SPELLY WELLIED BY SEVENTH HEAVEN DOCKERS

Printed in the National League South v Torquay United Saturday 26th August 2023  We lost 2-1 in front of 1127

With the cost of everything going up and my bloody kids expensive Albion addiction, my trip to Weston Super Mare was scuppered. So I reached down the back of the sofa, sold some of my children's belongings on e-bay and scrapped enough pennies together to go and watch Newhaven in the FA Cup preliminary round.

Earlier in the week figures were published saying Brighton and Hove Albion contributed a staggering £595 million to the local economy last season – while qualification for Europe will add £80 million to this seasons total. The money includes £327 of direct income, £26 million spent by visitors, £20 million in goods and services in the city by club employees and a further £222 million of brands and media value to the local economy, which massively increases the cities profile around the world. Pretty handy for a seaside tourist town. While those figures are eye watering, all football clubs will bring in income; be that from visitors, being major employees – and also the different community activities they carry out.

In many ways Newhaven Football Club has mirrored the fortunes of the small town, which is very much on the up while retaining it's quirkiness. Helped (or hindered!) by the fact that families are leaving Brighton in droves as renting and buying a home becomes impossible making nearby seaside options much more attractive than before. The club have always been pretty well supported - infact the best supported in their league with an average of 264 per game. The imposing stand that was derelict for so long is now open, they've got a 3G pitch thanks to the use of some government regeneration cash and there seems to be improvement works going on continousily. There's always loads of children wearing Newhaven kits. They've got a good social media presence and their decent programme also showed their smart thinking and cost cutting, doubling up for the previous Tuesdays league game as well as this cup one.

I'm really not sure why Newhaven are still in the Southern Combination – well apart from the fact that its bloody hard to get out of Step 5. They have the infrastructure and certainly the crowds to be in the level above, if not further.

I arrived a little earlier and wanting to do my bit for the local economy sniffed out a backstreet boozer, where they had Stella coming out the Kronenbourg tap and the main topic of conversation was a locals moulting dog. Watch out Reg, you could be given a ban or a stretch of hoovering unless you comb your dog before you next visit the pub.

Todays opponents were Spelthorne Sports of the Combined Counties Premier. One guy watching his 16 year old play for Sports said he wished they could match what Newhaven had in terms of crowds and infrastructure. With an average crowd last season of just 47 – probably not helped by 10 other senior clubs just under four miles from them - I wondered if they had picked up many supporters from Staines Towns untimely demise. I know the renamed Staines & Lammas (Middlesex) had hoped to become the town club of choice but maybe that whole sorry saga of the Swans being snuffed out of existence had soured their supporters from watching football ever again.

It was a pretty even first half – 'Spelly' the better attacking team with more chances than a cautious Newhaven and they deservedly took the lead. But blimey, in the second half the Dockers steamrollered the team from Surrey, scoring 6 without reply to win 7-1. Afterwards the man of match with four goals Ian Robinson was interviewed by a very young lad who asked what the manager said at half time – his reply being that it wasn't repeatable!

So eight goals, the obligatory big-ferry-in-the-background pic, my football fix and the very welcome news that Slough had won handsomely away. I'll drink to that, or I would have if I had any money.

Meanwhile Newhaven were in the FA Cup 1st Qualifying round for the first time in 61 years. Yes, they have only played in the competition nine times during that period, but still. Maybe it's a cup run that will help fill those coffers, attract more fans, boost the local economy and finally get them promoted.

PIRATES, INDUSTRIAL ESTATES* , HANGING ROPE AND CRICKET

(* only one of these is a Slough thing)

Printed in the National League South game v Worthing Tuesday 15th August 2023  We lost 4-1 in front of 727

And so it begins. Up and down the country, the worlds oldest cup competition kicks into gear at tidy grounds, in front of small crowds; so far removed from the glitz of the Premier League they might as well be in a different universe.

The Pirates of Bexhill United Football Club have to share with the cricket, so early in the season rely on the goodwill of their neighbours to play home games. Hailsham Town had kindly cancelled their previous days friendly to give their pitch a chance to rest from the rain and it was looking in good nick for the visit of North Greenford United in the FA Cup extra preliminary round.

It was deja vu with the same fixture last season with the vice chairman in the quirky programme pleading to the FA to ‘shake those balls up!’ Mind you with the Premier League getting hold of the Cup TV rights, unshaken balls might be the least of the competitions problems.

This was North Greenford of the Combined Counties Premier Division North first competitive game of the season while Bexhill would have had two under their belt if they hadn’t already had a game called off because of the weather!

I’ve never been to Bexhill's ground but it’s on my radar, with everyone waxing lyrical at their mock Tudor grandstand. There must be a rush to sit in it on matchdays as they have teamed up with Online Ticket Seller, ‘to take advantage of getting your seats early and avoid the rush at the turnstiles.’

I have been to North Greenford's Berkeley Fields, nestled on the edge of a wooded hill behind 1930’s suburbia. They were briefly Sloughs opponents in the Southern League and after wandering through the capitals urban sprawl that would give our Trading Estate a run for its money in the beauty stakes, we found the Black Horse Pub. I really wasn’t expecting to be sitting by a big bay window in an old coaching inn overlooking the Grand Union Canal before a Slough game in Middlesex. It was an amazing location for a pub. But it is of course, now boarded up.

I’ve also been to Hailsham Towns Beaconsfield ground before to watch them play Shoreham. They finished bottom of the league last season and are now in the Southern Combination Division Two – not high enough up the pyramid to enter the FA Cup.

Hailsham is a small market town, famously known for its rope that was used to hang people around the world. I came the Polegate end last time and ended up wandering through industrial estates to reach the ground. Now there’s a new bus route from Brighton to Hailsham, through quaint villages and roads like Harebeating Lane. This was more like it, with a massive church and cricket ground greeting me but as a sign of the times food banks rather than banks. I managed to sniff out a back street boozer the Railway Tavern, all meat raffle, open fire and clutter. The railway stations long since gone, replaced with The Cuckoo Trail part of the National Cycle Network.

You have to walk past Hailsham’s cricket ground to get to the Beaconsfield, which despite some terrible tagging at the entrance is neat and tidy and was filling up nicely. Although the eventual crowd of 105 is very low for Bexhill who averaged 178 last season.

The new Bexhill manager told supporters to expect a new style of football, playing from the back and on the floor but it was the long balls through the middle that was cutting their opponents defence apart – and then there was a spectacular lob from the half way line to catch the Greenford keeper out and into the net. The game was played on the whole in a good spirit and the Pirates deserved their 3-1 victory avenging last seasons cup defeat.

Bexhill have never been past the 2^nd qualifying round (and the last time they did that was nearly 50 years ago) and up next for the Pirates is a very tricky away game to Ramsgate; a club who are running a masterclass on how engaging their community massively increases attendances. Maybe they will commender a ship and set sale to Thanet in the hope of bagging more Cup treasure.

Meanwhile the Premier League will no doubt be plotting a raid on the cup, getting rid of replays and playing games midweek. They really are a bunch of old romantics. Or cut throat pirates. Take your pick.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Printed in the National League South game V Dover Athletic 12^th August 2023. First home game of the season. We lost 2-1 in front of 778.

I don’t usually bother with friendlies but with the rain saving me hours watering our vegetable gardens and my little ‘un on summer camp, how could I resist the charms of Charlton U21s?

Everyone is waxing lyrical about the changes that have happened at the club. New owners that have brought a new energy, while harnessing the hard work from the volunteers that were already at the club. A winning formula if you ask me, rather than a wrecking ball of we-know-best clear-the-decks that some clubs in our league have done.

I decided to pop into the Wheatsheaf beforehand - which proudly displays the clubs colours - just to make sure it hadn't been closed down. I never thought the real ale Rose and Crown would shut and certainly not the forward thinking busy desi Asian run pub the Three Tuns. Now its the turn of the Herschel, whose landlord is retiring after rows with owners over rent. So will the last publican standing in Slough, please turn out the lights. And what do you think Wetherspoons will do to prices when they have totally captured the market?

Luckily the visit to Arbour Park didn’t disappoint. The fast paced attacking football Scott Davies has gone for is going to be a crowd pleaser, the street food vans, the season ticket deals - and then the programme. Which has always had good content but has had a make over which will make it award winning. There’s now a programme WhatsApp group so we can bounce ideas around and it's these small attention to details that gets the best out of everyone. I left Arbour Park with a big smile on my face and a stomach full of halloumi burger.

So saying I was excited about our first game of the season was an understatement. And then the train companies decided because of an overtime ban they would close every station in Sussex.

As you can imagine Pride is quite a big thing in Brighton. At the last one, as I travelled along the coast line to Havant and Moanystewardsville, every station was packed with people covered in glitter and glam (unlike at Havant, where everyone had Pompey tops on). By the time I returned, Brighton looked like Glastonbury had landed on it.

So no trains for Brighton Pride was a big thing with the council and MPs going apoplectic with rage. Even on strike days there’s a limited service so why the management nuclear option when the unions said they could work round it? But this dispute isn’t just about pay but the way public services are delivered in this country. The fact that the train companies want to close every ticket office or rely on workers doing overtime to function; want to get rid of wifi, no longer do food on most trains, im amazed there are still toilets on board or even chairs as they strip out everything while continuing to put up prices. The attention to detail is just another cost that they don’t want. Infact running a train service seems too much to ask of them. Well apart from a float at pride to show how inclusive they are, which they decided was best to cancel along with all their trains.

But Pride, Storm Atoni and no trains wasn’t going to stop this intrepid traveller. My monthly work bus pass would swing into action, and hurtle me to Tunbridge Wells train station. I managed to find the worst cafe in England and at a quick half pint pit stop in Tonbridge, I found the worst smelling pub toilets. The whole population of Tunbridge seem to want to get on this train as I read Top tips from the towns lifestyle magazine - get rid of cancer by moving to a vineyard and drinking thyme tea. Simples (which could also describe the author of this new age guff).

Maidstone has a bewildering number of train stations and I managed to pick the wrong one and read my map upside down. But a walk along the river Medway and the dual carriageway that cuts through the town found me finally at the Flower Pot to meet Bill and Ben otherwise known as Martin and Alan and Spreadsheet Stu. They had sniffed out a great little boozer near the ground but another in nearby Hope Street was bordered up, sold by the brewery and destined to become flats. Sadly too many Slough had gone straight to Wetherspoons when this little pub would have massively benefited from their custom.

I know I sound like the drunk bloke at the bar, but pubs have a special part in our DNA, but just like everything in this country, they are being asset stripped and closed down just like all the ticket offices. The Tories like to wrap themselves up in the British flag while flogging off everything. It’s a perverse sort of patriotism.

Like Slough, Maidstone spent many years homeless, and this was my first visit to the Gallagher Stadium. Smack bang in the middle of town it didn’t disappoint. While everyone concentrated last season on the National League Wrexham and Notts Country stories, Maidstone's wasn’t such a fairytale, finishing bottom of the pile.

Kent sides always seem well supported and there were nearly 2,000 in the ground. As we assembled behind the goal, for once the hoards of Slough would be out-sung as we rattled through our greatest hits album with some new crowd pleasers (we haven’t learnt Nick the Trumpets Station Jim song yet).

We put on an impressive display but a tame penalty and a sending off undid us against the full time side. I hate losing but I really liked what I saw from a revamped, full throttle Rebels.

When clubs like Torquay and Yeovil get relegated, you know you have to be on your game. Attention to detail this season for every club will be crucial – something which we are getting at Slough Town in bucketfuls and which bodes well for the season. Enjoy!

SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL FOOTBALL TEAM, YOUR LOCAL PUB

Printed in the final friendly of the season v Charlton Athletic U21s Tuesday 1st August 2023  We lost 4-3 in front of 470

Even the most pessimistic of football fans are usually looking forward to the beginning of the season and what might happen.

As for Slough Town supporters. Well, we ended the season on a high - safe from relegation, crowds up, new owners, a spring in our step. The last home game was just brilliant behind the goal, and the amount of youngsters and noticeably girls elbowing us old gits out the way is growing. Clubshop Sue said her friend could hear us on the Wexham Road and it sounded like a carnival - which is what football should be. One person posted. 'It was a great day out. I hadn't been to a game in a very long time and after that great experience I have no idea why I don't go more often. Fans were loud, entertainment was great and the match was pretty good.'

So while i've been sleeping more soundly over the future of Slough Town, our community pub in Brighton has been causing me more headaches, and not just from overindulging.

Years ago, the Bevendean Pub was closed by the police, and the Moulsecoomb estate like so many across the country became a pub free zone. But a group of pig headed, wouldn't-listen-to-reason residents got together and re-opened it as a community pub. That makes it sound easy, but it was anything but, taking five years of campaigning and fundraising and no doubt a lot of praying from Father John, our local charismatic vicar who backed the plan from the start.

Fast forward nine years and the Bevy has become much more than just a pub.

Everyone needs places where they can meet and pubs and football clubs provide just that. All pubs do social good, but the Bevy is turbo charged. You name it, we host it. 

Seniors clubs, job club, afterschool clubs where everyone who comes along gets free activities and free food. Disability discos, plants sales and parkrun. Health drop-in clinics, University talks, the list goes on.

We rely massively on our regulars to keep the garden looking stunning, grow fruit and veg, turn the rocket composter, fix the lights or a broken door; jump behind the bar to help out when we are busy. Exactly what a community pub should be. When i left there the other night, a bus driver was spending his time off repainting the whole of the inside of the pub for free.

In an ideal world, the money from the bar would fund all our community activities. We’ve never quite managed to do this consistently, mainly cos the surrounding area isn’t anywhere near as wealthy as the bright lights of Brighton – and we do stuff like pay staff the Brighton Living Wage, cos it’s the right thing to do.

We are a pub and a community centre. Our community activities are what we are about and what makes us different but with everyone having a lot less cash in their pocket and costs rising all the time this model isn’t working as well as it has previously.

And pubs are continuing to close across the country - even Wetherspoons are shutting down branches.

So what would you do if your football club was faced with closure? Shrug your shoulders and go and support someone else? Or get together with others to fight for its future? With that football fighting spirit in mind, we rolled the dice. Was honest with everyone about our financial predicament, publishing our accounts and asking for help.

The resulting support was overwhelming.

Seventy people crammed into the Bevy for a public meeting - while others have been sending in ideas and ways to make money. It's been hard keeping up with it all, but i'm start-of-the-new-season-optimistic we will get there in the end.

The reality is that we need to start measuring things on social good - not just solely on profits. And how much do our activities save the NHS? Not just helping tackle loneliness and helping with peoples mental health and making sure they are ok. One of our regulars came in the other night. He's not been well and the landlady rustled up some food leftover from the seniors club so he had a hot meal and promised in the morning to pick up his medication for him. How do you put a price on that? 

And just look at were being profit driven only has bought us. Take Thames Water. Imagine being allowed to pay shareholders while 25% of your product literally goes down the drain, you spew sewage everywhere and look set to go bankrupt. Or the rail companies who constantly put up train tickets while services continue to deteriorate, refuse to pay staff more, want to close most of the ticket offices – yet still find money to hand out to shareholders. If’s that’s not being rewarded for failure then I don’t know what is.

As we like to shout from the rooftops the Bevy is the only community owned pub on an estate in the UK. It was a miracle we ever opened – and 9 years later despite millions pumped into the community pub sector we are still the only one. That has to change.

Which brings me back to football.

Enjoy the season, help out when you can, get behind the team - especially when things aren't going so well on the pitch. Oh and when you go to away games, seek out the small independent pubs rather than Wetherspoons. They need our support more than ever. 

If you want to know more about the Bevy go here  or watch this short film