LEAGUE IS THE BEST IT’S BEEN!
WINNING silverware is always special and we were really happy to lift the Kent Senior Cup on Wednesday night.
It’s nice to have finally completed the 2019-20 season at last. It’s crazy – we’ll be in 2022 in a little more than a month! It just shows what the world has been like the last couple of years but we’re pleased to have won the final 6-1 against Whitstable Town. The lads were excellent.
We go into the FA Trophy this weekend at the top of the National League South. In my most recent column I wrote about our good start – and pointed out that a good start is all it was. There’s a lot of football to come.
Since then we lost a couple in the league and everybody closed the gap. Last weekend we got back to winning ways against Hemel Hempstead, who are doing well under new manager
Mark Jones, before yesterday’s Trophy win at Bath.
It’s really pleasing. This league is so fierce. It’s the best it has ever been. It’s so tight.
I went to Ebbsfleet United against Maidstone United in midweek. Maidstone were ninth at the start of the night – they won and now they’re joint-second. There are just seven points between the top 11 in the table. A couple of weeks ago St Albans were second, now they’re ninth, with two games in hand to go straight back in there.
Characters
Look at Jon Underwood and Neil Baker’s Slough. They got ten points out of 12 and it has catapulted them up the table. Peter Taylor at Welling was on four points when he came in, now they are on 17! Right across the league there is strength through the squads. The quality of football and calibre of player has gone up. If you’re not on it, you’ll get beaten. There is no formula. If you turn up and play well, you’ve got a chance. If you don’t, you’ll get beaten. I’ve said from the beginning it’s going to be a rollercoaster. If you lose a couple or win a couple it all looks different. The lead is going to keep changing hands all the way through the season. It’s going to the wire, I can already feel it.
You’ll find a lot of teams will go through an injury crisis. Dorking Wanderers have had one but are just now getting their players back. They all played in the County Cup this week against Horley so I expect them to come strong second half of the season. We are now missing six top players from our group.
Josh Hill,
Jack Jebb, Luke Allen, Jordan Wynter and Emmanuel Sonupe are all sidelined. They are big players for us. We don’t have an endless pit of money to bring people in. Sometimes you have to get people in for nothing for a period of time. But you also have to make sure they are the right characters as well.
Confidence
As you can imagine, the squad is tight and buoyant following our win the other night and unbeaten in five league and cup games. Whatever competition we’re in, we try to win. It was so pleasing to see Jake Robinson score a hat-trick in front of a crowd of nearly 800 and add another matchball to his collection.
He’s been out for three months and we’ve missed that poacher in the box. We’ve had chances this season I know if he was in there, he’d gobble them up.
Jake’s a natural in front of goal. He even had two disallowed the other night. That’s huge for his confidence coming back. Ade Azeez has done ever so well for us. He’s scored 13 goals – and they are all different types. Jake is lethal in the box.
We have scouts down at every single game. I know a Championship club as well as League 1 and 2 clubs have been watching Danny Leonard. We signed him in the summer from Sheppey United and he’s been excellent in his first season at this level.
As are all the players. The defence have the best stats in the league – every single player is playing their part.
The festive period is fast approaching and we’ve got a very tough fixture schedule.
We have Billericay on Saturday before derbies with Maidstone and Ebbsfleet. Then we’re onto Dulwich, Havant and Hampton & Richmond. Not that we are looking far ahead. If you do, this league will bite you.