunities for all members of the community.”

Lewes 2000 FC Limited. Registered in England and Wales with Company Registration Number 03790979. Lewes 2000 FC Limited is 100% owned by Lewes Community Football Club.

Honorary President Terry Parris
Chairman Stuart Fuller
Directors Ed Briggs, Charlie Dobres, Karen Dobres, Stuart Fuller, Steve Keegan, Galia Orme, John Peel, Ed Ramsden, Roger Warner, Trevor Wells
Club Secretary John Peel
Match Secretary David Evans
Youth Secretary Kevin Brook
Operations Manager Warren Lane

Equality FC Campaign Manager Karen Dobres

Life Members
Mr and Mrs Brook, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox RIP, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris, Terry Parris, Jimmy Quinn, P. Swaysland, Steve Ibbitson, Jason Hopkinson, Steve White, Martin Elliot, Kevin Fingerneissl, Kevin Powell, David and Barbara Arnold, Roger and Cathy Feltham, Ethel Treagus, Roy Dartnell RIP, Ron Moore, Derek Southouse, Ray Smith, Ken Carter RIP

Manager Hugo Langton
First team coach Dale Hurley
First team physio Katie Joynes
Goalkeeping coach John MaCrae
Under-18s Manager Dale Hurley
Under-18s Assistant Manager Craig Stevens
Under-18s coaches Jake Legrange and Johnny Buggy

Golden Rook Rob Read
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editors Paul Sheppard and Stuart Fuller
Progcast Designer Barry Collins
Club Photographer James Boyes