Tuesday 29th March 2022 – 7:45pm – The Isthmian Premier League

Welcome to The Dripping Pan for this evening’s Pitching In Isthmian Premier League game with Margate. Here is your complimentary e-programme.

DERRICK PARRIS RIP

Words by Barry Collins

The Lewes Football Club community is in mourning for one of its most cherished characters Derrick Parris.

Derrick served both the Club and Supporters Club for more than 50 years. A fine player himself, he started playing for Peacehaven at the age of 14 and carried on playing until well into his forties.

But it was for Lewes that Derrick and his two sons – Terry and Pip – went on to become synonymous. Terry and Pip both scored hundreds of goals for the Rooks, and Derrick became a regular at The Dripping Pan, watching his sons play.

He was invited to join the Board of Directors by his friend, Chairman Tom Carr, and went on to serve as both Vice Chairman and temporary Chairman.

Derrick and his close friend Peter Hiscox were also the driving force behind the Lewes FC Members Club, which went on to become the Lewes FC Supporters Club. The pair served the Supporters Club until they were both well into their eighties, Derrick finally handing over his immaculately handwritten ledger to a new Treasurer in 2015.

Derrick and Peter were a tremendous double act. Decked out in their shirts and club ties, they were a constant presence in the boardroom and on the terraces, no matter where the Rooks were playing. Neither were shy about telling a manager or board member when a performance didn’t quite hit the mark, but they were a constant source of encouragement and kind words to players, managers and club officials too.

Derrick was fiercely proud of the Club and everyone involved with the Club loved Derrick in return.

We send our deepest condolences to Jean, Terry, Pip, Joanne, Jeanette and all of his family and friends.

Rest in peace, Derrick. We hope you’re enjoying a drop of Scotch with your old mate. Thanks for everything.

The club will commemorate the extraordinary life of Derrick prior to this evening’s game.

A LEWES LEGEND BY DAVID ARNOLD

We always liked to think of Derrick as the sole property of Lewes FC. Yet his Sussex football connections went back a long way. A life-long resident of Peacehaven, Derrick was 14 years old in 1944 when he first started playing for his home village. Football was in the Parris blood; as a young man, Derrick’s Dad had turned out for Newhaven FC.

National Service in the Tank Corps took him to Egypt and Palestine where he played football on rock-hard sun-baked pitches. Upon his return home he resumed playing for Peacehaven while working as a milkman and later in the insurance business.

Derrick played for Peacehaven until he was over 40. “My elder brother Bill was the manager” says Derrick. “One day he suddenly dropped me and I realised it was time to hang up my boots. Six weeks later my son Terry stepped into my place in the team.”

It’s impossible to write of Derrick’s Sussex football life without mentioning his two boys, Terry and Pip. Terry played for one season for Peacehaven before joining top county side Eastbourne United. However, his talent had been noted by Lewes manager Ray Smith and out of the blue, Terry received a two page handwritten letter from Ray inviting him to join the Rooks, an offer the midfielder couldn’t refuse. He went on to score 121 goals ifor Lewes. “It was an odd thing” recalls Terry, “In those days we had at least five schoolteachers in the First Team squad so team talks were very educational.”

Derrick’s other son, Pip – five years Terry’s junior – was to make his own indelible impression on the Lewes FC football scene. Pip first played for Peacehaven and was top scorer in the County League for two years. His potential was spotted by West Ham and he figured in the Upton Park youth set-up for a while.

Aged just 15, Pip moved to Lewes where he quickly made the centre forward position his own. In a long career with the Rooks he scored no less than 360 goals in some 600 appearances – a club record that will never be surpassed.

Pip and Terry helped secure promotion to Division One of the Isthmian League in the 1979-80 season when Lewes finished runners-up in Division Two to Billericay who had won the FA Vase the previous season.

Derrick became a regular at Lewes to watch his sons play and got closely involved with the club. He befriended Tom Carr, Lewes FC Chairman for many years. One day Tom invited Derrick to join the Board of Directors and for a while he became Vice Chairman and at one time even served as temporary Chairman.

Derrick, along with his good friend, the late Peter Hiscox, also became the driving force behind the Lewes FC Members Club that these days we know as the Lewes FC Supporters Club.

Derrick’s time in the insurance game meant he had a good head for financial affairs so it was obvious that the role of Treasurer was a tailor-made post. He served in the role for several decades alongside Peter Hiscox who held the reins as Chairman.

After Peter stepped down, Derrick continued to serve as Treasurer for several more years before he decided it was time for new blood to come on the scene.

The Supporters Club were lucky there was a volunteer willing (sort of) and able to step into Derrick’s boots (or should that be “books”?). Let Lewes stalwart PJ tell the story: “I took over as Supporters Club Treasurer in March 2015. Actually I was kind of tricked into the job by the wily Peter Hiscox. His words to me at a previous game were ‘do you think you could give Derrick a hand’. I had zero experience of book keeping but agreed to ‘help out’.

“Obviously Derrick got a different version of this exchange from Peter as a week later he was handing over the ledger, cheque books, loose change and everything. Lock, stock and barrel!

“Anyway, Derrick’s manual ledger was very neat, very easy to follow and it was noticeable that no pints of Tipp Ex had been expended on corrections. I quickly brought things up to date by doing away with the ledger book and putting everything on a computer spreadsheet, but I followed Derrick’s layout from the ledger precisely. It works and is still in that same layout today.”

Rest in Peace Derrick

NOTES FROM THE CHAIR

Good evening and welcome back to the Pan for tonight’s Isthmian Premier League game with Margate for the second time of asking. I’d like to welcome back Jay Saunders and his management team, the players, officials and of course the Margate fans. It was incredibly disappointing to have the original game postponed an hour before the kick off but there was very little we could do about the conditions. The excellent magazine When Saturday Comes had a photographer at the ground on that day and you can see for yourself how the conditions deteriorated whilst he was at the ground here.

We were all devastated to hear of the passing of club legend Derrick Parris last week. Derrick was “Mr Lewes”, holding a number of roles, none least than a fan home and away. When I joined the board I could be sure that at half time in our home games Derrick would tell me a tale or two. When we travelled away from home he had an impressive knack of managing to sneak out various treats out of the board room for the second half which he could be seen sharing with his good friend Peter Hiscox. We will mark his passing with a minute’s applause before the game today. Our thoughts are with Jean, Terry, Pip and the whole Parris family.

On Saturday we came back from Folkestone with three, hard earned points. The win was vital for our play-off chances – defeat would have left us nine points adrift with just six games to go. We still need others, especially Folkestone to slip up but there isn’t anyone who we fear if we do make the top five. We came so close to a point ten days ago against Bishop’s Stortford – conceding a 95th minute goal from almost the halfway line from a player who should have been sent off hit us all hard but we dusted ourselves down and the squad had a team building event on Monday and we saw the response on Saturday at Folkestone.

I’d seen some negative comments about a number of things in the last week ranging from our pitch, our style of play and our squad. Football is a game of opinions and everyone is entitled to theirs. Everything we do is focused on trying to be successful on the pitch. We’ve been really hard hit by injuries and illness in the last few weeks – losing quality players such as Tom Phipp, Taylor Maloney, Razz Coleman De-Graft and Ollie Tanner. But we’ve re-enforced the squad as those who went to Folkestone saw. We’ve also got some fantastic news about our facilities that we will be sharing very soon that will answer a few questions some fans had.

Enjoy the game and Come On You Rooks!

Stuart

INTRODUCING OUR NEW CLUB PARTNER

TONY’S THOUGHTS

Saturday was always going to be a challenging game. Both teams weren’t in great form coming into it, and with a dry pitch and confidence low, it was never going to be a classic for the purest. The game was high in effort and low in quality. It was funny as I usually would stop them from going long so much in games, but we had just come off a week where it was all about team bonding and fun and togetherness, so I sat there and just thought, let them fight this one out.

We scored two good goals in the 1st half and was comfortable. I couldn’t see them scoring; they were putting balls in the box but lacked quality. Then right on halftime, after a bit of pinball in our box, a shot came in, and it hit one of the two Folkestone players on the line, and he poked it in – you can see the video for yourself in the match report.

To my shock, the linesman didn’t give offside. I must say it is up there with one of the worse decisions I have ever seen. I don’t remember ever feeling so upset over officials’ calls in a game. Half time, we said we couldn’t let that change this game, and we spoke about this will only set us back if we let it.

The second half they put us under pressure but apart from Lew saving with his legs from David Smith he didn’t have a save to make of any note. I thought the players gave us everything, and I must say, Mitch and Will at the back were outstanding.

We should have scored a couple more in the 2nd half, one where Raz got in down the side and failed to pick out an unmarked JT, and then when we broke the length of the pitch with Ayo and with just the keeper to beat; he put it over.

The player’s togetherness won them that game. We did a session tonight on Margate as we know what a good side they are. It’s always great to see Jay, the Margate manager; he is one of football’s good guys. We will need to play well, but the belief in the camp is high again, so we need to kick on and attack every game now. We have a special group of players. I honestly believe that but we need to do something special, so everyone thinks the same.

Get behind the boys tonight and Come On You Rooks!

Tony

SQUAD UPDATE

After the Non-League transfer window closed last Thursday, there have been a few new additions to the squad.

Arriving on a month loan from Luton Town is wideman TQ Addy. TQ joined The Hatters from Crystal Palace in November 2020 and is a regular in their Development side.

The Club have also extended the loan of TQ’s teammate, Casey Pettit. Casey joined us on loan in January 2022 and has become a regular in the side in the past six weeks, starting in five of the past six games and scoring the decisive goal in the 3-2 home win over East Thurrock.

The Club would like to record its thanks to Chris Clark at Luton Town for his assistance in completing the loan deals for both players.

Under 18’s goalkeeper Finley Jenkins has made the move up to the first team in signing a senior registration and he is joined by Kameron Edwards, also a goalkeeper, who has dual registered with the Rooks.

Finally, we welcome back popular midfielder Ayo Olukoga who has rejoined the club following a stint with Witham Town. Manager Russell said: “Having him back is brilliant, he is a very popular member of the team who brings great energy”.

LEWES 0 BISHOP’S STORTFORD 1 – SATURDAY 19th MARCH 2022

An injury-time goal saw Lewes suffer a damaging 1-0 defeat against Bishop’s Stortford in their push for a play-off place at the Pan.

The Rooks were dealt a blow before the game kicked off, with Ollie Tanner picking up an injury in the warm-up and being replaced in the starting line-up by Deshane Dalling. There was also a place in the side for Razz Coleman De-Graft following his recent absence through injury.

The only other change to the team that drew 2-2 at Haringey Borough last week saw Mitchell Nelson replace Michael Klass.

The visitors thought they had taken the lead early on, but saw Darren Foxley flagged offside as he finished from close range after Lewis Carey had parried a Frankie Merrifield shot into his path.

There was very little goalmouth action for much of the first half, but Stortford always looked a threat from set-pieces, with the unmarked William Cracknell heading a Jonathan Giles free-kick wide at the far post.

Lewes were competing well and soon created their first chance of the game, Razz Coleman De-Graft forcing a fine save from Jack Giddens after being teed up by Joe Taylor.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, as both sides fought hard for every ball but were unable to build any sustained spell of pressure.

The visitors were once again denied the lead by an offside flag, with Merrifield adjudged to have just mistimed his run as he latched onto a flick-on before finishing past Carey.

Lewes began to see more of the ball but the visitors were breaking up the play effectively in midfield, ensuring that the Rooks were unable to really stretch their defence.

Stortford nearly took the lead in the last 20 minutes, as Jack Thomas cut the ball back for substitute Christopher Harris, who saw his strike saved by Carey.

Lewes were handed a boost with 11 minutes remaining as the visitors were reduced to ten men, Thomas receiving a second yellow card for pulling back Michael Klass as he looked to break forward from midfield.

Despite having a numerical advantage, the Rooks were unable to get in behind the Stortford defence or force Giddens into any meaningful action heading into injury-time.

A potentially frustrating afternoon for Lewes became even worse deep into injury-time as a loose clearance from Carey was seized upon in midfield by the visitors and, spotting Carey out of position, Ben Marlow sent a superb strike from distance into the bottom corner to secure the win and stun the majority of the 977-strong crowd into silence.

Next up for Lewes is a trip to Folkestone Invicta next Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.

Lewes: Carey, Spencer, Carlse, Salmon, Nelson, Pettit, Maloney (Klass 46), Pritchard, De-Graft (Yao 75), Dalling, Taylor.

Unused Sub: Hall.

Booked: Pritchard.

Bishop’s Stortford: Giddens, Church, Robbins, Henshaw, Giles, Merrifield (Harris 66), Renee, Thomas, Foxley (Marlow 59), Peters (Charles 59), Cracknell.

Unused Subs: Edwards, Haines.

Booked: Church, Thomas, Marlow, Cracknell.

Sent off: Thomas.

Attendance: 977

THE POSTER BOYS

I used to be a sucker for football-based computer games and this beauty to mark the end of the 2011/12 season was brilliant in its simplicity.

The poster featured pixel characters representing (from memory Left to Right) Harry Harding, Paul Booth, Matt Ingram, Steve Robinson, Ian Draycott and Simon Wormull. I’m going out on a limb here by saying the Women’s player holding the trophies they had worn in the season was Katie McIntyre.

It was also a game that could have seen the Rooks sneak into the Play-offs at the 11th hour if we won and other results went our way. We kept our end of the bargain with goals from Paul Booth (x2), Chris Breach and Nathan Crabb in a 4-2 win but the sides immediately above us also won and we had to make do with 6th. Back at the time I wrote a short paragraph to sum up the afternoon.

“The rain fell, the pies were all eaten, the programmes were all snapped up.  Over 1,000 fans braved the elements to cheer on Simon Wormull’s team as they made light work of Harrow Borough.  If results elsewhere had gone our way then it would have been the perfect afternoon.  But they didn’t.  However, not one fan, player or club official could have a bad word or a “what if” after the last few weeks.  Five wins out of the final six is title winning form, and whilst we will look on this week whilst the play offs start”

INTRODUCING OUR VISITORS FROM MARGATE

THE HISTORY

Margate Football Club was founded in 1896, reformed in 1924 (as Margate Town), and again in 1929 when Margate moved to their current home at Hartsdown Park.

From 1934 until 1938 Margate served as the official nursery side for Arsenal. Under this arrangement the London club regularly loaned promising young players to Margate. Famous players, such as Eddie Hapgood, turned out for them whilst regaining match fitness after injury. In the second season of this arrangement, 1935-36, Margate reached the third round proper of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 3–1 to Blackpool.

In 1959 Margate gained promotion from the Kent League to the Southern League, and in 1963 won the Division One title with promotion to the Premier Division. Two years later the club turned full-time professional, but this proved unsustainable after they were relegated back to Division One in 1966. Despite that, they won promotion at the first attempt and returned to the Premier Division in 1967.

During the 1970s Margate suffered financial problems, but took part in two famous FA Cup ties. In 1971 they lost 11–0 to Bournemouth, with Ted MacDougall scoring a cup record nine goals. The following year they met Tottenham Hotspur in the third round with a record crowd of 14,500 packed into Hartsdown Park for the game, which Margate lost 6–0.

Margate discussed a merger with neighbours, Ramsgate, to form a new team representing the whole Isle of Thanet as a solution to financial problems being experienced by both clubs. Those negotiations failed and Ramsgate ultimately had no involvement in the formation of Thanet United FC in 1981, although that turned out to be purely a name change for Margate. Thanet District Council were not prepared to put any funding into Thanet United, and the idea of a merger was finally abandoned.

In 1989 a new board took over and the club’s name reverted to Margate FC. In 1997-8 they reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, playing Fulham in a home tie that drew a crowd of 5,100. Margate took the lead but eventually lost 2–1. The following season saw the club win promotion to the Southern League Premier Division, winning the championship in 2001 and promotion to the Football Conference.

In 2002 Margate began ground sharing at Dover Athletic, and enjoyed more FA Cup success. They beat Leyton Orient in the first round, before going out 0-3 to Cardiff City. The following season, despite finishing sixteenth, Margate were relegated due to the ongoing delays and problems with the redevelopment plans for Hartsdown Park. They spent the 2004-05 season in the Conference South, ground sharing at Ashford Town, and suffered another relegation to the Isthmian League.

In August 2005 they returned to Hartsdown Park after a three-year absence. In 2015, under manager Terry Brown, Margate finished third in the Isthmian League Premier Division, securing promotion to the National League South through their play-off victories. They avoided relegation by goal difference in their first season, but were relegated in bottom place a year later, 2017; since the 2017-2018 season Margate have been in the Isthmian Premier. Our visitors currently lie 8th in the league on 48 points.

Congratulations to our visitors tonight who reached the Velocity Trophy Final for the first time in their history beating Haringey Borough 3-2 last Tuesday evening 22^nd March.The Final is at Parkside, Aveley, on Wednesday 13th April. Margate currently lie 9th in the league on 55 points.

THE SQUAD

Jay Saunders – Manager

Jay played for Lewes briefly in 2006, but he is most closely associated with Maidstone Utd where he distinguished himself over the years as a player. He was initially appointed caretaker manager there in 2011 and went on to lead them to three promotions in four seasons, from Isthmian South to the National League. Margate FC say they were able to avoid relegation in the 2018-2019 season thanks largely to the presence of Jay Saunders as temporary manager. At the start of the 2019-2020 campaign, fan favourite Jay became the permanent manager.

Owen Kallmeier – Goalkeeper

Owen is a 24 year old local ‘keeper who has been at the club since he was age16.

Crossley Lema – Defender

Crossley is a 22 year old full back who graduated through the Sutton Utd academy. He was signed in October 2021 from Leatherhead.  

Joe Anderson – Defender

Joe started his career with Fulham, and also had a spell with Lincoln City. He is a 31 year-old with bags of experience.

Lewis Knight – Defender

Lewis joined Margate in the summer of 2021 from National League side Billericay Town. A commanding centre-half, he has enjoyed spells with East Thurrock, St Albans, Maidstone, and Billericay.

Ben Swift – Defender/captain

Ben is centre-half and team captain. He was voted in the Kent Online team of the season in 2018/19 and will skipper the side for the third successive campaign.

Veron Nzinga – Defender

Veron is a left-back who has made twelve club appearances this season.

Sam Odaudu – Defender/Midfielder

Sam is a 19 year old versatile player who can play in defence and midfield and is on loan to Margate from Dartford.

Montel Agyemang – Midfielder

Montel joined Margate in the summer of 2021 from National League South, Welling Utd. He played for Leyton Orient’s first team in 2014, and went on to join Maldon & Tiptree, with spells at East Thurrock United, and Wealdstone, before joining Welling.

Harrison Hatfull – Midfielder

The 20 year old played for Margate in the 2018/19 season before signing for Bearsted. He re-signed for the Gate in October 2021.

Sam Blackman – Midfielder

Sam returned to Hartsdown Park in the summer of 2021 having played previously during season 2017/18. The midfielder has also played for Leatherhead, Concord Rangers, Dartford, and Hythe Town.

Reece Prestedge – Midfielder

Reece is an experienced midfielder who joined the Gate from Welling Utd in 2019. He is said to add guile and leadership to their midfield. This is Reece’s third season under Jay Saunders, and he is a player/coach.

James Bessey-Saldanha – Midfielder

James is a winger who signed for Margate after having impressed in behind-closed-doors friendlies. The 25-year old played most recently at Sevenoaks Town.

Ben Greenhalgh – Midfielder/Forward

Ben joined Margate in the summer of 2021 to team up with his former Maidstone Utd manager, Jay Saunders. His previous clubs include Dartford, Tonbridge Angels, as well as time in Scotland playing for Inverness, and Stenhousemuir.

Benas Vaivada – Forward

Ben is a 20 year old striker who signed for Margate in January 2022 after scoring five goals in 14 games for Tower Hamlets. He has also played in Poland for MKS Puzcza Niepolomice.

Vance Bola – Forward

Nkori is a striker who impressed in pre-season, who has previously played for Royston, Glebe, Tonbridge Angels, and Sittingbourne. The Gate’s top scorer so far with 14 in all competitions.

Ken Feyi – Forward

Ken is described as a competitive striker who signed for Margate in November 2021. He  has also played for Brightlingsea Regent, Stratford Town, and Aylesbury United.

Fyn Rutherford – Forward

Fyn is a still-at-school 17 year-old who has shown continued signs of improvement this season. He scored his first goal for Margate in the 51st minute of their Kent Senior Cup win over Gillingham on 1^st March.

HEAD 2 HEAD

9th Oct 2021 – Margate 2 Lewes 6
10th Oct 2020 – Lewes 1 Margate 0
24th Aug 2019 – Margate 2 Lewes 0
23rd Jan 2019 – Lewes 0 Margate 0
1st Sept 2018 – Margate 0 Lewes 1
1st Jan 2015 – Margate 3 Lewes 0

THE FORM

OUR LAST MEETING HERE – 10TH OCTOBER 2020

Lewes recorded their first win of the 2020/21 season with a headed goal late in the game by captain Luke Blewden. In a game of few chances, Ronnie Conlon brought the best out of Margate keeper Bailey Vose on a couple of occasions in the first half, whilst Rooks keeper Nathan Stroomberg-Clarke made a good save with his feet from John Ufah on the hour mark. The deciding effort came from a cross from James Beresford in the 74th minute which Luke Blewden met and guided the ball over the Margate keeper into the top corner.

FOLKESTONE INVICTA 1 LEWES 2 – SATURDAY 26th MARCH 2022

The Rooks grabbed a vital win against 5^th placed Folkestone Invicta to keep hopes of a play-off spot well and truly alive, reports Stuart Fuller.

Boss Tony Russell was able to welcome back Razz Coleman De-Graft into the starting eleven, whilst Tom Phipp joined new signing TQ Addy and re-signing Ayo Olukoga on the bench.  Kenny Yao replaced Jeuven Spencer at right-back who took his place on the sidelines.

Lewes controlled the early stages of the game, with the midfield trio of Pritchard, Klass and Pettit stretching the play.  The Rooks took the lead in the 12^th minute when Pettit broke down a Folkestone attack before Pritchard played the ball out to Dalling on the left.  The Lewes winger cut inside and his shot was deflected off a Folkestone player and sneaked into the corner of the net, via the inside of the post.

The goal sparked the home side into action and they pressed the Rooks back four but it held firm with Salmon and Nelson imperious at times.  At the other end only a late flag from the assistant referee denied Joe Taylor a clear sight of goal.

The Rooks doubled their lead in the 40^th minutes when a deep free-kick looked like it had eluded everyone but Will Salmon leapt like his proverbial namesake to head home from a very tight angle.

Folkestone reduced the arrears in injury time at the end of the half in controversial circumstances when Scott Heard appeared to net from an offside position on the goal line.  The debate continued as the officials left the field at the end of the half but the goal stood.

The home side came out fired up for the second half and created a number of early chances with Lewis Carey being alert to the danger, whilst both Mitchell Nelson and Will Salmon making superb blocks to deny clear Folkestone goal scoring opportunities.

With twenty minutes to go Tony Russell brought on new signing TQ Addy for goal scorer Deshane Dalling as the Rooks looked for a third to kill the game off.  Razz Coleman De-Graft waltzed through the home defence but somehow was judged to be offside, whilst sub Ayo Olukoga ran from the Lewes half unopposed but couldn’t find Joe Taylor unmarked in the area.

Folkestone increased the pressure on the Lewes goal as the clock ticked down.  As the game entered injury time they had a golden chance when Mitchell Nelson gave away a free-kick 25 yards out but the ball was blasted high and wide.

The win closed the gap between the two sides and sets up an interesting week ahead as both sides have games against Margate and Horsham respectively.

Folkestone Invicta: Roberts, Everitt (Sterling 76 mins), McCann, Newman, Davies, Johnson, Heard, Dolan, Smith, Yusuff, Paxman

Subs not used: Atherton, Borrello, Boateng, Collins

Lewes: Carey, Yao (Spencer 79 mins), Carlse, Salmon, Nelson, Pettit (Olukoga 74 mins), Klass, Pritchard, Dalling (Addy 69 mins), Coleman De-Graft, Taylor

Subs not used: Phipp, Maloney

Booked: Nelson, Dalling

Attendance: 736 (Approx. 55 travelling Rooks)

RULES, RULES, RULES – THE 92 CLUB

The 92 is a genuine club – the ‘most exclusive club’ in football if you believe the website, which I do. It has rules, it has members who enforce the rules, it has a committee who create new rules and deep down most football fans want to be part of an exclusive club of football fans who have seen a match* at every one of the 92 Premier and Football League venues.

Before the days of the Internet the club operated under very strict rules. A ground could only be counted if you saw a competitive match – no friendlies allowed, unless they were international friendlies but only if England (or Wales) were playing. If a club dropped out of the league and returned, sorry but you had to revisit – which proved a nightmare for many when this fate fell on Carlisle United. But despite the rules, to qualify you simply had to provide a list (written on a photocopied sheet) of your qualifying games and you were in. A small membership fee, a pin badge and some optional cufflinks for £15.

I first qualified back in 1995, my final ground being Anfield watching Liverpool destroy West Ham. But in 1999 it all went to hell in a handcart as new grounds opened and promotion from the Conference began. All of a sudden I was missing 2, then 3 and 4 grounds. Fortunately the club had gone digital and with so many high profile games being scheduled the rules relaxed. A ICC cup game at Spurs new stadium versus Inter and AFC Wimbledon playing a Liverpool XI both counted in the new world but wouldn’t have in the old days despite both grounds being full.

At the start of this seasons I had two still to revisit – I’d been to Newport County when they played at Somerton Park and then the appalling International Stadium but I’d never seen football at Rodney Parade (rugby yes). A very wet night in September last years saw that one ticked off leaving just Morecambe. A work trip to Scotland gave me the opportunity of completing the 92, for the third time, although I would have to miss the guaranteed goal-fest at Corinthian-Casuals.

I’d been to Christie Park before, watching Luton Town in their season where they almost pulled off the miracle of the 30 point penalty. A perfectly good ground that was sold in a land deal and the club moved a mile south to a new build stadium. There’s been false dawns in terms of planned visits cancelled but here I was finally about to rejoin not only the 92 club but also become a member of the 116 (including the National League). There would be no fanfare, no presentation on the pitch and no champagne and that was no problem.

With no new stadiums on the horizon and no teams due to come up for at least a year who I hadn’t visited, I was safe in the knowledge I could rest on my laurels once again.

Some fans will only count a game if they get a programme or at least a team sheet. Others won’t count a ground unless they see a goal, or even in some cases, a goal at each end. There is a very strange group who need to touch the ball for a ground to count. For me, a picture of the game will do me fine. The ‘new’ rules are much less draconian and reflect the nature of football today.

We all have our war stories, of games that have been postponed or abandoned (neither of which counted in the old days), of food poisoning and officious stewards but I wouldn’t have changed anything along the way. For your reference, my first “tick” came back in 1974 at The Valley with Charlton Athletic beating Burnley 4-1.

But if a random person at a game comes up to me now and asks for “my number”, I can legitimately say once more “92”….at least that’s what I think they mean?

REMEMBERING THE ROOKS OF YESTERYEAR – PHIL APPIAH

It’s 5.30pm on Saturday 19th December 2015. The Rooks have just beaten Farnborough 1-0 at The Pan. I’m walking down Mountfield Road to my car and I hear a shout from behind me.

“Out of the way Mr Chairman”

I turn and see Phil Appiah trundling down the road on one of those hoverboards, singing his heart out, clutching a bottle of wine he’s just won as Man of the Match thanks to a superb strike to win the game. That, is my lasting memory of the popular centre midfielder who played 22 games for the Rooks in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons, scoring just that one goal in two spells at The Pan.

He made his debut in a FA Cup Replay against Bognor Regis Town in September 2014, and signed off for the Rooks against the same side in December 2015. In fact in that last season for Lewes, he only appeared once in a winning side, again that match against Farnborough.

Few will know that he was actually Canadian but came to the UK as a youngster and started his career in the game with Preston North End. After being released by the Lilywhites in 2009 he joined Hayes & Yeading United then had spells at Farnborough, Eastleigh and Tonbridge Angels before joining the Rooks. He took a brief trip to Egham Town in 2015 before returning when Steve Eke was caretaker manager prior to the arrival of Darren Freeman.

After leaving the Rooks he had spells at Crowborough Athletic and Hayes & Yeading United again, before heading down under to turn out for Australian second tier side Floreat Athena, based in Perth.

ON THIS DAY IN ROOKS HISTORY – 29th MARCH 2014

The Rooks travelled to South East London, making their first ever visit to Thamesmead Town at their Bayliss Avenue ground in a Ryman League Premier Division game. But what can you remember about the day out in the sunshine?

NFTS, SOCIOS AND CLUBS GOING CRYPTO..THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO WEB 3.0 IN FOOTBALL

First published in the original Margate Progcast….

If you haven’t yet seen or heard anything about Web 3.0, Blockchain or crypto-currency backed companies getting involved in football then you will be in the minority. Like it or not, the future is here today, and so here’s our quick A to Z guide into the buzzwords so you can at least sound as if you know what you are talking about….and what we will be talking about in future articles.

Bitcoin – is a decentralized digital currency created in January 2009. It follows the ideas set out in a white paper by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamot and unlike government-issued currencies, it is operated by a decentralized authority.

Bitcoin uses cryptography to keep it secure. There are no physical bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to (although each record is encrypted). All Bitcoin transactions are verified by a massive amount of computing power via a process known as “mining.” Bitcoin is not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor is an individual bitcoin valuable as a commodity.

Bitcoin’s price has risen exponentially in just over a decade, from less than $1 in 2011 to more than $68,000 as of November 2021. Its value is derived from several sources, including its relative scarcity, market demand, and marginal cost of production. Thus, even though it is intangible, Bitcoin commands a high valuation, with a total market cap of $1.11 trillion as of November 2021.

Blockchain – A system of recording information in a way that makes it incredibly difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems, with every “transaction” needed to be approved by the rest of the users on the network. Blockchain information, once added to the ledger, cannot be amended or altered, which makes it useful for provenance of information. We could, for instance, use a blockchain solution to record the details of every owner or ticket holder we have. Using a blockchain for ticketing could, in theory, eradicate ticket touting by proving the genuine owner of a ticket and what they originally paid for it.

Cryptocurrency – is an encrypted data string that denotes a unit of currency. It is monitored and organized by a peer-to-peer network (the blockchain), which also serves as a secure ledger of transactions, e.g., buying, selling, and transferring. Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Monero are popular cryptocurrencies. The digital payment system that doesn’t rely on banks to verify transactions. It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments. However, as it is decentralized, the value of a particular cryptocurrency is more volatile than Government-backed currency.

DAO – A Decentralized Autonomous Organization, which is defined as an organization represented by rules encoded as a computer program that is transparent, controlled by the organization members and not influenced by a central government. A DAO is a group using a Blockchain (see above) to define its rules and voting structure.

Digital Asset – is anything that exists in a digital format and comes with the right to use. A picture taken by someone on their camera/phone is a digital asset, as too is a domain name bought by someone. The key is having that right to call it your own and use it. You cannot download a picture of a Banksy, for instance, and claim you own it. Downloading a copy of this progcast is perfectly allowable but the intellectual property is owned by the author (me) and so I am the only person (or the club) who could claim it is their digital asset…so hands off!

Discord – An interactive forum that provides information (which may be factual or not) while allowing members to participate in the in-depth conversation about a specific Cryptocurrency, NFT or digital investment – each individual investment will have its own Discord – a bit like our Fans Forum, where the topics may be widespread but will always relate back to Lewes – such as why beach huts cause the team to lose, why golden goal times are fixed and the price of chips. In recent weeks, a number of Discords have been “infiltrated” by rogue elements who have tried to steal investments by publishing QR Codes that take scanners to fraudulent websites.

Fan Token – Fan tokens are a form of cryptocurrency that gives holders access to a variety of fan-related membership perks like voting on club decisions, rewards, merchandise designs and unique experiences. Fans buy the tokens, which can vary in price based on demand and as a return (value?) they get to make decisions on various club matters. For those who can remember back as far as Myfootballclub.com (who “owned Ebbsfleet United”), this was the approach that they tried to market. In reality the collective, of up to 32,000 members at one point, never got to pick the team or the tactics and in reality, no club at the highest level will ever give this control to fans. Socios (see below) claim they invented Fan Tokens.

NFT – A non-fungible token (NFT) is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, that can be sold and traded. Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and audio but can also be for simple items as a pair of Nike trainers. Ownership of an NFT does not inherently grant copyright or intellectual property rights to the digital asset a token represents. One of the biggest marketplaces to buy or trade NFTS is Oversea. A very interesting article about how NFTs became very popular in the NBA (Basketball) can be read here. True story – Lewes FC’s Financial Controller, Biram Desai, owns an NFT of a Seaford Town player.

Smart Contract – Programs stored on a blockchain that run when predetermined conditions are met. They typically are used to automate the execution of an agreement so that all participants can be immediately certain of the outcome, without any intermediary’s involvement or time loss. An example of a smart contract is a share dealing contract which has an automated “kill” option – where a purchase or a disposal happens at a certain price. Or the point towards the end of the Keg and it is discounted when Terry will finally buy a pint.

Socios – Is a platform, operating on blockchain technology, which sells “fan tokens” offering supporters the chance to influence decisions at their team, has instantly increased visibility with a clutch of major partnerships. Socios borrows its name – and the kernel of its concept – from the Spanish word for members of supporter-run clubs such as Barcelona and Real Madrid. The creator of Socios, Alexandre Dreyfuss recently was quoted as saying “We are not targeting the guy who has a tattoo and is a season ticket holder. Our clients are the guys who will most likely never go to the stadium and yet dream about the team but were born in Korea, Japan, Turkey or Brazil. Not acknowledging them is discrimination.” Socios recently announced a partnership with Crystal Palace, who join Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Leeds United and Manchester City in offering “unrivalled” fan engagement. However, the market value of the fan tokens has fallen dramatically this year, fuelling the debate against the investments.

Web 3.0 – is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web based on the blockchain, which incorporates concepts including decentralization and token-based economics. It is the current buzzword to describe all of the above terms.

So, now when I write that “we are developing a Web 3.0 blockchain-based fan token solution, but not using Socios, to offer a range of digital assets, including NFTs and we will publish details on the Discord where the DAO will be available for discussion”, you will now know exactly what I am talking about….maybe.

Next time….Who are Real Bedford, what is Futera United, why are Fans Together planning to buy a football club and what are the Neville Brothers planning to do with their CO92 venture?

THE ISTHMIAN LEAGUE PARTNERS

THE 2021/22 ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON

TONIGHT’S TEAMS WILL APPEAR HERE AROUND 7PM

THE STODGEBUSTERS TAKE ON HARINGEY…AND WIN

Haringey Borough is the quintessential awayday for the Stodgebusters. It is easily reachable by public transport without too much danger of train cancellations disrupting our plans. It would be a mission involving train, tube and bus. Most importantly, though, it has a very nice restaurant en-route for the traditional pre-match lunch.

Steve, PJ and Gary the Badge met up at Lewes station and joined Roly on the 10.57 to London Victoria. We were spoiled for choice this week when it came to sweets for the journey. We had Fox’s Glacier Fruits, Werthers Originals and Humbugs. Our dentists wouldn’t be impressed at all. Well, dentists of those with teeth that is. Three of the lads predicted a win but PJ went for a 1-1 draw.

At Victoria it was across the station to the Underground and down onto the Victoria Line. There was bad news though. It seemed like the entire population of London was on the northbound platform. Social distancing? No chance! We were very quick on the draw with our masks although very few others seemed bothered.  We just about got on the first train but many people didn’t. It was like sardines.

“Breathe in PJ. Oh….Sorry…..You have”. Ho Ho Ho!

Fortunately we only had to go one stop to Green Park and when the doors opened we didn’t so much get off, we more burst out like a shaken bottle of Pepsi such was the squeeze. Next was a swap to the Piccadilly Line for a much more comfortable seated journey to Wood Green. Caledonian Road is one of the stops on the Piccadilly Line. This brought back a few memories to PJ as, many seasons earlier and pre-Stodgebusters, he and a few other travelling Rooks supporters alighted here after a game to visit a recommended pub called The Flying Scotsman. A very interesting pub with live entertainment, but now sadly gone.

The Kantin Kitchen, our regular feeding station in these parts, is still trading just across the road from Wood Green station. This area of London is very busy, but after successfully negotiating our way across a road resembling a real life version of the old arcade game Frogger we got into the restaurant.

It’s a very nice place. Very clean. Very airy. It’s generally just a nice place to be with an excellent menu full of Stodgebuster favourites. Steve and Gary went for standard fare in the form of omelettes and chips. Roly plumped for a very healthy full English while PJ was a bit more reserved and ordered just a couple of fried eggs on toast. However, he hadn’t read the menu properly and the toast arrived covered in smashed avocado. OK, this was different and very un-Stodgebuster like but he gave it a try and it was rather good. In fact all the meals were very good as we knew they would be. The Kantin Kitchen has never let us down. With loads of time to spare we even had a second round of teas and coffees while we put the world to rights and aired our opinions on Lewes FC. Well, we are all experts aren’t we?  All substantially heavier we had to play a bit more Frogger as we headed for the bus stop across the road.

The final leg of the journey would be the W3 bus to the ground in White Hart Lane. Not that far from some Premier League clubs ground. Give us Isthmian Premier League any day though.

Coles Park is not a bad place to watch football and at only a fiver each for us old codgers it is the cheapest ground in the league. There’s no cover at either end but that wouldn’t matter for this game. One would imagine the small bus shelter type stand down the side would be very cosy on a rainy day with a big-ish crowd. The perfectly flat plastic pitch should suit our game too.

The good news was that Ollie Tanner was back in the team. Lewes started very brightly and were pretty much running the show although Haringey gradually got a foothold and created some chances themselves. On 40 minutes Lewes got a free kick on the right side of the box. Ollie took the kick short and it looked like it had gone badly wrong.

 “What was THAT?” exclaimed Gary.

But barely two seconds later the ball somehow found its way back to Ollie who smashed it into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

“THAT’S what it was Gary!”

One nil at half time would do.

Lewes had a goal ruled out early in the second half when a Maloney corner, helped by the strong wind, went straight into the net.

“YESSSSS!…………Ahhhhhh…..no”.

The referee must have been the only person in the ground who saw an infringement as we were dumbfounded by the decision. We thought the keeper had been impeded by his own player. Haringey made the most of this let off when the Lewes Achilles Heel was exposed again. A free kick was just lumped high into the box onto the head of the unmarked centre back who made it one all. Far too easy. The same player gave Lewes the lead back though when a Maloney through ball found Taylor. Joe was just about to slot home when the lunging defender heroicly whipped it off his toe but slotted it perfectly past his own keeper.

It was a bit unlucky and we didn’t take the Mickey out of the defender. Well, not too much. Turnstile Al would certainly have said something though. Probably quite loudly too.

We felt quite confident of holding out to the final whistle but it was not to be. We had been on the back foot for a while and near the end a crossfield ball found two Haringey players in acres of space. The ball was taken to the goal line and then cut back into the six-yard box to be met by an onrushing player. Too easy again. The last bit of action had little to do with football as just about every player got involved in some handbags by the dugouts. We were amazed that no one got a red.

Haringey celebrated the draw as if they had won. We were a bit disappointed as we made our way back out to the bus stop. To lead twice and then concede such soft goals was hard to take although it was probably a fair result overall.

The Stodgebusters will return at Folkestone Invicta. 

A WORD FROM OUR COMMERCIAL PARTNER OF THE WEEK

Back to 2017 for this strange partnership as Rovio Entertainment, a Finnish games developer were announced as the sleeve sponsor for Everton. The developers of the Angry Bird game, at the time one of the most downloaded apps ever saw an opportunity to tap into Everton’s global fan base and vice-versa.

“Everton has again joined forces with global gaming giant Rovio Entertainment to transform three of the Club’s international stars, Jordan Pickford, Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes, into Angry Birds Friends characters. 

Pickford, Mina and Gomes will be portrayed as the Green Pigs in the Angry Birds Friends game, with gamers able to catapult objects into the pigs with the Blues stars’ characters offering an increased level of points.  

The time-limited in-game tournament allows people from anywhere in the world to play against each other in a Goodison Park-themed arena.” read the press release in the second year of their deal.

With over 4.5 billion downloads of the game you can see why Everton thought a partnership may work for them in getting the club name to a global audience. However, as with most of these deals, the alignment between the audiences isn’t the same in reality as on paper.

The deal lasted nearly three seasons before being replaced by the Premier League logo on their sleeves.

AND FINALLY….ROGER WOULD NOT BE HAPPY…

Argentinian football is not for the shy and retiring fan. It is rare that most games pass without some disturbance in the crowd but two weeks ago when Rosario Central hosted Newell Old Boys, in the Rosario Derby. Whilst it may sound like a sedate affair, I mean what trouble could a team called Old Boys cause?, it was far from it……

The moment a grenade was thrown onto the pitch prior to the Clásico Rosarino. #Newells pic.twitter.com/hFwckz6cq6

— Newell's Old Boys – English (@Newells_en) March 20, 2022

The game ended with a win for Old Boys 1-0, their first derby win away at Gigante de Arroyito. Newell are named after one of the pioneers in Argentine football, Englishman Isaac Newell and play at the Marcelo Bielsa, who managed the side in the 1990’s.

LEGALS AND CREDITS

“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
Chair Stuart Fuller
Directors Sue Anstiss MBE (co-opted), Ed Briggs, Scott Currie, Charlie Dobres, Karen Dobres, Stuart Fuller, Lucy Mills, John Peel, Ed Ramsden, Claire Rafferty (co-opted), Sally Taplin, Trevor Wells
Chief Executive Officer Maggie Murphy
Club Secretary John Peel
Fan Engagement Manager Shrey Nilvarna
Youth Secretary Kevin Brook
Operations Manager James Barker

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 Tony Russell
Assistant manager Joe Vines
Head of Recruitment Adam Drew
First team coach Dale Hurley
First team coach Nathan White
First team physio Tom Parker
Goalkeeping coach Grant Hall
Match logistics Clive Burgess
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
Club Photographer James Boyes

NEXT UP AT THE DRIPPING PAN

WINGATE & FINCHLEY – SATURDAY 1st APRIL 2022 3pm

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Liam Wilson
2. Rhys Murrell-Williamson
3. He dislocated his ankle
4. 66 fans
5. Thamesmead Town 2 Lewes 0

And the bonus question was Max Agnoly who came on for the final 41 minutes of the game and never played for the Rooks again