Programme Articles Archive 06 November - 30 December 2010 - 6 November 2010
Matchday Programme Feature Articles
Saturday 6 November 2010
Epsom & Ewell v Raynes Park Vale (Combined Counties League Premier Division)
Today's Match Sponsors - Mid Surrey MenCap
On This Day - 6 November
This Week in History
100 Memorable Matches
Every Opponent A-Z
50 Epsom Legends
Talk of the Terraces - articles by Steve Davies, Steve Dyke and Alan Carter
Fundraising latest news
Programme Editorial Team
Back issues of programmes
This online version of the Epsom & Ewell programme only includes only a selection of items from the club programme. Back issues of the programme are currently just HALF PRICE, so make sure your don't miss out on all the great articles and features by making sure you get the only full issue available. Please see Back Issues for details about to order your missing copies.
Today's Match Sponsors - Mid Surrey MenCap
by Steve Dyke
Mid-Surrey Mencap sponsor today's match. We are a local charity for people with learning disabilities their families and carers serving the Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley and Banstead end of Reigate and Banstead boroughs.
We are sponsoring the match today to help with our fundraising. We are selling our Christmas draw tickets today, which are £1 per book and hope you will all buy generously.
The services we provide for people include a weekly social club for adults with learning disabilities and Summer holiday Playschemes for disabled children. We also give welfare support and advice, stage various social events during the year and have a holiday caravan in Selsey (oops I wasn't going to mention that word again).
The funds we raise today will be particularly useful for us to help with maintaining our headquarters hall and our minibus which are vital for our services to continue.
Our running costs for each year are approximately £ 24,000 and we do all our own fundraising, needing no support from the public purse.
Our charity is now 52 years old and we are looking to develop new services to take us into the future and are working on the plans now. We are very grateful for the support we have received over the years from our friends at Epsom and Ewell F.C.
The prize draw will take place shortly, and we will announce the winners in the programme and on the website.
On This Day - 6 November
by Richard Lambert
84 years ago today Epsom Town travelled to Addlestone's old ground at Alexandra Road, for their second of what would become three visits in total. This was the only one where the home side would score, as the Blues won the other two matches 6-0 and 5-0, but this was still a comfortable result on an uneven pitch, despite conceding first, as four first half goals turned things around very quickly.
45 years ago today Peter Deadman scored a hat trick, while Frank Fondyke scored the other goal as Epsom and Ewell defeated Petters Sports in the Amateur Cup. This ensured our furthest post war progress in the competition, but it would end at the next stage at home to Leyton and their young but aspiring manager Ted Hardy, who with Bishops Stortford would go on to lift the final Amateur Cup in 1974 and numerous other significant achievements with Dagenham, Enfield, and Leytonstone / Ilford. He was recently described as the greatest non-league Manager ever. Also, I've only just found out that Peter Deadman made 40 appearances for the Amateur England team!
34 years ago today Tommy Tuite scored all five goals at Grosvenor Vale as Epsom and Ewell won an Athenian League match 5-2 at what was then the ground of Ruislip Manor. Now it is in use as the home of Wealdstone.
26 years ago today this was one of my most memorable matches as the Blues won their first away match in the Isthmian League Premier Division. We had just won our first League match three days previously with a 3-0 home win over Hitchin Town, but this was spectacular as Tuite and Steve Hill dominated the headlines at the much missed Granleigh Road, scoring all five goals between them. An awesome display I recall!
Date / Day / Competition / Opponents / F/T Scorers
06-Nov-26 Sat Surrey Senior Cup 3q A Addlestone 4-1 Armstrong, Coleman, Sperring (pen), Marlow
06-Nov-37 Sat London League A Leavesden 1-1 Brogdale
06-Nov-48 Sat London League H Dartford Reserves 4-3 Cutter (2), Chitty, S.Goodall
06-Nov-54 Sat Corinthian League A Uxbridge 0-7
06-Nov-65 Sat Amateur Cup 3q H Petters Sports 4-1 Deadman (3), Fondyke
06-Nov-71 Sat Athenian League 2 H Hemel Hempstead 2-4 Ward, Thompson
06-Nov-76 Sat Athenian League 1 A Ruislip Manor 5-2 Tuite (5)
06-Nov-79 Tue London Senior Cup 2q H Civil Service 6-0 Pommell (3), Hunn, Tuite, Ellis
06-Nov-82 Sat Isthmian League 1 H Harlow Town 1-2 Milton
06-Nov-84 Tue Isthmian League Prem A Leytonstone / Ilford 5-1 Hill (3), Tuite (2)
06-Nov-93 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Leighton Town 1-2 Rawlinson
06-Nov-99 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Dorking 3-2 Hatton, Grant, Latuske
06-Nov-07 Tue Combined Counties Prem Div A Chertsey Town 1-2 Burns
This Week in History
by Richard Lambert
90 years ago this week Epsom Juniors led 2-0 at half time and also 3-1 but had to be content with a share of the spoils in this 3-3 draw at Belmont. The local paper reports were brief back then, but they referred to the wonderful display by Epsom's custodian, Epsom Legend number 1 Ernie Sperring.
80 years ago this week over 2,500 were present at Streatham Road to witness a 1-1 draw with Mitcham Wanderers in the Amateur Cup. The replay seven days later has already been immortalised in our 100 memorable matches segment, and our 5-1 win will be covered in more detail in our next programme.
70 years ago this week Epsom Town travelled to the Memorial Ground for a South Eastern Combination match with Redhill, who crushed them 6-0. However, it didn't matter, as we returned the favour three weeks later with a 5-2 win at West Street, and they folded for the remainder of the war soon afterwards so their record was removed.
20 years ago this week Epsom hosted Shoreham in the F.A.Vase and everything looked fine as we led 2-0 at half time. However, a wretched second half performance enabled the visitors to turn it around and knock us out 3-2. Back to the qualifying rounds for the Blues again!
Date / Day / Competition / Opponents / F/T Scorers
90 years ago 30-Oct-20 Sat Sutton & District League Premier A Belmont 3-3 unknown
80 years ago 08-Nov-30 Sat Amateur Cup 3q A Mitcham Wanderers 1-1 Behn
70 years ago - Epsom Town 02-Nov-40 Sat South Eastern Combination A Redhill 0-6
60 years ago 04-Nov-50 Sat Amateur Cup 3q A Carshalton Athletic 2-1 Musto, Faggetter
50 years ago 05-Nov-60 Sat Corinthian League H Letchworth 4-1 Hawkins (2), Simmons, Flynn
40 years ago 07-Nov-70 Sat Athenian League 2 H Harrow Borough 1-3 K.Ireland
30 years ago 04-Nov-80 Tue Isthmian League 1 A Hampton 1-1 Gaydon
20 years ago 03-Nov-90 Sat FA Vase 1 H Shoreham 2-3 Barwick, Boxall
10 years ago 04-Nov-00 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Witham Town 4-0 Nimmo, J.Hall, Forey, Sell
100 Memorable Matches
by Richard Lambert
What makes a memorable match?
A match can leave us with memories for a number of reasons. It could have been a big game like a cup final or promotion decider; it could have been a wild match with lots of goals, a big win, or even a heavy defeat. Add freak weather conditions, an odd refereeing decision, or just something a little bit special and you have a list of about 500 matches.
To try and get this list down to 100 has been an extremely difficult task. Occasionally, I have put matches together for obvious reasons, as you'll find out over the course of the season, and by the end of the season, we'll find out which was top of the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
51 - Epsom Town 10-0 Weybridge - Surrey Senior League - 5th March 1927
and Epsom FC 10-0 Tilbury - London League - 9th February 1935
and Epsom FC 10-0 Worthing - Corinthian League - 3rd February 1951
and Epsom FC 10-0 Surbiton Town - Amateur Cup Prelim Round - 1st October 1955
I have no option but to place these games in together as it is difficult to separate them. All four matches resulted in double figure wins which were obviously memorable, while all of them ended with a hypothetical argument about who should take the match ball home, as two players scored hat tricks in each match.
Back in 1927 Weybridge were battered for the second time in two months with hat tricks from Reg Marlow and Freddie Behn, as the Blues had already recorded an 8-0 win at Weybridge's ground, a venue I have yet to identify. A penalty was also missed in the game against a team that were strong enough to finish in the middle of the table, but obviously with a very poor goal difference!
In 1935 Tilbury visited but with limited ambitions. We met our Essex opponents regularly pre-war and the home team won almost every game, in fact the away team never won this fixture in 21 matches before World War Two. Sure enough the home side won again, although the papers advised that we were lucky to be ahead at half time when the score was just 2-0. Jackie Pullen and Tommy Dunne both scored three, while Geoff Collins got two. B.Harris from Dorking made his debut and provided seven assists!
The 1951 win over Worthing was notable mainly for the first and only hat trick in the Epsom career of Legend number 7 Ernie Watkins. A player who regularly filled the centre-half position, although he could play anywhere, Ernie went up front this week as the Blues changed things around following five straight defeats, and the higher placed Worthing were blown away. The result was at the time a Corinthian League record, and Les Keen also scored a hat trick in this match.
The match against Surbiton Town was drawn to be played at Riverhill, a ground that still exists, across the Hogsmill River from the Tavern with the same name in the Worcester Park Road, where the club themselves still survive, although I'm not sure if this is a new team or a continuous existence. Either way, they were unable to collect a gate for this Amateur Cup tie and so the match was switched to West Street.
Epsom had been quite poor in 1954/55, finishing bottom of the Corinthian League and the club had appointed their first ever proper Manager in Doug Whitehead, the former Kingstonian legend and Scottish Amateur International. He brought in many new faces and six new players had made their debut on the opening day of the season.
One of these ironically was a signing from Surbiton Town, a young player by the name of Dave Hermitage, and the morning before the game he told his wife that he would score three goals this day. As it turned out he would get four, while team mate Jan Sorensen would also have got four if he had not missed one of the two penalties.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 - Cheltenham Town 2-3 Epsom & Ewell
F.A.Trophy First Round - Thursday 21st January 1982
I would have loved to go to this game, but there was no coach as they were all booked up. As a result I would have needed to go by train or car but I obviously didn't drive back then and there was a rail strike. Even then I might have got into trouble at school for an early departure! This strike also prevented three of our regulars, Les Peck, Dave Hanks and Alan Webb from making the journey as the Epsom convoy drove there.
Our opponents were obviously not a Football League side like they are now, but a Southern League Premier Division team, one level above us. Add the journey time of four hours and the missing players and this was a real challenge for the Blues, who were also due to host Premier Division Hendon two days later in the London Senior Cup.
Steve Hill opened the scoring at Whaddon Road with a third minute header before the goal of the game from Tony Coombe, a thirty-five yard effort that barely rose off the floor, put us two-nil up. However, with just ten minutes remaining, the hosts scored, and they equalised after 86 minutes. This tie wasn't over though, and a typical finish from Tommy Tuite after 89 minutes finished the Robins off. We also beat Hendon 1-0!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
49 - Epsom & Ewell 1-1 Gravesend and Northfleet F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round - Wednesday 30th December 1981
and Gravesend and Northfleet 3-3 Epsom & Ewell - after extra time F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round replay - Monday 4th January 1982
and Gravesend and Northfleet 0-1 Epsom & Ewell
F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round second replay - Saturday 16th January 1982 For the round before the Cheltenham game, we had to play Gravesend & Northfleet, who were one of the elite twenty-two non-league clubs in the country. Admittedly, not one of the best in that division, as they were to be relegated in 1982, and we probably did them no favours with this set of results.
I recall getting a lift from my mum up to the first game at West Street, already postponed twice from before Christmas, and we led through Tommy Tuite before a deflected equaliser ensured that the teams finished level. The replay in front of 608 the next Monday had our boys 2-0 up before being pulled back to 2-2 and extra time was required. On a real bog of a pitch, Gravesend took the lead with just six minutes remaining, before Paul Dyer decided to take no chances on the muddy surface by punting the ball back to his keeper.
Unfortunately for him, he hit it from 35 yards straight over his own keeper for a bizarre last minute equaliser.
We lost the toss for choice of ground in the replay, but after it was postponed again on 7th, 11th, and 14th, we clinched the tie anyway on a pitch that was even worse than when it was postponed with a Tuite goal after 16 minutes, although he had a penalty saved after 83 minutes which led to a nervy ending. The local reporter described the pitch as like a map of the Great Lakes!
Back to top of page
Every Opponent A-Z
by Richard Lambert
Over the years we have played many, many different opponents. Exactly how many is a difficult question, as it all depends on your definition. Are Camberley and Yorktown different to Camberley Town, or are Epsom Town different to Epsom F.C. or Epsom & Ewell F.C.?
In my analysis, I have classed them as the same team, and will work through them all from A to Z. Some we have played many times, whilst others maybe just once or twice. Enjoy!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bognor Regis: - Played 9 - W3, D3, L3 - F11, A13 - Points per Game - 1.33 - Average
We first met Bognor Regis in the 1981/82 season. We were in the Isthmian League Division One, and they were transferred over from the Southern League, which was a very rare occurrence back then.
They were expected to go up which they would, while we started quite well before we lost our unbeaten League record down at Nyewood Lane, where we were beaten by an 86th minute goal. The return at West Street was the first ever midweek game I attended, and there was a special sort of atmosphere that I had never experienced before. There was also a decent attendance as the Blues led but had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw.
Our own promotion in 1984 ensured that we would join them in the Premier Division, but before we met in League action we were drawn together in the F.A.Cup Third Qualifying Round. It was the last time we reached that stage of the competition, and in a massive game we were defeated 5-4 at West Street. They went on to reach the First Round of the Cup where they defeated Swansea City at home after a draw at the Vetch Field, eventually bowing out in the Second Round at Reading.
It was an extremely significant match, and obviously very disappointing. Ironically we won both League matches that season, the second of which, a 2-1 win at Nyewood Lane was Adrian Hill's final game in charge the first time around. His departure left us weaker the following season, and we were relegated, but still managed a win and a draw in that ill-fated season of 1985/86.
Our paths didn't cross for sixteen years until we were promoted back into the Isthmian Division One South. We drew 1-1 at home but were defeated 3-0 away, and at the end of the season they were promoted as runners-up behind Carshalton Athletic. They remain at Nyewood Lane and despite regular stories of grand developments there it remains its current charm as a well appointed, but not over elaborate venue. Still a ground instead of a stadium, you might say.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bookham: - Played 8 - W5, D3, L0 - F16, A6 - Points per Game - 2.25 - Fantastic
We first met Bookham when their ground share with Dorking allowed them to step up into the Combined Counties Premier Division in the same year that we transferred over from the Ryman League. Our first meeting was also the first match for our current Manager as we hung precariously one place from the bottom of the League. A loss that day would have enabled them to open up a five-point gap between us and the safe spots in the League but a 3-0 win provided a great start to Lyndon's tenure.
We drew the return game 1-1 and shared the points the following season with another two draws. The second of these matches, a 2-2 draw at Merland Rise was notable for the only time that a goalkeeper, Dean Cupit, has been able to stop one of Kyle Hough's penalties. It was on 16th February 2008, and it was a good save too!
Another sequence that has continued from that point onwards is Epsom & Ewell winning, as the next four games have all gone our way, two by a narrow 1-0 score line, and the other two were a 4-1 win at Merland Rise, and a 3-0 win at Meadowbank which was Robbie Burns first hat trick of last season, he ended up with 37 goals last season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boreham Wood: - Played 15 - W4, D2, L9 - F16, A32 - Points per Game - 0.93 - Poor
I first watched the Blues in 1981/82 and as the new season of 1982/83 approached I was intending to watch every game that season and was especially looking forward to playing at some of the bigger sides. Boreham Wood had been relegated from the Isthmian Premier and were to be our first opponents of the season. We lost 2-1 to a last minute goal although we then missed an even later penalty that would have retrieved a point, while we drew 0-0 in the snow at Broughinge Road in February of 1983. I still recall the four big floodlights that seemed to be the preserve of the really big clubs.
What I didn't realise then was that the clubs had already met on eight occasions! We first played them in 1967 when we were both in the Athenian League Division Two, and played each other in two further seasons before their promotion. We were not such a good side, and although we shared the points in 1966/67 with a home win each, we lost the other four games, most notably a humiliating 0-6 home defeat in January 1969.
We gained a bit of revenge in 1976 when we met them twice in the F.A.Cup, drawing 1- 1 there before winning the replay 2-1 with goals from Tuite and Keith Eshelby.
In 1983/84 we met them again on opening day and a goal from Steve Milton after 27 seconds set us on the way to promotion that season, despite a 2-0 loss there in January 1984. Once we had been relegated, a last minute own goal from Ray Metz handed the points to our opponents in 1986; a match that featured a debut from a young Matt Elliott, although we defeated them in the January return by two goals to nil. Since then we have been there twice more, once for a game in the London Challenge Cup where we were beaten 3-0, and once for an F.A.Trophy tie, but this embarrassing defeat was against Enfield who were ground sharing there. We remain without a single win there.
They currently reside at Step Two in the Conference South but their hold is precarious and they are currently bottom of the table, but still at Broughinge Road.
50 Epsom Legends
New booklet on sale for £10. Please see Fundraising page for more details:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/fundraising-7161.html&page=3
Talk of the Terraces
Feature articles by Epsom and Ewell Football Club supporters Steve Davies, Steve Dyke and Alan Carter.
Steve Davies
Articles
I can see in my "Programme Articles" directory on my PC that there are about 10 files, which contain only 1 or 2 paragraphs.
These are articles that seemed like a good idea at the time and were started with high hopes but after a few lines they hopelessly ran out of steam.
I started all of these with high hopes but never managed to fin..........
Chants
It was Interesting to read Alan Carter's article in the Badshot Lea Programme regarding him attempting to find a chant for Tony Cuff. I think the perfect chant for Tony is:
"He's Tough, He's Hard, He's got a Yellow Card, Tony Cuff, Tony Cuff"
Whilst on the subject we could also sing (Hopefully Ian has a sense of Humour!),
"He's Big, He's Round, He's Looking for a Ground, Ian Grant, Ian Grant"
I may also try:
"He's with his brother Jeff, and he's yelling at the Ref, Stevie Dyke, Stevie Dyke!"
My favourite chant was the one that was heard on the terraces at Anfield when lanky striker Peter Crouch was playing for them:
"He's Big, He's Red, his feet stick out the bed, Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch."
Musical Interludes
Some clubs have a Theme Song or tune that is played when they take the field or sometimes when they score a goal. Everton take to the field to the theme tune of "Z Cars", Brighton run out to "Sussex By the Sea", Charlton have "The Red Red Robin keeps Bob, Bob, Bobbing along", Spurs have "Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur", and several teams play the Piranhas classic "Tom Hark" after scoring a goal while Bayern Munich choose to celebrate with the "Can Can"!
I would love us to come out of the Moatside dressing room to the sound of Tom Hark. (I notice that Molesey did this at Walton Road last season) and after scoring how fun would it be to stomp around to Monty Python's "Camelot" song or maybe Tubthumping by Chumbawumba!
Another classic that would have multiple possibilities for a goal celebration would be Scaffold's "Lily the Pink", a song that is ideal for creating new verses in between the familiar chorus.
My favourite football songs over the years are "Three Lions" which undoubtedly was the best England song ever with "Back Home" (from 1970) a close second.
B.A. Robertson recorded "I have a Dream", a wonderful song for the 1982 Scottish world cup squad. He was dreaming that he was playing for the "sweaties" when he was fouled in the area and out of the corner of his eye saw the referee pointing to the spot. As he was stepping up to take the penalty he heard his wife (who was desperate for the penalty to be scored) yelling out from the stands "It's not the ball you're kicking, it's me!" B.A. had previously had chart success with "Bang Bang" which reached no. 2 in the charts in 1979 and "Knocked it Off", another song about football ("I knocked it off, I knocked it off, I was standing in the goal and the ball got crossed, I thought I'd have a go and shoot it but never thought I'd put it away....")
So, time now to start working on creating an England song for the 2018 World Cup that has a great chance of being held in the U.K. (unless the Russians succeed in stitching us up!)
Golden Goal Bingo
Great to see everyone enjoying the Golden Goal Bingo which has just gone international as I have sold two tickets in Moscow and one in Kuala Lumpur!
Steve Dyke
"Remembrance"
I have spent a lot of the last couple of weeks looking at football programmes of various ages. This is in preparation for a stall I hope to run next week for the Bracknell game for the Supporters Fundraising Exercise. The old ones are particularly interesting, especially the adverts, which show what a different country we all lived in 40 years ago.
There's a well known phrase trotted out with monotonous regularity that if you can remember "the sixties" you weren't actually there. This grates on me somewhat because the people who use it generally assume that everyone was engaged in the hedonistic experimentation in music, substances and relationships with other people.
For me a truth that's much less often acknowledged is there was an alternative more conventional sixties that is virtually ignored. This fact emerges occasionally on the old chart shows on the radio where almost every top ten from the sixties at least three of the records are ballads by old fashioned crooners like Matt Monro, Vince Hill or Ken Dodd as just a singer. For every hippy letting it all hang out at the Isle of Wight festival there was a young John Major going to cricket at the Oval in his collar and tie.
I'm always interested in the span of peoples careers and the 60's saw teams appearing with legends of old style footballers from the 50's coming to the ends of their careers - Stanley Matthews packed up in 1965, often named on the team sheets with youngsters who would go on to be established players in the 1970's when I first remember football.
For instance, a Fulham programme from 1968 shows a smiling young Ernie Moss as a 19 year old in a Chesterfield line up. I saw him play for Chesterfield against Bristol City in 1985-86 as a veteran. Indeed my friend Simon and I had some good terrace banter with him then. We were giving him a bit of stick singing to the Benny Hill classic "Ernie, he was the slowest forward in the north" he came over to us after a corner smiling " yeah but they're still paying me". In an age where people bandy about the term like confetti for anyone who's played 50 games for a side Ernie Moss is a true football legend.
Still, there are people currently with us at Epsom who have the potential for legend status. Alex Rodrigues' appearances record and Kyle's penalty record are truly remarkable in our history and will be rightly celebrated in years to come. We are all part of a wider history that we have inherited and must remember to pass on to others.
The oldest programmes I have acquired in a batch is a 1964/65 Fulham v Blackburn one. Reading the pen pictures I saw a profile of Ronnie Clayton who died recently and was commemorated in last Saturdays game v Chelsea. Just watching the brief highlights on Match of the Day showed there was a lot of emotion in the ground.
Now these things can be used partly to build the crowd up to make an atmosphere for the day - you always know when Liverpool are struggling as they wheel Gerry Marsden out for a pre match warble of "You'll never walk alone" - but I was struck by the Ronnie Clayton tribute enough to be take note of his pen picture from 1964.
"Club captain and former England Skipper. A fine attacking player who has spent the whole of his career at Ewood Park."
In this age of agents and Bosmans, tantrums and tiaras, will our modern day footballers be so mourned when they pass. Wayne Rooney? El Hadj Diouf?
The separation of the modern footballer from the fans often attracts comment and a negative comparison to the legends of the 1950's who went home on the bus with the fans. Gary Imlach's book "My father and other working class football heroes" is one of the best at describing footballers difficult circumstances at the time of being poor and expendable themselves.
There has been an astronomical change in top footballers fortunes since those days clearly, but this rosy tinted view also hides the fact there has been a change in everyone's circumstances since that time. I have just come across a photo of me at about 18 months old playing out with other kids on the Crescent on the Wells in the Summer of 1967. There is not a parked car in sight. Which links with one of my other pet theories about mass car use leading us all to be boxed in and not know our neighbours.
So will today's footballers be fondly remembered in the future? I think despite the money issue some will. Steven Gerrard for example has given everything for the cause over the years, similarly Ryan Giggs. Matt Le Tissier is criticised by some for never making the big money move to test himself out at the higher level but has a job for life as a local legend in Southampton.
I think it depends on how people have conducted themselves during their career. I think a lot of the opprobrium attracted by Sol Campbell is due to the fact he did the dirty on Tottenham in not letting them collect a fee for his transfer. It may be that the recent contact shenanigans involving Wayne Rooney will permanently damage his public reputation. Equally, he could go on and win the World Cup and be one of the boys of 2014. Even if he does I'll still prefer Bobby Charlton.
We exist in a short term and celebrity obsessed culture that we are only on occasions able to escape from. Football is as bad as anything for the three wins - genius, three defeats - crisis mentality.
One time we are all able to escape from this and see a true perspective is in remembrance. People will always want to show their feelings of solidarity with effort and sacrifice. We can be moved by applause or silence for an old footballer. I am always moved when I see the tributes of the people at Wootton Bassett to our fallen troops.
Note from Ed - Gary Imlach's book "My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes" is the best sports books EVER WRITTEN. It may not appeal quite so much to the under thirties, but anyone older than this would definitely appreciate it, especially if their father is no longer alive.
Alan Carter
HOW TO HANDLE THE MEDIA - NON LEAGUE STYLE
I'm sure you, like me, felt ever so sorry for Sir Alex Ferguson during the Wayne Rooney contract saga a couple of weeks ago. I especially enjoyed Fergie's heart-tugging press conference, in which he portrayed himself as a kindly old gent who'd been mugged by his favourite grandson. Personally, I couldn't believe he had the balls to use the media to try and pull off such an obvious con trick, yet he did so with some aplomb if truth be told.
However, Sir Alex is best known for his hard line stance when dealing with the media. He fell out with the BBC in 2004 following the broadcast of a documentary called "Father & Son" which criticised his football agent son Jason. To this day the United boss refuses to be interviewed by the Beeb. Yet Fergie isn't the only one standing up to those meddling media types.
The website of Blue Square Premier side Hayes and Yeading contains the following strongly worded statement from boss Garry Haylock: "It is with regret that I have decided not to speak to the Uxbridge Gazette for the foreseeable future. Over the past 18 months on four occasions my words have been taken out of context. This unnecessary sensationalism has resulted in situations arising that have compromised both my players and myself with no apparent justification other than to generate a story where none exists. I have not taken this decision lightly." You tell them Garry!
To be honest with you I'm surprised Haylock's ruck with the local rag wasn't featured on Match of the Day. After all he is still speaking to the BBC - unlike Fergie!
THE MAGIC OF THE FA CUP
I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Hythe Town who have made it through to the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. I would have loved it were it was us, but alas it wasn't to be.
However, I think it's great that a Step five team has made it through, even if it was at our expense. Hythe are the lowest ranked side left in the competition and are also the first Kent League team to reach the First Round proper since the 1950s. I watched the highlights of their victory on the BKVP website (same people who produced the DVD of our game against Hythe) and the scenes of celebration at the final whistle were absolutely amazing.
Today Hythe are away to Hereford United, and I really hope they win their 7th consecutive FA Cup tie to keep their Wembley dream alive a little longer.
(They haven't even required a replay yet, although I thought we were well worth one down there - Ed)
Fundraising latest news
Please see the Fundraising page for the latest news about the club's fundraising initiatives (updated 06/11/2010):
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/fundraising-7161.html&page=4
Epsom & Ewell Programme Editorial Team
Find out about the Team:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/programme-editorial-team-15669.html
Back issues of programmes - don't miss out!
The articles shown here are only part of the Epsom & Ewell programme. To make sure you don't miss out on all of the great features in every programme, make sure your order your back issues of Epsom & Ewell Football Club programmes whilst they are HALF PRICE - that's just £1 each! They are available from Richard Lambert and his contact details can be found on the contacts page:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/contact-4881.html
Back to top of page
Saturday 6 November 2010
Epsom & Ewell v Raynes Park Vale (Combined Counties League Premier Division)
Today's Match Sponsors - Mid Surrey MenCap
On This Day - 6 November
This Week in History
100 Memorable Matches
Every Opponent A-Z
50 Epsom Legends
Talk of the Terraces - articles by Steve Davies, Steve Dyke and Alan Carter
Fundraising latest news
Programme Editorial Team
Back issues of programmes
This online version of the Epsom & Ewell programme only includes only a selection of items from the club programme. Back issues of the programme are currently just HALF PRICE, so make sure your don't miss out on all the great articles and features by making sure you get the only full issue available. Please see Back Issues for details about to order your missing copies.
Today's Match Sponsors - Mid Surrey MenCap
by Steve Dyke
Mid-Surrey Mencap sponsor today's match. We are a local charity for people with learning disabilities their families and carers serving the Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley and Banstead end of Reigate and Banstead boroughs.
We are sponsoring the match today to help with our fundraising. We are selling our Christmas draw tickets today, which are £1 per book and hope you will all buy generously.
The services we provide for people include a weekly social club for adults with learning disabilities and Summer holiday Playschemes for disabled children. We also give welfare support and advice, stage various social events during the year and have a holiday caravan in Selsey (oops I wasn't going to mention that word again).
The funds we raise today will be particularly useful for us to help with maintaining our headquarters hall and our minibus which are vital for our services to continue.
Our running costs for each year are approximately £ 24,000 and we do all our own fundraising, needing no support from the public purse.
Our charity is now 52 years old and we are looking to develop new services to take us into the future and are working on the plans now. We are very grateful for the support we have received over the years from our friends at Epsom and Ewell F.C.
The prize draw will take place shortly, and we will announce the winners in the programme and on the website.
On This Day - 6 November
by Richard Lambert
84 years ago today Epsom Town travelled to Addlestone's old ground at Alexandra Road, for their second of what would become three visits in total. This was the only one where the home side would score, as the Blues won the other two matches 6-0 and 5-0, but this was still a comfortable result on an uneven pitch, despite conceding first, as four first half goals turned things around very quickly.
45 years ago today Peter Deadman scored a hat trick, while Frank Fondyke scored the other goal as Epsom and Ewell defeated Petters Sports in the Amateur Cup. This ensured our furthest post war progress in the competition, but it would end at the next stage at home to Leyton and their young but aspiring manager Ted Hardy, who with Bishops Stortford would go on to lift the final Amateur Cup in 1974 and numerous other significant achievements with Dagenham, Enfield, and Leytonstone / Ilford. He was recently described as the greatest non-league Manager ever. Also, I've only just found out that Peter Deadman made 40 appearances for the Amateur England team!
34 years ago today Tommy Tuite scored all five goals at Grosvenor Vale as Epsom and Ewell won an Athenian League match 5-2 at what was then the ground of Ruislip Manor. Now it is in use as the home of Wealdstone.
26 years ago today this was one of my most memorable matches as the Blues won their first away match in the Isthmian League Premier Division. We had just won our first League match three days previously with a 3-0 home win over Hitchin Town, but this was spectacular as Tuite and Steve Hill dominated the headlines at the much missed Granleigh Road, scoring all five goals between them. An awesome display I recall!
Date / Day / Competition / Opponents / F/T Scorers
06-Nov-26 Sat Surrey Senior Cup 3q A Addlestone 4-1 Armstrong, Coleman, Sperring (pen), Marlow
06-Nov-37 Sat London League A Leavesden 1-1 Brogdale
06-Nov-48 Sat London League H Dartford Reserves 4-3 Cutter (2), Chitty, S.Goodall
06-Nov-54 Sat Corinthian League A Uxbridge 0-7
06-Nov-65 Sat Amateur Cup 3q H Petters Sports 4-1 Deadman (3), Fondyke
06-Nov-71 Sat Athenian League 2 H Hemel Hempstead 2-4 Ward, Thompson
06-Nov-76 Sat Athenian League 1 A Ruislip Manor 5-2 Tuite (5)
06-Nov-79 Tue London Senior Cup 2q H Civil Service 6-0 Pommell (3), Hunn, Tuite, Ellis
06-Nov-82 Sat Isthmian League 1 H Harlow Town 1-2 Milton
06-Nov-84 Tue Isthmian League Prem A Leytonstone / Ilford 5-1 Hill (3), Tuite (2)
06-Nov-93 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Leighton Town 1-2 Rawlinson
06-Nov-99 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Dorking 3-2 Hatton, Grant, Latuske
06-Nov-07 Tue Combined Counties Prem Div A Chertsey Town 1-2 Burns
This Week in History
by Richard Lambert
90 years ago this week Epsom Juniors led 2-0 at half time and also 3-1 but had to be content with a share of the spoils in this 3-3 draw at Belmont. The local paper reports were brief back then, but they referred to the wonderful display by Epsom's custodian, Epsom Legend number 1 Ernie Sperring.
80 years ago this week over 2,500 were present at Streatham Road to witness a 1-1 draw with Mitcham Wanderers in the Amateur Cup. The replay seven days later has already been immortalised in our 100 memorable matches segment, and our 5-1 win will be covered in more detail in our next programme.
70 years ago this week Epsom Town travelled to the Memorial Ground for a South Eastern Combination match with Redhill, who crushed them 6-0. However, it didn't matter, as we returned the favour three weeks later with a 5-2 win at West Street, and they folded for the remainder of the war soon afterwards so their record was removed.
20 years ago this week Epsom hosted Shoreham in the F.A.Vase and everything looked fine as we led 2-0 at half time. However, a wretched second half performance enabled the visitors to turn it around and knock us out 3-2. Back to the qualifying rounds for the Blues again!
Date / Day / Competition / Opponents / F/T Scorers
90 years ago 30-Oct-20 Sat Sutton & District League Premier A Belmont 3-3 unknown
80 years ago 08-Nov-30 Sat Amateur Cup 3q A Mitcham Wanderers 1-1 Behn
70 years ago - Epsom Town 02-Nov-40 Sat South Eastern Combination A Redhill 0-6
60 years ago 04-Nov-50 Sat Amateur Cup 3q A Carshalton Athletic 2-1 Musto, Faggetter
50 years ago 05-Nov-60 Sat Corinthian League H Letchworth 4-1 Hawkins (2), Simmons, Flynn
40 years ago 07-Nov-70 Sat Athenian League 2 H Harrow Borough 1-3 K.Ireland
30 years ago 04-Nov-80 Tue Isthmian League 1 A Hampton 1-1 Gaydon
20 years ago 03-Nov-90 Sat FA Vase 1 H Shoreham 2-3 Barwick, Boxall
10 years ago 04-Nov-00 Sat Isthmian League 3 H Witham Town 4-0 Nimmo, J.Hall, Forey, Sell
100 Memorable Matches
by Richard Lambert
What makes a memorable match?
A match can leave us with memories for a number of reasons. It could have been a big game like a cup final or promotion decider; it could have been a wild match with lots of goals, a big win, or even a heavy defeat. Add freak weather conditions, an odd refereeing decision, or just something a little bit special and you have a list of about 500 matches.
To try and get this list down to 100 has been an extremely difficult task. Occasionally, I have put matches together for obvious reasons, as you'll find out over the course of the season, and by the end of the season, we'll find out which was top of the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
51 - Epsom Town 10-0 Weybridge - Surrey Senior League - 5th March 1927
and Epsom FC 10-0 Tilbury - London League - 9th February 1935
and Epsom FC 10-0 Worthing - Corinthian League - 3rd February 1951
and Epsom FC 10-0 Surbiton Town - Amateur Cup Prelim Round - 1st October 1955
I have no option but to place these games in together as it is difficult to separate them. All four matches resulted in double figure wins which were obviously memorable, while all of them ended with a hypothetical argument about who should take the match ball home, as two players scored hat tricks in each match.
Back in 1927 Weybridge were battered for the second time in two months with hat tricks from Reg Marlow and Freddie Behn, as the Blues had already recorded an 8-0 win at Weybridge's ground, a venue I have yet to identify. A penalty was also missed in the game against a team that were strong enough to finish in the middle of the table, but obviously with a very poor goal difference!
In 1935 Tilbury visited but with limited ambitions. We met our Essex opponents regularly pre-war and the home team won almost every game, in fact the away team never won this fixture in 21 matches before World War Two. Sure enough the home side won again, although the papers advised that we were lucky to be ahead at half time when the score was just 2-0. Jackie Pullen and Tommy Dunne both scored three, while Geoff Collins got two. B.Harris from Dorking made his debut and provided seven assists!
The 1951 win over Worthing was notable mainly for the first and only hat trick in the Epsom career of Legend number 7 Ernie Watkins. A player who regularly filled the centre-half position, although he could play anywhere, Ernie went up front this week as the Blues changed things around following five straight defeats, and the higher placed Worthing were blown away. The result was at the time a Corinthian League record, and Les Keen also scored a hat trick in this match.
The match against Surbiton Town was drawn to be played at Riverhill, a ground that still exists, across the Hogsmill River from the Tavern with the same name in the Worcester Park Road, where the club themselves still survive, although I'm not sure if this is a new team or a continuous existence. Either way, they were unable to collect a gate for this Amateur Cup tie and so the match was switched to West Street.
Epsom had been quite poor in 1954/55, finishing bottom of the Corinthian League and the club had appointed their first ever proper Manager in Doug Whitehead, the former Kingstonian legend and Scottish Amateur International. He brought in many new faces and six new players had made their debut on the opening day of the season.
One of these ironically was a signing from Surbiton Town, a young player by the name of Dave Hermitage, and the morning before the game he told his wife that he would score three goals this day. As it turned out he would get four, while team mate Jan Sorensen would also have got four if he had not missed one of the two penalties.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
50 - Cheltenham Town 2-3 Epsom & Ewell
F.A.Trophy First Round - Thursday 21st January 1982
I would have loved to go to this game, but there was no coach as they were all booked up. As a result I would have needed to go by train or car but I obviously didn't drive back then and there was a rail strike. Even then I might have got into trouble at school for an early departure! This strike also prevented three of our regulars, Les Peck, Dave Hanks and Alan Webb from making the journey as the Epsom convoy drove there.
Our opponents were obviously not a Football League side like they are now, but a Southern League Premier Division team, one level above us. Add the journey time of four hours and the missing players and this was a real challenge for the Blues, who were also due to host Premier Division Hendon two days later in the London Senior Cup.
Steve Hill opened the scoring at Whaddon Road with a third minute header before the goal of the game from Tony Coombe, a thirty-five yard effort that barely rose off the floor, put us two-nil up. However, with just ten minutes remaining, the hosts scored, and they equalised after 86 minutes. This tie wasn't over though, and a typical finish from Tommy Tuite after 89 minutes finished the Robins off. We also beat Hendon 1-0!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
49 - Epsom & Ewell 1-1 Gravesend and Northfleet F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round - Wednesday 30th December 1981
and Gravesend and Northfleet 3-3 Epsom & Ewell - after extra time F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round replay - Monday 4th January 1982
and Gravesend and Northfleet 0-1 Epsom & Ewell
F.A.Trophy Third Qualifying Round second replay - Saturday 16th January 1982 For the round before the Cheltenham game, we had to play Gravesend & Northfleet, who were one of the elite twenty-two non-league clubs in the country. Admittedly, not one of the best in that division, as they were to be relegated in 1982, and we probably did them no favours with this set of results.
I recall getting a lift from my mum up to the first game at West Street, already postponed twice from before Christmas, and we led through Tommy Tuite before a deflected equaliser ensured that the teams finished level. The replay in front of 608 the next Monday had our boys 2-0 up before being pulled back to 2-2 and extra time was required. On a real bog of a pitch, Gravesend took the lead with just six minutes remaining, before Paul Dyer decided to take no chances on the muddy surface by punting the ball back to his keeper.
Unfortunately for him, he hit it from 35 yards straight over his own keeper for a bizarre last minute equaliser.
We lost the toss for choice of ground in the replay, but after it was postponed again on 7th, 11th, and 14th, we clinched the tie anyway on a pitch that was even worse than when it was postponed with a Tuite goal after 16 minutes, although he had a penalty saved after 83 minutes which led to a nervy ending. The local reporter described the pitch as like a map of the Great Lakes!
Back to top of page
Every Opponent A-Z
by Richard Lambert
Over the years we have played many, many different opponents. Exactly how many is a difficult question, as it all depends on your definition. Are Camberley and Yorktown different to Camberley Town, or are Epsom Town different to Epsom F.C. or Epsom & Ewell F.C.?
In my analysis, I have classed them as the same team, and will work through them all from A to Z. Some we have played many times, whilst others maybe just once or twice. Enjoy!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bognor Regis: - Played 9 - W3, D3, L3 - F11, A13 - Points per Game - 1.33 - Average
We first met Bognor Regis in the 1981/82 season. We were in the Isthmian League Division One, and they were transferred over from the Southern League, which was a very rare occurrence back then.
They were expected to go up which they would, while we started quite well before we lost our unbeaten League record down at Nyewood Lane, where we were beaten by an 86th minute goal. The return at West Street was the first ever midweek game I attended, and there was a special sort of atmosphere that I had never experienced before. There was also a decent attendance as the Blues led but had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw.
Our own promotion in 1984 ensured that we would join them in the Premier Division, but before we met in League action we were drawn together in the F.A.Cup Third Qualifying Round. It was the last time we reached that stage of the competition, and in a massive game we were defeated 5-4 at West Street. They went on to reach the First Round of the Cup where they defeated Swansea City at home after a draw at the Vetch Field, eventually bowing out in the Second Round at Reading.
It was an extremely significant match, and obviously very disappointing. Ironically we won both League matches that season, the second of which, a 2-1 win at Nyewood Lane was Adrian Hill's final game in charge the first time around. His departure left us weaker the following season, and we were relegated, but still managed a win and a draw in that ill-fated season of 1985/86.
Our paths didn't cross for sixteen years until we were promoted back into the Isthmian Division One South. We drew 1-1 at home but were defeated 3-0 away, and at the end of the season they were promoted as runners-up behind Carshalton Athletic. They remain at Nyewood Lane and despite regular stories of grand developments there it remains its current charm as a well appointed, but not over elaborate venue. Still a ground instead of a stadium, you might say.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bookham: - Played 8 - W5, D3, L0 - F16, A6 - Points per Game - 2.25 - Fantastic
We first met Bookham when their ground share with Dorking allowed them to step up into the Combined Counties Premier Division in the same year that we transferred over from the Ryman League. Our first meeting was also the first match for our current Manager as we hung precariously one place from the bottom of the League. A loss that day would have enabled them to open up a five-point gap between us and the safe spots in the League but a 3-0 win provided a great start to Lyndon's tenure.
We drew the return game 1-1 and shared the points the following season with another two draws. The second of these matches, a 2-2 draw at Merland Rise was notable for the only time that a goalkeeper, Dean Cupit, has been able to stop one of Kyle Hough's penalties. It was on 16th February 2008, and it was a good save too!
Another sequence that has continued from that point onwards is Epsom & Ewell winning, as the next four games have all gone our way, two by a narrow 1-0 score line, and the other two were a 4-1 win at Merland Rise, and a 3-0 win at Meadowbank which was Robbie Burns first hat trick of last season, he ended up with 37 goals last season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boreham Wood: - Played 15 - W4, D2, L9 - F16, A32 - Points per Game - 0.93 - Poor
I first watched the Blues in 1981/82 and as the new season of 1982/83 approached I was intending to watch every game that season and was especially looking forward to playing at some of the bigger sides. Boreham Wood had been relegated from the Isthmian Premier and were to be our first opponents of the season. We lost 2-1 to a last minute goal although we then missed an even later penalty that would have retrieved a point, while we drew 0-0 in the snow at Broughinge Road in February of 1983. I still recall the four big floodlights that seemed to be the preserve of the really big clubs.
What I didn't realise then was that the clubs had already met on eight occasions! We first played them in 1967 when we were both in the Athenian League Division Two, and played each other in two further seasons before their promotion. We were not such a good side, and although we shared the points in 1966/67 with a home win each, we lost the other four games, most notably a humiliating 0-6 home defeat in January 1969.
We gained a bit of revenge in 1976 when we met them twice in the F.A.Cup, drawing 1- 1 there before winning the replay 2-1 with goals from Tuite and Keith Eshelby.
In 1983/84 we met them again on opening day and a goal from Steve Milton after 27 seconds set us on the way to promotion that season, despite a 2-0 loss there in January 1984. Once we had been relegated, a last minute own goal from Ray Metz handed the points to our opponents in 1986; a match that featured a debut from a young Matt Elliott, although we defeated them in the January return by two goals to nil. Since then we have been there twice more, once for a game in the London Challenge Cup where we were beaten 3-0, and once for an F.A.Trophy tie, but this embarrassing defeat was against Enfield who were ground sharing there. We remain without a single win there.
They currently reside at Step Two in the Conference South but their hold is precarious and they are currently bottom of the table, but still at Broughinge Road.
50 Epsom Legends
New booklet on sale for £10. Please see Fundraising page for more details:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/fundraising-7161.html&page=3
Talk of the Terraces
Feature articles by Epsom and Ewell Football Club supporters Steve Davies, Steve Dyke and Alan Carter.
Steve Davies
Articles
I can see in my "Programme Articles" directory on my PC that there are about 10 files, which contain only 1 or 2 paragraphs.
These are articles that seemed like a good idea at the time and were started with high hopes but after a few lines they hopelessly ran out of steam.
I started all of these with high hopes but never managed to fin..........
Chants
It was Interesting to read Alan Carter's article in the Badshot Lea Programme regarding him attempting to find a chant for Tony Cuff. I think the perfect chant for Tony is:
"He's Tough, He's Hard, He's got a Yellow Card, Tony Cuff, Tony Cuff"
Whilst on the subject we could also sing (Hopefully Ian has a sense of Humour!),
"He's Big, He's Round, He's Looking for a Ground, Ian Grant, Ian Grant"
I may also try:
"He's with his brother Jeff, and he's yelling at the Ref, Stevie Dyke, Stevie Dyke!"
My favourite chant was the one that was heard on the terraces at Anfield when lanky striker Peter Crouch was playing for them:
"He's Big, He's Red, his feet stick out the bed, Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch."
Musical Interludes
Some clubs have a Theme Song or tune that is played when they take the field or sometimes when they score a goal. Everton take to the field to the theme tune of "Z Cars", Brighton run out to "Sussex By the Sea", Charlton have "The Red Red Robin keeps Bob, Bob, Bobbing along", Spurs have "Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur", and several teams play the Piranhas classic "Tom Hark" after scoring a goal while Bayern Munich choose to celebrate with the "Can Can"!
I would love us to come out of the Moatside dressing room to the sound of Tom Hark. (I notice that Molesey did this at Walton Road last season) and after scoring how fun would it be to stomp around to Monty Python's "Camelot" song or maybe Tubthumping by Chumbawumba!
Another classic that would have multiple possibilities for a goal celebration would be Scaffold's "Lily the Pink", a song that is ideal for creating new verses in between the familiar chorus.
My favourite football songs over the years are "Three Lions" which undoubtedly was the best England song ever with "Back Home" (from 1970) a close second.
B.A. Robertson recorded "I have a Dream", a wonderful song for the 1982 Scottish world cup squad. He was dreaming that he was playing for the "sweaties" when he was fouled in the area and out of the corner of his eye saw the referee pointing to the spot. As he was stepping up to take the penalty he heard his wife (who was desperate for the penalty to be scored) yelling out from the stands "It's not the ball you're kicking, it's me!" B.A. had previously had chart success with "Bang Bang" which reached no. 2 in the charts in 1979 and "Knocked it Off", another song about football ("I knocked it off, I knocked it off, I was standing in the goal and the ball got crossed, I thought I'd have a go and shoot it but never thought I'd put it away....")
So, time now to start working on creating an England song for the 2018 World Cup that has a great chance of being held in the U.K. (unless the Russians succeed in stitching us up!)
Golden Goal Bingo
Great to see everyone enjoying the Golden Goal Bingo which has just gone international as I have sold two tickets in Moscow and one in Kuala Lumpur!
Steve Dyke
"Remembrance"
I have spent a lot of the last couple of weeks looking at football programmes of various ages. This is in preparation for a stall I hope to run next week for the Bracknell game for the Supporters Fundraising Exercise. The old ones are particularly interesting, especially the adverts, which show what a different country we all lived in 40 years ago.
There's a well known phrase trotted out with monotonous regularity that if you can remember "the sixties" you weren't actually there. This grates on me somewhat because the people who use it generally assume that everyone was engaged in the hedonistic experimentation in music, substances and relationships with other people.
For me a truth that's much less often acknowledged is there was an alternative more conventional sixties that is virtually ignored. This fact emerges occasionally on the old chart shows on the radio where almost every top ten from the sixties at least three of the records are ballads by old fashioned crooners like Matt Monro, Vince Hill or Ken Dodd as just a singer. For every hippy letting it all hang out at the Isle of Wight festival there was a young John Major going to cricket at the Oval in his collar and tie.
I'm always interested in the span of peoples careers and the 60's saw teams appearing with legends of old style footballers from the 50's coming to the ends of their careers - Stanley Matthews packed up in 1965, often named on the team sheets with youngsters who would go on to be established players in the 1970's when I first remember football.
For instance, a Fulham programme from 1968 shows a smiling young Ernie Moss as a 19 year old in a Chesterfield line up. I saw him play for Chesterfield against Bristol City in 1985-86 as a veteran. Indeed my friend Simon and I had some good terrace banter with him then. We were giving him a bit of stick singing to the Benny Hill classic "Ernie, he was the slowest forward in the north" he came over to us after a corner smiling " yeah but they're still paying me". In an age where people bandy about the term like confetti for anyone who's played 50 games for a side Ernie Moss is a true football legend.
Still, there are people currently with us at Epsom who have the potential for legend status. Alex Rodrigues' appearances record and Kyle's penalty record are truly remarkable in our history and will be rightly celebrated in years to come. We are all part of a wider history that we have inherited and must remember to pass on to others.
The oldest programmes I have acquired in a batch is a 1964/65 Fulham v Blackburn one. Reading the pen pictures I saw a profile of Ronnie Clayton who died recently and was commemorated in last Saturdays game v Chelsea. Just watching the brief highlights on Match of the Day showed there was a lot of emotion in the ground.
Now these things can be used partly to build the crowd up to make an atmosphere for the day - you always know when Liverpool are struggling as they wheel Gerry Marsden out for a pre match warble of "You'll never walk alone" - but I was struck by the Ronnie Clayton tribute enough to be take note of his pen picture from 1964.
"Club captain and former England Skipper. A fine attacking player who has spent the whole of his career at Ewood Park."
In this age of agents and Bosmans, tantrums and tiaras, will our modern day footballers be so mourned when they pass. Wayne Rooney? El Hadj Diouf?
The separation of the modern footballer from the fans often attracts comment and a negative comparison to the legends of the 1950's who went home on the bus with the fans. Gary Imlach's book "My father and other working class football heroes" is one of the best at describing footballers difficult circumstances at the time of being poor and expendable themselves.
There has been an astronomical change in top footballers fortunes since those days clearly, but this rosy tinted view also hides the fact there has been a change in everyone's circumstances since that time. I have just come across a photo of me at about 18 months old playing out with other kids on the Crescent on the Wells in the Summer of 1967. There is not a parked car in sight. Which links with one of my other pet theories about mass car use leading us all to be boxed in and not know our neighbours.
So will today's footballers be fondly remembered in the future? I think despite the money issue some will. Steven Gerrard for example has given everything for the cause over the years, similarly Ryan Giggs. Matt Le Tissier is criticised by some for never making the big money move to test himself out at the higher level but has a job for life as a local legend in Southampton.
I think it depends on how people have conducted themselves during their career. I think a lot of the opprobrium attracted by Sol Campbell is due to the fact he did the dirty on Tottenham in not letting them collect a fee for his transfer. It may be that the recent contact shenanigans involving Wayne Rooney will permanently damage his public reputation. Equally, he could go on and win the World Cup and be one of the boys of 2014. Even if he does I'll still prefer Bobby Charlton.
We exist in a short term and celebrity obsessed culture that we are only on occasions able to escape from. Football is as bad as anything for the three wins - genius, three defeats - crisis mentality.
One time we are all able to escape from this and see a true perspective is in remembrance. People will always want to show their feelings of solidarity with effort and sacrifice. We can be moved by applause or silence for an old footballer. I am always moved when I see the tributes of the people at Wootton Bassett to our fallen troops.
Note from Ed - Gary Imlach's book "My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes" is the best sports books EVER WRITTEN. It may not appeal quite so much to the under thirties, but anyone older than this would definitely appreciate it, especially if their father is no longer alive.
Alan Carter
HOW TO HANDLE THE MEDIA - NON LEAGUE STYLE
I'm sure you, like me, felt ever so sorry for Sir Alex Ferguson during the Wayne Rooney contract saga a couple of weeks ago. I especially enjoyed Fergie's heart-tugging press conference, in which he portrayed himself as a kindly old gent who'd been mugged by his favourite grandson. Personally, I couldn't believe he had the balls to use the media to try and pull off such an obvious con trick, yet he did so with some aplomb if truth be told.
However, Sir Alex is best known for his hard line stance when dealing with the media. He fell out with the BBC in 2004 following the broadcast of a documentary called "Father & Son" which criticised his football agent son Jason. To this day the United boss refuses to be interviewed by the Beeb. Yet Fergie isn't the only one standing up to those meddling media types.
The website of Blue Square Premier side Hayes and Yeading contains the following strongly worded statement from boss Garry Haylock: "It is with regret that I have decided not to speak to the Uxbridge Gazette for the foreseeable future. Over the past 18 months on four occasions my words have been taken out of context. This unnecessary sensationalism has resulted in situations arising that have compromised both my players and myself with no apparent justification other than to generate a story where none exists. I have not taken this decision lightly." You tell them Garry!
To be honest with you I'm surprised Haylock's ruck with the local rag wasn't featured on Match of the Day. After all he is still speaking to the BBC - unlike Fergie!
THE MAGIC OF THE FA CUP
I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Hythe Town who have made it through to the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. I would have loved it were it was us, but alas it wasn't to be.
However, I think it's great that a Step five team has made it through, even if it was at our expense. Hythe are the lowest ranked side left in the competition and are also the first Kent League team to reach the First Round proper since the 1950s. I watched the highlights of their victory on the BKVP website (same people who produced the DVD of our game against Hythe) and the scenes of celebration at the final whistle were absolutely amazing.
Today Hythe are away to Hereford United, and I really hope they win their 7th consecutive FA Cup tie to keep their Wembley dream alive a little longer.
(They haven't even required a replay yet, although I thought we were well worth one down there - Ed)
Fundraising latest news
Please see the Fundraising page for the latest news about the club's fundraising initiatives (updated 06/11/2010):
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/fundraising-7161.html&page=4
Epsom & Ewell Programme Editorial Team
Find out about the Team:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/programme-editorial-team-15669.html
Back issues of programmes - don't miss out!
The articles shown here are only part of the Epsom & Ewell programme. To make sure you don't miss out on all of the great features in every programme, make sure your order your back issues of Epsom & Ewell Football Club programmes whilst they are HALF PRICE - that's just £1 each! They are available from Richard Lambert and his contact details can be found on the contacts page:
http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/epsomandewellfc/a/contact-4881.html
Back to top of page
RSS Feeds