Post by kevinanderson on Nov 13, 2015 12:30:10 GMT
(In case you didn't buy your own copy...!)
Eastbourne Borough welcome league leaders Ebbsfleet United to Priory Lane on Saturday – an exciting prospect on the field, and a tale of two football clubs.
Two or three years ago, the Kent club were on the brink. A bag of debts, a failed experiment with ownership by internet fans, a relegated team, and a creaking, elderly ground. Then in came new, lavishly rich Kuwaiti backers, and Ebbsfleet were reborn.
In fairness, it is not the sort of dubious investment which often plagues football. Ebbsfleet United’s owners have proved genuine and keen to see the club succeed. And for Eastbourne Borough, it’s a story of what might have been…
Before turning to the Thames Estuary, the same backers had been seriously interested in a certain football club on the South Coast. But down here at Priory Lane, agreement could not quite be reached with the Borough board, and so history has moved on.
Envious? Not envious at all. Well, ok, maybe just a tiny bit. The North Kent club does have some of the drawbacks that come with wealth – and above all the expectations. Manager-before-last Steve Brown, a fine coach and an honourable guy, lost his job partly because he was not keen to splash the owners’ cash on players he thought were over-valued. And Brown’s successor Jamie Day did start rebuilding with new signings on four-figure weekly wages, but lasted only a matter of weeks before his paymasters grew impatient.
Current boss Daryl McMahon, promoted from the dressing-room, has made a better fist of it, casting his net around bring in players of proven quality. He has a budget that can top any National South club – witness his trumping of Whitehawk to tempt John Paul Kissock to Stonebridge Road – and his squad looks too strong for the rest of the league.
But those expectations remain a millstone. The Ebbsfleet machine has spluttered recently, with only one win in the last seven, and some supporters have been getting itchy. They must be expecting better than a defeat to modest Wealdstone and a 1-1 draw with rivals Oxford City.
Widdrington does not have the same weight on his shoulders. His eager young squad may be much lower-paid but it is, so to speak, higher-value. Priory Lane supporters are generally on board with Tommy’s project, and they can certainly never fault the team’s commitment. The story of the season has been attractive play with, sometimes, a lack of end product.
But recent games have seen Borough close to their best, enjoying far the better of the Dover game despite the 0-1 defeat, and then matching a powerful Sutton United side which is not all that different in make-up from Ebbsfleet’s.
With Adam Watts coming successfully through the Senior Cup game, Tommy has a full squad to choose from. Darren Lok and Elliott Romain were both on Tuesday’s scoresheet and will compete with Nat Pinney and Gavin McCallum as forward options. Four first-teamers – Simpemba, Collier, Hamilton and Evans – were not involved but will surely be back in the frame against the Fleet. Ryan Worrall will again be getting some useful pitch time on loan at Peacehaven: a smart move for all concerned, that one.
Last season’s two fixtures with Ebbsfleet were both drawn. If Widdrington has to settle for that again at 5.00 on Saturday, he will be grudgingly content. But at 3.00, his team will have nothing less than victory in their sights. It should be a cracker.
Eastbourne Borough welcome league leaders Ebbsfleet United to Priory Lane on Saturday – an exciting prospect on the field, and a tale of two football clubs.
Two or three years ago, the Kent club were on the brink. A bag of debts, a failed experiment with ownership by internet fans, a relegated team, and a creaking, elderly ground. Then in came new, lavishly rich Kuwaiti backers, and Ebbsfleet were reborn.
In fairness, it is not the sort of dubious investment which often plagues football. Ebbsfleet United’s owners have proved genuine and keen to see the club succeed. And for Eastbourne Borough, it’s a story of what might have been…
Before turning to the Thames Estuary, the same backers had been seriously interested in a certain football club on the South Coast. But down here at Priory Lane, agreement could not quite be reached with the Borough board, and so history has moved on.
Envious? Not envious at all. Well, ok, maybe just a tiny bit. The North Kent club does have some of the drawbacks that come with wealth – and above all the expectations. Manager-before-last Steve Brown, a fine coach and an honourable guy, lost his job partly because he was not keen to splash the owners’ cash on players he thought were over-valued. And Brown’s successor Jamie Day did start rebuilding with new signings on four-figure weekly wages, but lasted only a matter of weeks before his paymasters grew impatient.
Current boss Daryl McMahon, promoted from the dressing-room, has made a better fist of it, casting his net around bring in players of proven quality. He has a budget that can top any National South club – witness his trumping of Whitehawk to tempt John Paul Kissock to Stonebridge Road – and his squad looks too strong for the rest of the league.
But those expectations remain a millstone. The Ebbsfleet machine has spluttered recently, with only one win in the last seven, and some supporters have been getting itchy. They must be expecting better than a defeat to modest Wealdstone and a 1-1 draw with rivals Oxford City.
Widdrington does not have the same weight on his shoulders. His eager young squad may be much lower-paid but it is, so to speak, higher-value. Priory Lane supporters are generally on board with Tommy’s project, and they can certainly never fault the team’s commitment. The story of the season has been attractive play with, sometimes, a lack of end product.
But recent games have seen Borough close to their best, enjoying far the better of the Dover game despite the 0-1 defeat, and then matching a powerful Sutton United side which is not all that different in make-up from Ebbsfleet’s.
With Adam Watts coming successfully through the Senior Cup game, Tommy has a full squad to choose from. Darren Lok and Elliott Romain were both on Tuesday’s scoresheet and will compete with Nat Pinney and Gavin McCallum as forward options. Four first-teamers – Simpemba, Collier, Hamilton and Evans – were not involved but will surely be back in the frame against the Fleet. Ryan Worrall will again be getting some useful pitch time on loan at Peacehaven: a smart move for all concerned, that one.
Last season’s two fixtures with Ebbsfleet were both drawn. If Widdrington has to settle for that again at 5.00 on Saturday, he will be grudgingly content. But at 3.00, his team will have nothing less than victory in their sights. It should be a cracker.
