[The Hopper]

Unfortunately the previous reviews of my travels around County league Divs 1 and 2 are lost forever but fortunately i have details of points awarded .2 games to add since last report are Crawley Down v Seaford and Bexhill United v Pagham
First Crawley Down v Seaford
1 Not a bad welcome here but first impressions are of a one man run club.The same guy seemed to be doing the lot Entrance fee collection raffle tickets programmes half time raffle draw and so on so really didnt have much contact with home club representatives 5/10
2 I really dont like this ground too much The presence of an adacent pitch gives it a local parks atmosphere.The pitch wasnt in bad condition but its a very uneven surface and the scorched grass cuttings left on pitch gave it a very untidy look Dugouts look like theyre used rest of week to grow tomatoes in. 4/10
3 Excellent choice of hot and cold foods available in fact theres a menu to choose from.Unfortunately for the club itself all profits are for the social club not the football club.(I was told the football club only has use of facilities here.It is the village social club)7/10
4The first half was a drab affair in fact best entertainment was on adjacent pitch watching 2 dogs playing fetch.Seaford were marginally the better side playing attractive football going forward but had no punch up front Crawley Down took lead from a right wing corner on the stroke of half time though the ball barely crossed the line the assistant ref was confident it had crossed H>T>1-0
2nd half wasnt much better CD doubled thier lead soon after restart and when the ref awarded a penalty for the 3rd goal the game was over as a contest. Seaford pulled one back late in the game with thier only worthwhile effort in 90 mins Final score 3-1.......5/10
5 Excellent bar and social facilities here good staff and choices available but as mentioned earlier nothing is benefitting the football club 7/10


Bexhill United v Pagham
1 Nice friendly welcome at the gate and same in clubhouse at bar and tea bar Didnt appear to be many club reps around but those that were did the club proud 7/10
2 The pitch looked in good nick and has potential to be one of best in county league lights expected to go up early next year will improve things greatly but still a lot of ground grading work required to bring up to county 1 standard ..5/10
3 Very limited choicein the refreshment department but at least its served up with a smile ....5/10
4Not much of a game really although Bexhill looked much sharper and fitter than my previous look at them at Oakwood.They led with a well taken goal late in first half H.T.1-0 2nd half was one way traffic and it seemed only a matter of time before Pagham scored However Bexhill had a few oppurtunitys to double the lead most notably 2 mins from time when Paghams keeper made a point blank save.Pagham equalised with thier last touch of the ball Bexhill just having time to restart before final whistle Final score 1-1..5/10
5 Social club is a bit on the small side and really not much choice as to what to drink and sin of all sins no sky sports had to keep updated with scores by teletext on small screen 5/10
All in all everything about this club is pretty mediocre and rather than adding any bonuses i am going to deduct a point for the idiotic Bexhill supporter who thought his racist remarks aimed at a Pagham player were funny to those around him This guy was not amused

Div1
Eastbourne U A 34

Sidley 34
Crowborough 32
Hassocks 31
East Preston 1

Div 2
Oakwood .................31
Sidlesham.................31
Wealden....................30
Crawley Down............28
Bexhill United.............26
Westfield....................17
Pagham 1

Could be a bumper weekend if possible will do 3 games at Hailsham Pagham and Wick good luck everyone this weekend

Pagham 1

[Geoff]

Not lost;

Click here...
http://www.maindev.co.uk/Nomad/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=820&KW=The+Hopper

[The Hopper]

Thanks Geoff much appreciated i see i left Wealdens bonus point off I.ll wait til Otters complains enough before i reinstate it

[MITCHELL]

SEE YOU FRIDAY NIGHT
_________________
REDHILL F.C. THE LOBSTERS
www.redhillfc.co.uk
Club Shop Sponsored by Surrey Soccer

[Dean Bradford]

Nice effort Hopper - see you on Saturday - I can also confirm it is a 3pm kick off
_________________
Dean Bradford

[Downer and Out]

First Crawley Down v Seaford
1 Not a bad welcome here but first impressions are of a one man run club.The same guy seemed to be doing the lot Entrance fee collection raffle tickets programmes half time raffle draw and so on so really didnt have much contact with home club representatives 5/10
2 I really dont like this ground too much The presence of an adacent pitch gives it a local parks atmosphere.The pitch wasnt in bad condition but its a very uneven surface and the scorched grass cuttings left on pitch gave it a very untidy look Dugouts look like theyre used rest of week to grow tomatoes in. 4/10
3 Excellent choice of hot and cold foods available in fact theres a menu to choose from.Unfortunately for the club itself all profits are for the social club not the football club.(I was told the football club only has use of facilities here.It is the village social club)7/10
4The first half was a drab affair in fact best entertainment was on adjacent pitch watching 2 dogs playing fetch.Seaford were marginally the better side playing attractive football going forward but had no punch up front Crawley Down took lead from a right wing corner on the stroke of half time though the ball barely crossed the line the assistant ref was confident it had crossed H>T>1-0
2nd half wasnt much better CD doubled thier lead soon after restart and when the ref awarded a penalty for the 3rd goal the game was over as a contest. Seaford pulled one back late in the game with thier only worthwhile effort in 90 mins Final score 3-1.......5/10
5 Excellent bar and social facilities here good staff and choices available but as mentioned earlier nothing is benefitting the football club 7/10



Hopper,

Most of the points that you made were very valid.

Unfortunately because the social club tend to take all of the profits there is no money made available to the football club to improve that side of it.

It is also meant to be the council's responsibility to look after the pitch, but because they dont, we had a guy out there all day before the Seaford game cutting the grass.

I dont think that the social club fully appreciate the amount of revenue given to them by the football club on Saturdays and training nights and so do not give anything back.
It would be nice if we could find our own ground and clubhouse to take the club forward - not likely to happen though!

Although like you say the adjacent pitch gives it a local parks atmosphere, it also allows our third team to play at The Haven.

I'm sorry that the game wasnt the best, although it did have a bit of needle and a couple of good goals - and from our point of view a good win!!!!!

Hope you have a better time next time you visit.

[The Hopper]

Thanks again for your input guys knowing the posts get read makes the exercise worthwhile for me and i really get a kick out of going to these games Dean and Spence...will be good to see you both again and Downer and Outer glad you have confirmed the points i made Nothing in my reports should be taken too seriously its merely how i find things on the day.As i said in my first post in the subject i will try to be 100% honest and also pointed out at the same time a lot will depend on who visiting opponents are and weather conditions.I did see your guy cutting the grass on the day and i dint arrive til 5 mins before k-o He was driving that little tractor between players warming up.Incidently on my previous visit i contributed to your floodlights fund Whats the latest on that or do i get my quid back I also ended up running the line as fef came off injured and first job was to flag for penalty to Eastbourne United Were you there on the day?I think final score was 1-1

[Downer and Out]

[Otters]

Come on Hopper think its about time you put our bonus point up!!!!!
_________________
Dream as if you'll live forever; live as if you'll die tomorrow.

[The Hopper]

Hailsham visit v Redhill.
First taste of Friday night football here for my 2nd visit of season to Hailsham !st being Sidleys FA cup game v Deal
1 Quite welcoming visit here gateman friendly but seemed concerned that all his fivers going as no one had change tea bar ladies quite charming and the older of 2 young lads infood bar has a good sense of humour i liked him Bar was busy all night so staff under a bit of pressure but friendly enough.........7/10
2 Pitch is not in bad condition but already signs of wear in goalmouths and down one touchline and with autumn now here that side lined with trees could do with a good sweep.lots of fallen twigswill lead to some sore knees i'm sure .Nice enclosed tight ground i can imagine a good atmosphere here with a large crowd 6/10
3.. Hot drinks bar and hot food bar seperate here saves a lot of queing and location on sideline at top of terracing means you miss very little of the action Everyone catered for with a selection of sweeties for the kids of which there were plenty here.some of cooked items were not available(Friday night blamed for that) but the hot dogs were just that hot and excellent too 7/10
4..The game was not what i or most of Redhill fans expected.following the departure of Redhills manager 6 days earlier and a walkout by 1st team players A team of reserve and youth players gave a good Hailsham side a run for its money and were unlucky not to be a goal up at the break Redhill certainly had lions share of poccesion in first 45 minsHT 0-0
Hailsham took lead from penalty midway through 2nd half and the killer blow came soon after .I fully expected Redhill heads to drop but couldnt have been further from truth as Redhill pushed forward for remainder of game.On the whole there were very few shots on goal in the game but it was played in a good and competitive spirit7/10
5 Nice social club here good sized bar and good selection of drinks ample seating with pool table and large tv screenAlthough quite busy in here i personally didnt feel it had a great atmosphere....7/10

Long day for me 5.30am start drive to Westminster days work down to Hailsham then back to Tonbridge but worth giving up a Friday night for Nice to meet up with Spense again And JR to who was sharing the company of his ex managerial partner at Bexhill and a couple of Bexhill players .... nice to meet you guys too......
I have been asked to point out that since my trip to the polegrove Bexhill U have installed a larger tv T but unfortunately cant afford sky yet
Will update tables after Saturdays games( Must try to remember Wealdens bonus point)

[jason robson]

mr hopper nice to see you and spence it was a good game and i have to agree the food was top draw
i felt redhill were very unlucky to walk away losers in this game .
_________________
hard times will make me a better man

[MITCHELL]

HI GUYS IT WAS GOOD TO MEET UP AGAIN HOOPER THANKS FOR THE CHOCOLATE FOR THE KIDS THE LIKED THEM A LOT!

NICE TO MEET YOU AND HAVE A CHAT JASON I THINK THE LADS THAT PLAYED WERE A GREAT CREDIT TO THE CLUB ONLY TWO REGULAR FIRST TEAM PLAYERS, BUT ALL THE TEAM PLAYED WELL AND WE DESERVED SOMETHING FROM THE GAME. WE MUST NOW GET BEHIND THE NEW MANAGER AND HOPE WE CAN GET OUT OF RELEGATION STARTING WITH WORTHING AT HOME ON SATURDAY.
_________________
REDHILL F.C. THE LOBSTERS
www.redhillfc.co.uk
Club Shop Sponsored by Surrey Soccer

[The Hopper]

2 games to catch up on from Saturday
Saltdean visit v East Grinstead
! Well with a 12pm k-o the order of the day was a lot of "Good Mornings as i approached then entered the ground so really was a welcoming arrival and friendliness continued throughout match as locals stopped and chatted 8/10
2 I would have thought looking around that a lot of effort went into bringing this ground upto County League 1 status a few years back but the whole place is in need of a facelift now.as Saltdean strive to retain previous highs. The "STAND"is littered with broken glass the netting behind one goal is falling down and the bare patches on the pitch are the worse i've seen yet.The pitch also looked very bumpy in places 5/10
3 Tea or coffee the choice is yours no food though 2/10
4 The game started fast with Saltdean keeper making 2 fantastic saves in opening 2 mins Saltdean hit back with a few fine efforts of their own one of these hitting the foot of the post.East Grinsteads winner coming from a downwards header helped into the roof of the net via the keepers hand H>T 0-1 2nd half was a bit of a non event neither keeper having to make a save Saltdean threatened on a few occasions but no one connecting from a couple of good crosses East Grinsteads efforts all blocked on edge of penalty area 5/10
5 A small social club with limited availability Not much atmosphere but then not too many people about 5/10



Wick visit v Horsham YMCA

1 Pleasant welcome at turnstile then programme seller then raffle ticket seller nice guy serving at tea hut but miserable old sod in dugout
................7/10
2 Definately one of the better county league grounds Cover both sides of the ground seating quite comfy .... level pitch though a bit bumpy far corner from clubhouseand entry through a turnstile makes a change from most grounds......8/10
3 Half of the menu was not available for some reson it was blamed on the internationals being played However Bacon rolls were delicious(all 3 of them) and a good selection of filled rolls available i did fancy a cheeseburger though.......6/10
4 Well for 75 minutes Wick were the better side unfortunately for them YMCA raced into an early 3 goal lead playing some neat fast flowing football and looking every inch potential champions .... Wick pulled back a goal late in first half and somehow missed a golden oppurtunity from 3 yards out with the keeper grounded at the post when it seemed impossible to miss H.T 1-3 2nd half was a fairly even affair with Wick just edging it both sides had chances and when Wick reduced the arrears yet again it gave the YMCA defence a few anxious moments as Wick pushed forward searching an equaliser Final score 2-3......7/10
5 A pleasant clubhouse lots of info and photos scattered around plenty of seating but that small tv screen a strain on my poor old eyes.Unfottunately the atmosphere around the place nose-dived somewhat as news of break-in spread with fingers pointed in all directions as to whose resposibility it was Pity was looking forward to a chat but really wasnt a good time...7/10

............Div 1........................Div 2

Wick.................35 ...........Oakwood......31

Eatbourne U A...34.............Sidlesham.....31
Hailsham...........34.............Wealden.......30
Sidley...............34...........Crawley Down.28

Crowborough.....32............Bexhill U.........26
Hassocks...........31............Saltdean.........25
E P 1............Westfield.........17
..........................................Pagham 1

[The Hopper]

Did i forget Wealdens bonus point again?

[Dean Bradford]

Great review Hopper, but as you say real shame at the end when news filtered through about the break in.

I didn't think Andy looked too grumpy in the dugout
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Dean Bradford