Welcome to The Dripping Pan for our BetVictor Isthmian Premier League game with Worthing. Here is your complimentary matchday programme, which we call the Progcast.

In today’s issue:

• Live Match Updates
• Boss Talk
• Chairman’s Notes
• Recent Match Review
• Today’s opponents: Worthing
• How is this financial fair play?
• Sponsor your favourite player

LIVE MATCH UPDATES

You can get full updates from today’s game, including team line-ups, goals and substitutons, in the panel below. It will automatically update throughout the game. Data supplied by FootballWebPages.

CHAIRMAN’S NOTES

Good evening everyone and welcome back to the Dripping Pan for a much-anticipated local derby against Worthing. I’d like to welcome the fans, players, management and officials from Woodside Road and hope your short journey home is problem free.

The Rebels have had a great season so far, playing some excellent football, and come into this game top of the table. Despite losing their last three games the club is still eyeing promotion to the Conference South. Meanwhile, we are still looking at securing every point we can to ensure there’s no nervous end to our season.

Our previous encounters over the last two seasons against Worthing have certainly been eventful: three games, with 18 goals, 4 red cards and a couple of stunning goals, including last season’s Rooks goal of the season from Hammo at Woodside Road. Back in August it was the Rebels who ran out 3-1 winners, with the Rooks late 10-man effort just not enough to grab anything from the game. You’d be a fool to miss the fourth instalment in our story. Unfortunately, I am one of those as I will be 10,500 miles away in Australia following this one on Twitter!

Last Wednesday night saw our team put in a performance full of effort as we held Hornchurch here 0-0. It was a foul night which saw the torrential rain make conditions very tough to play in but, in Hugo’s first game, we dug deep. Whilst we rode our luck on occasions, we defended superbly and once again I thought Nathan was outstanding. He has got better and better as the season has gone on. For those who don’t know, Nathan started with our academy and has progressed through our Under-18s, DS, and spells out in the County League before Ross felt he was ready for a spell in the first team. He has a promising future, that’s for sure.

On Saturday, our game at Enfield Town fell foul of Storm Dennis. The pitch was deemed playable at 10am, but the referee took the decision based on the forecast of the impending strong winds and rain that it would cause issues for the game to be completed and our safe return. I was at the Wingate & Finchley vs Bowers & Pitsea game at 3pm and saw how strong the wind was. It was touch and go that the game would be finished and the drive home was treacherous, so I don’t think anyone can criticise the referee for making that call. We now face a midweek trip in early March up to Enfield which won’t be an easy game.

Just before our game last Wednesday, Steve Brinkhurst announced that his knee injury had finally beaten the Rooks full-back. Brinky is a Lewes legend, making 283 appearances in a couple of spells for the club, scoring 13 times, the last of which was at Hornchurch in October 2018 in our 5-1 win. He was recently voted the Lewes right-back of the decade in our Twitter poll and we will miss him immensely both on and off the pitch. Good luck Brinky in whatever the future holds for you.

On Sunday our Women’s team were supposed to have travelled to Borehamwood FC to take on Arsenal in the FA Women’s Cup Fifth Round in one of the club’s biggest ever games. Unfortunately, this too fell foul of the weather which denied the club not only the chance to take on the current Super League champions but also appear live on BBC TV. The game will now be next Sunday.

Enjoy the game and Come on you Rooks!

Stuart

RECENT MATCH REVIEW

Lewes 0 vs Hornchurch 0, BetVictor Isthmian Premier League, February 12th 2020

Hugo Langton’s first game in charge of the Rooks ended with a very credible point against promotion-pushers Hornchurch. See the match highlights here:

And here’s Hugo’s reaction to the game:

TODAY’S OPPONENTS: WORTHING

Formed in 1886, Worthing were founder members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, winning the league on seven occasions. They moved to their current home at Woodside Road in 1903.

The club’s nickname “The Rebels” dates from when they resigned from the West Sussex League over a rule change, prior to becoming a founder member of the Sussex County League in 1920. Worthing won eight league titles between 1921 and 1940; in fact in the twenty inter-war seasons they only finished outside the top four on two occasions.

In 1948 Worthing joined the Corinthian League. When that was disbanded in 1963 they entered the Athenian League, and in 1977 they joined the newly expanded Isthmian League. Barry Lloyd’s arrival as manager in 1981 brought a double-promotion success, lifting Worthing to the Premier Division in 1983, where they finished runners-up in 1984 and 1985.

After Lloyd’s departure to Brighton and Hove Albion, however, the club slipped back down to Division Two, finishing bottom of Division One in 1991 with only 10 points and having conceded a huge 157 goals.

Former Northern Ireland international Gerry Armstrong was appointed manager in 1991 and in 1993 led the club to promotion back to Division One, which was followed two years later by a return to the Premier Division under John Robson, although Worthing finished bottom in their first season back in the Premier Division and were to remain in Division One until 2004 when league re-organisation saw them moved back to the Premier Division. They were relegated in 2007.

Worthing reached the play-offs under manager Alan Pook two seasons in a row in 2008 and 2009, and under Simon Colbran the following season, but failed to win promotion on each occasion.

Adam Hinshelwood’s first spell as manager from 2013 to 2015 was hampered by financial difficulties. However, Jon Meeney and Gary Elphick took Worthing to third place in 2016, winning promotion to the Premier Division with play-off victories by 7-0 against Hythe and 3-0 in the final over Faversham. A poor start to the 2017-18 season saw Adam Hinshelwood return as manager, lifting Worthing to a final finish of 16th. Last season Worthing finished 9th and they currently top the table.

MEET THE SQUAD: WORTHING

Adam Hinshelwood – Manager

Adam is the third generation of “pros”, many remember his dad Paul playing for Palace. Adam captained Brighton & Hove Albion in the Championship before injury hastened the end of his promising career. At one rehab stage he was loaned to us when we were struggling in the Conference, helping us win three of the five games in which he played, his form prompting Brighton to recall him early from the loan spell.  Adam started his career in management at Hastings and after a brief coaching role back with Brighton he joined Worthing in September 2017.

Carl Rushworth – Goalkeeper

Carl is a young ‘keeper who started out at Halifax Town and joined the Rebels on a season long loan deal from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Joel Colbran – Defender

Joel has rejoined Worthing for his second spell at the club after playing for their U18s before becoming a first team regular at Loxwood. During his time at Plaistow Road Joel was called up for Sussex U18s

Aarran Racine – Defender and Assistant Manager

Aaron started out at Southampton Academy side and signed a professional contract in October 2008. After several years at St Mary’s he was released in May 2012.

Alfie Young – Defender

Former youth team Captain at Watford Aaron was released in August 2016 without quite breaking into the first team.

Danny Barker – Midfielder

Danny began his career at Brighton & Hove Albion where he captained their U18 side and was promoted to their U23s. Unfortunately, after playing his first game against Newcastle United, injury cut short his time with the Seagulls.

Alex Parsons – Midfielder

Aaron started as a professional at Bournemouth, debuting in League One in 2012. A hatful of loan moves followed before he settled at Worthing.

Ricky Aguiar – Midfielder

An U18 with both Shoreham, and Lewes, where he won Sussex and Isthmian Youth Cup honours as well and helping the young Rooks go all the way to the third round of The FA Youth Cup. Ricky has been called up for both Sussex U18s and a place in the English Colleges squad.

Fin Stevens – Midfielder

Finn is a youngster with what his club describes as a never-say-die attitude. His form earned him a Sussex call-up against Essex in the South East Counties Youth Championship.

Darren Budd – Midfielder

“Buddy” started his career at Brighton & Hove Albion with their youth and reserve teams, and also played for Bognor Regis, Eastbourne Borough, Horsham, Burgess Hill, and Whitehawk. An experienced campaigner he’s back with the Rebels for a second time after making his first debut back in 2011.

Marvin Armstrong – Midfielder

Marvin started at Worthing as a trialist last summer. Now he’s made 32 appearances and chipped in with 4 goals.

Jasper Pattenden – Midfielder

Jas has stepped up from Worthing Academy and looks to be one for the future. He has put in 25 appearances this season and has 2 goals.

Connor Hunte – Midfielder/Forward

23 year-old Connor joined Worthing this month on a short-term loan deal. The England U-17 international has plenty of top-level pedigree, coming through the academies of Chelsea and Wolves, before playing at National League South side Dulwich Hamlet.

Oliver Pearce – Forward

A home-grown Rock, Ollie made his first team debut for Bognor at seventeen before going on to enjoy a goal-laden career at Nyewood Lane. He played his part in getting Bognor to the FA Trophy semi-finals in 2016 and also represented England Colleges. He’s their leading scorer with 15 goals in all competitions.

Reece Myles-Meekums – Forward

21 year-old Reece joined the club last summer from Bromley and is an ever-present with 10 goals.

Lloyd Dawes – Forward

Lloyd had an unlucky time with us a while back and joined Worthing from Eastbourne Borough last summer; 32 appearances and 9 goals.

Kieron Pamment – Forward

Kieran has graced a host of clubs, and was briefly with us last season before making debut number three for Worthing in January after his first sojourn with the club in 2012.

HOW IS THIS FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY?

Stuart Fuller on the repercussions of Man City’s financial largesse

On Friday it was announced that Manchester City would be banned from playing in European competitions for two years and made to pay a fine of £25m after they were found to have seriously misled UEFA and broken Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.

The magnitude of the fine and the sanction reflects how seriously UEFA felt that the club had breached the rules and the lengths they had gone to to hide the misdemeanour. The fact that they were only investigated after internal documents were leaked to a German magazine will not only concern UEFA that they had overlooked the breach but that other clubs may have also escaped detection. I’m sure there’s a few more clubs who have dominated their own domestic leagues that may now come under the microscope.

Manchester City may still play in Europe next season if the Court of Arbitration, who the club have said they will appeal to, delay their ruling until the start of next season. However, it is unclear whether the Premier League will also take action against the club, which could result in a points penalty as well as another fine.

If City are charged and found guilty by the authorities in England could there be further ramifications from other Premier League clubs? Some may argue that their recent Premier League success, including winning the league in 2017-18 and 2018-19, came as a result of the breach of FFP or even their Champions League places were gained through an unfair advantage.

For instance, qualification for the Group Stages of the Champions League this season was worth €2.75m plus an additional €2.7m for every game won. Could there be a case for Arsenal, who finished 5^th and could claim they were denied a Champions League spot due to Man City’s financial situation?

There is also a possibility that the Premier League may impose a points penalty which hands Liverpool the title in the next few weeks, although they would be more likely to impose any sanctions to start from next season. Ironically, Jurgen Klopp was quick to come out after the sanction was imposed and back Pep Guardiola.

“I have no idea how these things work – what I can say is Manchester City under Pep play sensational football….I feel for Pep and the players because, wow, they did for sure, nothing wrong. They just play football,” Klopp said, ignoring the fact that Pep will surely have a hand in the transfer targets the club has.

City will need to work hard to regain their reputation both here in England as well as in Europe. Any success they have in the next few years may still be tainted by this whole affair and opposing fans will certainly not allow Pep and his team to forget their sins when they are playing away from home.

At least there should be no excuse for Manchester City to field weakened teams in the League and FA Cup for the next few seasons, although it is highly likely that they will use those blank midweeks in the coming seasons to play lucrative “exhibition” matches across the world – in fact it is possible that they make more money playing these games than the fined levied on them by UEFA.

SPONSOR YOUR FAVOURITE PLAYER

The Supporters Club are once again selling player and management sponsorship to raise money for the club. Grab your player before your favourite goes!

Costs are as follows: Home Kit – £75. Away Kit – £75. Training Kit – £25. Boots £25.

Contact: david.arnold@me.com or see David or Barbara on match days.

Thanks to the following sponsors who’ve signed up so far!

NATHAN STROOMBERG-CLARKE

HOME: THE SOUL STEPPERS

JORDY MONGOY

HOME: SAM & JOE BARKER

TOM DAY

HOME: STUART ELMER

FRANKIE CHAPPELL

HOME: SUSIE ARLETT

JAMES HAMMOND

HOME: STUART FULLER

AWAY: STUART FULLER

MICHAEL DOME-BEMWIN

HOME:  TONY HARMAN &YEOVIL JOHN

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