Coming to a book store this Summer…….
I know many of you love getting your weekly dose of The Ball is Round, so what better way to celebrate than to put the best of our 30 adventures together in one pocket size book.
More details coming soon….
Did you know that the sunniest place in Britain is Eastbourne? Neither did I until I tried to look for an angle for my first visit to the town in nearly two decades? Well according to the expert that is Wikipedia this is true. It is more famous for being the south’s “God’s Waiting Room”, where people over the age of 70 come to potter, queue up in banks all day and generally moan about the “youngters today”. It is also the nearest town to Beachy Head, the point on the south coast where people decide they have had enough of Brown’s vison of economic utopia and jump off the edge of a huge cliff.
But did you know it is also home to one of the first and most successful Community Interest Clubs in England? Well there you go – Eastbourne Borough (not to be confused with Eastbourne Town or Eastbourne United who play in the lower leagues of Sussex non-League football are currently enjoying their first season at the highest level of the Non-League pyramid after their promotion from the Blue Square South division last season. They were promoted after a play off with local rivals Lewes but are fairing significantly better than their neighbours from down the A27 .
In the first half of the season the club had produced some consistent form, sitting exactly 10 points below the play offs and 10 points above the relegation zone. It is a very commendable achievement considering the limited resources the club has when compared to the likes of York City, Mansfield Town and Ebbsfleet United who were some places below the club coming into the January game with York City. In the current world of the football merry-go-round it is amazing that the Eastbourne manager Garry Wilson was due to celebrate ten years in the role in a few weeks time. During that decade Wilson had taken the team from the Sussex County Leagues to the highest level of Non-league football, just one step off the Football League on a limited budget which has seen the club keep on an even keel whilst others around them had continue to boom and bust (who could ever forget the implosion of the Hornchurh club just a few years ago when they signed professionals such as ex-Chelsea keeper Dimitri Kharin on a four figure weekly wage whilst they were still in the Rymans League!).
The club had been eliminated from all cup competitions by early January and so the plan was to concentrate on the Blue Square Premier League. Whilst the club never stated publically their aim, they will have been very pleased to have reached this stage of the season with so many points in the bank and so far off the relegation zone. With their neighbours Lewes finding life without most of their best players, who left in the summer, Northwich who were locked out of their stadium for financial issues and Grays who were trying to sell everything associated with the club, Eastbourne can look forward to at least another season in the Blue Square Premier next season.
Their opposition for this almost end of season fixture already was York City, my second favourite team so far this season who I had seen at Salisbury City, Histon and Burton Albion. You know what to expect from York. They play a distinctive style which they try to neutralise any attacking play from the home team whilst relying on the pace of their young front two on the counter attack. I managed to get a Saturday pass for this one, taking the Little Fullers to swimming before heading off down the A22 for the game.
The day before the match heavy rain had put the game into doubt. The small 5,000 seater stadium on the outskirts of Eastbourne had been developed along the lines of so many other lower team grounds, starting off as a small club house alongside a pitch when they were known as Langney SportsFC until 2001. They changed their name in 2001 to identify more with the town where they were based as they entered the higher stages of the pryamid and work was carried out to improve the ground with the construction of a new small main stand and an upgrade of the floodlights.
After a spot of fish and chips on the beach Lolly and I headed to the ground, which sits in the smart residential area of Langney, around 3.5 miles north east of the seafront. We managed to blag a street parking space, all of a 2 minute walk away which was disappointing considering my previous records of watching York at Burton and Histon. The ground has two sports bars which were full to the brim when we arrived, with fans from both teams enjoying the warmth of the interior as well as a few pints to prepare them for the cold outside.
York had brought a few fans, including what appeared to be a group of a dozen or so young “boys” who obviously wanted to see how quick they could be ejected or arrested. They started by unfurling a few banners in the run up to kick off, and then proceeded to act as if they had downed a case of Strongbow each instead of the Tizer they were actually drinking. Not to be outdone, Eastbourne had a chap dressed as Captain America…I did ask him why – his response was “Superman outfit is in the wash today”…Logical.
Eastbourne Borough 2 York City 1 - Priory Lane – Saturday 24th January 2009 3pm
The York fans get a bit too excited with their goal
Eastbourne’s form coming into this game was impressive. On curent form based on the previous six league games they were 4th out of the 24 teams in the league with four wins and two defeats. They had also scored 11 in their previous game here versus Crowborough in the Sussex County Cup and so fancied their chances against a York team who liked a draw. It wasn’t long before the home team took the lead as with just fifteen minutes on the clock as Ashley Barnes latched onto the end of a great through ball and poked the ball past keeper Ingham. This sent the York fans into a state of delerium as they proceeded to take their shoes off and start throwing them in the air in some kind of bizarre ritual. The stewards did not know what to make of the behaviour and were unsure whether to intervene or not.
Not that the bizarre was limited to off the pitch. With two of the tallest teams in the conference playing out some nice football, the game was being officiated by one of the smallest referees I have seen – a Mr McLaughlin. No surprise with such a high disadvantage he felt overwhelmed by the players and so the yellow cards stayed firmly in his top pocket. The conditions made it tricky for both sides but Eastbourne especially tried to play some football on the ground.
Eastbourne went in 1-0 up at the break and Lolly and I sought some sanctuary from the cold in the club house. Lolly is now a seasoned West Ham fan, and at the age of 8 is enjoying her first season as a West Ham season ticket holder. This does mean that she compares every football match and stadium to Upton Park and so is confused by practices at this level such as the fans “swapping ends” at half time. However, she does enjoy the closeness of games like this and was fascinated that the “York Bad Boys” were able to continue to behave in the way they did. Even Danny Last, he of European Football Weekends fame sent me a text to ask how the “York Ultras” were, and Lolly kept saying “There’ll be thrown out in a minute”….
Lolly sometimes asks those awkward questions that you dread. At half time she got me with a beauty. Answers on a postcard please…
“A forward has a shot on goal that is so bad it is heading for a throw in. However, the ball hits the referee and goes into the net. Who is the goal awarded to?”
1. The forward;
2. The referee:
3. Neither – a drop ball is awarded from where the shot was taken:
Anyway, Eastbourne started the 2nd hlaf in much the same way and scored a second from a corner when Ben Austin’s shot was pushed into the net by Ingham. Whilst York protested that the ball hadn’t gone in, our roving reporter (well me actually) can prove it did cross the line – see the pictures below for proof. Eastbourne’s comfort zone lasted just eight minutes before Christian Smith netted from close range which sent our York “bad boys” into a frenzy behind the goal and in the excitement (goals are not that common for them obviously this season) they decided to celebrate on the pitch. Queue a mass steward invasion and Lolly once again won a £1 bet as she said that by the end of the game at least 3 would have been ejected.
Not much more happened in the final few minutes. With the sun firmly setting over the stand the temperature dropped quickly so with just a couple of minutes left we headed back to the car to collect the other Fullers from the beach and away we went, back to the smog of the big city. Eastbourne was a nice distraction from the Premier League and whilst it is hard to image a ground like Priory Lane hosting league teams every other week it is concievable that next season Luton Town and Bournemouth will be visiting the Golden Coast.
About Priory Lane
Although the ground is one of the more basic in the Blue Square Premier it has many decent facilities that make a trip here one of the best of the season, especially if the whether is good. On one side is the smart looking yet small Main Stand. This covered, all seated stand, has a capacity of 542 seats. There are no supporting pillars, resulting in good views of the playing action as the first row of seats is set around 3 foot above the pitch. However, the stand runs for about half the length of the pitch and strangely has been built mostly to one side of the half way line. Opposite is a a small covered terrace, called the Peter Fountain Stand, that extends again for around half the length of the pitch. In one corner this meets the River End Terrace, which is covered. The opposite end, the Mick Green Stand, is a small covered area which is divided into two. The team entrance from the dressing rooms to the ground runs out from this end and above this stand is one of the two club houses which has windows for any people who dont feel like braving the elements on the terraces below.
Thanks to Duncan Adams ‘s site http://www.conferencegrounds.co.uk for some of the above information.
How to get to Priory Lane
The ground is located on the edge of a smart residential area in the Langney area of Eastbourne, some 3 miles from the seafront, pier and town centre. The following directions are provided by Duncan Adams:-
“From the direction of Brighton on the A27 take the A22 towards Stone Cross and Westham. At the next roundabout take the first exit again towards Stone Cross and Westham. Continue towards Stone Cross village until you will come to a crossroads, with a church on your left and the Red Lion pub on the. Turn right just past the pub onto the B2104 Friday Street. At the end of Friday Street, turn left at the double mini-roundabout into Hide Hollow (B2191). After passing Eastbourne Crematorium on your right, turn right at the roundabout into Priory Road. The entrance to the ground is about 200 yards down the road on the left. There is a good sized car par at the ground which holds 400 cars, which is free.”
If you are coming by train then a taxi is needed and will cost around a fiver. There is a bus service (6a) that runs from the station to the ground every 30 minutes and costs £2.70 return.
How to get a ticket for Priory Lane
With an average attendance of just over 1,500 and a capacity of over 5,000 sell outs haven’t exactly been common in Eastbourne. The biggest game of the season tends to be the local derby with Lewes at Christmas and this only attracts around 2,200. Entry is £12.50 for Adults and £4 for Children. If you can bag yourself a spare seat in the stand then this is free.
Let’s get one things straight….It’s not Ebbsfleet, it’s Gravesend & Northfleet. Money may be able to alter the future but the past is past and the club now owned by a million people around the globe who sold out so spectacularly last year still represent my home growing up, and the venue of legends for a player in the Gravesend Under 12 league. You see having been poached at such an early age by Milton & Denton I enjoyed years of success through boys and then youth football and the cumulation of most seasons was the Cup Final which was played at Stonebridge Road, home of Gravesend & Northfleet.
The club at the time bounced around the Alliance Premier League as it was called then, playing local derbies against Dartford in front of crowds of 4-5,000. Then football changed and “the fleet” found themselves in the Southern League trying desperately to get back to the big time. It took a bold move in switching divisions to the Rymans Premier League to get them back on track as with non-league legend Steve Portway scoring hatricks for fun in between cashing cheques still for NatWest. In 2002 the club eventually returned to the Conference league after winning the Ryman’s league, holding off a strong challenge from Aldershot Town.
Since 2002 the club have sat firmly in lower middle table, not threatening anyone. And then came three life altering events. In the summer of 2007 Eurostar surprised the footballing world that they had agreed a sponsorship deal with the Fleet in recognition of the opening of the new Ebbsfleet station less than half a mile away from Stonebridge Road. In return for a few first class tickets to Lille at Christmas, the club changed their name at the drop of a hat to Ebbsfleet United.
Six months later the club, with their fancy new name hit the footballing headlines around the world when they became the first ever club to be taken over by Myfootballclub.com, a consortium of football fans around the world who had clubbed together on the internet and raised just over a £1m by paying £35 each in exchange for a say in team affairs. The original plan was to get all 3,000 members to vote on team selection, transfers and tactics but this has not happened, fortunately – the lunatics have not taken over this asylum YET! As if the whole story was being covered by Boys Own Magazine or a story featuring Roy Race the club went onto to reach the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium where they beat Torquay United 1-0.
I’d been a regular visitor in the past but not since the takeover in February 2007. The last time I visited was when Barnet were the opposition, managed by Martin Allen in a 2-2 draw. What amazed me at the time was the poor state of repair of the ground which was without doubt one of the ugliest in the top levels of English football. It must have been one of the only grounds in the country that has power lines draping between two huge pylons across the ground. There was no real main stand, just one covered seating area with 7 rows of seats, but even that nearly lost part of the roof when a ball landed on it.
So with West Ham playing on Sunday this week I took the opportunity of a short drive down to Gravesend to watch the game versus one of the most hated teams in Non-League football still, Rushen & Diamonds. I’m not going into the whole history of Rushden’s formation but safe to say that the excessive investments made by Max Greggs and his Doc Martens company literally bought them the league and their passage into the Football League structure. Promotion to the third tier soon followed, but as soon as Sugar Daddy Greggs pulled the plug on his investment the club slid down the league and two consecutive relegations saw them back in the non-leagues. They may have the best stadium in the non-leagues nowadays but with crowds half of what they saw in the Football League the future for the club is bleak to say the least.
As I parked in the shadow of the new Ebbsfleet Eurostar stadium I was amazed by the fact that the outside of the ground still looked exactly the same as when I used to cycle past on my way up the hill to Swanscombe. Oh, there was a small sign on the side of the roof proclaiming their Wembley victory in May 2008. Paying my £13 took me into the ground and it was as if I was back at the Milton & Denton versus Riverview United in the Under 10′s Cup Final. The small house that had been converted into the toilets were still there, as too was the catering hut, now selling Chilli and Chips and Jacket potatoes as well as the standard football fayre. Nothing had changed. The club shop was stocked to the brim of smart Nike made Ebbsfleet merchandise complete with Eurostar and AustrianAirlines logos but it was still the same old ground. This is your traditional non-league stadium, although it was disappointing to see the Plough End had been converted into seats.
Ebbsfleet United 1 Rushden & Diamonds 0 – Stonebridge Park – Saturday 17th January 2009
How did he miss this one?
Both teams came into the game firmly rooted in mid table in the Conference. The home side needed the win more than the visitors, as they were sailing a little close to the bottom four of the league for the liking of the owners who were due to vote on whether they renewed their £35 per annum subscription in a few weeks time.
You got the impression when the two teams emerged onto the pitch that Rushden weren’t popular. Whether that was because of the past histrionix between the two teams or the simple fact that the way they reached the Football League last time went against all that non-League teams stand for. What was noticable though was that for a club that regularly had crowds of 5,000 plus a few years ago they had brought just 127 fans (I counted them twice to make sure – once in each half). Where had all the fans gone? Football in the south eastern midlands has hardly had a good time in the past few years and it was now a hot bed of Conference rivalries with Kettering, Cambridge and Histon playing local derbies against Diamonds.
The game was hardly a classic as both teams seemed intent on playing the ball long. Ebbsfleet at least tried to pass their way around the pitch with Stacey Long and Luke Moore providing some width at times. The one and only real chance of the half was at least converted as Long managed to beat the Rushden full back and his low cross was turned in by Neil Barratt in the 41st minute.
After the break Ebbsfleet pushed forward to try and get a second and somehow Michael Gash managed to hit the ball straight at the goalkeeper from three yards out in a chance that would have been easier to convert than miss. After Rushen failed to take a few half chances the game exploded in the 83rd minute when Rushden fullback Simon Downer delivered a very late and high challenge on Ebbsfleet’s Simon Moore just in front of the benches. Chaos ensued as the coaches, substitutes and one of the mascots piled onto the pitch to join in. Stweards ran (well waddled) from both ends to try and restore order and it was clear that the referee had completely lost control. He retreated to the centre circle with both linesmen and the fourth official before marching back over to the touchline and sent both coaches plus a couple of substitutes to the stand. Great idea, but as I have already mentioned the Main Stand has all of 7 rows meaning these sinners ended up sitting some 10 yards from where they were previous. Downer was of course red carded in the mayhem and can have no complaints.
Despite seven minutes of injury time played neither team could create a chance and with the wind gathering strength for a night of gales in south eastern England I headed off back to the car. The win was much needed for their league form, but who could rule out a return to Wembley in May again?
About Stonebridge Road
On one side of the ground is an old looking wooden Main Stand. This single tiered covered stand, is all seated and runs for around half the length of the pitch. This stand has a fair number of supporting pillars running along the front of it, although the seating is raised above pitch level. There is also a tiny terrace in front of this stand. Entrance to the seated Main Stand is gained within the ground, on payment of a transfer fee (£2 per adult, £1 per concession). Opposite is a fair sized terrace, which has a simple rusty looking roof which covers the middle portion of it. One end is known as the Plough End, gaining its name from the pub that is situated just behind it. This is a former covered terrace (to the rear), that was made all seated in 2006. The stand looks quite picturesque with a wooded hill just beyond it. The other end, known as the Swanscombe End, is an open terrace, that is dominated by a huge electricity pylon which sits directly behind it. The Club Shop is located inside the ground.
The Club was formed in 1946, following the merger of Northfleet United and Gravesend United. It was renamed Ebbsfleet United in 2007.
*Thanks to Duncan Adams for the above information.
How to get to Stonebridge Road
The nearest station to the ground is Northfleet, which is only a few minutes walk away from the ground. The station is served by trains from London Bridge & Charing Cross. Just come straight out of the station and turn left at the top of the road. The ground can be then seen down on the right.
If you are drving then the A2 is the nearest main road. Take the exit for Ebbsfleet Station which is about a mile after the exit for Bluewater, and 2 miles east from the M25 junction. Follow the signs for the football ground and park in Car Park C at the new Ebbsfleet station which is a 2 minute walk away and costs £3.
How to get a ticket for Stonebridge Road
All ticket games are about as common as a warm afternoon here and it is nearly pay on the gate. Admission is £13 for Adults and £7 for children. For this you can stand anywhere in the ground or in the seats behind the Plough End goal. If you want to sit on the main stand you will need to pay an extra £2 to transfer.
