FA Cup R1: Gillingham 0-2 Dover

The Sun sets on the 2,300 Dover fans, and on Gillingham's FA Cup run (PIC: Stephen McCaskill)

There have been many low points in the recent history of Gillingham Football Club but few have been as humiliating as what occurred at Priestfield on Saturday. Gillingham were outplayed by their Kent rivals to the extent that a casual observer would be unable to determine which team played in the Football League and the other the Conference South. The result heaps further pressure on under- pressure manager Andy Hessenthaler who quit Dover to rejoin Gillingham in the summer. Many Dover fans understood that the lure of a return to the club where he was a legend as both a manager and player was too strong to turn down but the departure became acrimonious following Hessenthaler’s recruitment of his former coaching staff. Ian Hendon had been appointed the new manager at the club, but their former manager returned to recruit Hendon as his assistant and Nicky Southall as player-coach. These actions angered the Dover faithful and believed that it tarnished Hessenthaler’s legacy at the Kent coast club where he had secured two promotions in three years and narrowly missed out on a third.

There was a sense of inevitability that surrounded the FA Cup 1^st Round Draw and even the Dover chairman himself believed that his side would face Gillingham. Admittedly, he predicted a home draw but Dover’s 2,300 travelling fans comprised a third of the total attendance and created a genuine cup atmosphere at Priestfield. As Hessenthaler came onto the pitch he was greeted by jeers from the Dover end and applause from the Gillingham fans while Nicky Southall was subjected to cries of ‘Judas’ from the visitors.

A minute’s applause in the memory of Gillingham and Kent football legend Buster Collins was held before the game and was respected by every member of the 7,457 in attendance, the largest at Gillingham this season. Collins joined the club in 1949 as a player and remained at the club for 60 years in various roles such as chief scout, reserve team manager and youth team coach before sadly passing away earlier this week.

Following the tribute to a club legend, the game got underway and Dover started the brighter of the two. The Whites went ahead thanks to Adam Birchall’s sensational long range effort.  Birchall had been in good form for Dover and his stunning strike proved why Andy Hessenthaler had thought about bringing him to the club in the summer.

While they were impotent going forward, Gillingham were also calamitous at the back with Dover outmuscling the opposition defenders and forcing errors. The Whites capitalised on poor defending from John Nutter as Luke I’Anson made it 2-0 with a tap in. Gillingham had reverted to long ball tactics in the hope that first half substitute Adebayo Akinfenwa would be able to produce something from often aimless passes. Boos echoed around Priestfield at the end of the first half as Gillingham went to the dressing room to face the wrath of their manager.

Gillingham improved markedly in the second half as they forced a series of saves from Dover goalkeeper Ross Flitney. Danny Spiller and Stefan Payne were both denied by Flitney who protected his team’s lead. Dover withstood the pressure and their victory was all but assured when John Nutter was sent off with twenty minutes to go. Baker found himself clear of the Gillingham defence but was tackled by Nutter, who was the last man.

The crowd was noticeably deflated after the red card and their attentions turned to Hessenthaler and Chairman Paul Scally who had defended his record at the club earlier this week after the stadium had been vandalised. Scally bought the club in the mid 1990s, saving it from bankruptcy and redeveloping the stadium. Despite this The Rainham End of the ground made their feelings known, chanting “We Want Scally Out”, to which the Dover fans humorously responded “We Want Hessy Out”. The Whites were revelling in the disarray that their opponents found themselves in and even optimistically sang “Que Sera, Sera”, hoping that this would be the start of an unlikely road to Wembley.

At the final whistle, the Dover fans celebrated wildly while another chorus of boos rang around the stadium. The Gills players looked dejected; especially Jack Payne and many were wondering whether this was Hessenthaler’s last game in charge. Hessenthaler has said that he will not walk away from the club despite the team’s poor form. He will hope to turn things around at a club where he is held in high regard, but yesterday was definitely a new low in an increasingly disappointing season.

In the other ties involving Kent clubs, Dartford were a whisker away from securing a place in the Second Round. The Darts led for much of the game but League Two high-flyers Port Vale equalised in the 84th minute to send the tie into a replay. Ebbsfleet United and AFC Wimbledon played out a goalless draw after both teams were reduced to ten men. The Dons will be fired up for the replay as the winner will face either Stevenage Borough or MK Dons, whose move from London to Milton Keynes resulted in the creation of AFC Wimbledon. Hythe Town were the lowest ranked club in the first round and they were defeated 5-1 by Hereford United.

From Kent to Wembley: FA Cup 1st Round

(PIC: Stephen McCaskill)

The FA Cup starts this weekend and there are five Kent teams in the first round of this illustrious competition, the largest representation the county has had in the competition since the 1963/64 season. Once the most important competition in English football, the FA Cup has seen its stock decrease in recent years as Europe, promotion or survival has been the top priority for many clubs, but there is no danger of that happening this weekend.

The tie of the round from a Kent perspective is without a doubt the clash between League Two Gillingham and Blue Square South Dover Athletic. This Kent derby would be tasty enough but will be even more intriguing as Gills manager Andy Hessenthaler is facing the club he left in the summer along with coaching staff Ian Hendon and Nicky Southall. Dover will be bringing 2,000 fans to Priestfield who hope that their side can cause an upset and heap further pressure on the struggling Gills and their former manager.

Hythe Town are the lowest ranked team remaining in the competition and the first Kent League side to reach this stage of the competition since the 1950s. Gills boss Hessenthaler had offered Hythe as many DVDs as they wanted in order to prepare for their clash with Hereford as they seek to cause a massive upset.  With Hereford currently rock bottom of League Two, the Kent club feel that there is a genuine chance of an upset on Saturday.

Dartford also face League Two opposition in the form of Port Vale, but the team from Stoke are doing considerably better than Hythe’s opponents. Dartford haven’t been in the first round for twenty years and this will be the first time that they compete in the FA Cup at their new Princes Park.

Ebbsfleet Town won the FA Trophy in 2008 and will be hoping for similar success in the cup as they take on non-league darlings AFC Wimbledon away from home. Wimbledon pulled off one of the greatest upsets in the competitions illustrious history in 1988, defeating Liverpool 1-0 in the final but their main focus this season will be a return to the league. With Ebbsfleet relegated last season from the Blue Square Premier, they will be hoping that the cup will provide a welcome distraction.

Away from Kent, there are a number of First Round ties that capture the imagination, especially FC United v Rochdale. FC United was formed in 2005 by former Manchester United fans disillusioned with club following the Glazer’s takeover. Since then the club has been rising steadily up the non-league pyramid and qualifying for the First Round represents a real milestone in the fledgling club’s history. The contest will also be their first appearance on television as ESPN will be covering the game on Friday night. Other plum ties include Southport v Sheffield Wednesday, Corby v Luton Town and Cambridge United v Huddersfield Town.

To have this many clubs at this stage of the competition is great for Kent football and a real good news story following the problems that have affected many clubs in the last few years. For Gillingham, anything but a win would be a disaster but for the other four teams it would exceed all expectations. Hopefully the weekend will end with four teams in the Second Round and challenge the statisticians to find out the last time that happened.

The astroturf is always greener on the other side

Following last months takeover at Maidstone United, plans for the club’s long awaited return to the county town have gathered speed, with the new £1m stadium at James Whatman Way earmarked to open in time for Christmas 2011. New owners Oliver Ash and Terry Casey are adamant that any return to Maidstone is dependent on a new state of the art 3G artificial pitch being installed at the new ground. Ash claims that such a surface is the only way that the new stadium could fulfil its role as a facility for all of the club’s teams as it could be used seven days a week, something that would not be possible on a traditional pitch. The 3G artificial pitches proposed by Maidstone United, and those used by a number of clubs across Europe, are vastly different to the ‘plastic’ pitches used by QPR and Luton Town in the 1980s that were so maligned, but scepticism of synthetic turf remains widespread within football. Clubs and supporters have long rejected the idea that football could be played on anything but natural grass, but has the technology advanced enough for critics to reassess their view and recognise the benefits of artificial pitches?

In 1981, Queens Park Rangers believed that they were changing football for the better when they installed an artificial pitch at Loftus Road and three other clubs, Oldham Athletic, Preston North End and Luton Town followed their lead. The pitches however, were hated by opposition players and managers who believed that they were unsafe and gave the home team an unfair advantage as they were used to the oddities of the surface. Jim Smith, the QPR manager between 1985 and 1988, acknowledged as much when he recalled his memories of the pitch, "It was a false game, I knew exactly when we were going to score. It was like robots playing. You got carpet burns and very bad backs if you played on them long enough. The likes of ourselves who played on it regularly had a big advantage”. The pitches were banned in 1988 and the hostilities towards them have been sustained since then.

The advantages that those ‘pioneering’ clubs saw in artificial pitches are still recognised today and FIFA has been active in researching and testing the new generation of synthetic surfaces. In 2001, they launched a licensing programme for artificial pitches and in 2004 they ruled that any FIFA approved pitch could be used for competition. This programme, entitled the FIFA Quality Concept, tests pitches for durability, joint strength, climatic resistance, player-to-surface interaction and ball-to-surface interaction. Tests are also carried out to see if the pitch causes any irritations to the players, such as the carpet burns that affected those who played on the pitches in the 1980s. Pitches that pass these tests are awarded a one or two star recommendation; the first is mainly for community and municipal pitches while the second is awarded to pitches that are suitable for professional football.

The benefits of these pitches are clear; lower maintenance costs, a longer lifespan and an increased resistance to adverse weather conditions. This may appeal to chairmen, but fans, players and managers remain hostile, believing that despite the improvements, teams that play on artificial pitches still hold a crucial advantage. The first competitive international on artificial turf in Europe was the Euro 2008 qualifier between Russia and England and the Luzhniki stadium. The pitch was manufactured by Fieldturf, a company whose surfaces David Beckham criticised after playing on one when he joined Los Angeles Galaxy. Before the game, many were alarmed at the possibility of England not playing on grass, believing it definitely gave the home team an advantage. It was also suggested that the watering of the pitch increased the England players’ unfamiliarity with the pitch and contributed to the 2-1 defeat.

As in Russia, the Swiss winter can be cold and the weather damaging to pitches and as such, some Swiss Super League Clubs have installed artificial surfaces in order to reap the benefits that their advocates stress.  Young Boys Bern and Neuchatel Xamax are two of the Super League clubs who have done this when they reconstructed their grounds. YB’s pitch at the Stade de Suisse (sadly no longer the Wankdorf) came under particular scrutiny after their Champions League qualifier with Tottenham earlier this season. Manager Harry Redknapp had just watched his team come back from 3-0 down to salvage a respectable 3-2 first leg defeat and declared "I played on Astroturf myself and hated every minute of it. We don't have it in England anymore and I don't think it should be used in a competition like this”. UEFA rejected these claims, arguing that a thorough pitch inspection had taken place and that UEFA regulations permitted the use of FIFA 2 star rated artificial pitches at all levels of European competition except for the Champions League final. Supporters are also against artificial pitches as demonstrated when FC Luzern, another Swiss Super League side, announced that they were going to install an artificial pitch at their brand new swissporarena. Fans were outraged, believing that grass was to be the new victim of modern football, following in the steps of standing areas although, fortunately for the fans of FCL, the decision was reversed a few months later.

Football is notoriously resistant to change and in the current era of corporate boxes, all-seater stadia and high ticket prices perhaps many fans believe that artificial pitches are one step too far. At the highest level, grass should always remain the first option as clubs have the resources to relay the pitch and have other facilities that the community could use. However, at lower league and non league level this is not always the case and therefore artificial pitches are an attractive option. In the winter of 2009, Maidstone United did not have a home game in six weeks, something that caused extreme financial pressure on the club and could be prevented again if the plans for the 3G pitch go ahead. The community aspect of the stadium has been integral to the plans for the new ground and if it is necessary to have an artificial surface, then I’m sure that the fans would rather have it than not return in Maidstone. The jury is still out on artificial pitches, but research should be received with an open mind rather than a Luddite refusal to hear any argument in their favour. Grass will always be the ideal situation but not even that guarantees a perfect surface as the problems with Wembley have proved.

Up All Night

One of the most attractive aspects of sport is the fact that every event is unique and unpredictable. While other forms of entertainment are pre-determined, it is sports unscripted nature that attracts spectators, viewers and fans in their millions. While there is always a place in the sporting landscape for highlights programmes such as Match of the Day or trips down memory lane on ESPN Classic, the live element of sport is so important to it that if it is removed it can diminish the enjoyment that fans take from it. It was always possible to record games using  a video recorder, but the advent of Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) and Video On Demand services such as BBC iPlayer now mean that watching sport “as live” is easier than ever but it leaves you at the mercy of technology.

The live aspect of sport is so important to me that if I know the result or a major incident in a match, my interest wanes. It is the unpredictability that gives me the strength to sit through sometimes excruciatingly boring passages of play in the hope that something exciting is just around the corner. The live aspect is also important to me because I cannot cope with just seeing a result afterwards. Watching a football match for ninety minutes gives you time to accept the 5-0 thrashing, something that looking up the score on the internet does not afford you.

Formula One and American Football are but two sports that can take place at unsociable hours for British fans and watching them live requires serious discipline or being nocturnal. Before I acquired a PVR I would either have to watch a repeat, which would leave me in danger of finding out the result before I viewed the event. Although video recorders were an apt solution, I found it a complicated and occasionally fruitless procedure whereas now I can push a button and watch the match at my leisure without fear of finding out the result.

I did this last weekend for the inaugural Korean GP which was broadcast on the BBC and woke up eager to view the latest instalment in a thrilling climax to the 2010 Formula One season. Sky+ has the useful feature of being able to detect when a programme has been extended and adjusts the recording accordingly. Sadly, as good as Sky+ is, it is unable to account for torrential rain and the decision of the BBC to switch channels as the race overran its original timeslot. As it became apparent that the recording was too short, I was furious and I was not alone. I checked BBC iPlayer and although Part 1 of the race had been uploaded (the part that had been shown on BBC One), but part 2 (the part shown on BBC Two) had not been. In the end, since I am incapable of insulating myself from the internet and sporting media for longer than a few hours, I blinked and checked the result and discovered that I had missed out an eventful end to the race.

Another example of my new found dependence on technology thwarting me was when I recorded Monday Night Football on ESPN a few weeks ago. Green Bay travelled to Soldier Field to take on Chicago and a tense game was approaching a crescendo. Almost exactly at the two minute warning, my recording ended. This time there was no other way to view the final two minutes so I looked up the score and saw that the Packers had lost 20-17. The time invested in watching an event only to miss the end feels all the more wasted when the ending does not have a happy outcome.

The spread of PVR technology now means that sports fans can enjoy far more of the action ‘as live’ and has certainly changed the way we consume sport. The technology means that the live and spontaneous nature of sport isn’t removed and results in much of the attraction is retained. I can imagine that many baseball fans are grateful for that this week, given that much of the World Series will be broadcast while they are asleep.

Sport for all... for a price

(PIC: Metro)

Following the removal of Sky Sports News from Freeview, there is no dedicated sports channel on Free to Air television in the UK. Since Sky arrived on the British broadcasting scene over twenty years ago, sport on television has experienced unprecedented expansion through the arrival of satellite television and dedicated sports networks. While sports that had never had much air time previously have benefited from this trend, more and more sporting events have been removed from FTA and placed behind a pay wall.

While Premier League football is the classic example of sport being used to attract subscribers, most sports and leagues have deals with Sky, ESPN or Eurosport. England home tests, which were broadcast on the BBC and later Channel Four, were removed from FTA in 2006 as part of a new broadcast deal between Sky and the ECB. This is but one recent example of a governing body seeking to maximise revenue from broadcasters eager to pay more for sports to strengthen the lure of their subscriptions. Premiership Rugby and Super League had already been on pay TV for many years and it is possible that the only major sport that it is possible to view comprehensively on FTA is Formula One, which is now one of the pillars of the BBC’s ever dwindling portfolio.

The movement of these mainstream sports to subscription television has been followed by many niche sports. Only two years ago, Channel Five’s late night schedule offered the insomniac viewer a variety of American sports including American football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey. Coverage of these sports was cut as five sought to reduce expenditure in the current media climate. While the cost of the rights was relatively low, the studio production costs were unjustifiable given the limited audience and advertising revenue available in the small hours. While Channel Four and ESPN have picked up the NFL games that were on five, the NHL and MLB are now exclusive to ESPN America, who provide no studio production to accompany the American feed.

While the BBC continue to show many of the ‘crown jewel’ sporting events such as Wimbledon, The Open and the Olympics, it has recently lost exclusive rights to the US Masters to Sky Sports and the World Athletics Championships to Channel Four. The BBC does provide a substantial amount of sporting programming and its coverage is second to none but the loss of such important events is worrying. ITV 1’s sports strategy has shifted in recent years with its resources allocated to showing blue chip events such as the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup and England internationals. It infers that ITV believe that football is the only sport that merits the increased cost of securing television rights, although it has extended its deal with the IRB to show the Rugby World Cup.

The UK is seen as one of the biggest pay TV markets in the world and broadcasters are keen to exploit that as viewers are willing to pay for premium content, chiefly sport. In the US, the market is different as most premium sports channels cater for a specific audience such as local sports teams or niche sports such as football or cricket. While ESPN isn’t strictly free as it does require a basic cable subscription, the cost is minimal and the main networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX all show a variety of NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA action. In many countries across Europe, Eurosport is part of basic packages, while in Germany it is joined by Sport 1 which shows a variety of sport such as Moto GP, Bundesliga programming and even Premier League highlights.

The closest example that the UK has is ITV4 which has steadily built up a substantial portfolio of sporting rights. It broadcasts live UEFA Europa League football as well as programming from ITV’s other football properties, live coverage of the Tour de France and the British Touring Car Championships. In addition to this it provided the first FTA cricket coverage in five years when it showed the 2010 Indian Premier League and gave rugby union a Match of the Day style round up with its Premiership highlights which were joined this season by highlights from the Heineken and Challenge Cups. While many have criticised ITV’s sports coverage in the past, most notably when their HD channel missed England’s goal against the USA in the World Cup, its commitment to FTA sports should be commended.

We will probably never see Premier League football or even test cricket back on FTA television, but there remains the hope that one day we will be able to have a service similar to ESPN or Eurosport. The BBC have repeatedly rejected the possibility that they could create such a channel, arguing that the current red button service is effectively a sports channel while others believe that the boat has been missed.  Given that sport remains one of the few unifying events in an increasingly fragmented media market (programmes like the X Factor being another example), many sports could benefit from the increased exposure rather than the money that pay TV companies are willing to give them. Sports such as snooker increased in popularity because of coverage on television in the 70s and 80s and it is no coincidence that the organisers of Power Snooker, which aims to imitate the success of Twenty20 cricket and rejuvenate interest in the sport, have signed a deal with ITV4 to show the inaugural event this weekend.

America's Game in the UK

Before the age of satellite television brought us wall to wall sporting coverage from every corner of the world, a new television channel called Channel Four brought American football to British screens on a Sunday evening. The game reached unprecedented levels of popularity during the 1980’s and developed a hardcore following. In 2007, the NFL brought a regular season game to the UK to the first time and the publicity that accompanied the match at Wembley introduced a whole new generation to America’s game. For a sport that has no significant domestic league in this country and remains at the periphery of Britain’s sporting mainstream, there is a wealth of coverage devoted to the NFL.

The NFL has four broadcasters in the UK. The main television broadcaster is Sky Sports who show games at 6:00pm and 9:00pm on Sunday. Coverage is presented by Kevin Cadle and Nick Halling who are joined by a guest pundit. Sky Sports also show the Thanksgiving games and then show the Thursday Night game which is aired in the US on NFL Network. This year, American football has returned to Channel Four as they have secured rights to Sunday Night Football. Gary Imlach, who had previously fronted American football for the channel, is joined by Mike Carlson, who was a pundit on five’s NFL coverage.  ESPN show Monday Night Football which is the flagship programme of their American counterparts and show the entire American production, including Monday Night Countdown. The BBC shows the Superbowl live with Sky Sports, who show the game exclusively in High Definition. While the coverage this year is an improvement on last year when Monday Night Football was absent from UK television, to watch every game shown you need two subscriptions and only one game a week is on free to air television and it is on late Sunday night. The quality of coverage is exceptional, especially in high definition and the studio programmes ensure that British viewers are not subject the frustrating number of advertising breaks that plague American viewers.

British fans can also listen to radio coverage which began last season. BBC 5 live sports extra provide coverage of a game at 9:00pm on Sunday nights. Commentary is taken from an American radio station or from the BBC’s own commentators in the states while the studio keeps the listener informed of the scores from around the league. The radio coverage is as good as the rest of Radio 5 live’s output and the inclusion of many of the best known NFL UK personalities such as Neil Reynolds means that it is as knowledgeable as anything the US can offer. For those seeking more audio coverage, the NFL UK ‘Inside the Huddle’ podcast provides both previews and reviews of the week’s action with Neil Reynolds and Mike Carlson.

Coverage of the NFL in the UK is as comprehensive as it can get, with at least four games a week shown live on television and another on the radio. It is covered as well in this country as football, rugby union, rugby league and cricket which means that following the league has never been easier for the American football fan.

Bringing The Stones Back Home

(PIC: Maidstone United)

On the 11^th October, Oliver Ash and lifelong fan Terry Casey finally completed their takeover of Maidstone United following a protracted saga that has mirrored the team’s 22 year absence from the county town. After a tough year financially for the club, the takeover should provide the boost that the Stones need for their league campaign and the impetus for a return to Maidstone.

Ash had been on the club’s board since February 2008 when his company Richmond Developments, a French-based real estate company, secured 25% of the club. Lashings, who run an all-star cricket team and a restaurant in Maidstone, were also in the running, but Ash and Casey were seen as the ideal candidates for the takeover, especially with Ash’s background in construction. The deal sees an end to the tenure of Paul Bowden-Powell, who has worked tirelessly to ensure the survival of the reformed football club since its inception and the long-term ambition of bringing football back to Maidstone.

Maidstone United have not played in their hometown since 1988 when they sold their London Road ground and have played in Dartford, Sittingbourne and most recently Ashford. The current incarnation of the club was born in 1992 following the bankruptcy of Maidstone United’s previous iteration. After a steady rise through the non-league pyramid, The Stones were finally promoted to the Ryman Premier Division on 2007 and have remained there since. Recently however, the club’s fortunes have been on the wane. Financial problems were exacerbated by last year’s cold weather which resulted in just one home game played in six weeks meaning the players were not paid. The arrival of Ash and Casey should bring the club onto a more sound financial footing, but the question remains; when will the Stones come home?

Paul Bowden-Powell made it his mission to return football to Maidstone and in 2004 and a plan to open a new ground at James Whatman Way was unanimously approved by councillors. The initial plan was to open the stadium in 2006, but a series of setbacks has ensured that the ground has not progressed significantly beyond the planning process. In March 2006, the land needed to build the stadium was secured on a 99 year lease from the Ministry of Defence with a view to opening in time for the 2007/2008 season. The plans included a main stand with two covered terraces, a club house and parking. The club had leased the land with a ten year loan from the Borough Council but financial problems remained. Despite Ash’s investment in 2008, the club had applied for a £1.2m grant from the Football Association and the Football Foundation, but this was rejected. Bowden-Powell earmarked 2010 as the new date for a return to Maidstone, despite the latest setback. While Bowden-Powell acknowledged the role that the Borough Council played in the advances made, he lamented the lack of support for sport in the area. This does hold some truth, especially when Maidstone has not hosted league football for twenty years and county cricket for four years.

Ash’s takeover should speed up the return to Maidstone and he is formalising a new business plan to present to investors. The new stadium is necessary for the club to avoid the fate that the original team suffered as a new ground would increase revenue and would reignite support in the team. Glenn Aitken, a former Stones player who was working with the Lashings bid to take over the club, believed that the level of support for Maidstone was the same as that of AFC Wimbledon, but it was more passive because the team did not play in the town.

While the first home game at James Whatman Way may not happen in the near future, the takeover is a step in the right direction for The Stones to finally end their exile.

For more information, go to: http://www.bringthestoneshome.co.uk/