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(This article was first published in the Worthing FC Programme in the 2002-2003 season)
On and on and on and on and…
Horsham
Another programme, another Sussex derby to preview. This one is the A24 Derby, but unfortunately that doesn’t involve 20 horses jumping over the Findon roundabout. After the fantastic support we had at Bognor, it would be superb if we could keep that up and further establish our reputation as the most committed and most passionate supporters in Sussex.
Have you noticed that the worse Worthing do, the more noise us fans make getting behind the team, hence the regular singing in the middle of last season – why is that? The Horseman thinks it’s because when we’re doing well, less alcohol is needed to dull the pain.
And speaking of alcohol, it’s another devastating catastrophe that this game falls on a Tuesday, particularly after a couple of Rebels fans paced out the perfect pre-match pub-crawl from the station to the town centre to the ground and back again over the summer.
Prediction: Against the striking might of Gavin Geddes and Robbie Collins (likened to Michael Owen by Crawley boss Billy Smith, a good 4 months before he released Collins on a free transfer), can the Rebels gain a valuable derby win? Tune in to the next thrilling instalment to find out…
Windsor & Eton
An Englishman’s home may be a castle, but Winsor & Eton’s is a bit of a shed. The ground just inside Windsor, but just outside civilisation, and set back from the road – for some reason I get it easily confused with Horsham – must be the barbour jacket middle-England vibe clouding my jedi-like focus. Having this game four days later isn’t going to help much now, is it?
The ground is a long way from Tipperary, and is definitely a taxi ride from the station, whether it be central or riverside. If the Queen’s in, give her my regards. The lanes next to the castle come highly recommended for pub-crawling, but are notoriously difficult to navigate.
Forecast: Good to firm
Walton & Hersham
Home of the original “train trip” (well, Leyton Pennant was really, but seeing as that was only 2 people it doesn’t count), and a big favourite with travelling Rebels due to the Waggon & Horses pub in Surbition, the fixture list has yet again cruelly snatched this pleasure away from us.
Walton’s pitch lies marooned in the centre of a local sports centre, with a large alien meringue behind one goal and a club house with the most selective choice of draught beer in the league (i.e. two pumps, and a large selection of cans), giving the place all the ambience of a Bognor seafront bar. Nonetheless, a good place to watch Pop Idol on the telly.
I can hear voices: oh yes, I can you know. What do they say? Theo Paphitis (chairman of Ryman stationers and Millwall Football Club) used to be on the board here.
Regrets? No – but then I’ve had
a few
The Flying Horseman
7th Feb 2004