Sausage Baguette

Yes I know we've got 2 wins on the trot, Rocco scored in his last game at the ARS for a few months and, cor blimey, a clean sheet to boot. But let's not get carried away just yet.

Whyteleafe on Saturday. Never a dull moment down there but don't tell anybody about the sausage baguettes from the tea bar. They're darned good and tend to sell out, so be quick. Decent cluhouse as well, usually with real ale and food available.

To get to the ground you need to walk the mean streets of Whyteleafe. The lack of meanness will hit you full in the face but there's leafiness aplenty. Not too many boozing opportunities however. There's the Whyteleafe Tavern at 208 Godstone Road, which is passable for a pre-match refresco, but better still is the Radius Arms a few doors away at number 205. A micro-pub that's been open 18 months serving proper beer and fruit based drinks gleaned from apples and grapes. No Europiss however.

Trains from London leave from London Bridge or Victoria and arrive at Upper Warlingham or Whyteleafe. Fastest service is Victoria to Upper Warlingham which leaves at 23 or 53 minutes past the hour (there's just a few minutes walk between Upper Warlingham and Whyteleafe stations).

A note of caution, there's due to be a strike affecting Southern services at the weekend, so it might take you a little longer than expected to get there. Don't take it out on the railway workers though, they've got your best interests in mind.

Hopefully we'll see Rocco for a last hurrah before he selfishly buggers off to see a bit of the world whilst his knees are still up to it. If not, I'm sure he knows we wish him well 'til the next time (and beyond).

Keep it Green

Allez les Verts!!

A cat called Gareth.

Since we were last here we've had a few ups and downs, mainly downs unfortunately.

The trip to Bromley for the match against Cray Wanderers wasn't quite what you may have read elsewhere. There was little sign of any ambition to win on the night, although we did have the odd chance to nick something from the game. Mainly it was about 2 rows of 4, staying fairly close and frustrating what looked like a talented Cray side.

There was a lot of defensive discipline on show though and that's why we left the ground in a fairly upbeat mood after a 1-0 defeat.

Very nice clubhouse at Bromley, complete with its own cat. Gareth is his name. Like GFC at the ARS, Cray make absolutely sweet fa from it but they are hopeful of a home of their own at some point. Plans are at an advanced stage but stuck in the mire of endless referrals to this, that and the other.

Upbeat thoughts soon took a nosedive with a disappointing home draw against Godalming Town. The real downer was the double leg break suffered by Chris Tardif. 1F is always worth a good few points over a season so this is a real blow to hopes of maintaining Step 4 status, particularly given the seemingly never ending problem of getting a full squad out for matches.

It got worse still a few days later with Jack Domaille suffering knee ligament damage that will keep him out for a prolonged period.

Fingers crossed for a reasonably trouble free recovery for both players.

The gloom was lifted slightly with a somewhat rare 3 points against Sittingbourne last weekend, this despite a degree of profligacy in front of goal that, if we're not careful, could become as worrying as our frailty at the other end.

Good to hear there was decent support from the Garenne, us Manelanders need to pull our socks up in that respect when we go to Whyteleafe on Saturday.

Tomorrow it's Chipstead at the ARS, another must win. So get your arse to the ARS and sing yer 'earts out for the lads. OK, you won't be able to talk on Thursday nut, between you and me, your work colleagues don't really want small talk with you so it'll save embarrassment all round.

With new kit recently arrived at Ormering Towers hopefully these ramblings will start to become a little more frequent than they have been of late. There are a few things to be said after all.

Keep it green (and keep the faith).

Allez les Verts!!

Bloody fog.....

Never around when you might find it useful. Then again if fog had spared us a drubbing on Saturday it would have meant a mid-week trip and we could do with as few of those as possible.

Hastings were well worth the win but the margin of defeat was down to good old fashioned ineptitude on our part. Heads had dropped somewhere below sea level but there was one positive in that the lads rallied in the last ten minutes leading to a consolation goal by Zico that sparked a brief moment of joy on the terrace.

The look on the face of Chairman Sticks pretty much summed up the thoughts of all present.

Tomorrow we're off to Cray Wanderers, the second oldest team in the land apparently but with a recently found pot of gold. Threadbare squad again but at least Tony Vance has managed to pull one together, it was a bit of a struggle to even get a starting eleven. Getting desperate he scanned the occupations of all the GFA registered players and identified an estate agent playing at Port Soif.

As we all know Guernsey estate agents have had plenty of time on their hands for several years now, so Vance's discovery means we have another new face turning out, one Vijay Wiltshire. Don't expect another youngster though, this one's 31, but good on him for stepping up and good luck to him and everyone else travelling.

Expectations are not going to be high and, let's face it, we'll probably take heart if we keep it tighter than at Merstham a couple of years ago.

Cray play at Hayes Lane, home of National League South Bromley FC. If you're driving, set your satnav for BR2 9EF, otherwise iIt's a 15-20 minute walk from Bromley South station, which can be reached as quickly as 17 minutes from Victoria. Plenty of trains after the final whistle as well. There's a 'Spoons opposite the station, the Richmal Crompton (named after the author who was a teacher at Bromley Girls School back in the day) and chicken lovers will be pleased to learn that tomorrow is Wing it Wednesday in 'Spoonsland.

Keep it Green (and keep your heads up)

Allez les Verts!!

Diggling By The Sea

Lewes. Lovely little town, unless you have mobility issues. The Dripping Pan. Lovely little ground, unless you have mobility issues. The locals all very friendly on the outside but they're laughing on the inside, safe in the knowledge that the steps and hills will get you in the end.

The lucky ones made it to the clubhouse, only to be disappointed to find they had a bit of a Harveys festival going on, it was terrible. Then there were the pies from the teabar which had everybody yearning for one of those burgers of indeterminate origin available  at most football grounds.



So the town got a tick, the ground got a tick, as did the natives, the Harveys and the pies. The game may even have merited a tick if it hadn't been instantly forgettable.

A trip to South Park was eschewed in favour of a splendid ribeye steak and Tring Brewery's Moongazing at the Prince George in Watford. A wise choice in more ways than one as it turned out.

Tomorrow it's a trip to the Pilot Field in Hastings, 950 years and a day after a certain battle. Transport links were better in the 11th century when you could simply sail into Pevensey Bay and ride hither and thither on horseback. Nowadays it's a train that travels through East Sussex in seemingly ever decreasing circles before limping into Hastings. Always good to visit the Old Town before heading to the Pilot Field and we aim to be in the Olde Pumphouse on George Street (a favourite of Diggler's for some reason) shortly after opening time at 11, no chance of a lie in then.

With a squad of 14 due to travel the smart money will be on our fine away run continuing a little longer but you never know (and because you never know you keep coming back to this tremendously annoying, complex yet simple game of football).

Keep it Green

Allez les Verts!!

Curtain Raised

Been away for a bit soaking up some vitamin D but, before I headed off, I did get to enjoy a day out in Carshalton.

OK we lost, but an incremental improvement in performance was evident. After the match I said to Tony Vance, the NDC and anyone else within earshot really, that it looked like the lads were 2 games away from being ready for the start of the season.

And lo, the remaining 'pre-season' programme saw a somewhat remarkable and unpredictable draw away at Tooting & Mitcham then an on paper thumping of Herne Bay at the ARS in the curtain raiser to the season.

After last night's very good 4-1 win against Walton Casuals, by my reckoning, we've played 1, won 1, with a goal difference of +3 but the powers that be won't see it that way. Everyone's feeling a lot more positive than a month ago though and, whisper it, there's a faint chance of witnessing something strange away to Lewes on Saturday.

Away from the pitch we had the announcement of Sticks as the new dear chairman (NDC). Difficult to argue with that and the llamas in the stable block are excited at the potential for the club's view on democracy and community to shift further towards a Western european ideal than may have previously been the case. Sincerely hope Sticks is donning his blazer and making the trip to Lewes where he can here from the host club about how they're approach. Some good things going on at the Dripping Pan.

If you're going to the match on Saturday you'll be pleased to know it's an easy walk from the station, turn left and left again and you're there in a couple of minutes. Clubhouse will have real ale on from the local brewery, Harveys. They have a great reputation among ale fans and their standard offering (Sussex Best) puts many others 'specials' to shame.

If you're after a pre-match tipple in a local hostelry then Lewes is teaming with options. Turn left out of the station, right at the roundabout then second right finds you in Southover High Street where, at number 9,  the Kings Head looks a good choice. Close to the ground as well, set your satnav to BN7 1HS.

Momentum gets a lot of mentions in the news these days, let's hope it keeps growing in Sussex this weekend.

Keep it green

Allez les Verts!!