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At the Cole face
As the second half started, so did the rain. When it passed from torrential to monsoon setting, most of the 40-strong Lewes fans headed for the covered terrace, leaving the hardcore LLF on behind the...
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We can see you sneaking out
Somewhere in East Sussex there will be one or two people this morning in the same boat. With the 9:50pm from Lewes to London Victoria waiting for no man, a few fans sneaked out of the Dripping Pan just...
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A lesson in Public Announcing
What is the etiquette for announcing own goal scorers? One chap told me to announce it as a goal to the last attacking player to touch the ball, someone else said simply say "own goal". What about if...
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No sixth sense in the FA Trophy
OK - let's start with the positives. The City Banger, a roll with three local sausages in for just £2.50 was outstanding. We ate about a dozen between us. The Lewes support was close on a third of the...
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December 2014 – Cold, bright and clear
Six minutes into injury time the ball is launched into the Lewes area, surely for one final time. The initial four added minutes that the referee had said he was adding on have come and gone. The ball...
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Economic Theory explained by Football – Part 4 – Value Proposition
So what has that got to do with Dulwich Hamlet? Whilst many clubs announced free or pay what you want for Non-League Day, fans didn’t necessarily see the value in the game they were paying to watch....
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Rooks Actually
In the 85th minute I had the pleasure of reading out the official attendance as 1,007, making it the best attended match in England. To put that gate in context, our last two games we have played on...
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Back Home
On the negative side - East Thurrock. Light yellow numbers on white shirts, in the dim Non League floodlights? Really? Nobody in the ground could see the number of the player who scored either of their...
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The beauty of Non League football
Canvey Island 1 Lewes 1 – Saturday 28th February 2015 – Park Lane Freezing cold, standing on an open terrace with nothing between you and Kent bar a small sea wall, with a cup of tea to starve off...
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The life and times of a Non-League Chairman – part 1
To be fair to both sides, the extraordinary sight of the sunshine probably distracted them from trying to play football in the first half, with neither side really creating any chances in the first...
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Tales of a Non-League Chairman – part 2 – The away game
The welcome in the boardroom was warm. The lovely ladies who were looking after us, once I had managed to convince them I was chairman, quipped I must be the money man as I didn't look like a former...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 3 – Wearing many hats
Lesson number 1 - ABC - Always Be Concentrating. I had no idea who had scored. No TV replays, no Rookmeister's insightful tweets, no John Murray in my ear. Instinct takes over and you judge which...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 4 – Hope is the only strategy
When serving as Mayor of New York. City, Rudy Giuliani came up with the phrase "hope is not a strategy". We all know that Rudi has never managed in the Non-Leagues because Hope is certainly the key...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 5 – Big Brother isn’t watching you
If we would have moved the games against Maidstone United or Hendon, would we have got more fans? That will depend on when the game was played. A Friday night match experiment has been talked out and...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 6 – No health warning for away fans
We've seen some poor away day displays in the last few years but even the wrath of Big Deaksy's Saturday night tweets haven't yet called for refunds for the Lewes Lunatic Fringe. A 5-0 half time score...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 7 – If…
"Just bloody score Wingate" was the most popular phrase uttered during the second half of the game. A group of grown men, all huddled together looking at their mobile phone screens. I often tell me...
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Words are meaningless and forgettable
Words are spoken to be broken Feelings are intense, words are trivial Pleasures remain, so does their pain Words are meaningless and forgettable
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 8 – Win or not quite bust
With 5 minutes plus stoppages to go we heard the news that Peacehaven & Telscombe had lost 4-2 meaning our safety was assured. Lewes had dominated the game, scoring twice and retaining possession...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Part 9 – The magic of the Parafix Sussex...
The subplot here of course was the Return of the King. Steve King, arguably Lewes's most successful manager was in charge of our opponents and no doubt an element of revenge was in his mind. Which...
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Tales from a Non-League Chairman – Tale 11- Pre-season opponents
Gone are the days when most of the team that plays in these games would have first team experience. Go and watch an Arsenal XI these days and you will see players who will never even get a sniff of the...
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