SUSSEX BY THE SEA

Printed in the National League South game v St.Albans City Saturday 5th November 2022. We lost 3-1 in front of 553

There was only ever one game along the South Coast I was heading too. I paid £40 to hand my season ticket over to my youngest (yeah, really) so he could watch Brighton play Chelsea, I met Mitch and Kaz for the train to Worthing.

I always keep an eye on the regional feeder leagues to see who we might be playing. There was much saving of pennies and train journey cheering when I saw that Worthing had been promoted. Just 18 minutes by rail, it is now officially the nearest away day for me, edging out Eastbourne. Mind you, make sure you get off at the right stop as the town has more train stations than football clubs (just the five compared to 3 senior football teams).

Worthing also seems to have a micropub on every corner. The Brown Boys in Worthing, tra, la la la lah, had found a Cider house. They are a welcome addition to the annihilation of the old fashioned pub but often they feel like your front room. No Guinness, no larger and no card payments and not many places to sit with a beer that tasted like some eye of newt Halloween concoction; we soon scuttled off to the ground.

This was the 60th time Slough had played Worthing, but we’d gone our separate ways for 18 years apart from that recent FA Cup defeat which we won’t talk about.

The last time I was at Woodside Road there was mass brawl where even our Kitman was sent off, the clubhouse closed, and the police called.

But the place has been transformed like Dulwich; its friendly, welcoming, decent food on offer (I managed to get a top veggie pasty) and friendly low-key stewards. The Brighton game had probably knocked a few off the crowd, but just under a thousand had come along

Worthing is a big old place and I always felt it had potential to sustain a top level non league club. However in January 2015 the playing budget was completely cut with debts of around £200,000. The clubs future looked in serious doubt until George Dowell became the majority shareholder.

At the age of just 17, George Dowell’s career as a footballer was cut short in a car accident that left him paralysed. At 21 he became the UK’s youngest football chairman. Dowell has set his sights high for his childhood club, wiping out the debts, installing a 3G pitch, making ground improvements and refurbing the clubhouse and opening it 7 days a week. If it wasn’t for covid, Worthing would have been promoted sooner, but crowds have rocketed and there’s a fantastic feel to the place.

It’s not often you play a team with the same nickname as your own. Worthing became the "The Rebels" when they resigned from the West Sussex League on a point of principle over a rule change about a hundred years ago. They are also known as "The Mackerel Men", a reference to the three fish prominent on the club crest. Mind you, Come On You Mackerels is a bit of a fishface mouthful. We all waved big flags and drums at each other and Ade even played the xylophone as we wondered just who were the Real Rebels.

We got the obligatory penalty given against us, then we scored with an obligatory Scott Davies free kick. We had a few spooky scares until in second half we took the lead. Aaron Khul limped off and joined us behind the goal, Worthing then equalised and we hung on after four consecutive defeats to earn a well deserved point with a great advert for this level of football. As we left the ground we thanked the head steward for their hospitality, and she replied it was her job to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves. Please take note certain clubs in our league.

We grabbed a lift back to a proper pub the Bevy with remanets of the free children's Halloween party mingling with jubilant Brighton fans. Chelsea had asset striped the Albion's management, but Brighton had just handed them a 4-1 bloody nose as an up-yours. Raiding clubs is nothing new, and its understable people swap jobs when offered a King's ransom. Years ago, Arsenal complained that Abramovich had parked his tanks on their pitch and fired roubles to tempt their players to jump ship. It’s always been the way, but football finances are so skewered clubs like Liverpool say they can’t compete. They really need to find themselves some oil rich dictator to stop the rot.

Meanwhile going under the radar, Rebel clubs bang their bins for their communities, enjoy a beer on the terrace and decent football at affordable prices. Just what the cost of living crisis ordered. Especially if they happen to play in Sussex by the Sea.