ROAMING REBELS

 

Printed in the National League South game v Eastbourne Borough Saturday 23rd March 2024  Non League Day. We drew 1-1 in front of 1085.

Its fair to say there’s no love lost between Slough and Havant – probably not helped by us singing ‘Going Down with the Dover’ to remind them of their predicament second bottom of the league.

As I walked into their pub next to the ground (Arbour Park needs a pub open every night like this) one guy was still moaning about that abandoned game a few seasons back where the ball wouldn’t bounce on the bog of a pitch. They just wont let it lie. They said they had no sympathy for our Bath abandonment and reckoned our joint managers at the time had threatened the ref if any of the Slough players got injured. To be honest they were more likely to drown. I was the lone Rebel in sea of Slough hate, so changed the subject to our mutual respect for their former manager Steve King who worked wonders rooting a full time club to to the bottom of the league.

As our play off push looks a little too far, it’s that time of the year when I can’t help looking at who we might be facing next season.

No one wants to see today's opponents Eastbourne relegated as it’s a proper seaside trip and from a selfish geographical perspective, if we lost them and Worthing I would actually cry.

Welling are groundsharing at Tonbridge next season while their place gets redeveloped, which is a shame. Not for the ground, which does need a revamp but Welling is still a proper high street with shops that sell stuff and you can even do a pub crawl if you’re that way inclined. This seems so rare nowadays I'm surprised the High Street is not on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

You got to feel sorry for Taunton – well I did until I heard they sacrificed infrastructure and pitch improvements to spend money on players to keep them up. With the wettest winter ever, that decision is coming back to bite them – with no income at all over the past few months.

We’ve still got to play Truro but god knows where that will be. If we saw the back of those two West Country teams I wouldn’t shed a tear – especially as that might soak their pitch even more.

There was an interview in the Non League Paper about how ground grading is becoming computerised to help the Premier League Stadium Improvement Fund identify best where to support clubs. There was a lot of talk about clubs becoming more financial sustainable with an emphasis on pitches. Alliance chair Mark Harris said ‘Everyone knows that the weather has wreaked havoc with fixtures in some regions...Neither the FA nor Leagues can control the weather, but by working together we can focus clubs minds on the importance of investing in their pitches to ensure they are of the highest possible standard, and that pitch maintenance is fit for purpose.’

No one would miss Chelmsford's running track but it’s very likely that we will be playing at the Hornchurch one. The mind boggles where that name came from. And I had the same thoughts when I got off the train at Braintree. Must be an Essex thing.

Selfishly I want Hastings promoted – its a great weekend place to visit. I’ve never been to Enfield Towns new ground and I’ve got a lot of respect for the first fan owned club in the country. But how about Wingate and Finchley – punching well above their weight on tiny crowds and a listed art deco stand.

From the Southern Premier – well we’ve all been to Chesham whose ground could do with some TLC. Salisbury is a public transport pig to get too so how about Gosport – where I have to get a boat too. Admittedly by the time you sit down on the boat its time to get off, but still – crossing the sea for a football match is always a novelty.

Its bloody miles away but I’ve got a soft spot for Merthyr who are also fan owned. And there’s a shop in the towns market that just sells Welsh cakes. I hired a van last time to bring hundreds back.

Looking at the National League and apart from Oxford who will probably end up in the north – its seriously tight with 14 clubs still in the relegation mix. It would be funny if Dorking got relegated and everyone likes to get vertigo in Woking's big stand but really its got to be Maidenheads time to finally take the tumble and treat us to some proper festive derbies that we’ve seriously lacked recently.

I never got to visit Yeovil's new ground which is a shame as they still look nailed on to go up. I also want to salute our quick thinking management team who gave Yeovil fans the chance to go behind the goal in the second half. There was lots of complaints from their supporters that they couldn’t see in the first half and we’ve gone to quite a few places this season where we’ve felt like second class citizens. It meant for one of our biggest ever home league crowds there was a cracking atmosphere even if the game was more a war of attrition. From playing Sunderland to now Slough Town as they say, but Yeovil turned up in numbers and fair play to them. Perhaps they were only here for the Mars Bars?

Like Slough they have travelled up and down the leagues which does give you an opportunity to visit new places and meet new friends – and hopefully wave goodbye to a few waterloo ones who crossed you off their Christmas card list a long time ago.