One of the most eagerly anticipated
matches of the season is here. Dover Athletic v Ebbsfleet United; a
Kent derby. Any other season and this would be “just another game”,
however this season isn't like any other. A total of ten players
have directly swapped between the two Clubs this Summer, and the
Fleet have taken some of the Dover back room staff. It's set up to be
a cracker.
Let's take a look at the opposition...
Dover Athletic FC
Founded – 1983
Nickname – The
Whites
Stadium – Crabble
Athletic Ground
Manager – Chris
Kinnear
Captain – Craig
Stone
Last season's finish - 3rd
– lost in the play-off final.
Dover Athletic
were founded in 1983, after the original Club Dover FC folded. The
Club had previously went out of business four times.
The Club in it's
new disguise took the old Club's place in the Southern League,
Southern Division and gained promotion to the Premier Division after
five seasons. The man behind it was none other than Chris Kinnear,
after he'd taken over when Steve McRae was sacked. Two seasons later,
the Whites won the Premier Division but were denied promotion to the
Football Conference due to their ground not being up to scratch.
In the 1992/93
season, the Whites won the Division again and this time were allowed
to enter the Conference. After an eight place finish in the first
season in the Conference, it all went downhill. The Club finished
bottom in the 1995/96 season but due to Boston United's failure to
submit their promotion application, the Whites were saved from
relegation. Dover were eventually relegated in 2002 and entered a
Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) due to debts estimated to be around
£400,000.
The Club came
close to extinction in January 2005 until former Director (now
Chairman) Jim Parmenter headed up a consortium and saved the Club. He
arranged for the CVA debts to be cleared, which put the Club on sound
financial footing for the first time in a long time.
The Club finally
won promotion to the Conference South in 2008/09 under Andy
Hessenthaler and have been there ever since. They'll be hoping to win
promotion back to the Premier sooner, rather than later.
In the 2010/11
season, Dover had an excellent FA Cup run in which they made it to
the third round after beating Gillingham away, and Aldershot Town at
Crabble. The Gillingham game was made more sweeter the fact that it
was a Kent Club who were expecting a comfortable win, and over 2,000
Dover fans were in attendance. Unfortunately, the Whites lost in the
third round away at League One Huddersfield Town.
The Squad
Goalkeepers – Mitch
Walker, Lee Hook
Defenders – Richard
Orlu, Terrell Forbes, Lloyd Harrington, Tom Wynter, Michael Kamara,
Sean Raggett
Midfielders – Craig
Stone, Liam Bellamy, Ashley Carew, Tom Murphy, Ricky Modeste, Barry
Cogan, Dave Pilcher, Chris Kinnear (Jnr)
Attackers – Nathan
Elder, Michael Bakare, Moses Ademola, Elliott Charles
Fleet fans will
recognise a number of this squad, as four transferred from
Stonebridge Road this summer. Craig Stone, Nathan Elder, Liam Bellamy
and Ashley Carew all jumped ship after finding out they weren't being
offered deals under the new management. I'm sure we all wish them
well.
Pre-season
Dover 0-5 Dagenham
and Redbridge
Dover 0-1
Kingstonian
Dover 0-1 Woking
AFC Hornchurch 0-1
Dover (Udoji)
Whitstable 1-3
Dover (Murphy, Elder, McDonald)
Dover 4-0
Billericay (Murphy, Orlu, Ademola, Stubbs)
Carshalton 1-2
Dover (Elder, Carew)
Folkestone 0-1
Dover (Ademola)
Brackley Town 2-2
Dover (Charles x2)
FORM – LLLWWWWWD
After losing their
first three matches without scoring a goal, the Whites went onto
record a six game unbeaten run to end pre-season, including five
victories.
Key players
I think we can
look no further than Craig Stone really. Originally a midfielder,
Stone converted to right back under Liam Daish's guidance but is now
back playing a central midfield role for the Whites. A player who
Kinnear was interested in for a while, finally signed on the dotted
line just before the Fleet takeover was officially completed, and has
been made captain for the season. He also scored the only goal of the
game as the Whites beat new boys Gosport Borough on the opening day.
Ricky Modeste is
another player who may cause the Fleet some problems. He's a tricky
winger and impressed me for Chelmsford when the Fleet were last in
the Conference South. Rated amongst the Dover fans too, he'll be
looking to contribute to a successful season for the Whites.
Team news
Kinnear should
have an almost full squad to choose from, the only absentee looks to
be Liam Bellamy who is carrying an injury.
Last time out
The Whites picked
up an opening day victory as they beat new boys Gosport Borough 1-0
at Privett Park. Craig Stone's lobbed effort from 20 yards was enough
to give the visitors a victory and set them up for the match with the
Fleet.
Attendance: 592.
Now let's take a
look at the Fleet...
The Squad
Goalkeepers – Preston
Edwards, Brandon Hall
Defenders – Joe
Howe, Aiden Palmer, Osei Sankofa, Paul Lorraine, Shane Huke
Midfielders – Chris
Sessegnon, Dominic Green, Anthony Cook, Michael Corcoran, Stacy Long,
Tom Phipp, Dean Rance, Daryl McMahon
Attackers – Ben
May, Billy Bricknell, Alex Osborn (on loan from Dagenham), Michael
Thalassitis (on loan from Stevenage)
Dover fans will be
familiar with almost all of the Fleet's squad! Shane Huke, Chris
Sessegnon, Dean Rance, Daryl McMahon, Ben May and Billy Bricknell all
signed directly from the Whites while Michael Corcoran played under
Nicky Forster and Steve Brown at Dover before joining Brackley Town.
Preston Edwards also had a short loan spell at the Whites when the
Club won promotion from the Ryman Premier. Michael Thalassitis bagged
a hat-trick against Dover while on loan at Boreham Wood, while Aiden
Palmer, Osei Sankofa and Anthony Cook have all played against Dover
in the past, along with the four players the Fleet retained.
Key players
I believe Preston
Edwards will need to be on the top of his game in this match, as
Dover will be up for this match, probably more so than any other
game. With many players capable of causing problems to the Fleet
defence, they'll need to be on the top of their game to prevent the
Whites from grabbing a victory.
Anthony Cook is an
asset to the Fleet. The winger/striker has shown so far just what he
can do, and the Fleet will be hoping he continues impressing.
Team news
Daryl McMahon
returns from suspension. Ben May (back) looks set to miss out again,
while Billy Bricknell (back) will be hopeful of returning to the
side.
Last time out
Ebbsfleet 0-0
Havant and Waterlooville
Confidence was
high around Stonebridge Road pre-match, but the game failed to live
up to it's billing as the Fleet and the Hawks produced a stalemate.
Christian Nanetti came closest, but his effort was well saved by
Fleet goalkeeper Preston Edwards.
Attendance: 973
Key battle
I have a feeling
the key battle will be a midfield battle. Craig Stone v Stacy Long.
Now he's back playing in midfield, Stone is rejuvenated and will be
key for the Whites. Both players could have a huge influence on the
game, and I feel whoever wins this battle could be on the winning
side. Unfortunately, I feel the former Fleet boys will have more to
prove than the ex-Dover, and for me that could be the difference
between the sides.
Connected to both
 |
| Stone in action against Dover. |
It would be easy
for me to mention all of the players that have transferred between
the Clubs this summer, but I'll just stick to one player. Craig
Stone; from dependable defender to midfield maestro. The local lad
was with the Fleet on and off since 2008, and suffered two bad leg
breaks. He never had it easy, but it didn't stop him. He racked up
over 100 appearances for the North Kent outfit, and joined the Whites
this Summer without finding out if the new management wanted him to
stay. Most fans were sad to see him go, but he's now found a Club who
are willing to play him in his favoured position. He's been made
captain, and scored his first goal for the Club on his competitive
debut; let's hope he doesn't run the show against the Fleet!
Previous matches
Since the Club
begun again in 1983, the two Clubs have met 24 times in all
competitions with most of the matches coming in the Southern League.
Dover lead the head-to-head with 15 victories to the Fleet's 4. The
remaining 5 ended in draws.
Dover Athletic 1-3
Ebbsfleet United – Blue Square Bet South – 29.01.11
Ebbsfleet United
0-2 Dover Athletic – Blue Square Bet South – 24.08.10
Gravesend and
Northfleet 0-3 Dover Athletic – Kent Senior Cup – 06.01.04
Dover Athletic 1-0
Gravesend and Northfleet – FA Trophy – 14.01.03
Gravesend and
Northfleet 4-0 Dover Athletic – Kent Senior Cup – 07.05.01
Memory match
Dover Athletic 1-3
Ebbsfleet United.
The Fleet gained
revenge for the loss earlier in the season with a comeback victory in
the cold surroundings of Crabble. Things got off to a bad start when
Dean Pooley's back pass didn't make it to Preston Edwards. Adam
Birchall snuck in, rounded the keeper and coolly slotted home. Two
goals in quick succession from Tom Phipp and Ashley Carew gave the
Fleet a deserved 2-1 lead at half-time. The Dover onslaught in the
second half failed to come, and Calum Willock sealed the points ten
minutes into the second half.
Attendance: 1,210.
Terrace talk
Once again, I managed to catch up
with two opposition fans and managed to get their thoughts on a few
things. First up, here's Alex Wilshaw giving his opinions on the
transfers between the two Clubs, Saturday's opening day victory and
his predictions for the season.
“It's
too early to predict who has got the better deal out of numerous
transfers between Dover and Ebbsfleet. For the Dover players who went
to Ebbsfleet, Shane Huke has certainly had some mixed reviews in his
time at Crabble. His preferred position was centre back and did play
well in the run up to Christmas last season before getting injured.
However, at right back, he is pretty sub-standard, with his constant
hoofing being the main frustration for us Dover fans in the past
couple of seasons. Ben May and Dean Rance for me are the two best
signings from Dover. Ben May will give you 20-25 goals this season.
Good with his feet, a nuisance in the air and a class above this
level of football. However, he has had past injury troubles, so we
were lucky to have him play throughout the whole of last season. Dean
Rance is perfect for breaking up play and laying it off to attacking
options. His passing was a bit wayward in the first half of the
season, but steadily improved. He does loves to get booked, racking
up quite a few yellow cards in his time with Dover. Billy Bricknell
is a striker who is very much hit and miss. He will go on a
goalscoring of about five to six games before going off the boil for
another seven to eight games. Skrill South is very much his level.
Daryl McMahon is a luxury player. Technically superior above almost
every midfielder in the league. His setpieces were a disappointment
last season and does have a bit of an ego problem. Chris Sessegnon
has a bright future ahead of him if he gets his head down and stops
throwing his toys out of the pram on Twitter when thing don't go his
own way. He has a lot of pace and can either be used a wing back or
just a winger. His talent really should not go to waste.
As
for us acquiring some of your players. I'm not convinced by Ashley
Carew yet and didn't think he was great in pre-season, given he has
done quite well for you. I'm hopng he is one of those players who
really gets firing once the season begins (Just so happens he played
very well at Gosport on Saturday). Nathan Elder is a pain in the
backside for most defenders. He is big, strong and a pain in the air
for defenders. Got a few goals in the Conference last season, so
we're hoping he can bang in loads for us at this level. Although we
did say the same about Calum Willock, who should have been given more
of a chance. I can't really say much about Liam Bellamy because he
has been injured, but I will be excited to see him in his box to box
role. I really like the look of Craig Stone. He gets around
everywhere in the midfield, non-stop action with him. Scored a
cracker against Gosport on Saturday and had a good game all round.
Think a good indication of who has been given the best deal
ultimately will be revealed at the end of the season.
The
victory at Gosport was a solid performance from us. Was surprised
with the way we lined up, with Cogan, Ademola and Elder not in the
starting line up. We weren't troubled at the back much and were only
troubled once where Mitch Walker pulled off a fine save. Craig Stone
and Ash Carew had good games, with the former firing in a terrific
strike from 20 yards to win us the game. Still think the jury is out
on Elliott Charles. However, I would love him to prove me wrong and
he did put in a decent shift. Our strikers did not have the best of
games, but hopefully they're saving themselves up for Tuesday night.
A solid start, not a pretty one but I will happily take the 3 points
however we play.
I
expect tomorrow night's game to be brilliant. Expect a lot of drama,
tension and verbals in this one. It's the one everyone has been
looking forward to given the exploits during the summer and think it
will end in a 1-1 draw. We have to play better than we did on
Saturday and I'm sure the same can be said for Ebbsfleet. My
expectations for the season are a play-off place. We finally have a
manager in since Andy Hessenthaler in Chris Kinnear who knows what
he's actually doing. We have assembled a side based on workmanship
and a strong ethos rather than just signing up the best players on
big wages to try and 'buy the league' which we have attempted to do
under Martin Hayes and Nicky Forster. I'd happily see us remain in
the Skrill South for the next two to three seasons if it meant
building up a team who can get promoted and be able to stay up in the
Conference for a long time to come. 4th or 5th place for Dover this
season.”
Fellow
Dover fan Kieran Dodd pitched in with his thoughts...
“I
have to say I didn't see this coming during the summer. Chris Kinnear
likes bringing in lower league players and brought in some last
season since replacing Nicky Forster in January, so bringing in the
likes of Nathan Elder, Ashley Carew, Liam Bellamy and Craig Stone who
all played for Ebbsfleet in the Conference Premier last season was a
slight surprise. But what was even more of a surprise was our former
assistant manager/coach Steve Brown replacing the highly respected
Liam Daish, despite having no experience of working in this position.
And there has been some form of criticism of Brown after acquiring 7
of our former players. Personally, I think it's more of a case of
bringing in players who he knows how they can play and, most
importantly, knowing how good some of them were in our side that
narrowly missed out on promotion via the play-offs, particularly Ben
May (top scorer and fans' player of the season) and Dean Rance
(players' player of the season). Billy Bricknell, Daryl McMahon and
Chris Sessegnon are also decent additions, however I am slightly
mystified why he has brought in the likes of Shane Huke and Michael
Corcoran, who were probably two of our worst players under the
Forster era.
I
believe the whole 'swap' has created a sense of excitement and drama
surrounding this rivalry, rather than bitterness and hatred, and
because of this, tomorrow's Kent derby is hugely anticipated and
could potentially bring in a four-figure attendance through the
turnstiles.
Despite
being newcomers to this league, I believed Gosport were not to be
underestimated and would fully relish their first game in the Skrill
South. Even though we only recorded a one-goal victory and the game
itself lacked a bit of spark, we were quite dominant and looked
comfortable on the pitch. And a terrific goal by Stone too! It was a
typical Kinnear 1-0 special, which we have seen quite a few of
already since his arrival.
I
think this will be a low-scoring draw. More of a gut feeling rather
than an educated guess, but I can see it being a close, tense
encounter either way, and one I am looking forward to.
I'm
not too sure what to expect for the season. It feels strangely nice
not to be billed one of the favourites to win the league for once,
which takes the pressure of ourselves I guess. I would be
disappointed not to qualify for the play-offs though, but I think
Eastleigh will clinch the title this season.”
You
may, or may not, still be reading at this point, but here's an
excellent few (hundred) words from Fleet fan, and photographer, Paul
Jarvis.
"What
a Summer! On the one hand we finally got rid of “them”, the noose
around our neck in MyFC, but then we backed that up with KEH saving
us from certain extinction. I think if we had just done the former
and got an owner who was looking to steady the ship without putting
in vast amounts of cash, then we would all have been happy enough but
to back it up with what we had... It's been an amazing Summer.
Before
that of course we had Carlos, the Del Boy of the Spanish Footballer
market. For a few weeks he was literally all we had. Stick with MyFC
or go with Carlos. The latter would have been awful but still would
have been far better than sticking with MyFC. I maintain that Carlos
is not a bad guy. Just a bloke trying to make a living, he cut a few
corners but I stand by my first impression of him; his intentions
were good.
If
I say that we got the better of the players [from Dover] then people
will say “well, you would say that”, but if I say Dover got the
better players [from us] then I'd be accused of just trying to be
nice.
I
think the players we've acquired from Dover are excellent and we've
pretty much nicked the back bone of their team. I'm especially
impressed with McMahon. I think he is the real engine of the
midfield. Meanwhile the players we've lost to them are all very
popular players. Obviously Craig Stone is a fans favourite but one I
think that'll be interesting to see what happens, is Ashley Carew.
The guy was a revelation the first time he was with us, in this
League. He left to join Cambridge and his career spiralled downwards.
Had he stayed... Who knows?
Aside
from playing staff moving up the A2, we have of course nicked their
first-team coach [Steve Brown] and installed him as our first-team
manager.
I've
read a lot on the forum about the way Brown plans to play a passing
game and everybody seems happy to instantly forget or dismiss Liam
Daish and what he did for this Club, just because he favoured the
long ball. Every year, he build a squad from scratch. His tactics may
not have been favoured by many but I didn't see anybody complain when
the long ball game got the only goal at Wembley... He also got us up
from this league at the first time of asking. Somebody comes along
with a load of cash, everything Daish had been waiting for, and the
new owners inform him that they want to bring their own man in. Daish
stands aside and they come to an amicable agreement. I believe Liam
Daish would do anything for this Club; what an absolute legend. Steve
Brown has huge boots to fill.
Saturday's
outcome was the best thing that could have happened; an underwhelming
0-0 draw that brought everybody back down to earth. I like that
Havant for a period also put us under a bit of pressure. We haven't
side Messi, Ronaldo and Robin Van Persie; I think they're at
Farnborough! We've signed a very capable and strong squad of
Conference South footballers. We should be challenging for promotion
and may even win the League, but I also believe that we'll be shown
up a couple of times this season and could well be on the wrong end
of a drubbing to teams that we should be beating. If we don't win the
League then we'll hopefully make the play-offs where it could be
anyone of four and the three that miss out will be disappointed as
they expected to go up. Hopefully it won't be us, and we'll bounce
straight back up, again.
Off
the pitch I believe there are two people that deserve special
recognition, both for different reasons. One is Harry Houckham.
During the game on Saturday it was announced that Harry had reached
the £100,000 mark in selling 50/50 tickets. As a photographer trying
to take pictures of the game, I then spend the next five minutes of
the game trying to work out on average how much he raises each game,
and season. It really is a phenomenal amount, and one that doesn't
even enter the mind when you think of a guy selling raffle tickets.
Add to that he does it pre-match, thus missing out on a pint and then
carries it on during the game. And how many times have we seen him
walking around the ground after the winning ticket has been
announced, looking for the winner to make sure the right person is
given their winnings. That is something that he doesn't have to do,
but it's just further evidence of what a legend he is.
On
a sadder note, the Fleet lost one of it's long standing fans last
week in Derek McCanlis. A man who supported the Club since 1948. He
sadly passed away just days after collecting his season ticket.
Stonebridge Road is a much poorer place now Derek is no longer with
us. I never really knew him personally, but I knew the name of
course. He would have been on the away minibus on whatever far flung
Northern outpost we were travelling to I know full well that he was a
popular guy and somebody that had the Fleet flowing through his
veins. If you cut him in half, you'd have seen a little yellow ship
on a red background and a white football on a yellow background.
People like Derek have shaped the personality of the club. A Football
Club is nothing without it's fans. 66 years of service, and an extra
year is added as he had collected his season ticket. He'll be there
with us this season, I'm sure. Rest In Piece Derek.
Dover
game – a point please! 1-1 draw, but it could go either way. Both
teams are going to be up for it. Could you imagine four players left
Arsenal (well yes, actually) and went to Manchester United? And at
the same time, five players went in the other direction along with
back room staff? What would Sky Sports News make of that? Their
vidi-printer would surely blow up! I think this game may well be a
little too early for everyone involved, and for that reason it could
well boil down to an anti-climax. Just imagine if we sneaked a late
winner though...
Expectations
for the season? Seriously I'm just happy that we don't have to vote
on the colour of players sock-ties. At the moment, I've settled for
the fact that we have a Club. I want to get up straight away, but I'm
not pinning my hopes on it. I spoke with someone who knows this
league very well over the summer, and he told be that Welling United
built their title challenge over two years. I'd be happy with waiting
for promotion until next season. What I would really like this
season, is a nice FA Cup run ending at maybe Manchester United,
Arsenal, Chelsea or Liverpool and on the way there, pulling off a
real shock and knocking out somebody we shouldn't... Charlton, maybe?
Up
the Fleet."
If you're attending tonight then match prices are as follows:
Adults - £13
Over 60s - £10
Under 18s - £6
Under 11s – FREE
If you're unable to attend the match then tune into BBC Radio Kent for live commentary, or
follow @EUFCofficial or @DoverAthletic for live text commentary.
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