Saturday 4th February 2023 3pm – The Isthmian Premier League – The Dripping Pan

Welcome to The Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s Isthmian Premier League game against Kingstonian. Here is your complimentary e-programme.

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NOTES FROM THE CHAIR

Good afternoon and welcome back to the Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s visit of our good friends from Kingstonian. I’d like to welcome the fans, players, management and officials here to the Pan. I’d also like to congratulate K’s keeper Rob Tolfrey who made his 600th appearance for them on Wednesday night in their game against Margate.

I’m sure those of you who were here at The Pan for the game on Tuesday, or watched the stream, will have been thrilled by the result and the performance. We put the game to bed in the first half with some clinical play and some very well-taken goals. We are firing on most cylinders at the moment – in fact only Hornchurch and Enfield Town have score more per game than us this season. To have all of our forwards regularly scoring is a beautiful thing to see and with Razz returning to full fitness soon, I don’t envy Tony’s job in picking his team!

Whilst we may look at our current run of games as all winnable, we need to raise our game, as Tony mentions in his notes, to be better. Teams will come here and try to stop us having the ball. Just as the fantastic playing surface suits our style of play, it also gives our opponents something extra, so we may have to be patient to break sides down.

It was very pleasing to hear about our Women’s FA Cup result last Sunday at Ipswich Town, which puts us in the last 16 of the competition, for the third time in our history. We’ve never gone further so finger’s crossed we can beat Cardiff City when they arrive at the Pan in two weeks time.

For the second time this season Brighton & Hove Albion kick off clashes with ours today. Naturally, that does have an impact on the attendance here (previous estimations suggest by around 75) which will depend on who we are playing, who they are playing and naturally, the form we are both in. We know that some fans support both teams and we thank those who have chosen the Dripping Pan over the Amex today and will hopefully give you a performance to remember.

Keep up the fantastic support and Come On You Rooks!

Stuart

TONY’S THOUGHTS

Afternoon everyone.

After Saturday’s draw at Cray Wanderers I asked the boys to do an extra session, working specifically on formation, tactics and approach we wanted to take against Wingate & Finchley. I’d watched a couple of their games and their formation had caused teams problems, so we wanted to get on the ball and control the game, pushing them onto the back foot from kick-off. Dan, our analyst did a really good job of presenting to the players how Wingate played, their strengths and weaknesses.

I just felt for the whole 90 minutes we were tactically very good, on the front foot from the 1st minute, getting in good areas and looking as if we could score at any moment. It was great to see Deon get that goal as well – he hadn’t had the best of games recently and Rhys came on last Saturday at half time and did really well so there is a temptation as a manager to go with the player in form but I just felt that looking at the way we wanted to play against Wingate, it suited his approach and was made for him. So to see him score a goal like that was great.

We kept pushing and pushing and scored a second when Brad’s low cross was on a plate for JT but the defender pulled him down and we got the penalty. The mad thing is that we actually spoke about that scenario, that player fouling JT and his likelihood of giving away a penalty before the match. When JT slotted it home, Lew Carey ran over to the bench and asked “What’s the Euro Millions numbers”, and Pritch came over saying he hated it that we got it so right!

The third was another great Gondoh goal. From the moment he walked through the door he has been a game changer for us, on and off the pitch. He’s a massive character, huge amounts of energy and lifted the changing room. There’s no coincidence from the moment he has come in that our performances have lifted. Sometimes we need a big character in the dressing room and he’s certainly that. I know by the end of the season I could fill the chapter of a book with some of the things he’s said and done.

I’d recommend everyone to watch the fourth goal back a few times to see how good a goal it was. Pass, pass, pass – superb build up play from Alfie and Ty before JT finishes as we know he can.

They came out for the second half with the simple objective of damage limitation and went five at the back. That was a brave decision by their manager but actually they played really well in the second half in terms of following their instructions. They kept their shape and discipline and made it hard for us. Full credit to them.

We decided to take off Hydie at half-time as he had. little knock and had just picked up a booking so it wasn’t worth risking it. We also decided to give Will a breather as well and tried a different shape. Of course it would have been nice to have scored some more goals but that happens in football. It was great to see a glimpse of the potential Rhys has with his effort in the last minute – he’s returned to us fit and raring to go.

It rounded off a great night. It has always been my philosophy to play good football and want people to come and watch us, playing attacking football, scoring good goals. We are definitely getting better and the atmosphere was once again top notch. The only negative was that Ryley Scott has picked up an injury which may keep him out for a few weeks.

I went to see Kingstonian on Wednesday and I thought they played well, despite losing to Margate. It has only been a few weeks since they beat Enfield Town so we know they can pull off some good results. They tried to play on Wednesday and I think they will enjoy playing on our pitch. We will have to play well on Saturday to beat them. They have decent players throughout the team who can provide a real threat to us.

We did an extra session on Thursday, focusing on areas where K’s will try to exploit and we will need to be the best version of ourselves to beat them. But our dressing room is a great place to be at the moment.

Every week that passes, the league gets more interesting. There will be highs and lows, not just on a weekly basis but within each game and what we can’t do is get too complacent and carried away. We’ve got to maintain a level and composure – there’s always one team every season who does that and appears to be a surprise package, such as Cheshunt last season. It’s not a surprise though, it is their ability to, as Kipling once said, “Keep their head when all others around you are losing theirs”.

I’d love to see big numbers, like we had a year ago, here at The Pan getting behind the team. The midweek games rob us of some of that support but today is a great opportunity for us to break that 1,000 again. Lewes Clamour and the Youth Wing are providing the terrace melodies, which the players absolutely love, so bring a friend and get involved.

Come on you Rooks.

Tony

ROOKS PROGRESS TO THE LAST 16 OF THE VITALITY FA CUP

Lewes progressed to the 5th Round of the Vitality FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Ipswich Town last Sunday thanks to a second half goal by Emily Kraft. The Rooks now face fourth tier Cardiff City in the last 16 of the cup here at the Pan on Sunday 26th February 2023. Tickets are on sale now. Tomorrow the team host Birmingham City here at The Pan, in the Barclay’s FA Women’s Championship, kick off 2pm.

GREEN FOOTBALL WEEKEND

As part of Lewes FC’s commitment to promoting football done better, we are excited to announce that we are taking part in the ‘Green Football Weekend’ on the 5th February.

The Green Football Weekend is a wonderful initiative run by the FA, bringing together English football clubs and their fans to use the power of football to shine a light on climate change.’

For us, we will be serving only vegan food on the day, and we are encouraging any fans attending on the day to do their bit as well. We will also be selling pre-loved merch in the club shop as well as welcoming any potential volunteers for our community garden.

We’ve come up with ‘10 actions for Green Football Weekend’ which we’d love for you to try.

10 actions to support Lewes’ Green Football Weekend today and beyond
1. Walk, bring a bike or take public transport to the game.

2. Buy pre-loved products (training tops, match day kit, and various other unique items that wouldn’t usually be available to purchase.

3. Use digital team sheets – to access our team sheets digitally, please scan the QR codes around the stadium, we will also be putting up a handful of communal copies around the stadium.

4. Bring your own coffee cup to our matchdays.

5. Volunteer at the community garden.

6. Keep tickets on the phone and try to avoid printing them.

7. Go vegan for the day (and the future?)! – We serve a great selection of vegan food all year round loved by both our vegan and non-vegan fans. We are taking this a step further and going completely vegan for the day.

8. Switch to reusable menstrual products – check out the sustainable period underwear made by our matchday sponsors NixiBody

9. Use recyclable products wherever possible.

10. Separate your compost – Composting barrels at our stadium mean that nothing is wasted, and leftovers go straight back into the soil. Learn how to compost.

We also think it’s important to mention what we currently do to make the football club greener.

– Community garden set up by men’s player, Bradley Pritchard. Here we grow vegetables, some of which are even given out as Player of the Match Awards!
– Composting; nothing gets wasted at the club.
– Our stadium uses solar panels to help us control the amount of energy we use.
– Vegan food is served at every fixture.
– With our club being situated just a two-minute walk from Lewes Train Station, we always want to encourage fans to get the train or even walk to our games if they live local.

We don’t want to stop here in our bid to make the football club greener, and we know that right now, we are not perfect.

With that in mind, we would love for any potential sustainability partners to get in touch with our Commercial Manager: Stef@LewesFC.com

What’s more, you can pledge your support for us below by tapping on our name and what you will do to take part.

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT

By pledging your support and committing to eco-friendly switches you can help the club climb the leaderboard amongst other clubs taking part.

LEWES 5 WINGATE & FINCHLEY 0 – TUES 31st JANUARY 2023

A scintillating first-half display saw Lewes return to winning ways with an emphatic 5-0 victory over ten-man Wingate & Finchley at the Pan, reports Tom Harper (pictures: James Boyes).

Tony Russell made one change to the side that drew at Cray Wanderers in their previous game, with Bradley Pritchard replacing Ayo Olukoga in the starting line-up.

Lewes started brightly and nearly took an early lead through Pritchard, who saw a well-struck 25-yard volley saved by Ben Goode.

The Rooks went ahead on 12 minutes through Deon Moore, who collected a pass from Tyrique Hyde down the left before beating his marker and blasting a superb strike across Goode and into the top corner.

Lewes were dominating the game and saw Jamie Mascoll test Goode twice in quick succession with long-range efforts.

They remained on the front foot as the half progressed and were handed an excellent chance to double their lead on the half-hour, winning a penalty after Joe Taylor was pulled back by Michael Olarewaju as he was about to convert a Pritchard cross.

The deliberate denial of a goalscoring opportunity left the referee with little choice but to dismiss Olarewaju, and a challenging evening for the visitors became even tougher when Taylor sent Goode the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0 to Lewes.

Lewes continued to control the game as they looked to make the most of their numerical advantage, the dangerous Moore seeing an attempt deflected just wide at the end of an excellent passing move.

The Rooks made it 3-0 on 42 minutes, as a long ball in behind by Johnville Renee was helped on by Moore into the path of Ryan Gondoh, who finished calmly past Goode.

It was 4-0 just a minute later, Taylor running onto a perfectly-weighted through-ball from Hyde before lifting the ball over the onrushing Goode and into the back of the net to put Lewes in a dominant position heading into half-time.

After such an action-packed first half, it was perhaps unsurprising that the second saw fewer clear-cut opportunities, with the ten men of the visitors sitting deep and defending well to prevent further damage.

Lewes were enjoying plenty of possession and appeared to be denied two penalties during the early stages of the half, with a clear handball and then a foul on Taylor minutes later not leading to a second spot-kick of the evening.

Goode wasn’t called into action as regularly, but still had to be alert to save bravely at the feet of Pritchard, who had been played through by Taylor.

Ryley Scott impressed for the Rooks as a half-time substitute and came close twice with long-range efforts, the second in particular only just clearing the crossbar with Goode beaten.

Just as it appeared the game would finish 4-0, Lewes added a a spectacular fifth deep into stoppage time, as Rhys Murrell-Williamson cut in from the right before unleashing an unstoppable strike that flew past Goode and into the far top corner, sparking wild celebrations involving every outfield player with the fans behind the goal.

There was barely time for the game to restart, leaving Lewes to reflect on an excellent display and an important win heading into a busy February.

RECORD-BREAKING IS TAYLOR-MADE FOR JOE

Little did any of us know but JT’s equaliser last Saturday at Cray Wanderers actually broke a Lewes record, or so we think. Club Stat-Man Kevin Brook is the keeper of the records and having gone into the archives, Kev has confirmed that Joe is indeed a record-breaker*

Saturday’s goal against his old club meant that Joe had scored in six consecutive league games, beating the previous record of five by Paul Booth fifteen years ago. Not content with that, he added two more on Tuesday night to take his total for the season to 26 in all competitions.

Last season he finished on 33 goals, the second highest haul in a season from a Lewes player in the last 30 years, again with Paul Booth the record holder back in 2007/08 with 34. Who wouldn’t bet on him surpassing that target in the next few weeks based on his current form.

*We await further confirmation from Terry Parris, or rather, his brother Pip who is the club’s record goal scorer.

INTRODUCING OUR VISITORS – KINGSTONIAN

THE HISTORY

The Kingstonian club came into being in 1919 as a result of the merger between Kingston Town FC and Old Kingstonians FC. However, the club can trace its origins even further back and celebrated its centenary in 1985; the reason for this is that one of its forerunners, Kingston & Surbiton YMCA FC played its first match on a ground in Bushy Park in November 1885. In 1887 the YMCA changed its name to Saxons FC. Then in 1890 it changed to Kingston Wanderers FC and once again to Kingston-on-Thames Association Football Club (KAFC) in 1893. Unfortunately, in the early 1900s there was trouble in the camp and in 1908 the club split in two with Kingston Town playing at Norbiton Sports Ground and Old Kingstonians on what became known as the “back pitch” at Richmond Road.

The new Kingstonian set-up started life in the Athenian League, a competition that it won in both seasons 1923/24 and 1925/26, playing its home matches at a brand new ground in Richmond Road that remained its home until 1988. In 1929 the Kingstonians, widely known as the K’s, accepted an invitation to join the Isthmian League as a replacement for the Civil Service FC, and remained in that league until 1998.

The K’s have a credible history and their blue ribbon period of the early 1930’s produced players such as Frank Macey, Doug Whitehead, George Lee and the Whittaker brothers achieving in April 1933 its then greatest accolade by winning the FA Amateur Cup which well and truly put Kingstonian on the football map. Wins over Portland United (after a replay), Leyton, South Bank, Dulwich Hamlet, and Whitehall Printeries took the K’s through to the final, staged at Dulwich, against Stockton, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. For the replay Kingstonian had to travel to Darlington, but despite going one goal behind after only four minutes, the K’s came back to win 4-1 thanks to goals from Gibson, Urpeth (penalty) and Whitehead (2).

In the following season, 1933/34, K’s bowed out of the Amateur Cup in a second round replay to Wimbledon at Plough Lane, but went on to successfully win the Isthmian League, a feat they repeated in season 1936/37 and, of course in 1997/98.

In season 1959/60 it seemed as though the Amateur Cup was going to return to Kingston as the legendary Johnny Whing headed K’s into the lead against Hendon in the final at Wembley Stadium. Two goals in the last three minutes, though, had the FA officials busily changing the red and white ribbons for green and white ones as Hendon won the cup for the first time. To qualify for the final, Kingstonian disposed of Histon, Letchworth Town, Ferryhill Athletic, Carshalton Athletic, and Crook Town in a semi-final tie played at St James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United.

The Kingstonian teams of the early 1960’s were arguably as good as those of the 1930’s and many trophies were won. After winning the Surrey Senior cup for the 9th time (as Kingstonian) in 1967, the club’s successes dried up and despite the endeavours of many managers and countless players, the team went into decline. In 1979 relegation to Division One was suffered, but in 1985 the club bounced back as runners up to Farnborough Town. K’s were a mite fortunate as Leatherhead, who finished above them on goal difference, had three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player. Kingstonian remained as members of the Premier Division until the end of the 1997/98 season when promoted to the Nationwide Conference.

The famous Richmond Road ground, which was loved by so many, became increasingly dilapidated and subject to vandalism, so a decision was made to relocate and develop the site for housing – a move that also assisted the club’s finances. The last game played there was in January 1988 against Bromley. After one and a half season’s ground sharing at Hampton’s Beveree ground. K’s opened their brand new Kingsmeadow Stadium (on the site of the old Norbiton Sports Ground) in August 1989, when Slough Town were the visitors. After achieving a draw with Peterborough United in 1992, the club recorded a fine FA Cup win at Kingsmeadow by beating Brighton in 1994; they also competed well the following year against Plymouth. In front of 3,495 supporters the K’s held Leyton Orient to a 0-0 draw only to lose 2-1 in the FA Cup 2nd Round Replay in 1998. Drawn away to Luton Town in the First Round of the FA Cup in October 1999 saw the K’s come in at half time 1-1 only to go down 4-2 at the end.

At the beginning of the 1997-98 season, the club appointed Geoff Chapple as manager. He brought about an exciting change of fortune for the club. In his first season, he took the club to the Isthmian League Premier Division Championship. In the following season, their first in the Football Conference, the club finished a creditable 8th, but they capped it all off by winning the FA Trophy at Wembley in May 1999 with a 1-0 victory over Forest Green Rovers. The following season 1999/2000, in the last FA Trophy Final between the famous Twin Towers, the K’s retained their title with an exciting 3-2 win over Kettering Town, giving Chapple his 5th FA Trophy Final win in seven seasons (the other three with Woking). The club also reached their highest position of 5th in the Conference.

However, season 2000/2001 proved to be extremely mixed. The K’s made the headlines again with a tremendous run in the FA Cup. A home win against Devizes Town was the start of an incredible run that saw the K’s defeat Brentford, Southport and Southend United all away from home. In the Fourth Round, K’s were thwarted in the last kick of the game at Ashton Gate as Bristol City scored a very last gasp equaliser before winning the replay at Kingsmeadow in a live televised match. Unfortunately, the club’s league form proved to be exactly the opposite, as the K’s finished next to bottom and were relegated back to the Ryman Football League.

Season 2001/2002 and it was time again for a change, as the club and Geoff Chapple parted by mutual consent. Kingstonian quickly appointed former Dover Athletic man Bill Williams as their new manager, who had working alongside him former Tottenham Hotspur player Steve Sedgley as his assistant. In late 2001 Williams departed the club and Sedgley moved up to the position of manager and his assistant was Kim Harris who was promoted up from the position of reserve team manager.

December 2002 saw the sudden resignation of the highly promising Sedgley as manager. The club immediately promoted Harris, a former K’s striker, to manager and appointed former Woking man Scott Steele as player/coach. The club had ups and downs over this period but only failed to make the new Conference South following a single goal defeat to Lewes in a Ryman League playoff.

Following a poor start to season 2004/05 Harris decided to call it a day after just four games. Scott Steele was promoted to manager but, despite encouraging good football from his side, was unable to prevent what became an inevitable relegation to Division One. However, good news arrived off the field when local businessman Jimmy Cochrane bought the football club, giving the club a positive outlook for the first time in several years. Steele’s resignation followed towards the end of the season when former assistant manager Ian McDonald was brought in along with Stuart McIntyre as his coach with a view to resurrecting the club’s fortunes.

The 2005/06 season saw K’s move up the table only to miss out on playoffs on the final day of the season, though silverware was achieved following a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon in the Surrey Senior Cup Final. McDonald was almost immediately succeeded by McIntyre as manager, whilst the club was jointly bought by Mark Anderson and Malcolm Winwright – the board would be completed by the presence of John Fenwick as chairman from May 2011 to June 2014 and then co-chairman with Anderson and Winwright until January 2018, when he became sole chairman again.

Stuart McIntyre’s time as manager was unfortunately short-lived and unsuccessful, and midway through the 2006/07 season he was replaced as manager by former Walton and Hersham manager Alan Dowson. Dowson and his team immediately transformed the club, and achieved a semblance of stability. There was plenty of expectation for the 2007/08 season, though inconsistency led to the K’s missing the play-offs once again on the final day of the season.

The 2008/09 season was successful from start to finish. A run to the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup was highlighted by a 4-0 home win over Conference South team Braintree Town, all four goals scored by midfielder Dean Lodge. This performance led to the K’s player winning the Performance of the Round award from the FA. But it was in the Ryman League Division One South that the biggest success came, as a very strong start and a storming finish led to Kingstonian winning the division by seven points ahead of Cray Wanderers.

After an absence of four years, the club almost passed straight up through the Ryman Premier Division, recovering from a difficult start to reach the end of the season playoffs. It was Boreham Wood, however, who won the controversial final match. Heartache followed in the following 2010/11 season when a final day collapse at Margate cost another attempt at the playoffs. The following two seasons saw mid-table finishes in the league accompanied by successive London Senior Cup final appearances, before a return to the playoffs in the 2013/14 season, after the club finished runners-up in the league. A semi final defeat against AFC Hornchurch however denied the chance of promotion, in what turned out to be Alan Dowson’s last game in charge.

With former K’s midfielder Tommy Williams installed as manager, the club again reached the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round, losing 3-2 to a last minute goal against Eastbourne Borough. The league campaign was a roller-coaster, a late challenge for the play-offs falling short in the last couple of weeks of the season. In his second season, the 2015-16 campaign saw the K’s lift their first cup in ten years, winning the Isthmian League Cup with a 5-0 victory over Faversham Town.

The 2016-17 season proved to be a difficult campaign, as the club flirted dangerously with relegation thanks to a dreadful run following Christmas; with six games left and hopes almost lost, Tommy Williams was replaced as manager by former Billericay Town man Craig Edwards. He turned the club around immediately and K’s moved up to 16th after a five match unbeaten run to end the season. K’s left the Kingsmeadow Stadium at the end of the season and moved to Fetcham Grove with Leatherhead FC; Edwards resigned in October 2017 and was replaced by former Whyteleafe manager Leigh Dynan.

At the beginning of the 2018-19 season, Kingstonian moved back to the Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames and started a ground share with Corinthian-Casuals at King George’s Field. A difficult season saw K’s have three managers, as Leigh Dynan was replaced by Dean Brennan and then very quickly by stand-in manager Kim Harris – K’s moved from second place in the table on New Year’s Day to escaping relegation by a single place after a horror run of results.

The 2019-20 season may have been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but new manager Hayden Bird’s arrival gave the club an enormous boost, and the K’s supporters were rewarded amply with fine runs in both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy – the club reached the First Round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2000-01, and defeated Macclesfield Town 4-0 at Moss Rose in Round One before bowing out in Round Two at home to AFC Fylde on a day that saw the club host that afternoon’s edition of BBC Football Focus.

Their FA Trophy run also ended in Round Two but was most notable for a fine 3-1 victory over Alan Dowson’s Woking team at King George’s Field. The 2020-21 season was curtailed even more than the previous season, ending in November with K’s sitting in fourth position in the Premier Division. The 2021-22 season started out extremely well, with K’s topping the Premier Division for a lengthy period before Christmas, but form then disappeared, and the club had to settle for an ultimately disappointing tenth place and a place in the Surrey Senior Cup Final, which was lost on penalties to Dorking Wanderers after a 1-1 draw. During the summer, the club moved temporary home once again, this time to Imperial Fields at Tooting and Mitcham United, and Lee O’Leary was appointed manager after the resignation of Hayden Bird.

THE SQUAD

Michael Abnett (Defender): Signed for Kingstonian in September 2022, Michael is best known for his spell with Merstham, with whom he reached the FA Cup First Round and the Isthmian League Premier play-off final. His most recent club was Corinthian-Casuals, he also has Romford, Margate and Dulwich Hamlet on his footballing CV.

Jacob Bancroft (Forward): Signed on loan from Hartley Wintney in November 2022 before making the move permanent a month later, Jacob started his career in the youth system at Aldershot Town before moving to Swindon Town’s academy in 2015. He made one appearance for the Robins in 2019 before moving to Oxford City a year later. He had a short spell with Stevenage in 2021, returning to Oxford City at the end of that season, moving to Billericay Town in July 2022, then Hartley Wintney in October before his loan move to the K’s.

Joe Boachie (Forward): Signed for Kingstonian in December 2022 on a dual registration basis from Braintree Town, Joe started out with Dagenham and Redbridge, and has also played for Stamford, Loughborough University, Grays Athletic and Potters Bar Town, from whom he moved to Cressing Road in October 2022.

Sean Bonnett-Johnson (Midfield): Originally joined Kingstonian in December 2015 and was part of the K’s League Cup Final victory over Faversham Town in 2016. A widely travelled player who has also played for the likes of Billericay Town, Merstham, Braintree Town and Dundee, Sean played the 2021-22 season with FC Romania and re-joined the K’s in the summer of 2022.

Kieron Cadogan (Midfield / Forward): A former Crystal Palace player who signed for Kingstonian in the summer of 2022. Kieron played 21 times for the Eagles and had loan spells with Burton Albion and Rotherham United before playing for Aldershot Town, Barnet, and GAIS Goteborg before three seasons in the National League with Sutton United. After spells with Billericay and Wealdstone, Kieron spent two seasons with Corinthian-Casuals before his move to the K’s.

Danny Dudley (Defender): Experienced defender who signed for the K’s from Horsham in December 2022. He started out at Chipstead and Whyteleafe but became known for his performances at Corinthian-Casuals, joining them in 2014 and helping them to promotion in 2017. From King George’s Field he moved to Colston Avenue, where he captained Carshalton Athletic to promotion in 2018 before joining the Hornets in November 2020.

Jake Eales (Defender): Centre-half that joined Kingstonian from Leatherhead in December 2022, Jake started his career in the youth ranks at Fulham and then Queen’s Park Rangers before joining Wingate and Finchley in 2017. Jake moved from North London to Fetcham Grove in September 2022 before his switch to the K’s.

Great Evans (Forward): A former Bedfont Sports youth player, Great joined AFC Wimbledon at the age of sixteen and went on to make one first team appearance for the Dons in December 2017. Upon his release, he joined Metropolitan Police and from there had spells with Hayes and Yeading, South Park, Merstham, Wingate and Finchley, Leatherhead and finally Harrow Borough, who he joined in the summer of 2022 before moving to Kingstonian in December 2022.

Isaiah Jones (Defence): A former Southampton junior who joined Forest Green Rovers in 2018. He made two appearances for the club in the EFL Trophy before a loan spell with Cirencester Town before spending most of last season with Chesham United. Isaiah joined Kingstonian in the summer of 2022.

Lee Lewis (Midfield): Joined Kingstonian from Chertsey Town in October 2022, Lee progressed through the youth and reserve teams of Cray Wanderers before breaking into the first team squad. Lee then joined the Curfews in the summer of 2022.

Geneiro Maragh (Defence): A former West Ham United youngster that signed for Kingstonian in the summer of 2022, Geneiro is a full back who has spent time in the academy system with Cambridge United.

Junior Mboglem (Defender): Tall, powerful centre-back who has been outstanding for the Under 18s team since joining in September 2022 from Wealdstone’s academy. He was part of the club’s outstanding run in the FA Youth Cup this season and has been justifiably rewarded with a place in the first team squad.

Chevron McLean (Defender): Signed on a dual registration basis from Cheshunt in December 2022, Chevron has won international caps for St Vincent and the Grenadines and was an integral part of the Ambers’ run to the Isthmian League Play-Off Final in May 2022, when they defeated Hornchurch. Before Cheshunt, Chevron has seen action for the likes of Billericay Town, Eastbourne Borough and Maldon & Tiptree.

Iker Noguera Leon (Midfield): Joined Kingstonian’s Under 18s set-up in the summer of 2021, Iker signed first team forms in the winter of that season and made his first team debut at Sheerwater in a Surrey Senior Cup tie in January 2022. He was part of the Under 18s’ double cup winning squad at the end of the 2021-22 season and this season’s squad that reached the FA Youth Cup First Round this season..

Kwesi Ntim (Midfield): Another graduate of Kingstonian’s Under 18s team, Kwesi signed first team forms in January 2022 and made his first team debut in the same month and was part in the centre of midfield of the youth team’s double cup winning squad at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

Joshua Ogunseye (Forward): Joined Kingstonian from Chatham Town in November 2022, having moved to the Chats at the start of this season having scored 38 goals for Farnham Town in 2021-22 season.

Tyrese Owen (Defence / Midfield): Signed for Kingstonian in the summer of 2022 after having spent the previous season with Haringey Borough. He joined the Borough from Hemel Hempstead Town, and also counts Potters Bar Town and Carshalton Athletic as former clubs, also spending time with Ytterhogdals IK in the Swedish fourth tier.

Corey Parchment (Defence): Signed for Kingstonian in September 2022 from Potters Bar Town, it is the second time that K’s manager Lee O’Leary has signed the full-back who also counts Windsor, Westfield, Hillingdon Borough and Bedworth United as former clubs.

Dwight Pascal (Defence): Made his first team debut for Barnet at the age of fifteen and is the Bees’ youngest ever player. He played on two more occasions for Barnet before joining Potters Bar Town in November 2019. He returned to the Hive in 2020 but re-joined the Scholars in time for the 2021-22 season, subsequently moving to Kingstonian in the summer of 2022.

Declan Skura (Defence): A player with experience at academy level with Chelsea and Reading, Declan was part of Hanworth Villa’s exceptional FA Youth Cup run in 2019-20 that saw them reach the Second Round Proper. Declan joined Kingstonian in the summer of 2021 and, despite an injury-hit campaign, impressed each time he wore the hoops.

O’Shane Stewart (Midfield): Joined Kingstonian in November 2022, O’Shane is a midfield player who joined Southend United as a 14 year-old, moving to Canvey Island in March 2022, making ten appearances for the Gulls and helping them to promotion to the Isthmian Premier.

Rob Tolfrey (Goalkeeper): Kingstonian’s record-appearance maker, Rob broke Micky Preston’s record of 557 appearances in September 2021 and is fast approaching the 600 mark. He started his career with Crawley Town before spending one season with Whyteleafe and then secured a move to Horsham. In 2009, Rob moved to Kingstonian and has been the undisputed number one ever since. Supporters’ Player of the Year on numerous occasions, he received a testimonial match in 2015, claimed a winners’ medal after K’s defeated Faversham Town in the 2016 Isthmian League Cup Final and was a vital part of Kingstonian’s wonderful FA Cup run to the Second Round in 2019-20.

Ben Ward-Cochrane (Forward): Signed for Kingstonian in September 2022 from Walthamstow, and has previously played under Lee O’Leary with Potters Bar Town, and also Enfield Town, Hertford Town and a dual registration spell with Welling United when Potters Bar were unable to play due to the Isthmian League season being cancelled in 2020-21. Sadly hit by injury this season.

THE FORM

OUR HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

7th Dec 2022	Isthmian Premier League	Kingstonian	1	Lewes	3
16th Apr 2022	Isthmian Premier League	Lewes	3	Kingstonian	3
3rd Jan 2022	Isthmian Premier League	Kingstonian	2	Lewes	2
7th Mar 2020	Isthmian Premier League	Lewes	1	Kingstonian	2
16th Nov 2019	Isthmian Premier League	Kingstonian	3	Lewes	1
23rd Mar 2019	Isthmian Premier League	Lewes	3	Kingstonian	0

OUR LAST MEETING HERE – 2nd APRIL 2022

THE FIFA RANKINGS UPSIDE DOWN – No.200 THE SEYCHELLES

There’s no prizes in football for having the best badge but if there were I doubt The Seychelles would be ranked at number 200 in international football. Combining the sea, palm trees, a ball and what appears to be the Pyramids of Giza is an eclectic mix but they have pulled it off. Alas, that’s as good as it really gets for football in the archipelago state in the Indian Ocean.

Football was introduced to the Seychelles in the 1930s. Its first official competition, the Challenge Cup, was organised in 1936 then, in 1941, a championship between five teams was set up with matches of 60 minutes, played barefoot.

In 1969, the president of the Seychelles Football Federation wanted to set up a national team. Engaged on a voluntary basis, Englishman Adrian Fisher arrived on the island in September to reorganise Seychelles football. He equipped all the players with shoes, set up modern training techniques and extended the match time to 90 minutes. The newly formed national team play their first matches at a friendly tournament played in Kenya in April 1970. In Seychelles’ first match played on a real football pitch, they drew 2–2 against Feisal F.C. then lost 1–2 to Mwengi at Mombasa Municipal Stadium.

On the 13th March 1974 they travelled to Reunion to play their first ever international, losing 2-0 but it wasn’t until 1986 when they became a FIFA Affiliate member, losing their first official international at home to Mauritius 2-1. They recorded their first ever international victory against the same side two years later. Since then there have been regular wins against the likes of The Maldives, Comoros and erm, Mauritius.

The last few years have been a little thin on the ground in terms of good news stories. A win against Lesotho in March 2016 in qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations heralded a 40 game winless streak, which ended with a win in Sri Lanka in November 2021. Since then it has almost been losses all the way although they drew their last game, away to FIFA’s lowest ranked side, San Marino in November 2022.

The current squad is made up entirely of locally-based players from the Seychelles First Division, including St Louis Suns United and The Lions who share the Stade Linite, the 10,000 capacity national stadium on the water’s edge in Victoria, a ten minute drive from the International Airport.

Fun fact: In 2014, Seychelles had the highest incarceration rate in the world of 799 prisoners per 100,000 population.

THERE’S STILL HOPE FOR SOME OF US…

Tony Russell take note…If there’s life in the legs still, then age is just a number, just as former Japanese International Kazuyoshi Miura proved this week.

Fifty-six year old Miura, in his fifth decade as a professional footballer, has joined Portuguese second-division side Oliveirense on loan from J-League outfit Yokohama FC, reports the BBC.

His new adventure in Portugal represents a sixth country in which he has played, following spells in Brazil, Japan, Italy, Croatia and Australia.

“Even though this is a new place for me, I’ll work hard to show everyone the kind of play I’m known for,” said Miura, who will celebrate his birthday on 26 February.

He has previously said he plans to continue playing until he is 60.

Miura spent last season on loan at Suzuka Point Getters, scoring two goals in 18 appearances for the Japanese fourth-tier side who are managed by his older brother Yasutoshi.

Yokohama acquired a majority stake in his new club, Oliveirense, in November.

Miura started his career with Brazilian side Santos in 1986 and became the oldest player to score in a Japanese professional league game with his 2017 goal against Thespakusatsu Gunma aged 50 years and 14 days.

Dubbed ‘King Kazu’ in Japan, he is one of the country’s most loved sportsmen and was the face of the J League when it launched in 1993.

He scored 55 goals in 89 games for Japan.

Right, where are those registration forms again?

IAN TOWNSEND’S ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND UP

Enfield Town’s short stay at the summit lasted only a few days, as it is Bishop’s Stortford’s turn to take over in title pole position. The Blues headed to face a Haringey Borough side who had won three of their last four, and we expected it might be a close encounter, but it turned out to be anything but. Frankie Merrifield, so often the talisman for the Blues, delivered a hat trick. His first came four minutes before the break when he received the ball in the box, turned past Scott Mitchell in the home defence and hammered home. His second arrived on sixty eight minutes, heading home a corner from Johnny Giles which might have even gone in without his intervention, his third a ‘fox in the box’ finish from close range. That’s sixteen for the season from the Stortford number ten, and his side with a two point lead at the top.

Carshalton Athletic knew that a win at Brightlingsea Regent would take them into the top five- but they had to be content with a point after a resurgent Regent continued a run which has now seen them lose only one of their last five. Indeed, we suspect that the Robins will be more than content with a point, and Regent disappointed not to have three, as the visitors only got that point with an equaliser right at the end after being behind for eighty seven minutes. Zack Littlejohn headed home a corner to give the hosts the perfect start on three minutes, and the lead lasted right until the end- indeed the match had progressed to five added minutes when Femi Akinwande popped up to earn his side a point. Regent are twentieth, four points from safety- whilst the Robins are a point away from the top five.

The reason that Wingate & Finchley dropped into the bottom four can be traced to goings on at the Len Salmon, where Bowers & Pitsea escaped the drop zone and did relegation rivals Corinthian-Casuals no good at all. The only goal of the match arrived nineteen minutes from time, and it went to loanee Antony Papadopolous, who headed home a free kick. The Welling United loanee has been a revelation since arriving at club, and that was his third goal in his last three matches- two wins and a draw. Bowers climb to seventeenth- Casuals are five points from safety in twenty first.

Finally, bottom side Herne Bay welcomed a Potters Bar Town side who had taken only one point from their previous seven matches- but the Scholars got back to winning ways last night as Bay’s recent good form escaped them. Finlay Titchmarsh gave the visitors a thirteenth minute lead only for Marcel Barrington to equalise for the hosts just before the break- but that was as good as it got for the Bay faithful. Eighteen minutes from time Rudy Allen put the Scholars ahead, and right at the end Quentin Monville made quite sure of three points with a third goal. Town are up to tenth- and will be reminded that the gap between themselves and the top five is still only five points.

On Wednesday night second half goals from Ben Greenhalgh and Nathan Wood earned Margate a vital win at Kingstonian last night- and the K’s night then got even worse with the announcement that manager Spencer Knight was to leave as soon as a replacement had been found.

THE 2022/23 ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON

ON THIS DAY IN FOOTBALLING HISTORY – 4TH FEBRUARY

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

You can sponsor the player of your choice, subject to availability, for the 2022/23 season and get your name in lights, plus a home or away shirt signed by your player and presented to you at a home game. Contact Shrey for more details at Shrey@lewesfc.com.

PLAYER	SPONSOR	PLAYER	SPONSOR
Lewis Carey	Susie Arlett	Ryan Gondor	Dave Lamb
Jamie Mascoll	Michael Kennard	Tyrique Hyde
Archie Tamplin		Rhys Murrell-Williamson	Trevor Norwood
Alfie Young		Ryley Scott	
Tom Champion	Tom, Alice & Russ Mould	Razz Coleman De-Graft	The Ouse
Will Salmon	Michael McDowell	Deon Moore	
Johnville Renee	Dave Lamb	Joe Taylor	Stuart Fuller
Ayo Olukoga	Ryan Busby	Fraser Middleton-Tozer	
Bradley Pritchard	The English Soap Company	Finley Jenkins	

THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER MORE GOOD MONEY

Chelsea fans look away now. You would have thought having almost gone pop twice before, Chelsea’s new owners may have looked to the past for a few pointers for the future, but it appears not.

According to Transfermarkt, recruiting Fernandez for 120m euros (£105.6m) took the club’s January spending to 328.5m euros (£288m) on eight arrivals as they try to turn around the form that has left them 10th in the table and struggling to reach the Europa Conference League let alone the Champions League party next season.

It comes after a summer in which they spent a Premier League record £270m – the second-highest summer spend by any club in the world after Real Madrid (£292m) in 2019 – and contributes to a record £2.5bn spent by Premier League clubs so far this season. Their January spending also took them through the £3 billion spending mark since the start of the Premier League 21 years ago, £500m more than the second biggest spenders, Manchester City.

So how can Chelsea afford to keep spending, and how do the numbers work with regard to Financial Fair Play rules?

Chelsea have to adhere to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules and, as they regularly play in European competition, Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

Premier League profitability and sustainability rules allow for total losses of £105m over a three-year period. Any club that posts losses in excess of that figure could face penalties, including large fines or even a points deduction.

Under Uefa’s current rules, clubs can spend up to 5m euros (£4.4m) more than they earn over a three-year period, though they can exceed this level to a limit of 30m euros (£26.6m) if it is entirely covered by the club’s owner.

Friend of the Rooks and Sussex-based Football finance expert Kieran Maguire estimates Chelsea only had a three-year FFP loss of £5m in their most recent accounts, which go up to 2021, so have a fair amount of leeway in terms of permitted losses.

“There are two issues.

Can they afford it in terms of cash? They can because they are buying players and paying for them in instalments. So the finances of the club itself are fine.

With regards to Financial Fair Play, the accounting is more Harry Potter than Graham Potter in the sense that it’s quite weird and wonderful.

When you buy a player, you spread the cost of the player over the life of the contract. If we take a look at Mykhailo Mudryk, they bought him for £89m and he is on an eight-and-a-half-year contract. So you do the maths and he is costing them £10m a year for FFP purposes. When you sell a player, all of the profits are taken into the accounts immediately [even if actual payments are made in instalments]. We have got the sales of Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori. That was £77m worth of profit.

They also won the Champions League, the Uefa Super Cup and the Fifa World Club Cup, and all of that was extra money coming in. So things aren’t as bad as I think some of the commentators are making out.

It’s a very high-risk strategy.

If the players turn out to underperform, you have then got a player on a total salary cost of £7m or £8m a year and you are committed to that for seven to eight years. No other clubs are willing to take that wage off your hands for such a long period of time. So you’ve got four or five players who are happy to sit down for the rest of the contracts. They are even taking up space on your 25-man roster as far as Uefa is concerned or they are tying up space on your payroll.

If they are fantastic players, it is great because it means that if Real Madrid come calling in two years’ time, you have still got five or six years remaining on the contract and can extract the maximum fee.”

Thankfully, record-breaking Joe Taylor is still with us after the closure of the Transfer Window so Rooks fans can breathe a sign of relief.

AN IMPACTFUL YEAR

Lewes are delighted to announce the launch of our Impact Report for the 2021/22 season. 

On the pitch, we can easily measure our impact by goals and League position. But what we do off the pitch is part of who we are too.

Whether it’s facilitating football sessions for different parts of our community, players delivering medicine and food to vulnerable local people or our campaigning work against inequality and bad governance, we are, to our core, a community club.

We try and get through a lot of good stuff every year so, to help us evaluate it all, we produce an annual Impact Report that shows the depth and range of our off-the-pitch work. And it’s all gloriously designed by our friends at T+T Design.

You can read and download a copy here.

ON THE ROAD TO…BOWERS & PITSEA – SAT 11th FEBRUARY 2023

About the Len Salmon Stadium
The ground has gone through a major transformation in recent years after the club’s promotion to the Isthmian Premier League last season. The club installed a 3G pitch for the start of the aborted 2019/20 season as well as redeveloping a couple of the small stands around the pitch. It is a compact ground but has plenty of cover and more than adequate for the club and their ambitious plans.

How to get to the Len Salmon Stadium
The ground isn’t easy to reach by public transport with the nearest train station, Pitsea, being a forty minute walk away. Basildon has more trains but it is 3 miles from the ground. Buses 5 and 28 both run from the station to Crown Avenue.

So driving is the best option but allow plenty of time to navigate the Dartford Tunnel. When you are through the tunnel take the junction 30 and head East onto the A13. After 14 miles take the turn off for Pitsea.

At the roundabout take the first exit so that you pass Tesco’s on your left. At the next roundabout take the third exit (Ashlyns) – go straight at the next roundabout (approx. 20 metres). Follow the road until the next roundabout and take the second exit and then take the first left into Kenneth Road. Follow the road to the end and turn right and then immediate left into the ground.

Visitors car park is at far end of clubhouse building. Access to clubhouse via pathway between clubhouse and football pitch then side door beside patio area.

Admission to the Len Salmon Stadium
The club sell tickets in advance via their website although they also accept payment by card or cash at the gate. Admission is £12 for Adults, £6 for Concessions, £3 for Under12s and Under6s are admitted free with an Adult.

Fancy a beer?
There’s not a lot around the ground although The Gun on London Road, about 20 minutes walk from the ground is recommended.

THE ISTHMIAN LEAGUE COMMERCIAL PARTNERS

TODAY’S TEAMS WILL APPEAR HERE

LEGAL 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 Willa Bailey, Tim Bradshaw, Ed Briggs, Scott Currie, Stuart Fuller, Andy Gowland, Lucy Mills, John Peel, Trevor Wells
Chief Executive Officer Maggie Murphy
Club Secretary John Peel
Fan Engagement Manager Shrey Nilvarna
Youth Secretary Ryan Sullivan
Operations Manager James Barker
Communication Manager Jack Towers
Commercial Manager Steph McLaughlin

Life Members
Peter Brook, Dorothy Brook RIP, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox RIP, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris RIP, 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
First team coach Nathan White
First team physio Toni Miller
Goalkeeping coach Grant Hall
Match logistics Clive Burgess & Vikram Dogra
First Team Performance Analyst Henderson Russell

Golden Rook Rob Read
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editor Stuart Fuller and Stan Lahood
Club Photographer James Boyes

NEXT UP AT THE DRIPPING PAN

TUESDAY 14th FEBRUARY 2023 – 7:45pm KICK-OFF

HORSHAM – THE ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Millionaire publisher Robert Maxwell made a £10m bid for Manchester United. It wasn’t successful – £10m seems like petty cash in modern football valuations.
2. For former Tesco worker Karen Child it proved to be her in February 2007 when a £1 lucky dip saw her win a Lotto jackpot of £8,471,383. The cheque was presented to her a few days later at Old Trafford but it was her local club, Chesterfield, who soon benefited from her generosity. She sponsored the Kop end at Chesterfield’s former home at Saltergate.
3. Len Shackleton made the short move from Newcastle to Sunderland. At £50 more than the previous record the £20,050 fee was as newsworthy as the £50m fee is nowadays.
4. The crowd was 442
5. Haringey Borough will make the shortest journey today as the travel 8.5 miles to Potters Bar Town