General non league chat, match reports, photos etc
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AveryDave
Well-Known Member
Will be interesting to see if their social media pull makes any difference to the ability of teams to ignore this at will, as we've experienced in recent times with Plymouth Parkway, Dartford, and others.
Hamlet Pete
Well-Known Member
Is there any news on #'s go pro camera that went missing during their visit to Champion Hill?
Buffalo Bill
London 4th most famous exenger
Meant to post this before but didn't so:
I was happy to see Maidstone do well and get some attention (and money!). I can't remember which season it was, but one of the Isthmian Premier seasons that ended in play-off disappointment, the last home game was Maidstone. They had already been promoted, DHFC were through to the POs, it was super sunny day in Tuscany, my first time at a sold out CH, also first and only time doing the turnstiles... Can't remember the score but I do remember how happy & friendly the Maidstone fans were. Almost all of them said 'see you next year' or something like that. One of my favourite DHFC memories.
tonysingh
Random Clever and Witty Strapline
That's surprising and saddening. I found their fans to be pleasent when we were there on new year's day
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
Maidstone had not already been promoted and Hamlet were not yet assured of a play-off place. Maidstone needed a win to be champions, or to match the result of their closest challengers Hendon, which they did in drawing 0-0 hence the big celebration on the pitch for the away team and supporters.
From memory Hamlet would still have missed out if we'd lost at Tonbridge in the final away game and other results had gone against us. The situation was confused when Enfield were deducted 3 points after the final match and appealed against it, meaning the play-offs were delayed for 3 weeks as a result.
Buffalo Bill
London 4th most famous exenger
Was it the year the final was in East Thurrock or Bognor?
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
Maidstone went up in 2015, when we lost the semi-final at Margate, who won at Hendon in the final to go up.
We lost the final at East Thurrock in 2016 and lost the final at Bognor in 2017.
Buffalo Bill
London 4th most famous exenger
Yes, of course - the Moneybags Margate season.
blueheaven
Well-Known Member
That game is one of my fondest Champion Hill memories too. I might be wrong about this but after crowds started to go up I think this was one of the first games where we had a big away support in the ground, rather than just a lot of home fans, and it made for a fantastic atmosphere.
On the subject of Maidstone, probably one of the best games I've ever seen was played at their ground in March 2014 and it was also the first Hamlet away game I ever went to. Unfortunately we lost 4-3 but it was an absolute cracker and one of the games from that period where Erhun was absolutely flying and just such a joy to watch playing football. It was also a weirdly sunny day for a March game, which always helps. Just reminding myself of the details, and it turns out the game also had to be delayed by 15 minutes to let all the crowd in.
I'm rarely able to get to Dulwich games any more but I have such good memories of watching us during that whole period. Incredible to think it's now 10 years ago.
Maidstone United 4-3 Dulwich Hamlet
Maidstone United’s highest crowd of the season saw a seven goal thriller which either side could have won it. The kick off was delayed for fifteen minutes to let the crowd in & they cannot complain about the entertainment value. The game was only four minutes old when the first chance of the...
Dulwich Hamlet desperately unlucky to lose 3-4 at Maidstone in front of a bumper crowd
A huge crowd at the Gallagher Stadium in Maidstone saw an enthralling seven goal thriller which really should have seen Dulwich Hamlet bag all three points.
www.brixtonbuzz.com
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
Was good to see Private Godfrey alive and well at that game!Dulwich Hamlet desperately unlucky to lose 3-4 at Maidstone in front of a bumper crowd
A huge crowd at the Gallagher Stadium in Maidstone saw an enthralling seven goal thriller which really should have seen Dulwich Hamlet bag all three points.
StephenMac
Well-Known Member
Kingstonian are on the move again, this time to Raynes Park Vale. From what I've seen of that ground, I can't imagine it would meet the Step 3 grade, so presumably they're now banking on relegation. Probably Wimbledon's fault, usually is.
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
My understanding is that Raynes Park as a newly promoted club would have until 31st March 2025 to achieve the Step 3 grading, whereas Kingstonian (as an existing Step 3 club) would not be allowed to relocate to a ground that doesn't already have that grading if they somehow stay up. I'm not sure that ground even had the Step 4 grading when Raynes Park were promoted only last year, they may still have work to do to achieve that by 31st March this year.
Ks are in a really sorry state now. You've got no hope of building a new fanbase when you keep moving to a different shared ground every couple of years. A friend who saw one of their away games as a neutral earlier this season said it looked like a pensioners' day trip when the supporters' bus pulled up. Everyone getting off looked at least 60.
Since leaving Kingsmeadow in 2017 they've already played at Leatherhead, Tolworth, Mitcham, and now Raynes Park. They need a ground of their own where they can put down roots, like Wealdstone now have, even if it's not actually in Kingston. I've seen speculation that Metropolitan Police may be looking to wind up their club as a serious semi-professional league team, in which case maybe Imber Court might become a long-term option, as Ruislip Manor did for Wealdstone?
That's correct, K's would need the relevant grading next season and RPV would get up to 31/3/25 if promoted this season (and must be step four compliant 31/3/24.)
If this deal has been brewing for a while RPV doing the work now with financial assistance from K's would seemingly be in the interests of both.
If this deal has been brewing for a while RPV doing the work now with financial assistance from K's would seemingly be in the interests of both.
Hamlet Pete
Well-Known Member
What happened to all those fans that packed out Kingsmeadow when they won the league back in 2009, Craig Edwards last game in charge of the Hamlet??
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
The bulk of theirs had gone well before they vacated Kingsmeadow. League average was 341 for their final season at Kingsmeadow in 2016/17.
I wouldn't say they "packed out" Kingsmeadow. Official attendance was 558, having pulled a bigger crowd for the previous game when they actually secured promotion.
Their best days were 1997-2000, when they were Isthmian League champions with a big budget squad of higher league players, then won the FA Trophy at Wembley in each of their first two seasons in the Conference. They got their crowd numbers into four figures off the back of the Wembley finals, although I don't think they ever got above 1,500 on a regular basis.
I don't know exactly where it went wrong but they were relegated in 2001 and went into administration 2 or 3 years later. I do know the construction company I worked for fulfilled a £2m contract for ground improvements (principally the extention of the main stand) and was never paid for the completed works. A new owner subsequently bought the freehold of the ground, then sold it to AFC Wimbledon, and it's been an uphill battle off the pitch ever since.
The ground situation arguably has parallels with our own club, which sold the freehold to OCS in 1970 to clear debts. Our ground has also passed through a succession of initially benign owners, but thankfully never attracted the attention of a bigger football club (although it must have been at risk of being taken over by Fisher Athletic before their owners were undermined by the 2008 global recession) and of course the Meadow episode of 2018, when we were locked out for two part seasons, might easily have ended much less favourably.
They simply spent too much money year on year I believe. The year they went into Administration, they did so days after being giant killed in the F.A. Cup by a.Wessex side (Brockenhurst?) A K's fan I knew said the club needed a cup run to pay back debts and were insolvent once that didn't happen.
On the day K's lost the ground I bumped into Mark Murphy. I asked him.if he regretted the Chapple years given the consequences? Mark said he didn't blame Geoff at all, he stuck to the budgets he was given. He believed the issues lay with those setting the budget.
I believe it was the Goodliffe family who owned the Hill. Though given they own OCS it's all but the same thing.
Edited to say K's have around 40 obvious fans at Farnham tonight in the Surrey Cup. A mixture of ages, from about ten to pensioners. About half are under 30 and singing. Rob Tolfrey and Matt Drage start for them
Edited again, half an hour in Farnham 2-0 up.and the K's fans are belting out "sack the board."
Edited again, 3-1 to Farnham. K's weren't as hopeless as that suggests. They were the best team initially but are clearly so struggling for confidence, Farnham opening the scoring was crucial. K's did play some decent stuff at times and scored an excellent goal. An entertaining game which could have been 6-4 but for good goalkeeping..Matt Drage also impressed against a forward line way too good for Step Five. Sack the board got a few more airings in the second half. Those fans deserve better tbh.
On the day K's lost the ground I bumped into Mark Murphy. I asked him.if he regretted the Chapple years given the consequences? Mark said he didn't blame Geoff at all, he stuck to the budgets he was given. He believed the issues lay with those setting the budget.
I believe it was the Goodliffe family who owned the Hill. Though given they own OCS it's all but the same thing.
Edited to say K's have around 40 obvious fans at Farnham tonight in the Surrey Cup. A mixture of ages, from about ten to pensioners. About half are under 30 and singing. Rob Tolfrey and Matt Drage start for them
Edited again, half an hour in Farnham 2-0 up.and the K's fans are belting out "sack the board."
Edited again, 3-1 to Farnham. K's weren't as hopeless as that suggests. They were the best team initially but are clearly so struggling for confidence, Farnham opening the scoring was crucial. K's did play some decent stuff at times and scored an excellent goal. An entertaining game which could have been 6-4 but for good goalkeeping..Matt Drage also impressed against a forward line way too good for Step Five. Sack the board got a few more airings in the second half. Those fans deserve better tbh.
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Were OCS ever responsible for the running of the club and managing of finances, or did they simply own the ground as an asset which held some element of nostalgia given the links between OCS's owners and the club?
Info here on the history of OCS which mentions the Goodliffes: https://ocs.com/ie/history-and-heritage/
The Goodliffe's owned the club and ground. The club was run by a Committee. Many of the Goodliffe's played for the club. One won England Amateur caps. I believe they bought in to dig the club out of a financial hole.
When control fell to a younger generation they sold up and were advised to sell the club and ground separately to maximise return.The rest is history.
When control fell to a younger generation they sold up and were advised to sell the club and ground separately to maximise return.The rest is history.
Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
To the best of my knowledge DHFC was always a members club run by a committee. No one "owned" the club and ultimately the elected committee members would be liable for any debts. The Goodliffes didn't run the club and I don't recall any of them being on the committee, and the club itself was certainly never theirs (or OCS's) to sell. The OCS deal was purely down to people who loved the club doing their best to help it out in a difficult situation, with no intended strings attached as far as I can tell.
DHFC only became a limited company after the ground was redeveloped, with Steve Dye as majority shareholder and effective owner. I believe it was the Isthmian League's strong preference for its member clubs to become limited companies at that time.
Mishi told me the Goodliffe's owned the club and the ground and were advised to sell both separately.
Whether they owned just the ground or both, there's no doubt the original Goodliffe's got involved for love of the club, not personal profit.
I don't recall the Goodliffe's being on the DHFC Committee. At least one was on the Middlesex Wanderers committee. George and their cricketing wing from memory.
Steve Dye told me the move to Limited Company status was also to protect the Committee. Prior to that they were running at serious personal financial risk, they were liable for considerable debts given how the club was previously setup. Which is probably why the League liked that idea of Limited Companies too.
Edited to say I've had a quick look on British Newspaper Archive to try and confirm what the Goodliffe's brought but nothing relevant popped up. I did find the Goodliffe Companies playing Letraset at Champion Hill in the 70's though.
Whether they owned just the ground or both, there's no doubt the original Goodliffe's got involved for love of the club, not personal profit.
I don't recall the Goodliffe's being on the DHFC Committee. At least one was on the Middlesex Wanderers committee. George and their cricketing wing from memory.
Steve Dye told me the move to Limited Company status was also to protect the Committee. Prior to that they were running at serious personal financial risk, they were liable for considerable debts given how the club was previously setup. Which is probably why the League liked that idea of Limited Companies too.
Edited to say I've had a quick look on British Newspaper Archive to try and confirm what the Goodliffe's brought but nothing relevant popped up. I did find the Goodliffe Companies playing Letraset at Champion Hill in the 70's though.
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Pink Panther
Well-Known Member
I remember Sid Gray used to be chairman when I first started going, and I remember him quoted in the press several years later saying he'd had to step down because his business had collapsed and he was skint. That was probably around 1985, when David Milsted got involved, along with Allen Batsford and Andy Nelson. There was clearly extra money being invested in the playing budget at that time, but it didn't end well. That regime collapsed abruptly when the committee refused to back Milsted in sacking Mick Leach as manager, leaving old school committee members like John Hugh-Jones to pick up the pieces with financial support from Steve Dye, who got involved when his son was in the reserve team. I guess the Goodliffes may have put money into the team during the revival in playing fortunes in the 1970s, and maybe had a degree of influence behind the scenes. Perhaps they also had some form of investment in the club and sold that to the Milsted consortium? I just assumed OCS had no further interest in owning the ground once the Goodliffes, who must have all been in their 70s or 80s by that time, had retired from the board.
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Nivag
Well-Known Member
Half price season ticket at Croydon FC
Last 6 home games for £20 + a badge
Last 6 home games for £20 + a badge
mx wcfc
Well-Known Member
This is a bloke I know down at Winchester City. Shame we don't get a bigger plug.
Winchester City fan visits 700 football grounds in 14 countries
Robert Conway, from Eastleigh, has watched a game at all English and German football league grounds.
www.bbc.co.uk
Nivag
Well-Known Member
Boyzone FC
www.skysports.com
Boyzone in talks to buy non-League Chorley shares; pop group members in line to take stake in National League North side
Boyzone boy band stars Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy enjoyed 16 top-10 UK hits in the 1990s, and have reportedly joined forces with ex-Westlife member Brian McFadden over buying a potential stake in National League North side Chorley
Bus Honeygun
This week the score draws are plentiful
We had Ronan's nephew at Torquay for a while. He was okay. Always gave it all he'd got.
mx wcfc
Well-Known Member
Latest on the Nuneaton Borough collapse.
www.bbc.co.uk
Nuneaton Borough supporters plan new phoenix club
Nuneaton Borough supporters plan to start again further down the non-league pyramid, following the existing club's collapse.
www.bbc.co.uk
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