|
This season Secretary Martin Giles will be looking back at the legendary 'Walton Years.' Unsure what that means? Read on............................. My
first period of active service was in the Summer of 1988 but to start I
will need to track back to January of that year when news of a secret
meeting between Tony Walton and club officials was leaked around town.
At the time, the club had been in the Kent League for around a dozen
seasons and had enjoyed a fair bit of success. The clubhouse (the one
behind the goal) was a busy place with full-time stewards and a
regularly used functions room. It also housed the dressing rooms but the
rest of the ground was largely undeveloped, with the entrance being
alongside the building from the inner car park. I remember a great deal
of press speculation regarding the financial state of the club and the
future of its then manager (Glen Dempsey) and chairman (Mick Leach) as
well as the ground itself. By
the end of February, Mick had stepped down, Glen had been offered the
post of General Manager, and Walton had taken over. Neil Cugley, then
playing at Thanet United, had been installed as manager, with Dave Carr
as his assistant. It was apparently not a peaceful transition, with many
lining up to support Glen Dempsey, who turned down the post offered to
him and left the club. Thanet were also not best pleased and put out a
statement to the effect that anybody else wishing to leave this club to
go to Hythe had better leave now! Already Hythe were becoming the most
talked about club in Kent football. Cugley's
first match in charge was a 2.1 win at Cray and that was followed by an
identical result against the same opposition that put the club into the
League Cup final. By
now, plans for ground development were well known. The new chairman
would rapidly upgrade the facilities with (eventually) stands all around
the pitch, floodlights and turnstiles. More than this, he would get the
club into the football league! Now I never did know if this was a
serious aim or just a way of getting valuable publicity. I would have
been quite happy to see our town with a club in the Southern League,
anything more was pure fantasy, surely? The
story so far: Following the arrival of Walton in the Summer of 1988,
work has started on the ground, Neil Cugley is installed as manager, and
much change is afoot By
mid-April there was still some public resistance to the new regime but,
as the team continued to pick up points, this gradually evaporated and
even in cautious, conservative Hythe, optimism began to grow. By the end
of the month, the team had won nine matches out of eleven, moved well up
the table, and were being joined by the first of the promised new
players. These were former Dover and Folkestone player, Chris Hamshare,
and Steve Brignall, who had actually played for Arsenal at Anfield.
However, the season was to end in disappointment when Hythe travelled to
Herne Bay on a sunny afternoon to play Tunbridge Wells in the League Cup
final. The side were comprehensively beaten, 4.1, by a Wells team that
hit top form on the day. A contributory factor in their win was the
performance of their midfielder cum attacker, Shaun Carey, who was most
people’s man of the match. Shaun was to become the first of many
opposition players who, having played well against Walton’s side,
would shortly be asked to join it, and most accepted. Now
the end of the season had arrived, but there was to be more news and
action at Reachfields than many clubs see in the actual season. Both
manager and chairman made sure the momentum was kept going with their
thoughts and plans, and then the signings were soon being announced,
starting with local man, Tim Hulme, who joined the club from Dover. It
could be said that it was a hell of a start! There were Dover, a well
supported and well organised side, playing in the Southern League
Premier Division, losing one of their best players to a Kent League
outfit – what was going on down there? Then there was midfielder, Paul
Brenchley, and former Notts Forest goalkeeper, Lee Smelt. Lee had been
Peter Shilton’s understudy at Forest, and had seen many of Forest’s
glory nights from the substitutes’ bench alongside Brian Clough,
he’d do nicely! Promising young attacker, Mark Stanton, was next along with the afore-mentioned Shaun Carey, and Dave Carr. Dave had played a lot of league football as well as having senior non-league spells at Maidstone, Folkestone and Dover, amongst others. He was highly respected and was an extremely sound signing – one of the very best. Mark Jones from Gillingham joined at the same time that former England non-league international, Frank Ovard, also made the move. Frank was an ace goalscorer and a close friend of Neil’s so his signature was widely forecast. Once again there was much raising of eyebrows as Folkestone Town full-back and skipper, Kevin Smart, made himself available and was quickly accepted into the club. Kevin, seemingly playing out his career at Cheriton Road, was the sort of man who not only inspired his team but more rarely at non-league level, the supporters as well – another very good capture. The story so far: Walton had arrived in early 1988. During the following Summer our Reachfields ground was transformed but how would we fare on the pitch? Martin Giles recalls the expectations and early season matches To match all the transfer action, there was equally hectic activity going on at the ground, with the stands taking shape and the lights going up. It was an incredible sight to see Reachfields being transformed from its former state at such a speed. Virtually half of the ground was covered by rows of girders and the large number of men working gave the impression of urgency and expectation. Would it all end in anti-climax when the football started? We were soon to find out when, in an extraordinary piece of fixture re-arranging, Hythe contrived to start their season at Ramsgate, three days before the rest of the league, on a Wednesday evening. Ramsgate, a former Southern League club and nobody’s fools, took to the field in an unreal atmosphere. Some spectators at the ground thought it was another pre-season friendly, and the Ramsgate team were soon wishing it was. Seldom have I seen a team taken apart quite so ruthlessly. By midway through the first half Hythe were 5.0 up and such was their domination that one honestly thought that all sorts of records were about the fall. As so often happens though, the winning side eased off (hampered by a nasty foot injury to their player-manager, Neil Cugley) and finished the game with a 7.0 scoreline. Strangely, the beginning of season lethargy which regularly occurs in the non-league game was still in evidence despite all the pre-season ballyhoo. Hythe would still have to earn their support, especially in those Summer days when there was so much else to do. As if totally aware of this, the team dismantled the opposition for the next two games – a 6-0 win at home to Metropolitan Police and another 7-0 scoreline, versus Herne Bay. After three games, the aggregate was 20-0 and work on the new Reachfields turnstiles was being rushed on with – surely they would soon be needed. However, football is never that easy and the first defeat came against the hard men of Alma Swanley, who became the first to treat a match with Hythe as their cup final. A narrow win – 3-2 – over Deal Town followed and, as cricket started to peter out, the football season came into its own a little more, and an away FA Cup tie with Feltham being contemplated. As a sign of things to come, a coach was hired and was filled with players, officials and spectators who made their way to one of the strangest games I have ever seen. We knew in advance that it was an artificial pitch but we did not know just how artificial. We sat high up in the stand listening to the ball skidding around during the warm-up and I was reminded of countless scratch games of football on the school asphalt. I half expected to see a pair of school blazers for the goalposts as we watched a game almost devoid of home support, as if the locals had long since rejected the charade. There was practically no proper tackling and the only time the game seemed real was when the ball was in the air. Once it bounced (and did it bounce!) it was a comic circus of players jumping and prancing about trying to get it under control. The result was 1-1 but it hardly seemed to matter – how can football get it so wrong? The
story so far: Walton had arrived in early 1988 and Reachfields
had been transformed. We’d started well in the league and drawn in the
FA Cup on Feltham’s artificial pitch, so it was back to our place for
the replay The scene was now set for the replay at Hythe. With the stands taking shape and the lights ready to be switched on, it was about to be one of the milestones of the ‘new’ club’s route to the big time. The fans poured in and I remember thinking, when the night drew in and the lights perfectly and brilliantly lit the bright green turf, that this would just be the first of many such nights – this was proper football. Unfortunately, Lady Luck had something in store and, after joyously taking a 2-0 lead, the home team was shocked by a severe injury to keeper, Lee Smelt, who eventually had to leave the field after trying to continue with what turned out to be a dislocated shoulder. Feltham, encouraged by the sight of first one then another stand-in, turned on the style to romp home 5-2. They played some beautiful football – they must have been so pleased to be playing on real grass and before a real crowd. The match attendance was over 400 and although it does not seem that much, it was around four times the old average and, of course, with the increasingly enclosed nature of the ground, there was a real atmosphere to be enjoyed. After the cup it was back to the league with a 3-0 win over Cray and a dramatic last-gasp 3-2 win at Darenth Heathside. By now the club were established leaders and were still making the news in the transfer market. The latest additions were promising youngster, Mark Hyham, and veteran player, Ricky Fusco, who was a greatly admired former Southern League player at Folkestone and other Kentish teams. 4.1 wins over Tunbridge Wells and Greenwich Borough followed as the club pursued a policy of bringing forward matches to attract the bigger floodlight crowds to Reachfields and to guard against a possible end of season fixture pile-up in the event of bad weather. These wins were followed by an 8-1 victory over Kent Police to confirm the enormous gap that there was now between Hythe and the more modest members of the league. Many of these lesser teams contained the sort of player who, to be quite frank, was only just up to Kent League standard. Needless to say, when they came up against a team that was a cultured blend of promising young talent and the older, experienced former Football League and Southern League players, they were made to look extremely pedestrian. As the home side wove intricate little patterns over the tight Hythe pitch, disbelieving opposition players were left short of breath and in a state of near panic. The growing band of home supporters added another factor and, of course, were not slow to observe and comment on their inadequacies as the goals kept coming. I am pleased to report that rarely did this lead to serious foul play and all was well in the club bar afterwards as they seemed very keen to learn more about the ‘new’ Hythe. The story so far: Walton had arrived in early 1988 and there had been a transformation on and off the pitch. We’d started our surge up the league and, despite falling in the FA Cup to Feltham, still had the Vase to come. Some sides, such as Alma Swanley, Tunbridge Wells and Faversham, who handed out a rare old drubbing at Salters Lane, saw the new Hythe as a real challenge. Faversham, in achieving the double, played to a visible plan, probably after sending scouts down to watch earlier games. This was no bad thing because there was, at certain times, a certain arrogance about Hythe’s play which, considering the pedigree of the players, manager Neil Cugley did well to stifle for most games. In
truth, this was probably going to be the last time that a club would
totally dominate the Kent League which was showing signs of emerging
from the doldrums it seemed to have been in for a long while. At one
stage the league had been one of the strongest competitions around but
when a large number of its senior clubs had left to join the Southern
League way back in 1959/60, it had understandably been reduced in
stature. Now, with good sponsorship and a more professional outlook,
coupled with the tougher attitude to ground grading required by the
non-league pyramid system, it had regained much of the respect it had
lost. So
it was a good time for a side like Hythe to be emerging and a time when
many of the Kent League were happy to treat matches against them as
one-offs and concentrate on the battle for runners-up. Despite their early FA Cup exit against Feltham, there was another major cup competition open to Hythe, one that had been dabbled in with fairly limited success, and one that was to become one of the major factors of the next few years. Some would say it was the ‘icing on the cake’ – the competition that actually got the supporters roaring – whilst others, the chairman included, would at times curse it as the main reason that for two seasons promotion would not be attained – it was the FA Challenge Vase. Back in 1988 though it was really no big deal that Sittingbourne were overcome, 2-0 and a home tie earned against Hastings. Before the game could be played, though, Town warmed up with a 5-0 home win over Herne Bay and a game full of needle at Tunbridge Wells. The Wells crowd were well aware of the big spending going on down on the coast, of course, and they had lost their favourite, Shaun Carey, to Hythe. So it was with some relish that they had mocked the fluffed chances early in the game, particularly when Frank Ovard’s dribbling constantly came to nothing. ‘Get off’, ‘Big Money’. ‘Show us yer wallets’ were some of the cries from the bank above the top goal. What a mistake! Nothing could be more guaranteed to stir Hythe into action than the locals taking the mickey, and a 4-1 win was the almost inevitable outcome. The story so far: After Walton had arrived in early 1988, Hythe Town had begun the next season at whirl-wind pace, both on and off the pitch and now awaited the FA Vase visit of Hastings Town. Now the next big milestone was approaching with the Vase tie against Hastings Town. The Southern Leaguers were known to be big, strong and fast, and the disbelievers were predicting only one possible result now that Hythe were up against a real side. The Hastings supporters were here in some numbers to see the new boys put in their place. But with much of the ground work nearing completion and over 500 inside, at last the home fans got behind their new players. In a game that manager, Neil Cugley, compared to the old Folkestone v Fisher Athletic wars, Hastings tough and, at times, almost cynical approach was met and defeated by a Hythe side that amazed everybody by beating their opponents in all departments of the game. The match won over so many of the casually interested as well as those who had travelled from neighbouring towns that I believe this was one of the most important occasions of that first full season. The final score was 4-3 and Hythe team on that night was: Tony Howes (the injured Lee Smelts eventual replacement for the rest of the season), Kevin Smart, Neil Cugley, Dave Carr, Ricky Fusco, Mark Hyham, Tim Hulme, Steve Brignall, Shaun Carey, Mark Stanton and Mark Valler. The latter had kept himself in the reckoning from the previous season and the squad was completed by another Reachfields stalwart, Adrian Bray and a not fully fit Frank Ovard, who were the substitutes. Another former Folkestone favourite, midfielder, Bobby Wilson, now joined the ranks and despite occasional unavailability problems, quickly became one of the most effective members of the team. It has to be remembered that virtually all Hythe's players were stepping down a standard to join the club, and I think this gave them plenty of confidence and an inclination to switch on the style just a little. As well as this, they had picked up all sorts of tricks in their careers and consequently there was plenty of entertainment on offer for the newly-won supporters. One particular move that regularly brought a goal was the fluffed free-kick, usually taken from just outside the area. As the taker moved to kick the ball, he stumbled or just hesitated as if the players were not quite ready. Both defenders and attackers alike relaxed and moved back to their previous positions, this often accompanied by cries of 'sorry' or 'come on'. All the time though, both the kick takers and one attacker were, in reality, still in action and across came the little chip to the one person still aware of it, who usually had no trouble in beating the bemused keeper. By now the talk was beginning to be not so much of the current season but of the one to come. Both Mark Stanton and Mark Hyham signed contracts and became the first to do so as Hythe thought ahead to a possible Southern League place and fending off the sort of scouts who would be attracted to the younger players. The next FA Vase match, away to Romsey, was being approached with a growing professionalism, and the team made its way down to the Hampshire club in time for a pre-match get-together in a hotel. A second coach full of supporters followed at a distance to a game that many of us saw as a formality. Unfortunately, it was one of those days – none of the intricate stuff came off against a fairly ordinary but hard-working home side and the match was lost by a single goal in extra-time. Such was the optimism, however, that the supporters returned in good spirits – indeed, the coach seemed to be loaded with most of the contents of Romsey’s club bar and the singing was, well, raucous to say the least!Sure enough, the result was soon history as Whitstable were beaten 3-0 and, hardened by the Hastings battle, this time Alma Swanley’s fire was well met and they were defeated 4-2. It was now mid-December and it would be fair to say that the team were relishing some of the matches still to come against the lower sides. Poor Chatham were led like lambs to the slaughter and only just escaped a double-figure thrashing, losing 9-0. The match was memorable for the most outrageous goal I have ever seen when, in the latter stages, Hythe were awarded a penalty. Everyone was in place according to the rules of the game and up stepped Dave Carr to take the kick but instead of shooting he just pushed the ball forward a couple of feet. While the away players stood rooted, expecting the penalty to be retaken, in ran Frank Ovard to dribble the ball around the dumb-struck keeper and score. Pure entertainment! There was just time for a few cries of ‘Hey, what’s that?’ and while the ref shot an anxious glance across to his linesman, there was Frank picking up the ball and taking it back to the centre spot. The crowd were now in hysterics and I dare say that any stranger watching his first game at Hythe would have gone home vowing to return for some more of this new sort of football.The story so far: After Walton had arrived in early 1988 the ground and playing squad had been much improved and the club looked to be well on its way to the much coverted promotion. The new year was celebrated with a 1-0 win at Cray but there were then hiccups as complacency set in just a little. There was a 1-0 defeat at Deal which ended with a curious sending-off for Frank Ovard and a wee bit of trouble in the dressing rooms where, apparently, the referee’s clothes joined him in the showers. The ref was Mr Steve Bennett! It has to be said that Hythe’s players were now quite a close unit and having been around a bit, they knew how to sort out any opposition players who felt like dishing out a bit of stick to the ‘big money-earners’. Likewise, taunts from the other side of the railings were met with a lofty disdian – they had heard it all before – and when it came to after-match celebrations, which were always started by an order for about 20 pints of lager by the chairman, they were a match for anyone. There were plenty of hectic sessions in the Hythe clubhouse, when not all the beers went down the throats, but still, kids at heart! In mid-January, Town were back to winning ways in a league match away to Metropolitan Police at Hayes. I remember driving down a lane near the limits of the county boundary and mistaking the ground for the entrance to a large private house. We parked the car and strolled across the grounds to another very open, and this time, very rural scene. There was just a large club bar with a sort of sloping balcony and the far side of the pitch was bordered by another pitch, all very tranquil. Into this unlikely area came the most talked about team in Kent football. ‘Ere, ain’t that the Peter Heritage that used to play for Hastings? How did you get him?’ ‘Paid ’em £4000 mate.’ ‘Bloody Hell!’ Yes, the cheque book had been brought out to sign perhaps one of the most promising and devastating front-runners in the Southern League and, for once, any criticism of extravagance would eventually be disproved. Not only was Heritage a scorer and maker of goals but, in time, he would move on for a transfer fee that would have kept many less ambitious clubs in the black for years. Hythe’s
will to win the Kent Senior Trophy was found to be wanting, at Cray’s
notoriously sloping pitch soon afterwards. The home side threw
everything at their previous conquerors and when they let up, the local
weather took over with a frightening storm that turned the pitch into a
quagmire and threw the whole crowd into a huddled mass in the centre of
the tiny stand. The result was 2-1 to Cray but, no matter – Walton
had not spent all that money to win this comparatively modest trophy.
As gossip and rumours
circulated in the county regarding how much money was being spent on the
team, manager, Neil Cugley, signed a contract that seemed set to tie him
to Reachfields for the next five years. Next up... Some hefty wins, more ground improvements, and the first of a number of run-ins with the league officials. The
story so far: After Walton had arrived in early 1988, the playing squad
had been much improved, the team had surged up the league and manager,
Neil Cugley, had just been rewarded with a five year contract. Neil Cugley chose the timing of the new contract not so much to match the optimistic words of his chairman but to deny that silly money was being paid out on wages. True, Hythe were paying out unheard of transfer fees and treating their players well when it came to medical care and the like, but they were not paying exorbitant wages. By and large this was true, Hythe rarely paid more than their immediate rivals as far as wages were concerned, although for this Kent League season they had pursued a policy of playing players from at least the next league up, and paying them accordingly. Most of these players were happy to join an ambitious club where they would be likely to win a few trophies, and they would probably have settled for less than they were actually getting. If they were unsure of the move then, in most cases, a few minutes at the new ground, coupled with a chat with the two leading men was enough to convince them to join up. Unfortunately, although some clubs were happy to take Walton’s cash, others bemoaned the fact that Hythe were upsetting the balance of the local transfer market. Naturally, the price of a particular player went up as soon as it was known who wanted him, and Tony was well aware of this. However, it was not enough to deter him from his chosen course, and as he wanted success immediately, there was no time to waste playing financial games. By the end of January, and with another big win under their belts, 7-1 against Thames Polytechnic, a scoring record had already fallen, that of the highest scoring individual Kent League player. Frank Ovard was the man and, despite the number of games that he had played being above average, it was fairly unusual for a season’s record to go in January. The club took advantage of a first team home fixture gap to close the ground for three weeks for more alterations but omitted to ask the advice of the Kent League in agreeing to re-schedule two reserve games. This, the first in a series of clashes with the authorities, resulted in a fine, which was later doubled due to late payment. There were defeats against Whitstable (3-1) in the League Cup and 2-1 away to Sittingbourne in the league, when Lee Smelt’s brother, Marc, made his debut and it was agreed that something was missing in midfield. Jason Wheeler therefore joined the club on loan from Crawley Town to begin a distinguished spell of service. Although their form was faltering a little, it really only served to generate more interest as 500 attended a memorable 4-4 draw against Darenth Heathside. Although Darenth played their part on the pitch, they brought little or no support so this was more or less the pinnacle as far as Kent League attendances at Reachfields went. What could not be measured though was the percentage of ‘home’ support coming in from adjacent towns. These matches, against the better Kent League sides were quite often more entertaining than more dour struggles between, say, Canterbury and Andover in the Southern League. Walton’s
team are riding high going into February but there is a little reserve
team related trouble, causing our secretary and author of this history,
Martin Giles, to become involved....... It was about this time I wrote a letter to the local paper which was to have quite an effect on my life for the next three or four years. The reason for this was that by bringing forward matches earlier on, Hythe had a fairly relaxed run-in until the end of the season but this was interrupted by some heavy rainfall and by at least one team being unable to get up a team to travel down to an agreed midweek fixture at Hythe. Walton and Neil Cugley’s response was to send their whole first team squad down to Hastings for a reserve fixture in the Kent League Division Two – a division that had been sadly overlooked with all that was going on with the all-stars. The reserves consisted mainly of the previous season’s team who had been edged out of the limelight. It was Walton’s intention to disband them but this had not been done in time the previous season, although now their days were numbered. The players, to their credit, had stayed with the club despite, with only a few exceptions, seeing very little first team football. The truth was though that, despite the fact that most of them could not match the new faces at the club, they were still a very efficient team and had little trouble with many of the opponents they encountered in Division Two. Only one team appeared to be challenging them for the championship and, of course, that had to be Hastings! Down to the Pilot Field went the entire first team, achieving the inevitable result (6-1) and attracting a fair bit of criticism from Hastings folk and from an occasional Folkestone Herald reporter (not their sports editor, however), who got a little hot under the collar. As I saw it, it was a legitimate act by Hythe after such an unnaturally long break in fixtures – and you do not spend thousands of pounds building a side for the Southern League to risk it all because a few people might not like it. I wrote, supporting the club’s actions and saying there was too much sniping going on. Tony Walton had built a ground and a side in no time at all and at no cost to the community and we should be supportive of him. This letter was gleefully cut out and posted on the club notice board, amidst all the reports and photographs from the rest of the season. I had been noticed! Wins against Danson, Slade Green and Ramsgate followed before the club’s next clash with officialdom. The reserves had also been doing well in the League Cup (Div2) and were due to play against Folkestone in the final. In one of those all too frequent scenes where football shoots itself in the foot in slow motion, the game was fixed to be played at Snowdown, a ground which was by now a pale rusting shadow of its former self. Just who was going to travel there to see a reserves final, especially if there were other first team games on the same day? Both clubs were against it and, for Hythe, it would have been especially hard on the loyal reserves to play their final game away from the support they deserved. This time the local paper sided with Hythe (and Folkestone) and eventually the match was re-scheduled for Reachfields on a midweek evening. The Kent League championship is duly won in the first full season after Tony Walton’s arrival as chairman in early 1988, but all is not well between the club and the league officials. Martin Giles continues his story............ Meanwhile, stand-in keeper, Tony Howes, continued to turn in fine performances for the first team, as the Championship was won with a 4-0 victory away to Beckenham Town, followed by a 1-0 win at Alma Swanley. Despite their, at times, uncompromising approach, Alma were gracious in defeat, and those who traveled with the players on the coach were to be detained for some hours before a departure could be made, back down the A20. Looking back to this period, and remembering that I was still only a supporter, I can recall very little in the way of celebrations. Radio Kent later interviewed club officials and, of course, the players celebrated in time-honoured style – but to most of the county this was merely the inevitable outcome of the huge financial investment made by one man. There had been twelve hard years of trying for this title but now it had been won so easily that to many it seemed unreal. The reserves then played their final at Reachfields and gave a typically efficient display to beat Folkestone by 3-1. A gate of 350 gave both the teams and the final itself the support they deserved and the old team were to finish their final season with the fitting double, the League and the League Cup (Walton had planned to disband them at the start of the season but had been too late and was now intent on doing so for the following season). As they made their final exit from the old stomping ground and the club they had served so well, they were hardly to know that, such are the game’s fluctuating fortunes, that for some of them it was not the end of their playing days at Reachfields. They would, all too soon, be back in the first team. The season drifted out with a win at Crockenhill and a 0-0 draw at Greenwich. Goodwill between the club and the Kent League all but evaporated when Walton let it be known that, whatever the result of Hythe’s application to join the Southern League, they would not contemplate a further season in the Kent League. Although many dismissed his statement as a hot-headed reaction to recent fines, I think the idea of competing in an alternative league was novel. At least one other league had a clear route through to the Conference and the prospect of playing teams from a different area could well have caught on. Also, Tony would have been able to persuade London-based players to join the club – indeed, with the wages he was paying, he would have had the pick of the area. Worse was to come though, when the club neglected to attend the presentation evening of the Kent League, and winnings of around £2000 were withheld. A fine was also levied for the late withdrawal of the reserve side – something that occurs quite often as, in football, the various cup and league competitions have varying withdrawal deadlines. Walton publicly threatened court action against the league, who made similarly indignant noises defending their action. One disturbing rumour going round the county was that this might affect the club’s chances of getting into the Southern League. The Kent League championship is duly won, in the first full season after Tony Walton’s arrival as chairman in early 1988, and the club is preparing for the new season. Enter our author, Martin Giles, as club secretary It was at this point that my idle life as a football supporter was to change dramatically, when I broke the old army rule – never volunteer! It was my practice to call into the clubhouse on the odd evening or weekend – it was pleasant enough and, in any case, as a supporter I felt I wanted to get to know some of the people better. I suppose that part of me was really still at Folkestone and I needed to make a clean break. Knowing Neil [Cugley] quite well, on one of these occasions I mentioned that if he needed extra people to help out at odd times, in the new league, to count me in. I had in mind that I could perhaps man a turnstile for bigger matches or perhaps sell raffle tickets. Unbeknown to me, the club were already considering the job of secretary and had spoken to one or two people. I was aware of some of the club’s present officers at that time but what I was not aware of was Walton’s determination to blow the past away and start the club anew. The present secretary, Ted Maycock, was known to me and I knew that he had been at the club as both player and secretary for a great many years. He performed his functions in the way of so many secretaries across the country – quietly, efficiently and honestly – but what made Ted remarkable was that he was registered as both blind and disabled. The plan was to make him life-president rather than expose him to the much more onerous duties that would lie before him. I was told that a decision on this had been made and, whilst the club had talks with other people, including someone who had been secretary of another Southern League club, they felt sure that I would be well suited to the position. I suspect that the reasons for this bolt out of the blue were threefold – firstly, that I was known and that I worked opposite the ground; secondly that, as a sub-postmaster and shopkeeper I was unlikely to be daunted by the paperwork; and thirdly that as a new boy I would start the job with no previous systems or ideas in my head and would therefore be an easier proposition to work with. I know now how hurt Ted was to have to give up his post as he was the last person on earth to bow to his disabilities but I still believe I did him a favour by accepting the job myself, as I was able to keep him in close touch with what was going on in the seasons to come. In fact, he was to continue to be one of the few ever-present helpers at the club. In accepting the job, I took advice from several sources, often quoting Tony Walton’s estimate of ‘half an hour a day’, which brought wry smiles from some who knew better. Neil assured me it was mainly a question of a system – filling in a form or two after a match, making a couple of results calls etc – a doddle really to one who was used to paperwork. There were two problems to this – one being that Hythe Town FC was not going to be run as other clubs. There was no comparison and also that, given the sort of season we were about to have, I would not have been underworked if I had taken the position full-time! Martin Giles has become secretary, an important cog within Tony Walton’s ambitious plans. But just what does the job involve apart from fame and fortune? For those who are unaware of such things, as I was, the job entails all aspects of player registrations for all competitions – and also their contracts. Apart from maintaining records of these, as well as keeping all other rules and regulations at hand and in the mind, there is the constant stream of correspondence to and from the offices of the various competitions and the Football Association. On a match basis, all matches are notified to the secretary or, in some cases, have to be re-arranged. Once a date is confirmed, then match officials will be appointed and the secretary must write to all three confirming their appointment and issuing ground and travel instructions. He must also confirm the match with the opposition, issuing them with the necessary information as well as obtaining from them their details for the match programme, and all communications must, of course, be acknowledged back to the home club. It goes without saying that the various “banana skins” such as clash of team colours and kick-off time must be borne in mind. On match days, the secretary should be on hand early to deal with unexpected situations that might arise – although I was to find that at more established clubs there would be a greater delegation of responsibilities. The sort of problems at Hythe would perhaps be a phone call from an absent gateman and queries such as “Who left that door locked?”, “Can you send somebody out for some sugar?”, “Where have the programme boys gone?”, “I know we’re early but can’t someone get us some tea?”, “Can I have a pass for my uncle?”, “Why isn’t the mic working?” etc. The secretary must take a copy of his team list, and record goal scorers of both sides, as well as any cautions or dismissals during the game. He must help to form an opinion as to the competence of the match officials – and, however competent, he must see that they are looked after before, during and after the game including, of course, ensuring that they are paid their fees and expenses. After the game he must relay the results to his parent league and other agencies, before he finalises his match day paperwork, which can usually be done the next day, when things have quietened down. But all this is only the basics and he can still be asked his opinion on any matter during the day, as he usually has access to the information. For instance, “What time do you think we need to get away next Wednesday?”, “Is there room for my parents on the coach?”, “Is that my fourth caution?”, “What happens if I get booked at Erith next week, do I miss the next round of the cup?” Many secretaries will recognise this as part and parcel of the job – a job that gees you up on the bigger occasions just as it does the players – a job where virtually everything of importance that goes on in a club touches you in one way or another, and a job that sees you checking and double-checking so that you don’t make a silly gaffe and let your team down. I suspect though that a good many who recognise this as their job would shy away if they were also going to be involved in producing a programme, making tannoy announcements, and being one of only three or four home officials responsible for the comfort and entertainment of a dozen or so visiting directors, league officials or match officials. So it could be said that it was a very naïve and unaware secretary who stepped into the job that summer, unaware that in the coming season his club would end up playing and rearranging more matches than any other club in the country, and that despite all the frustrations, at the end of it he would not have missed it for the world!Martin Giles is still trying to get to grips with his new secretary’s job as the first season in the Southern League looms for Tony Walton’s team We all looked forward to the big kick-off, Tony Walton and Neil Cugley cheerfully planning both tactics and new transfers, and also thankfully taking care of the new contracts – one thing they did not want the new boy (me, as secretary) mucking up, and of course this was one of the things that outgoing secretary, Ted Maycock, could not help me with as they were the first at the club. It was at this point that a cardboard box was to hold the fate of both the club and myself. Every day, more papers arrived by post. Some could be dealt with immediately, some needed the attention of Tony and Neil, and some had to be held until the football started. Every day, also, I would turn the whole lot out and put it back, one sheet or one batch of papers at a time, to make certain I had not missed anything out. Then it would be a case of phone calls in the evening to either the League or someone else who could put me right – and very helpful everyone was. There was nothing technically difficult with most of the paperwork but it was very daunting to see it all gradually mounting up. Down at the ground, all was spick and span and ready for action. To most of our visitors, it was a miniature Wembley but I could see that despite all that had been spent, there would be one or two problems on match days. The plus factors were that we had a very enclosed stadium with low, flat-roofed stands completely along the south side and the east end of the ground. Set inside the east end were the turnstiles, a block of four, as well as three exit gates for the end of the game. There was a new toilet block and a snack bar leading round to the main stand and dressing rooms, and a separate gate and walkway led in behind the snack bar to the dressing room entrance. The dressing rooms were large, particularly the home one, with a long row of showers. The away room was slightly smaller and the officials’ one smaller again but still a good size and with three separate showers. There was a ‘manager’s office’ leading off the entrance hall, which was painted a vivid green and yellow (as was the exterior of the stand) but this office was never brought into use and, being next to the medical room, was mostly used as a store. Upstairs it was really quite grand, with a large bar and seating area, all fully carpeted. Off this were a number of balconies, six in all, which could have been sold off as boxes but, in the end, were used by home and away officials, players’ guests, press and tannoy. There was also the chairman’s private balcony which housed a separate bar and seating area. Underneath all of this were the stand seats numbering around 400, the numbers being made up, at the request of the League, to the required amount, by adding a further length, which brought the building right up to the western touchline. The only unprotected part of the ground was this western end but even this, as the rest of the ground, was fully concreted so that nobody ever had to stand in the mud. There were snags although, knowing how much it had all cost, it seemed nit-picking to mention them. The seats at the western end could only be reached by walking in front of the trainers’ benches or all round the rest of the ground. There was no internal staircase between the dressing rooms and the bar above, and the stand on the south side was level so that there was a problem if more than a couple of lines of spectators were in there. There were also some alarming blind spots where individuals could not hope to see all of the pitch especially if there was more than 300 present. These were around and behind the eastern end goal and, more annoyingly at times, also affected the seats that were reserved for home and away officials in the stand – although most preferred to watch from the balcony above. There were also problems with the lay-out of the clubhouse, which had its entrance outside the ground but had its two exits opening out onto the terraces. This gave us the twin problems of possible free entry into the ground and the taking out of beer glasses – a practice much frowned on for obvious reasons. Also, one of the biggest problems was because of the low, flat-roofed stands, with the ball constantly going out of the ground and, worse still, onto neighbouring army training land. The famous Snowy, our long-time ball boy, was very quick but with a hard pitch and ‘big boot’ defending, it was not unusual to have up to three match balls outside at any one time and this caused a lot of disruption and delay. It also meant that, every match, every kick-off time and, of course, every postponement had to be advised to the army so that they could be aware of who was on their land, looking for footballs. Despite all of this, we were proud of our ground and looked forward to the big games to come, and the atmosphere they should create. We knew the ground was one of the best in terms of both player and spectator facilities but we were also aware that many away players would be ‘gee-ed up’ just as they had often been at Folkestone. With the news of the transfer fees being paid by Hythe, they would be pretty well ‘gee-ed up’ anyway – this was just another factor. Martin Giles continues his look at Hythe’s rise to the Southern League under chairman, Tony Walton. New players arrive and the signs look good as the pre-season friendlies commence.... The new players kept arriving and were, more and more, looking like individual specialists, who would do their particular jobs in the team in a way that would cause a lot of envy at other clubs. There was Simon Bryant from Deal, a very fast forward with a deadly shot; Grant Gallagher from Crawley, a very skilful winger; and Malcolm Smith from Gillingham, a tough tackling defender and just 18 years of age. These were all very good players, the sort that could walk into most other teams in either division of the League, but more exciting still was the news that Terry White had been captured from Hastings for £4000. Terry was not everyone’s favourite but there was no doubting that there were aspects of his game that 95 percent of players could not hope to match. Firstly, he could distribute the ball accurately from any position, either for free-kicks or in actual play. Secondly, he had the ability to take dead ball kicks from outside the area that threatened to incapacitate anyone who got in their path en route to the net. Another specialist was Mark Weatherley from Gillingham, a man with over 500 League appearances and very well respected in the county. Mark could have joined a number of more senior clubs but opted for Hythe – he said – because he liked the area and thought great things were about to happen at Reachfields. Many would have liked to have seen Mark taking a more leading role, perhaps doing some coaching with the youngsters and such like, but this never happened. Nevertheless, he was to play a leading part in the team with his reliable defending and organising at the back, and his occasional forays into attack to score a vital goal. Not all was well though, and Tim Hulme and Frank Ovard left Reachfields, the former for personal reasons. Frank was never a man to commit himself to a club too early in the close season but his decision to reverse a trend and move to Folkestone caused a great deal of surprise – and was perhaps proof that Hythe were not paying ‘silly’ wages. A formidable list of pre-season games had been lined up and, as I frantically got players signed up – including some who never made it beyond half an hour in one of the friendlies – the first game loomed, against a very well known non-league side, Redbridge Forest. They came to Hythe – a team of a higher standard, full of tough tackling defenders and nippy forwards, with their officials barking out instructions from both sides of the pitch. They were beaten 2-0. Then we went up to Tony Walton’s old stomping ground of Cray, where a more mixed side again won 2-0. Before the next friendly, against Ashford, there was talk of a new goalkeeper, the one position that had not been satisfactorily filled, with Lee Smelt still struggling with his injury from the previous season. ‘You should see this chap,’ someone said. ‘He comes from Gillingham, has a broad Irish accent, and is one of the shortest goalkeepers I have ever seen.’ He also had a string of youth international caps for Eire and was about to start breaking the hearts of strikers and goal-poachers all over the south of England – Steve O’Brien. Steve played well enough at Ashford (where the match was won 1-0) to keep his place for the prestigious friendly against Gillingham. This match would normally have seen a mixture of first-teamers, youths and trialists from the Football League side but, with the movement of players down to Hythe from the Medway, they turned out a strong side, expecting a stern test. They not only got a stern test, they became the fourth consecutive team to succumb to a Hythe side who were already winning over the fans before the season had even started. Hythe won the game 2-1. Now, a very hard and fit Crawley from the Southern League Premier visited Reachfields, and this time it looked as though Hythe had bitten off more than they could chew. But, really, it was as if Town were already playing for points and a 1-1 draw was the outcome of a really tough and useful work-out for both teams. The friendlies were completed with a 2-0 win at Tonbridge. So with five wins and one draw, and a number of useful signings, it could be said that Hythe were well on course for the rest of the season. The rest, as they say, is history. Martin
Giles continues his look at Hythe’s rise to the Southern League under
chairman, Tony Walton, with the first game about to kick-off but not
everything going to plan – blame Bon Jovi! Now, as we have ‘reached’ the day of our first Southern League match perhaps I should say just where all of these recollections are coming from. Some time after Tony Walton had left the club in 1992 I thought it might be an idea to write a short book covering the period of time he was with us – after all, it was quite extraordinary! I got as far as the end of the second year before I realised that interest in the club seemed to be dying and I just could not see that we would sell enough copies to make it worthwhile. I had the first year reviewed successfully by a journalist and as we now embark on the second year I have realised that there existed a gap between the friendlies and our preparations for our first league match! From what I recall, the coach for the game at Buckingham Town had been booked by manager, Neil Cugley, and Tony, and my job was simply to arrive on time at Reachfields. No problem here, but I seem to recall a later than announced departure from the ground and then an on-board panic as we had gone past Ashford without picking up one of the players. The blame for this seemed to be shared around most of us, but it was a lesson learnt and the consequent delay would not have been too bad if there were not other disasters to befall us. Never mind, we were now back on course with plenty of time and nothing else would go wrong, would it? It certainly would – just about everything that could go wrong with a journey was about to. Firstly, being August and a sunny day, there was an awful lot of traffic on the roads, and secondly I do not believe our coach company had taken proper precautions in planning our route, so that was two more lessons learnt already. The Dartford tunnel was blocked due to an accident, so we joined the mass of traffic heading for the Blackwall tunnel and made very slow progress indeed. After the tunnel, the driver commenced a series of short cuts that did not leave me too impressed and it was a fair time before we were back on the M25 and travelling more quickly. However, on the M1 we hit real trouble when the driver groaned at sets of brake lights in the distance and seemed to know that they were the end of a tail back that would stretch over three junctions. We edged forwards painfully slowly until we turned off and tried to cut through Dunstable only to find that a very special sort of jam was waiting for us. This sort of jam is known as a Bon Jovi jam, and occurs when a top band performs at the Milton Keynes Bowl at a time when there is already holiday and shopping traffic a-plenty. There was just no way through it, and no way round it – so we telephoned the ground and told them to expect us when we got there, but we really had no idea when. After a long period when one of our number actually left the coach for a cigarette and outpaced us we eventually started to move more freely and were hoping for a 3.10 arrival at Buckingham. Tony’s mood had changed from being concerned to a calm acceptance of our lot – ‘If they fine us, we’ll just have to pay’, ‘They can’t start without us’, ‘Have they got lights’? The players too seemed more relaxed once they knew we were definitely going to be late; like their full-time cousins they have their pre-match routines which they like to keep to but now they would just have to make the best of it. One thing for certain was that they were not going to get involved in any comical changing into their kit on board – Buckingham would just have to wait until we were good and ready. As we sped along the country roads the final straw was about to make its appearance! Well ahead, a tractor’s snout edged out from a gate and ignoring our presence pulled out on to the road towing an enormous haycart – the road was as good as blocked. There was a collective groan from all of us as we completely gave up – what a start!! We were in Buckingham’s main street by about 3.20 and ready to start at 3.45 and perhaps a little defensively starting to wonder if we should have been advised of such a major event happening in the area. Not that we harboured any bad feelings towards our hosts, they made us new boys feel most welcome and we were often to recount our first day disasters on future occasions when we met. The ground at Buckingham is very pleasant, but the club lacks support and consequently on a warm August afternoon with just 110 folk watching quietly, the match was hardly a step up in atmosphere and excitement from last season’s Kent League championship. In fact the game was a goalless draw and Hythe’s first line-up was Steve O’Brien, Kevin Smart, Malcolm Smith, Neil Cugley, Dave Carr, Terry White, Steve Brignall, Mark Weatherly, Pat Hilton, Peter Heritage and Grant Gallacher, with Mark Hyham and Mickey Heynes as substitutes. There were some injuries that limited selection but I suppose that there were also some surprises in that first team considering what had been spent. Despite being my man of the match (for what it was worth!) Steve Brignall was soon to drift out of the reckoning, whilst Mickey Heynes, a well known local player, was to stay involved for a wee bit longer. Pat Hilton, a former Folkestone youngster who had gone on to play in the Football League with several clubs, including under Brian Clough at Brighton, was thought by most to have been signed to help out on an occasional basis. But Pat was to confound them all by outlasting many of the younger players and threaten to cap his long playing career with a Wembley appearance later in the season. The club were of course fined for the late appearance and I had to learn very quickly that even if we had left at three in the morning it would still have been our fault if we had been late. However, I did note that a later league circular drew the attention of home clubs to being aware of local events and advising accordingly. With our first game in the Southern League under our belts, Martin Giles recalls the preparations for the first home game As the first ever Southern League match at Reachfields loomed I cannot recall any pressure visibly making its presence felt on the management. Tony and manager, Neil Cugley, clearly regarded their team as potential champions, and I believed a good few neutral supporters were keen to see how the expensive new boys would fare.Many of the locals took the view that since this had all cost a lot of money (none of it theirs), the least they could do was to turn up. There were those that were more involved in what was happening – people who would live the ups and downs of football as committed supporters do all over the country – but many were a lot more calm about things. They would come along if they had nothing else on – or if it wasn’t raining, but they would never consider going to an away match. Much of the time they had no idea whether the opposition was either potential wooden spoonists or potential champions – or even if it was a league or cup match – these people had to be won over if the club was to really succeed. Down in the dressing rooms on that first evening all was calm and professional. The time scale is inevitably more condensed for a midweek match, but there was Frank Clark (physio) and Snowy (jet propelled ball boy and assistant) with everything neatly laid out. Tony and Neil would greet the players as they arrived and all the pre-match banter would grow in volume as more came in, before the more serious business of match tactics were unveiled. Tony was always very keen to get everyone into the right frame of mind and he would insist on little things like records being played over the tannoy sometimes even before the gates were open to build the match up in the eyes of the players. Neil was usually quietly determined before a game and nowhere near as approachable as he is normally. I remember for one of the early matches that some small item wasn’t quite right and I experienced a somewhat curt response. He very soon apologised afterwards, explaining that he just had this tremendous urge to get things right and succeed – ‘I just have to win’. It was clear to me then that if Tony had a strong desire to succeed he had certainly picked the right manager to help him in that direction. The professionalism downstairs was to a certain extent missing upstairs where a handful of us (including a gateman and myself on the tannoy) awaited events. Not having the numbers or experience needed at this level we were always vulnerable to minor problems which had a habit of turning into long standing frustrations. There was, for instance, no power point in the boardroom which meant that the complimentary tea for officials had to be prepared in the main bar area. This in turn meant that all sorts of wives, friends and general hangers-on would step forward for their free cup – which of course doubled the amount of washing up to be done. Other frustrations making their ‘debut’ that night were the questions of boardroom entertaining, how it was dispensed and who was to pay for it. We went through several methods, including running an upstairs raffle (which nearly brought the stand down) but in the end there had to be a problem simply because there was not a board. We eventually settled for enticing one or two extra helpers in and funding all of the liquid refreshments ourselves, whilst drawing the food money from the match raffle. Quite clearly this was considered to be one of those niggling little things that we were to solve but although it did not affect the on-field events it was a very underestimated item. We also had to try to keep the upstairs bar as private as possible whilst at the same time not upsetting anyone who, despite have no apparent claim, was considered ‘in’. This of course led to claims of elitism from patrons of the main club bar who sat down there for quite a time after games before one or two players or officials started to drift their way. What did drift their way all the time were all of the incoming calls from radio stations and absent supporters asking for scores and match details. It didn’t matter too much to Tony, but all sorts used to pick up the phone and consequently there was some fairly inaccurate match information handed out in the early days – I believe we won one game 3-1 after being 2-0 down! Nevertheless, there we all were awaiting Joe Public and by and large an attendance of 560 was not bad going for starters even if there were a fair number of neutrals just having a look. Tony had something hidden up his sleeve that was to set the scene for many similar tricks in the future. Just four days earlier the supporters’ favourite Frank Ovard had appeared in Folkestone Town’s colours for their first home match – so who could that be out there in our number eight shirt – it looked like Frank to me! Well, although Frank was back there was to be no fairytale goal from either him or anybody else as the two sides fought out a goalless draw. In truth, the game was not technically bad, but at the same time it was not good enough to win over some of the new supporters and although management and players were philosophical, clearly there was just a twinge of anti-climax. With our first two games in the Southern League under our belts, Martin Giles recalls the busy start to the season as the games come thick and fast. The feeling of anti-climax after the first two games grew somewhat for the first Saturday game, at home versus Andover, which attracted only 375 – not bad considering it was still summer – but quite a drop from the 560 attendance from Wednesday. This game was again goalless to half-time, but Andover did pop one in after the interval and went home with the points leaving us with only a rather large question mark. There was to be little time for fretting, however, with a Bank Holiday derby match away to Margate scheduled just two days later. It has to be said that there were not too many supporters prepared to make the short trip, but those that did were rewarded with a game full of good-spirited teamwork and a particularly sharp piece of finishing by Simon Bryant in the first half. We walked into Hartsdown Park not knowing quite what to think, and we walked out knowing that we would be OK, it was as simple as that. Town’s next match was, on paper at least, an attractive one – with Bashley as the visitors – a village club from the New Forest who had hit the national papers in previous seasons with their exploits in cup competitions. As if to put them in their place though, Hythe sold striker Peter Heritage to Gillingham for a cool £30,000, and persuaded England international Mark Barham to turn out for the club on loan – not a bad few hours work! It must have been, therefore, an even more optimistic than usual club chairman that drove down into Hythe on matchday, and pulled into the car park. The team was knitting together, the supporters would come round, and now even those who said he threw his cash around too much had been put in their place – all transfer fees had been recovered in just one sale. The Bashley match did not dim his enthusiasm, with Terry White, the player he had signed whilst Neil was on holiday, firing in a 25-yard opener. Bashley did equalise some seven minutes from time, but it was a game for the purists with plenty of good passing, lots of effort and pace, and some fine individual skills also on view. No-one who saw the game could have doubted that this was the finest football that had ever been played in the town – it was a real pleasure to stay for a few drinks afterwards and look forward to the games to come later in the season. Saturday 9th September saw an away game at Bury Town (St Edmunds), and the start of a happy relationship between the two clubs. We arrived ridiculously, if understandably, early at the ground and so had plenty of time to appreciate everything that a good non-league club should be. From the playing surface to the small, neat stands and other facilities it seemed just right. We particularly liked the clubhouse with its bar snacks and the separate players bar which in turn led into the boardroom. All of these things would be worth nothing though if the natives were unfriendly – the only trouble at Bury though seemed to be that the door you walked through on the way in had a habit of vanishing when it was time to go – so you just stayed for another drink. In the boardroom they were great believers in medicinal whiskies to warm you up or cool you down, handing it out before, during and after matches in celebration or consolation. Bury’s chairman Vic Clark, who Tony nicknamed ‘the maniac’, had a great line in patter and soon started up a friendship with Tony which led to several prolonged stays at each club after matches, sometimes up to three hours after the final whistle. Unfortunately on this occasion Bury’s hospitality did not extend onto the pitch and a Frank Ovard goal was all we had to show in a 3-1 defeat, with Mark Barham making his second and final appearance in Hythe’s colours. Boarding the coach for our return journey in a none too sober state, I realised we had not counted everyone off when we arrived so to make sure we had not left anyone behind I popped back into the clubhouse. ‘Here we are – one for the road’ was the inevitable response – what a bunch! The scene now switched to Reachfields and a league fixture with Sheppey United the following Wednesday. This was a match that clearly had to be won, and Neil moved himself up front to renew his old striking partnership with Frank Ovard. The first half saw a competent performance by the home side with Dave Carr giving us a 1-0 interval lead, before 367 spectators. The second half saw virtually 45 minutes of Hythe pressure and further goals knocked in at the clubhouse end by Ovard, Terry White and Grant Gallacher as the Islanders’ somewhat robust defence was blown away. This was to be the first of many second half barrages that often followed indifferent first half displays. I don’t know the sort of things that were said at half time – but sometimes these displays nearly took your breath away. If they could have been sustained regularly over the 90 minutes I honestly think many of that team could have accompanied Tony up into Conference level. Before our next
league game at Yate Town, we had an FA Cup hurdle to negotiate at Three
Bridges in Sussex, and now a coachload of supporters were willing to
follow their team – such is the magic of the cup. By now we were
settling down nicely with our administration and I had sent our updated
list of players details for the match programme. Neil was keen to have
the details of the players’ Football League appearances as well as
transfer fees paid included, believing that this would cause a fair
amount of apprehension when read by our opponents. He was certainly
right, for the Three Bridges’ programme included phrases like
‘raising our game’ and ‘must not be overawed’ and even ‘all of
which might make the casual observer wonder why we are even bothering to
line up against them’. Perhaps a little tongue-in-cheek but all the
same the home side started nervously whilst Hythe stroked the ball
around before two early goals from Frank Ovard, the first a quick turn
and shot, the second a delightful chip over the keeper, killed the game
off as a contest. Not content with a
side that could afford to send on second half substitutes like brilliant
youngsters Mark Stanton and Mark Hyham, Walton then moved to add steel
to his midfield by signing young Gary Smith from Gillingham. Tony also
off-loaded Steve Brignall to Ashford – something many of us felt very
premature – and this reinforced team headed off down the M4 to Yate,
which is outside Bristol. The club was starting to strut a little now,
with a hotel stop included in the pre-match preparations and a request
for a specially adapted coach which unfortunately did not materialise. I
was unable to make this trip and see a late goal by Frank Ovard win the
match and keep us on the right course. Next on the menu was
the FA Cup again, and a home game against Molesey – a game that turned
into a tremendous tussle despite a soft seventh minute opener from Kevin
Smart. The visitors had a dreadlocked striker named Chris Vidal who was
prominent in their many dangerous attacks on Steve O’Brien’s goal.
So noticeable was this striker it was almost inevitable that we were to
see more of him in time, and not very much time either. Frank Ovard
finally gave the Reachfields kiss of death to a side that clearly had
not been put off by Hythe’s big names nor the money spent on them. By now the club was
in many ways hitting an early peak. Down in the High Street Neil
continued to work in the family business, whilst further up the street
Lee Smelt was installed in one of Walton’s off-shoots, Spencer
Marlborough Estate Agents. This office handled the sale of flats and
houses from the many sites being developed by Tony’s company
Larchimage, and was usually staffed by at least a couple of typists who
were always willing to do work for the football club. Now Mark Wetherly
joined the clan when he took over a High Street wine bar immediately
opposite Neil’s shop and although Hythe was never to become a hotbed
of soccer it was certainly becoming more and more prominent in the town
centre. To this could be
added a very significant new area of support – the young teenagers of
the town, who were starting to take an interest in the club. To me this
was an important area to develop, and Tony was quick to agree once the
youngsters started to add atmosphere to home and away games alike. There
has never been too much for young people in Hythe and I could see that
association with the club not only gave them a ‘cause’ to follow,
but also offered them the chance to use the social club’s facilities
and even eventually to become part of the club – perhaps in the form
of a youth team. So our early season
peak covered many aspects, from the organisational side which was fast
improving, to the team itself that was starting to settle. We had an
office and base in the town centre, growing support and a gradual
realisation that we were becoming known and to a certain extent
respected by our opponents. They admired our team and facilities and
also by league and competition officials who found that not only did the
team play good clean soccer, but the club was keen to observe the rules
and apparently keep its house in order. Older spectators too were now
aware of the new standard of football on offer – that winning the
league (if we could) would be quite an achievement, and that such events
as FA Cup matches against league opposition were no longer a distant
dream but a real possibility. For the next midweek
match at Erith & Belvedere we were back in trouble with the traffic,
but this time ‘we’ were only the officials and supporters travelling
up the M2 and the victims of some man-made disaster – I think it was
an unexploded bomb. Shaun Carey had given us the lead having been
recalled from a period out on loan to Tunbridge Wells to keep him match
fit. Unfortunately lady luck was still not smiling on Town and a
disputed late penalty allowed Erith to share the points. Erith’s
ground was at first sight frankly depressing, but underneath the main
stand was another good example of why so many prefer non-league
football. There was plenty of noise and bustle, plenty of spectator
facilities, a nice homely clubhouse and a very pleasant boardroom full
of the right sort of people, genuine enthusiasts of the game. With an FA Vase match
due next Saturday followed by the FA Cup the following week, I was
starting to experience the sometimes rather technical job of
re-arranging fixtures. I am afraid there is no way I can catalogue this
job as it affected Hythe for the season – it was all a blur! On the
face of it there is nothing too complicated about a simple change of
dates, but in reality there are all sorts of snags and the process
involves much forward planning – even results prediction, when you
have as many dates to re-arrange as we did. At its most extreme (which
we reached), it will involve Sunday matches and switches that involve a
third or fourth club as well as the two involved in the original
postponement. Most alarming of all though for me was that we were
starting to do so well in the cups that I found myself trying to protect
the run-ups to possible finals and giving the players a bit of a break
in the preceding midweek. Eventually I was to have to schedule one
midweek match for each week of the rest of the season when there were
‘big’ matches at the weekend, and two midweek matches when the
weekend matches were less challenging. Malden Vale were the
FA Vase visitors and they gave Hythe as similarly an uncomfortable time
as had Molesey from the same league. Despite an injury to their keeper
they led 1-0 at the interval before the Reachfields revival show took
over in the second half, with goals from Ovard and Cugley. The third
goal of a 3-1 win, scored by Ovard was an example of how the club’s
players would still enjoy themselves even at this higher level. With the
stand-in keeper stranded and only a simple tap-in to perform, Ovard
chose instead to get down on his hands and knees and head the ball over
the line – a goal the Vale at least would remember for a fair while. In the next round of
the FA Cup Whitstable Town from the Kent League then revisited their old
adversaries and despite their reputation for playing good football were
contemptuously swept aside by a forceful display by Hythe that
surprisingly led to only a 2-0 home win – the goals being scored by
Ovard and Smart. As the growing number of youngsters related details of
the win to their mates at school on the Monday, Hythe was being paired
with Hayes at home in the next round. Now there was to be
no let-up in the excitement as we were next due to play Folkestone away
in the Southern League Cup First Round first leg – the first ever
competitive match between the two neighbours. To the dismay of the local
secondary school there now appeared to be a variation in its uniform
which included yellow and green scarves – indeed after school and at
weekends the scarves and matching cloth hats were by far the most common
colour scheme on the streets. I suspect that some of the scholars rarely
came anywhere near the ground, but it was all good publicity and gave
the impression of a club on the march with the full backing of the local
community. Sensing the possible
needs of those young supporters who were reliant on parental transport
to the game, I booked a coach for the 15 minute journey and was rewarded
by a packed vehicle and a rowdy, but good natured group who cheered us
on to a 2-0 interval lead via Carey and Ovard. I rememeber thinking that
with us on the way up, and Folkestone travelling the opposite route, it
was a shame that the first derby should be so one-sided. However I was
then jolted out of those thoughts by a two goal home revival that left
the second leg set up at 2-2. The gate of nearly 700 was the highest at
Cheriton Road for some time, and with three more such games scheduled
for that season, it was a welcome boost for both clubs. We returned to our
roots the following Saturday with a Kent Senior Trophy game at home to
Slade Green from the Kent League. The match was won easily by 3-0 with
goals from Gary Smith, Mark Stanton and Terry White, but the attendance
of 170, albeit in foul weather, showed how unimportant it was to the
locals. My biggest problem with this competition was that we were in it
at all. We had to accept that our swift rise meant that we could not yet
enter the Kent Senior Cup, which was fair enough. However, the Cup was
played on mutually arranged dates whereas the County FA stipulated ‘
conference’ dates for the Trophy (ie
- all clubs playing on a certain day). This caused severe
disruption to league fixtures, especially as I could hardly see us being
knocked out in the early rounds. Placed between an uncooperative County
FA, and a frustrated Southern League, I embarked on a series of
challenges to the rules which eventually led to a more lenient attitude
being taken by the KCFA. Unfortunately before this happened we were
stuck with postponing matches against the likes of Yate Town (near
Bristol) and telling them to come and visit us on a midweek date in
February – they were naturally overjoyed at that! The following Tuesday
we embarked on our first game in the Knight Floodlight League, that had
been previously known as the Eastern Floodlight Cup, and an away fixture
just across the Thames at Aveley. Knowing we would not have a reserve
side, Tony and Neil had entered this competition hoping to give some of
the more occasional players a game. It was a good idea, but in order to
progress we had to win our group of three teams to reach the
quarter-finals. As the other team in the group was Dover Athletic, I
could not see us fielding too many reserves, and so it was a near
full-strength side that came back on that Tuesday night with a 2-1 win,
the goals scored by Dave Carr and Bobby Wilson. Now it was time to
meet the might of Hayes from the Vauxhall Opel League Premier Division
in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup. For the first time I was
to start getting a little of what my senior colleagues at bigger clubs
experienced more regularly when I was advised that there could be
trouble at the game. Apparently, league
clubs have supporters who live near to non-league clubs and sometimes
choose to support those smaller clubs when they have a big game. With
little if any stewarding or police presence they sense the softer target
and hope to make a bigger impact. In the event, there was no trouble,
but the Police did agree to keep an eye on things for us, and Tony could
not understand their (free) presence. ‘If there is any bother, we’ll
sort them out ourselves’ was typical of his attitude, but with a
possible tie against league opposition to come, I resolved to go by the
book with this one. The Hayes game was
for me the first big disappointment of my first year as secretary. The
match itself was well fought and fairly even, with both sides looking
capable of taking it, but the best chance fell to young Gary Smith in
the dying seconds. With one Paul Hyde in the Hayes goal, he blasted over
when everyone was sure he would score, and so a thrilling climax to the
game was gone. The weather on the day was foul, so bad that on one
occasion the referee led the teams off the pitch while one squall did
its worst. However the game started in reasonable conditions, and this
made the attendance of 489 very poor, and I recall wondering what it
would take to tempt some of the locals through our turnstiles if the
fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup was not enough. The final score of
0-0 meant a Tuesday night replay up at Hayes – now could we persuade
some supporters to join us? By the time we knew
the draw for the next round (Peterborough United, away) we realised that
there would be plenty of support, for if we did seem short of numbers at
times there was a small nucleus of real enthusiasm building up at the
club. To add to this we received extra support when Tony Walton gave
some of his workforce an option of taking the afternoon off if they were
prepared to support his team. So it was that three coaches headed
towards London, with the Chairman’s optimistic remarks ringing in
their ears “We’ll do them up there, no problem”. Unfortunately, we did
not ‘do them,’ in fact they comprehensively ‘did us’. They
seemed so much quicker on their own surface, and although we were not
outclassed, I could not see us taking them without any luck, and this we
did not get. A defensive error let them in for the first goal, but it
was one of those nights when our key players just did not perform, and
although the 3-0 margin was a little flattering, there were no
complaints from our club. This time there was though a wee bit of
trouble when one or two of the potential London troublemakers bit off
more than they could chew with some of Tony’s workers, but a heavy
police presence stopped this from developing into anything more serious.
There was trouble for our programme editor, Mike Simmonds, who received
an urgent call during the match telling him that his workplace, Alton
Wire, in Pennypot Estate was the subject of a major fire. One of
Mike’s jobs was phoning through the results to our league, and with
him rushing home, this was not picked up by any of us. This meant
another small fine, but at least put our defeat in perspective – the
factory was burnt to the ground. With the ‘big
one’ out of the way, we turned back to the FA Vase again, knowing full
well that we could just go all the way in this competition – even Tony
did not think we could win the FA Cup! Unfortunately, our supporters had
not yet formed the same opinion and it was a dismally poor attendance of
207 that turned up for the home tie with Littlehampton Town. Depression
grew when after a goalless first half our visitors took the lead on 52
minutes and held on to it until on 85 minutes we faced our second big
cup exit in five days. What followed was the sort of comeback you only
read about in comics. Suddenly Hythe embarked on a series of frenzied
attacks on a Littlehampton defence that was looking extremely leg-weary,
and the equaliser came from villain-turned-hero Gary Smith. Seconds
later Mark Wetherly calmly lobbed the keeper, and straight away Frank
Ovard crossed for Mark Stanton to head home the third, and heaven help
anyone who had left early. Now there was still
time to put the upstarts in their place, when Ovard went on a lengthy
dribble around virtually every member of the away side’s defence. He
was cynically brought down, and on protesting was booked, before being
sent-off for his further observations. The game ended in bedlam, with
Hythe reporting the match referee, and with certain Town supporters
resolving to stay until the end next time. As stated earlier,
there was no shortage of enthusiasm from our nucleus of support, and
together with our growing number of youngsters who had by now claimed
their own part of the ground and were inventing their own songs. I was
experiencing ‘total football.’ All through the day the phone rang at
my shop, and in the evening there were calls coming in from supporters
and the many clubs that were re-arranging matches with – it was
getting out of hand. We solved this problem by using a premium phone
line initially and later a plain answerphone which gave out detains of
coach travel and forthcoming fixtures. The main trouble was that people
wanted to talk about the club, and with the lower social club now only
open on an irregular basis, I was the only one readily available. As was widely
expected, our playing ranks were swelled by a certain Chris Vidal in
time for the next big one, the second leg of the Southern League Cup tie
against Folkestone. Equally predictably a new ground record (726) was
set for the match. Unfortunately the evening did not justify the
attendance and the game was goalless and decided on penalties after
extra time with Folkestone going through 4-2. We were totally swamped
upstairs and found it impossible to control the mass of ‘friends’
and hangers-on, many of whom had been unwilling to pay the modest
admission price. Despite Folkestone receiving a number of extra passes,
I was disturbed to find that each pass had been ‘amended’ and was
being used to admit several persons each time. There was a feeling that
our club was being taken for a ride and we clearly had to sharpen up our
act. The next few days
were to become very significant for all of us, as we set off on a
November Saturday to Dunstable – ‘the end of God’s earth’, as
one respected fellow club director had called it once. Despite looking
to have an infinitely superior team, we conceded an early goal, spent
some 70 minutes trying to equalise, and as our efforts grew more
frantic, conceded again in the final minute. Our hosts in the boardroom
afterwards were most hospitable, but we felt frustrated – did they
know who they had just beaten? We also knew that if we were frustrated,
then Tony would be far more so. How could it be that after all he had
invested in the club and its players we were becoming league also-rans.
Our position was made to look worse because, with all of our cup
successes we were well behind with league fixtures and they in turn
created more pressure for each match we played. I received a phone
call from the Chairman on the following Sunday in which he informed me
that it was his intention to dismiss Neil Cugley from his post and
appoint Dave Carr, with Lee Smelt as his assistant. It was a bombshell
to me, even if the Hythe ‘grapevine’ had forecast this some weeks
before, something that I took to be just a rumour. I had found Neil to
be a very thorough manager, and at times a quite demanding one. He had
phoned me (or vice versa) at least once a day, often much more, and was
always keen to inform me of what he was doing, and check what I was up
to. Although time consuming, this was really a good thing as it helped
me to settle into the job, and meant that Neil had a good knowledge of
what was happening off the field as well as on it. As a manager, the
worst thing that could be said of Neil was that he was learning the job
of managing a Southern League club, but Tony Walton’s problem was
simply that if he spent any longer learning, it would be too late for us
to win the Championship that season. I could not argue with that, and in
any case it was not my job to do so, I just waited for the news to
break, having been asked to keep it to myself until all had been
properly announced. Unfortunately, well into that week, I was still
receiving calls from Neil who was obviously unaware, and I found this
very difficult to handle. Tony, knowing I was a friend of Neil’s, had
obviously sounded me out in advance not knowing how I would react, but I
was more concerned with how the town would react which I thought might
be more of a problem. The ‘town’ was not as impatient as the
chairman and although they wanted success, they were quite happy with
the new ground and the football being played on it. They had heard
Tony’s ambitions of Conference football – League football even - and
were gradually adjusting to the fact that we were actually going for it
– but really for the time being let’s just take it easy. So there
was a clash between a slumbering, conservative population who were
trying to adjust to a man who seem determined to change their little
club into the most successful non-league outfit in the country. Well the news
trickled out, missing the weekend local papers in a way that seemed to
add insult to injury. Neil took it philosophically but made the point
that it was not so much the decision, but the way it reached him, that
would affect the standing of the club locally. It was a very strange
and quiet next home game, when Margate were the visitors. Bobby Wilson
gave us a 13th minute lead which was lost in the second half
with the final result 1-1. In the absence of newspaper reports, the
local grapevine reported that the new manager would be ex-Chelsea star
John Hollins, and this was a name that cropped up quite often in the
next year or so. Of course, by the next weekend, the papers confirmed
what I already knew and the new management team of Carr and Smelt were
in place. As usual, Tony had one or two things up his sleeve, and Terry
Collins from Folkestone joined newcomer Chris Vidal in the team. Another
debutant was Gerald (Ged) Nohilly, a very skilful player who could play
anywhere – he must have wondered what he had walked into. Football, like life,
goes on and with our fixture list there was not a lot of choice, as we
had a midweek league game at Baldock due next. Apprehensively I boarded
the coach in thick fog and wondered just what the atmosphere would be
like. I knew where I was with the chairman, having asked for one or two
assurances to be made and in turn assuring him that I would continue to
do the job to the best of my ability. The players took it all in their
stride as players do; after all they knew whose pockets their wages were
coming from. And we did not expect to see many supporters up at Baldock
on a murky Tuesday evening. Despite the fog, we
arrived at our by now customary early hour, and adjourned to the nearby
pub, whilst the players continued to watch video films on the coach.
When we returned it was as if nothing had changed, with the team having
a kick-around and Tony watching from the touchline. Lee Smelt and Dave
Carr were deep in conversation out on the pitch and when the whistle
went it was a very determined set of Hythe players who immediately took
a hold on the game. Mark Stanton gave us a 23rd minute lead,
and although Baldock equalised, Shaun Carey converted a second half
penalty and Chris Vidal headed his first goal for the club. A late
consolation somewhat flattered the home side but afterwards it was
business as usual with a few celebratory drinks and a noisy journey
home. Rumours continued to
circulate the town regarding the manager’s departure with most saying
that Neil had gone because he was not being allowed to manage the team
in the way he wanted to, and had not picked the players that Tony wanted
picked. I don’t know about this but it could be said that if Neil was
persuading the chairman to buy new players, then refusing to play them
in the most effective way then you could see Tony’s point. However, if
the chairman was both buying and picking players and suggesting how they
should all be used, that made Neil little more than a puppet. All I actually knew
was that the pair remained on good terms, regularly exchanging phone
calls. I also knew that Tony had picked his time very carefully and
having won the Baldock away game, was facing two more games away from
Reachfields. His obvious intentions were to win all three thus quashing
any adverse reactions, and this is precisely what he did. For the next
Vase game at Camberley Town, our supporters coach provided 75% of the
match attendance and a somewhat makeshift side that included Lee Smelt
as a substitute went a step nearer Wembley via a Terry White headed
goal. This was followed by
another midweek game at a bitterly cold Hounslow, where we played in
front of 82 spectators and roughly the same number of jet airliners.
Lady luck was now on our side when Hounslow put on a good show only to
miss a late penalty. Hythe’s response was to awake from their slumbers
and rattle in two quick goals at the other end through a delightful
Nohilly chip and a Vidal header. Town returned to home
base the following Saturday with a Kent derby against Corinthian. The
new regime of Dave Carr and Lee Smelt was settling in well, and so it
should have done really with gifted players on good contracts, but how
would the public react? Despite a lot of talk, their reaction was rather
indifferent, some staying away citing the sacking and Christmas shopping
as their reasons, while others hurried in about two minutes before
kick-off in their normal way. There were one or two shouts but it was a
generally quiet game with the score standing at 1-1 before Frank Ovard
came on as a late substitute and notched the winner in injury time. With
Cugley gone, many thought that Frank would follow, but there were to be
many twists and turns before that tale was concluded, although an
unhappy Terry White did put in a transfer request. On another cold
midweek evening, a handful of supporters travelled to north Kent for a
league fixture at Sheppey United. I found the ground and atmosphere
depressing beyond belief, and I can only assume that the players had
similar thoughts as they allowed their winning run to come to a sudden
halt following a late winner for the islanders. We waited patiently for
90 minutes for the only little piece of skill that was needed to win the
game, and when it did come it was delivered by our humble opponents –
how could we have lost? Strangely, the mood in the clubhouse was quite
upbeat afterwards, almost as if Tony had finally realised that if
success was to come that season it would not be in the league, but a few
cups would not go amiss. I couldn’t help wondering if on that bleak
night at Botany Road, the twin towers of Wembley had become our main
target. A more realistic aim
was the Kent Senior Trophy and I found our next game a real test of
patience. We were due to play at Faversham and it seemed unbelievable
that we could not agree a replay date despite the fact that we were at
Fareham in midweek. At half-time I was advised that they would not
‘travel’ down to us in midweek, but would come on Saturday instead.
I was thankful that we had a prior engagement with Deal Town in the FA
Vase which obviously took precedence, but the matter remained unresolved
and we were relieved to leave Salters Lane with a 2-1 win thus making
further negotiations with a rather jealous home club unnecessary. So it was off to
Fareham, and I was beginning to find these excursions a bit of a chore
now that the evenings were closing in. Struggling through rush-hour
traffic, albeit on a luxury coach, with the prospect of a mundane match
before about one hundred spectators, one could be forgiven for
questioning the fact that we considered ourselves ‘big time.’ The
game was tedious in the extreme, with the only light relief coming from
a late Mark Wetherly equaliser and the wonderfully warm welcome from the
home officials. A strange icy mist seemed to hang about waist-high all
over the pitch and the gate just crept into three figures. We had
dreamed of the local derbies and a dramatic run in the championship in
March and April but the reality was we were not doing the business in
deserted stadiums on midweek dates when it really mattered. Hey – but we are
Hythe and we are different. The players were dragged out of the showers,
the ‘board’ plucked from the cosy boardroom and here we are a
hundred yards down the road with an order for about 40 fish suppers all
on the chairman. Tony had paid for the coach, the players, and all
drinks and food and here we were still an hour after we started ordering
food, a noisy laughing bunch of people with nothing better to do than
enjoy ourselves for the next few hours as the good folk of Fareham
dribbled past us on their short way home. Suddenly there was something
acceptable about speeding down the motorway in our little bubble while
everyone else was going to bed. In the next round of
the Vase we were away to Deal, a team with a reputation for good
football, but hardly a major hurdle if we played reasonably well. We
took a supporters coach, but on a miserably wet day a crowd of 278 must
have been a let-down for the home club. Deal played very well, but as we
huddled in the stand with the rain lashing down, we witnessed a strong
display by a Hythe team who were in no mood to allow any giant-killing.
Terry White, back in the starting line-up, revelled in the conditions
and fired in a beautifully placed shot in the seventh minute that proved
to be the game’s only goal. Afterwards in the clubhouse, the scorer
laughed at talk that he might be leaving. There was little doubt in my
mind that the players knew what was at the end of this particular road,
and how the journey was well within their capabilities. We now had one more
match scheduled before the Boxing Day league clash with Folkestone, it
being the return floodlight cup tie against Aveley, and as it was just
before Christmas, we shouldn’t be expecting much of a turnout.
Although the gate of around one hundred proved predictable enough, the
rest of the evening was not, and we won the game 5-1 against a side that
totally lost their composure and had a man sent off in the process. Our
young supporters treated the match seriously enough and chanted their
way through the entire evening from 6.45pm until 9.15pm – well it was
nearly Christmas! The big Boxing Day derby was set for a late morning kick-off, and with the ground filling up nicely I took a stroll down to the turnstiles to see how we were coping. Basically they were not! There was a mass of supporters outside the ground and I set about getting a fourth turnstile working, only to be told that it was alright, as the referee had agreed to put the kick-off back to allow people to get in – now this really was the big time. The eventual attendance was over 1100, and with Steve O’Brien stranded at Dublin airport, Lee Smelt was preparing to make his first appearance of the season in goal. After the match we were discussing how fortunate it was that the kick-off had been put back, because another Hythe player had been delayed en-route to the ground and was thus able to start the game rather than being named as a substitute. It
then dawned on me that we did have four turnstiles working originally,
but when I had called down to see how they were coping, there were only
three in use. Now surely the fourth one hadn’t been closed just to
create the sort of queues that would allow us to ask the referee to
delay kick-off and enable our eleventh player to make it to the ground
on time – surely not – we wouldn’t do that, would we? Tony
produced a nice piece of public relations by sending the players out
with sweets for the younger ones in the crowd, and the big attendance
settled down to enjoy the match against a Folkestone side that included
none other than Neil Cugley at the heart of its defence. In a typical
second half blitz, Hythe won the game with a Dave Carr header, and then
a Mark Stanton conversion from a Frank Ovard cross. By the time Jason
Wheeler finished the visitors off, there was a carnival atmosphere in
the ground, and I recall glancing down at the packed terraces and seeing
a well known local clergyman virtually leaping with delight as little
old Hythe trounced the big time visitors 3-0. The true facts were that
it was Folkestone who were the underdogs and having a wretched time
trying to keep going at all. Fittingly though, the match scoring was
completed by their centre-half, and our old manager, Neil Cugley – a
festive consolation if ever there was one. The
year ended with a slightly less festive encounter with Canterbury City,
before a crowd of 424. Hythe overcame some very robust tackling to win
4-1 with goals from Mark Stanton, Simon Bryant and Chris Vidal (2), and
the junior choir was in full voice. “Frankie, Frankie, give us a
wave” – wave from Ovard. “Oh Chris Vidal, he’s got long hair”
– embarrassed looks from our dreadlocked striker. “He’s big,
he’s round, he’s spent a million pounds” – regal wave from Tony
Walton’s balcony – and so on. By and large, it had been a good year,
and despite the managerial changes there was a buoyant good humour about
the club and a realisation that we had fitted in well in the new league
despite the fact that we were quite obviously different in many ways.
Most of our opponents were first-time visitors to Reachfields, and
normally they went away well fed and watered and impressed with the
set-up. However,
it was only the turn of the year, and there would be plenty more
excitement still to come, and a small matter of some 37 games still to
play – although for all we knew at the time it could have been nearer
50 if we went all the way in cup competitions. New
Year’s Day saw another full coach of supporters optimistically making
the 30-mile trip to Hastings and the Pilot Field, and so help to give
the newly formed home club their biggest attendance ever – over 600.
Hastings Town had taken over from Hastings United when the latter had
folded, but of course it was very difficult for outsiders to see any
difference. The game was a wee bit aggressive at times, but our noisy
hordes witnessed a late header by their new hero Chris Vidal, and
celebrated through to the final whistle. Unfortunately, five seconds
before this Frank Ovard was felled in an appalling tackle in the area
that hushed the crowd, and left both players motionless. In one of the
most amazing pieces of refereeing I have ever seen, the official totally
evaded his responsibilities and blew for full-time and left the field.
In the event Ovard was only badly bruised, although the Hastings man had
to be rushed to hospital. I was so incensed by what I had seen that I
was very glad to have the excuse of being in charge of the supporters
coach rather than going to the boardroom. where I surely would have said
too much. Ovard recovered enough to be named as substitute for the ‘easy’ home game with Hounslow the following Saturday but despite a brilliant goal from Simon Bryant, we conceded a silly equaliser in the final minutes and were unable to regain the lead. Despite this, the plan to take two coaches on the long journey to Trowbridge the following week went ahead. It was Lee Smelt’s feeling that the mixing of supporters and players might at times lead to problems, and this meant that we needed at least 30 supporters to book to make the coach viable. I had to respect this view which was also to some extent shared by Tony – but I did not agree with it. My attitude was that if I had a dozen fare-paying passengers for a long-haul trip, it was a little difficult to tell them that they could not travel, when the official coach invariably had that number of spare seats available. Although
Dave Carr was very much the manager on match days and would be consulted
for any major decision, Lee was the man who ran the club throughout the
week. He made most of the training and travel arrangements, and was
constantly on the office phone keeping in touch with many of the
contacts he had established in his football career. When I needed to
check a particular piece of fixture rearranging I used to call into the
office to speak to him, but as our fixtures got more and more
complicated, he tended to leave it all to me. Lee and Dave got on very
well together and I in turn found them very easy to work with. David’s
job in the City meant I could only speak to him in the evenings, and so
Lee’s role for the club was absolutely essential. It was a great joke
between the two of them that Lee would do all the donkey work only to
hear the fans singing about ‘David Carr’s yellow and green army’
on the Saturday. Anyhow,
we managed to get a decent number on the second coach to Trowbridge, and
had a pleasant first visit to the Wiltshire club. The pitch had a fair
slope and tended to get quite boggy in wet weather and so Simon
Bryant’s equaliser five minutes from time was a satisfying conclusion
to a game that produced seven bookings. Games between the clubs were as
physical as they were frequent, but looking back there was always a
feeling of mutual respect and friendship. Like Hastings, it was a case
of “Oh no, not them again” which soon gave way to “Now when do we
see you next?” Our
next game I would include in my top ten if I had to make a choice – it
was the Knight Floodlight Cup clash away to Dover Athletic, and my
suspicion that both clubs and their supporters would take this seriously
was soon confirmed. Dover were unrecognisable from the old outfit that
had folded a few short years earlier with attendances of just two or
three hundred. Now they were a club very much on the march and seemed to
have the whole town behind them. They were a club setting a good
example, with priorities in the right place, and in short they were
everything Hythe wanted to be. Yet us upstarts were, in playing terms,
progressing upwards at such a speed that we might well overtake them as
champions of east Kent. The coach I had tentatively booked – was this
the first ever supporters’ coach for this competition? – made its
way barely one third full to its final pick-up in Red Lion Square, and
there was a mass of young folk waiting to get on. When our illegally
overcrowded vehicle reached the Dover turnstiles we were amazed to see
the numbers queuing to get in. In
what was supposed to be a low-key floodlit competition, both sides
battled for local pride before two very noisy sets of supporters whose
numbers came to over 1100. Despite generally conceding territorial
advantage Hythe established a superiority over our illustrious rivals
that was to last for several games. Town’s goals on the night were
scored by Simon Bryant, Frank Ovard and Terry White with a penalty,
after Shaun Carey’s goal-bound shot was handled. More league action was still some way off as Hythe prepared to receive Collier Row in the battle to reach the last 16 of the FA Vase. Row were a competent bunch and it was they who took the lead just before half-time, and the signs were not good, unless you were familiar with the normal Reachfields pattern of things. Sure enough, despite the visitors continuing to play well, Hythe raised their game and Ovard forced the ball home ten minutes into the second half and with the tie about to go into extra time we were awarded a penalty. Terry White had only missed one penalty in four seasons but as we prepared to celebrate he chose to make this miss number two and we were therefore forced to travel to Essex for a midweek replay. Unfortunately
there was some bad feeling around Reachfields after the first match and
the talk was all about the behaviour of some visiting supporters. I had
seen plenty of drunks at football matches before, but I had never seen
people relieving themselves over the barriers during play – it was a
wonderful spectacle (not). Coupled with the fact that some of our
players had taken some unpleasant knocks during the game, it was a
fairly determined after-match session in both bars that resolved that
the road to Wembley was not going to end in South Essex. Next Saturday brought us back to basics at Alma Swanley’s wide open ground adjacent to the M20, and a 2-2 draw in the Kent Senior Trophy with goals from Terry White and yet again Simon Bryant. This was followed by the Knight Floodlight Cup return game against Dover. Heading up to the game there was a spell of torrential rain which continued up to and after the kick-off. The match referee, one John Moules, took a brave decision in allowing things to get underway. The rain then got heavier, but the winners were Terry White, who scored the only goal, and the near 700 crowd, who were rewarded for their optimism in turning gout at all. The only loser, apart from Dover, was the pitch! As
Neil Cugley took over as the new Folkestone manager, Hythe disposed of
Alma Swanley’s challenge in the Kent Senior Trophy replay with a 5-2
victory and the next FA Vase tie at Abingdon Town was being
contemplated. There seemed to be enough interest to take up to three
coaches to the Oxfordshire club, but there was a problem because the
Hythe social club had been closed for redevelopment and this caused me a
problem taking coach bookings. I decided to use my shop, The Gem, as a
booking office, but then ‘Murphy’s Law’ swiftly moved into action
and the River Thames rose to flood our opponents’ ground and cause the
game to be postponed. This
caused a nightmare scenario. As each new date was arranged, one batch of
supporters found themselves available to travel, while another batch
found that work demands meant that they would be unable to attend. I
believe there were four postponements in the end, but what was even
worse was that we were calling off league games to fit in the Vase
match, so when each postponement was announced we had in effect lost two
matches. The
short Saturday trip up to Gay Dawn Farm to play Corinthian came as light
relief, and by now we were running coaches to every game. However, our
supporters failed to raise their distracted team in the rural atmosphere
and despite being gifted two goals which put us 2-1 up, we conceded a
late equaliser and more points were dropped. At the final whistle a
grim-faced chairman led his players into the dressing room and locked
the door. When he emerged later he told the press that he had done this
to make sure that they would be back to their best for the Vase game.
Did he really throw the teacups, or was it a bit of bonding from a man
who was close to his team? Nobody knew the answer, but Tony was an
expert in mind games and I imagine that the atmosphere in that dressing
room was a lot better than many thought it was. We
finally arrived at Abingdon on Wednesday February 21st, and
despite good support and a better than expected pitch, we froze for the
first half and trailed to a home penalty. The second period was our
salvation again though, and Simon Bryant rescued us with a 72nd
minute equaliser that took the game into extra time. For virtually every
minute since that equaliser the pressure on the home side had been
getting stronger, and when we reached the second period of extra time
all outfield players were encamped either inside, or just outside, the
Abingdon penalty area. As the shots rained in, only to cannon off
defenders, or be saved by the heroic goalkeeper, we dreaded the single
breakaway which might seal our fate. It never came though, and we knew
that the Abingdon saga would have one more chapter at least before its
conclusion. We
were left now with just ten days before the next round, if we got
through. In that period we had to play league games against Poole
(Saturday) and Buckingham (Wednesday), both at home. The replay was to
be sandwiched in between these two games, on the Monday night, with
hopefully the quarter final away to Rushden Town on the following
Saturday. We therefore had three match programmes to prepare, as well as
to organize transport into Northamptonshire – and sell tickets for it.
By now we were almost all full-timers; players, officials and even
regular supporters! My main problem was to get across to the town at
large just what was scheduled and how important it was because by the
time the local papers came out it would be almost too late. Fortunately
those two league matches were at Reachfields so there was an opportunity
to get the message to our fans, but it did seem a shame that at a time
when I believe the club was reaching its all-time peak, it was all such
a rush and the players would be so tired. We
faced Poole Town on the Saturday, and gave a debut to new signing Tom
Warrilow. Although no veteran, Tom had been around a bit and was playing
for Crawley Town in the Southern League Premier Division. Tony Walton
knew of him, and as the story goes he suggested to John Maggs, the
Crawley manager, that being the strapping lad that he was, Tom should be
moved forwards and given his chance as a striker. Although this free
advice was not taken immediately, the player was later tried up front
and did start to score goals. With his point proven, in stepped Tony
with a cheque for £15,000 and Warrilow joined Hythe amidst a
considerable amount of publicity in the south east. Unfortunately the Poole game was played in very difficult windy conditions and Tom, still unaccustomed to playing up front, and even more unsure due to the weather and his new teammates, looked fairly ineffective. The game was drawn 1-1 with the Hythe goal coming from Ged Nohilly, who possessed the natural skills needed to overcome the conditions and who was by now really turning on the style and proving to be a great signing. The Vase replay against Abingdon two days later was one of the most exciting nights of football ever seen at Reachfields. After
the show we had eventually put on up there, many of us though that the
game was little more than a formality, but we were so wrong. Terry White
opened the scoring early on – a terrific shot from the edge of the
area that seemed to settle any big match nerves. However, our visitors
replied from a free-kick and despite Hythe having the edge throughout
the game, they remained a constant threat. The
scene as the youngsters poured over the barriers at the final whistle
remains one of my favourites, and as the kids hugged the players, the
dream was surely becoming a reality. As with the old Folkestone FA Cup
giant-killers, Hythe had the sort of players who seemed to rise to the
occasion, not as individuals, but collectively. Special mention, though,
must be made of the performances of Terry White, Steve O’Brien, and
particularly Dave Carr who held the side together in the absence of the
injured Mark Wetherly. Two days later came the inevitable anti-climax
when the home game with Buckingham was lost 2-1. Dave Carr scored an
early goal but later picked up an injury that was to rule him out of the
Vase quarter-final, and give Lee Smelt and Tony Walton real team
selection problems for surely the biggest match that the club had ever
been involved in. Three
coaches embarked for Rushden on the Saturday full of optimism despite
the team news. Tony never allowed anybody to be other than optimistic,
so if we were bringing in ‘reserves’, they were far superior to
other clubs’ first elevens, and there was no need to worry. With Dave
Carr and Mark Wetherly out, he and Lee Smelt did the only thing they
could do, and that was to play Tom Warrilow in his old position in
defence, and ask the brilliant but injury prone Mark Hyham alongside
him. Kevin Smart and Malcolm Smith completed the back four with the
ever-present Steve O’Brien in goal. Jason Wheeler and Terry White
provided the engine room in the middle, with Mark Stanton and Ged
Nohilly on the flanks. Up front were Frank Ovard and Simon Bryant, with
Pat Hilton and Terry Collins as subs. Perhaps the line-up lacked a
little speed in places, but it was a formidable team with plenty of
potential match winners. Such
was our club’s fame by now that our games were regularly
‘scouted’, and most were frightened silly by Bryant’s pace and
Ovard’s skills. When they tried to close these two down though, there
were Stanton and Nohilly, jinking in from the wings, each with lethal
shooting powers. If the ball ran loose anywhere in the last third of the
pitch, both White and Wheeler had the ability to tear holes in the back
of the net, whilst not many opposing forwards relished the tigerish
tackling of Messrs Smart and Smith at the back. Amazingly
though, despite all of these doing well in the quarter-final, and
despite Frank Ovard’s quite brilliant opening goal – a typical
dribble to the line and a shot from the narrowest of angles with
everyone expecting a cross – it was the remaining three players who
won us the match. After the goal, and a miss only seconds later,
Hythe’s defence came under increasing pressure as Rushden, roared on
by a partisan crowd of 1500, mounted attack after attack. Both Warrilow
and Hyham were absolute giants in the middle, but when it was too much
even for them, Steve O’Brien was absolutely unbeatable – and please
read that again – unbeatable. We
watched open-mouthed at the other end as each time a ball seemed bound
for the net, this incredible little Irishman flew through the air to
keep it out. One word hardly ever in Steve’s vocabulary was
‘rebound’, - the ball was either fended away from a corner, or if he
got behind it, it stuck to his chest. For all their frantic efforts, for
all their roaring fans, Rushden never had a chance – it was an
absolute master-class, and I forever regret not insisting that the BBC,
who were filming the match, made the film available to us. As the second
half commenced and the attacks grew in number I remember hoping that one
of our breakaways would kill the game off. I glanced at my watch to find
there was still 25 minutes to go and mentally settled myself to the fact
that we were bound to lose. Unbelievably O’Brien got better as the
game went on, and although the crowd were baying we started to believe
that we might just do it. With
full-time approaching and with many of us looking away, one last attack
swept towards Hythe’s defence. Before it could succeed though, a
wonderful noise sounded out from the man in black – we had done it.
For the youngsters, and for many of us who were not so young, there was
only one place to be – the middle of the pitch and I remember nearly
colliding with Kevin Smart who was beside himself with joy. As the teams
went into the dressing rooms, one of our supporters asked me what time
the coaches would be leaving. I just pointed to the Rushden bar, and
after a very brief visit to the boardroom, I joined him there. When
Steve O’Brien emerged from his shower, the most tremendous cheer
sounded around the clubhouse, and one home supporter told some of us how
lucky he was. I told him it wasn’t luck, it was his job to keep the
ball out and that was just what he had been doing. Later we found out
that our little keeper had been seen as the one weak link in our team by
some Rushden folk – well they certainly knew differently now! A more
reasoned fellow came up to me just before we left and said “In all the
years I have watched the game, I have never seen anything like your
goalie – if he was taller he would be in Division One” – I could
not possibly argue with him. As
the team coach meandered home dropping players here and there, the
supporters’ coaches hot-footed it to Reachfields to give the
Hythe-based players one final cheer as they arrived – it was a lovely
moment. Now everybody wanted to talk football and although I cannot
recall the timetable of events we received many calls from the national
papers and the BBC who wanted to come down to the ground. We received
congratulations from all quarters – our league, the KCFA, and many
people who had moved away from the town. Some
time earlier I had persuaded the chairman to install a step all along
the flat covered standing on the Ranges side of the ground. Although he
was at first reluctant to agree to this, we were both now glad that the
job had been done as the Police were due to put an official limit on our
capacity. In the event, they made the figure 3000 – which was good,
whilst the FA insisted on segregation – which was bad! Before
any negotiations could take place we had to travel to Andover on the
following Tuesday and what would surely be an anti-climax. The Andover
ground was situated in an industrial estate and was one of those new
places that all looked the same. They did have a large bar upstairs but
as with many similar stadia there was none of the character and
atmosphere you get at the older grounds. We arrived long before any home
officials and had to sit outside waiting for them – well, they
weren’t full time like us! As the small crowd assembled, I tried to
get it into my head that despite Wembley looming, this was still a very
important game. I need not have worried, for as soon as the whistle went
we were in top gear with early goals from Nohilly, Bryant and White and
the game was over. The final score was 3-1, and we only really played
for 20 minutes, but that was more than enough. We
returned home and, at the FA’s request, started preparing material for
a possible Wembley programme. We also decided to make the first (home)
leg of the semi-final all ticket, not so much because we thought we
would get 3000, but more to make things easier on the day. Amazingly,
the hard-headed businessman that was Tony Walton stipulated no increase
in admission charges and this meant we would be charging the FA minimum
price, which was £2/£1. People often criticised Tony for being a bit
distant from some supporters, but when I think of these prices, plus the
free coaches he put on for the youngsters, I don’t know what else they
could have wanted. Although
our little committee was still meeting, it remained largely unrecognised
by the chairman, but it did provide a useful think-tank, what with some
of the problems we were now facing. It had occurred to me, that if we
were to have say two thousand supporters at home to Yeading, we might
reasonably expect at least twice that figure if we got to the final.
Bearing in mind that Yeading was a club from a lower division I thought
it was time to do some advance planning. Now let me see – if one
thousand make their own way to Wembley, that would leave three thousand
to arrange transport for – blimey, that’s 60 coaches. The size of
the operation that may need to be planned by our little group was
starting to frighten me. Tony assured me that the clubhouse would be
open soon – finished or not – but even if we only took 40 coaches,
where would we put them? Eventually I made enquiries about lining them
all up on Hythe Green – now that would have been a sight – and I
provisionally arranged for a major firm to either provide or
sub-contract out at least 30 coaches for the time being. My
conversations with the Yeading secretary made me realise that they were
not a well-supported club and would certainly not be able to segregate
at their place in any case. We therefore decided not to segregate at
Hythe, and to prevent problems on the day make both ties all-ticket,
with a 1600 limit at Yeading. Despite having already started a new
toilet block to aid the Hythe segregation, both clubs were able to
convince the FA that in the best traditions of non-league football, we
would all be ‘together’ on the day. Tickets were rapidly printed for
both legs, and together with coach tickets they all went on sale at
various points, both in the town and the neighbouring ‘village’ of
Folkestone! There was an immediate response from all quarters and I
remember thinking that we no longer needed to ‘sell’ ourselves to
our public, they were all watching us intently to see what was next –
it must be like this in Liverpool and Manchester! Cup
fever or not, we were still a very busy league club and the next few
days would certainly prove that to be the case. We were due at Burnham
on Saturday, Salisbury on Monday and Bashley on Wednesday, some 18 hours
of travelling and three luxury coaches to pay for in five days, and that
was only the start. Burnham was very rural with a good-sized clubhouse,
one modest stand, and if you want a crowd, then bring your own. Knowing
we were doing well in the Vase, their officials were keen to tell us of
their own recent successes in the same competition that had them also
dreaming of those twin towers. It was difficult to imagine cup fever
striking this little outpost though, and our two coaches provided three
quarters of the match attendance. The result was a 0-0 draw; now could
we get back to Hythe before it was time to leave again? Monday
night (or rather Monday lunchtime) saw us heading towards Stonehenge and
Salisbury City. It was a place I took a liking to right from the first
view of the cathedral as we drove down into the city. It was a ground
where everything had to be carried in, as there was no room for a coach.
I found the tree-lined surrounds and the rather rickety clubhouse with
its cosy boardroom quite appealing – but perhaps more importantly the
folk were warm and welcoming too. Unfortunately the result was a 2-0
defeat for us, although by now the league results were seemingly of less
importance to many of us. As we supped our after-match refreshments and
contemplated our long journey home into the small hours, we looked ahead
some 36 hours or so to the time we would be leaving Hythe again for our
next fixture. If it
is Wednesday, it must be Bashley – it was as if we were involved in
some ancient ritual. Down to the ground we would all go, shortly to be
followed by another large coach, on we would all get, and off we would
go, picking up here, there and everywhere. Somehow, what with the
publicity we were all getting, the players seldom had difficulty getting
time off work, and I suppose it was the nearest some of them would get
to being full-time. Certainly after a poor result, those employed by
Tony Walton would often be directed away from their work-places and down
to Reachfields for a spot of moving target practice. Steve O’Brien was
our entertainment man and would be up to the front of the coach to ask
“What videos you got droive? Nah, saw that last week – saw that one
Monday.” Soon we rented some out to cut the boredom a little. Tony
had decided to sign a local player from Folkestone Town, Andy Allon, a
keen sportsman who had made his debut for Folkestone at the age of
sixteen. Andy was a very competitive player who always gave 100% and he
soon became very popular with the supporters. Unfortunately at Bashley
he could not make enough difference to a tired and jaded team to prevent
a 6-2 thrashing, perhaps one of the worst results of Tony Walton’s
reign. Long before that scoreline had been conceded though Steve
O’Brien had been carried off seemingly badly injured, and I did not
find the remarks of some of the locals easy to stomach. After the match
in the boardroom I attempted to be civil, but they were so full of
themselves they had little time for us.”Anybody know how our goalie
is? Yes, our third away game in five days, so we are a bit tired. Hello
– is anybody interested?” Suddenly I felt the way that Tony Walton
always felt about boardrooms and before I said something that would have
burst their little bubble I went and joined our driver for a coffee on
the coach. So it wasn’t only the players that were getting a little
tired and jaded! On Saturday we at least had a break from league action with a Kent Senior Trophy game at Sittingbourne – actually, it was the semi-final. Yeading sent a team to video what was a dreadful game which we lost 1-0. It was an inevitable result from a match where one side displayed a keen interest in getting through, whilst the other looked casual and detached. Looking back on those eight days in which we performed dismally in three games, and only marginally better in the other, it was strange to think that in between each of those matches came all of the ballyhoo and nonsense that lead up to a really big football occasion. Obviously
we were a good story to all of the Kent papers, as well as the nationals
and radio stations. Sure enough, the BBC came down to do their spot at
the ground which consisted of interviews with Lee Smelt and Tony Walton,
particularly concentrating on Tony’s attitude to boardrooms and the
management of the Kent League. Lee came out with the typical football
manager-speak, “Yes, Yeading are a good side, because they have
reached the semi-final – but we’re not afraid of them, and we
haven’t been to watch them.” Both
interviewees came across very well on camera, before the TV crew moved
outside to film the ‘training’. This was quite amusing because it
must have been obvious to any football person that a team playing every
two days was not going to be anything other than playing matches. What
we did was to persuade some of our local based players to put some kit
on and go through some basic routines – as soon as the cameras
stopped, they all went home! Tickets
were going well considering that most of our regulars were unconvinced
that there would be much more than our previous highest crowd (1109) at
the game. We did receive an awful lot of requests for complimentary
tickets with a number making unrealistic demands for special treatment
on the day. I suppose that if we had had the time and the bodies we
could have made a few extra friends but this was not really Tony’s
style, although we were pleased to welcome our mayor, our MP Michael
Howard and some top brass from the FA at the game. We also made the car
park ‘private’ on the day and allowed the Yeading coaches in as
well, with Hythe Green taking most of the overspill. We
had one more coming together before the big day, and thankfully I had
done my stuff and fixed up for Fareham to visit us on Monday night to
give us as much rest as possible. The game was an improvement on our
recent form and we led 1-0 but had to concede a draw when a highly
dubious late penalty was awarded against us. Afterwards we reviewed our
arrangements and anticipated no last minute problems as long as there
were plenty of helpers – and naturally there were plenty of volunteers
for this one. For the first time ever, we had stewards, St John
Ambulance personnel, and a reasonable Police presence, and I suppose you
could say we were ready for anything. On
the morning of the match I made several visits to the ground before
arriving in time to locate TV and radio teams. I suppose that with
around 1500 tickets sold, we were looking for a few hundred extra on the
day and it had occurred to me that these might not turn up if they
thought they would not get in. I phoned up the BBC on the Thursday and
asked them if they would put out on TV that although the game was
all-ticket, there would be plenty of room for latecomers and this they
duly announced. It was some time after that I realised what I had done
– phoned up national TV and told them what to put in their programme
– extraordinary. Well
before 1pm we were all in the main clubhouse downstairs looking forward
to opening the turnstiles at 1.15pm. The place was buzzing with sales of
hats, scarves and alcohol in equal quantities. Suddenly I looked through
the windows to see an enormous crowd of people waiting a little
impatiently outside the gates. You cannot begin to realise what this
scene meant to many of us at that time. We had done our best to elevate
and publicise our little club and were at last seeing the fruits of our
labours. Not only were we the most famous non-league club in the country
on the day, but here we were with this crush of supporters striving to
get into our stadium some two hours before kick-off. By
the time the Yeading team bus arrived, well before 2pm, there was a
really good-sized crowd already in the stadium and they were making
quite a noise, with our youngsters already crowded into ‘their’ spot
and spreading well along the Town end terrace. As I led their players to
the dressing room and they got their first glimpse of the enclosed
nature of the place and the size of the crowd, I caught the eyes of one
of their squad. Basically, he was glancing across at one of his
teammates and saying”Bloody hell!” – well actually it was worse.
As far as I could see, we were already winning! Our
crowded fixture list had meant that by now we knew our players very
well, and as they arrived for the match, I felt quite nervous for them.
To the younger players a chance like this was coming very early in their
career, especially those who had been at league clubs and had suffered
the knock-back of not making it at full-time level. To those like Dave
Carr and Mark Wetherley who had played the game as full-time
professionals it must have been an entirely different feeling. Each
season they had played their games, some perhaps struggling to hold on
to a first team place, and then at the end of their season had settled
down to watch the FA Cup final at Wembley. Now, nearing the end of their
careers, and especially for Wetherley, having made the conscious
decision to drop down and play for as long as he could, here they were
at little Hythe, just two legs away from treading that turf in their own
right. Kevin Smart’s fate was particularly poignant having been booked
in a non-event of a second half at Andover and so being suspended for
the home leg when he would have revelled in the atmosphere.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|