Matt Pole and Steve Bone are joined by Broadbridge Heath manager Chris Simmons.
Chris played for Loxwood as they went from the West Sussex League to the County League and also served them as - among others - secretary, treasurer and manager.
He also played for Broadbridge Heath for six years, helping the Bears move up to the top division of the old county league.
His playing days also included time at Billingshurst and the old Forest club and played into his 40s.
Chris played for Loxwood as they went from the West Sussex League to the County League and also served them as - among others - secretary, treasurer and manager.
He also played for Broadbridge Heath for six years, helping the Bears move up to the top division of the old county league.
His playing days also included time at Billingshurst and the old Forest club and played into his 40s.
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome to another episode of the Sussex Non-League Podcast where we take a look at all the latest
00:05goings on at grassroots football across the county. I'm Matt Pelt and on this edition
00:09I'm joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and our latest special guest. Steve and I
00:13are both delighted to be joined today by Broadbridge Heath manager Chris Simmons. Chris played
00:18for Loxwood as they went from the West Sussex League to the County League and also served
00:21them as, among others, Secretary, Treasurer and Manager. He also played for Broadbridge
00:26Heath for six years, helping the Bears move up to the top division of the old County League.
00:30His playing days also included time at Billingshurst and the old Forest Club and he played well
00:34into his 40s. As a coach and a manager he bossed Broadbridge Heath under 23s, Billingshurst
00:39and Loxwood and has now completed five years at Heath, leading them to the SCFL Premier
00:43title and into the Ispian League and recently passed 200 games in charge. First and foremost
00:49Chris thank you very much for joining us today. How are you today? Yeah I'm good thanks and
00:53for the invite, I appreciate it. No, absolute pleasure and we'll start by asking you how
00:57are things and how are you enjoying this second season in the Ispian South East Division with
01:01Broadbridge Heath? It seems to be going quite well at the moment. Yeah, it's great. The
01:06league's excellent. It is a different level to the County League and once you taste it
01:15you probably don't want to go back and you probably only want to look forward to the
01:19next level but it's good. It's tough. They always say the second season's harder and
01:23I'd probably agree with that. We're doing all right but obviously you plan for where
01:30you want to be and it doesn't always work out but yeah, no, it's good. It's a great
01:35league. Chris, we've had a few managers on from the Ispian South East Division and I'm
01:41always interested to find out what is the main difference between step five and step
01:46four in terms of SCFL Premier and Ispian South East? Is it a big jump in terms of quality
01:52and the resources that you need? Yeah, I think it's probably, at the time I didn't think
01:59it probably was a big jump but looking back at it now and the gap now, I think it probably
02:04is quite a big jump. I think the teams are a lot more, I'd say a lot more coached but
02:16they have scouts watching games. They're generally a lot more physical and stronger and probably
02:24fitter than a lot of the sides. Obviously the top sides in the county have proved that
02:29they can go up and do well in Eastbourne this year are fantastic. It's not that you can't
02:35do it but I think the overall average is quite a big jump and probably the biggest difference
02:41is both boxes, the forwards, the finishing levels, the chances that sides take. You minimise
02:55them to two or three shots in a game and they still score two and that probably is the level
03:01difference really. Chris, Robert Sheath are pretty comfortable mid-table at the moment.
03:08Are there other play-offs in your thoughts or are you just happy to be well away from
03:11the relegation fight that seems to have dragged in a lot of our Sussex clubs this season in
03:16that division? Yeah, no, we still believe if we can put a run together. We definitely
03:22targeted to be there or thereabouts this year. We were hoping after last year's great season
03:28we could just push on a bit. We have been hampered quite a bit this year but I think
03:34it's five or six points. We've probably played a game or two more than some but we've still
03:38got to play a lot around us. We need a little bit of luck and we need to hit a run of at
03:48least four or five games. But it's definitely possible and that's definitely more where
03:56we're talking than the other end. Our first target is beating what we did last year. That's
04:02our first target. Chris, you've had a lot of injury setbacks this year. That has hampered
04:08you at certain times of the season. Just tell us what have been your main sort of
04:13injury losses and who have been your key recruits because you have added to the squad quite
04:17well as the season has unfolded. Who have you lost and who have you gained? We've lost
04:23quite a few. For long injuries, we lost Matt Penfold right at the start of the season.
04:28I think it was probably the end of August or early September. He was a mainstay in our
04:34side for the last two or three years. He's the engine in midfield and he's been out since.
04:43And then we had Adrian Todd who broke a bone in his foot and basically he's been out all season
04:55since the Littlehampton game, I think it was. What we've actually lost, we've lost quite a
05:01lot of players for sort of six weeks, five, six weeks. Players like Todd last year didn't miss a
05:08single game and played more appearances than anybody. He's had a couple of injuries now
05:13where he's missed maybe three weeks or four weeks. But normally you go three weeks is only
05:19three games. For us this year, three weeks has been six games. And that's been the biggest
05:24difference. When people have got injured because of the way that the games have been going,
05:30they've almost been missing double games.
05:34Is there a medium to long-term plan at Heath, Chris? And are your ambitions made a little bit
05:38harder by the fact that you've got Horsham FC in the same catchment area and they're going great
05:43guns for promotion at the National League South, aren't they? Or is it also, conversely, is it
05:47good for the Horsham area to have more than one club doing well in the Isthmian League?
05:51Yeah, it's tough because our gate and supporters definitely get affected by Horsham. We know that
05:58and it is a great set up there and they're a great club. And commercially, they're really good.
06:04The ambitions for the club are huge, but they've got to start because we're not massively financed.
06:11It has to come from the ground. So the plan is to get good level coaches in at the youth
06:17and to build the youth. Ideally, long-term, probably we would like obviously a 3G.
06:23And my own personal drive would be I'd like to see an academy at the club.
06:29That would be so that we've got throughput of players coming through plus a form of income
06:37for the club as well. The short-term plans are obviously to have a ladies team. We've been
06:43looking for a couple of years now to try and get a ladies team started. We've got some girls sides
06:47in the juniors, but we want something for them to aspire to. So to get a ladies team and then
06:53obviously just keep improving the club on and off. The committee and the volunteers have done
07:00fantastic this year around the ground, getting the ground improvements done, the outside toilets,
07:05all of the fencing, everything like that. They've done so much. So we need to just sort of regroup,
07:11give them a break and then start looking for the next bit. But there's plenty of plans behind the
07:19scene and plenty of discussions. We've got a lot of junior teams and we need to make sure they've
07:24got pitches to play on, which is what 3G really. Yeah, further to that. Oh, sorry. Go on, Steve.
07:30Just on that, what sort of numbers do you get attendance-wise for home games? And is there,
07:35you know, could you get more if you carry on being successful at this level, do you think?
07:40Yeah, I think probably, I think our average is like 130 to 140, somewhere around there.
07:47But we've had 300. And so, I mean, 300 is probably the target. I mean, obviously,
07:56you'd love to have miles more like Horsham do, but 300 is really where sort of we sort of go,
08:01that's probably where we need to be. We need to get up to that level, which is why we're trying
08:06to do everything we can to try and get more people in. But you're right, a team sort of
08:13pushing for promotion, you know, does drag more people in. You know, we found that when we were
08:18going for the County League, we did drag more in because people wanted to see the team that
08:24were pushing for the title. Yeah, and going back to your ground,
08:29how beneficial has it been moving into the, well, I say new ground, but it's newish ground,
08:33isn't it? Because I remember you were up on the athletics track by the Tesco in
08:38weren't you? Yeah, it's so, it's so different. Again, the, you know, the likes of Keystone and
08:46Andy and Ian Flack that fought so hard to get that ground, you know, are now sitting back seeing
08:53their hard work pay off. You know, the club is completely different. We wouldn't be where we were
08:59in, you know, the running track and we wouldn't be able to get the players that we got because of
09:05the facilities. And hopefully, you know, the junior set up as well can see, you know, a bit
09:12more progression through and the facilities and, you know, the clubs being used all the time,
09:18which is great as well. So yeah, I mean, it's massive. I mean, obviously, as I say this,
09:24we still need to do more because we need to pitch facilities. So a 3G or, you know,
09:30or training facilities, better training facilities out the back, whether it be,
09:34you know, another pitch there or something. But yeah, it's good and has made the club a real club.
09:41Yes, it has indeed. It's a nice setup up there. And further to the point about the Horsham area,
09:45I myself am based in the Horsham area. And when you look at it, we've got teams in the area from
09:50the Istvan League all the way down to SCFL Division 1. Would you say that as the area,
09:55the footballing scene is thriving in Horsham and would you say that we're punching above our weight
09:59a little bit just because of the sheer number of teams we've got in the area?
10:03Yeah, you, I mean, probably if you look at the teams, we have got a lot of teams,
10:07probably, you know, step five, step five, four, three, and then hopefully Horsham do it and go
10:13one more. And considering how close locality we are to, you know, to some of the bigger sides
10:19as well, it is definitely good for the area. I mean, obviously, you look at London and they've
10:27got unlimited amounts of good sides. So, you know, but for what is a small, relatively small
10:35town, I think we do pretty, we do pretty well. The hard bit is obviously the player availability
10:43because of all the sides doing quite well from Eustonians and Lockswood and then all the sides
10:48like that. You're always sort of competing for the same players unless you really are getting
10:54people to travel from a distance and that's where the big problem is with everybody doing well.
11:01Yeah, so where would you have to look then if you weren't looking in Horsham then,
11:04Chris, out of interest for players? Is it just anywhere south-east?
11:07Yeah, a lot of players are probably a bit more north. So, you're talking sort of the south,
11:12south-east. London's coming down, you know, and that sort of area is where probably the biggest
11:21pick-up area is, you know, apart from your regular, you know, the regular lads and the local lads.
11:28The problem with the coastal sides is trying to drag people up from the coast, it's quite
11:33difficult because, again, they've got, you know, they've got a lot of good sides down on the coast
11:38as well, you know, between obviously Lewis all the way through to your Whitehawks and
11:45etc from there. So, it's hard, it's hard attracting players.
11:50Absolutely, and now we'll move on to looking at how Sussex's non-league clubs have been getting
11:54on. We will start in the Ispin south-east where Burgess Hilltown continue their march to the
11:59play-offs. Last weekend saw Chris's Robert Sheath put a big dent in Interform Three Bridges' play-off
12:05hopes while Struggling Lansing, who we will speak a little bit more in a moment, were put to the
12:09sword by Beckingham Town in the new manager Billy Wood's first game in charge. What's the latest
12:14from our clubs at Step 4, Steve? It seems to be a roller coaster ride for each and every one of
12:19them. Yeah, it is. Yeah, there's something going on at all of them, really. We'll start at the top
12:24and work our way downwards, I think. So, Burgess Hill seem to have been third for most of the
12:29season and it's hard to see them finishing above third or below third because they are, they're
12:34sort of marooned in third place, if you can be such a thing. So, they're still unbeaten. Unbeaten,
12:41I think, since Broadbridge Heath won at Burgess Hill back at the end of November. We'll ask Chris
12:46about that in a minute. But yeah, Burgess Hill very much on course for the play-offs. Hard to
12:50see them not qualifying for the play-offs and hopefully if they can continue in third place,
12:55they'll get a home play-off semi-final as well. So, that would be good. And then reading down
13:00from there, Three Bridges, they've been on a good run but were beaten by Heath last weekend.
13:06They're four points off the play-offs. Broadbridge Heath are three points further back from them. So,
13:11with 10 games to play, Broadbridge Heath, as Chris will know, are seven points off the play-off
13:15place at the moment. Eastbourne Town, not too far behind, only a point behind Broadbridge Heath and
13:20actually with the game in hand. So, you can't even discount them. Any of those three could,
13:26with the right run between now and the end of the season, end up in those play-offs.
13:31And then looking at our Sussex teams down on the other end, East Grinstead, quite a way
13:35clear of the relegation zone. They should be okay. Littlehampton Town have gone three in a row now,
13:40having gone a long time without a win before that. So, they're now six points clear of the
13:44relegation zone, which leaves two of our sides, Lansing and Stenning, both very much in that
13:50bottom four. And you can see the bottom four now. They're six points between them and the
13:55next side up, which is Littlehampton, as I said. You can see them sort of getting stuck there
14:01unless one of them can find a good run of form. Absolutely. And of the Sussex sides you've played
14:07this season, Chris, who have you been most impressed with? Yeah, Birch Hill are a top side.
14:14They've got some great players. I think I spoke to their guys and somebody else about it and I think
14:2280% of their squad have probably played higher and have actually dropped down as such to be playing
14:28for Birch Hill. But it might even be more. I'm pretty sure when I spoke to Gary about it, he said
14:33the only ones that hadn't played the level up were the young lads that they've brought
14:37through themselves. So, that sort of shows the level and what they're pushing for. So,
14:42it's no real surprise. They're well coached as well. The guys down there are doing a great job.
14:49So, they'll definitely 100% be in the playoffs. I think Seton Bourne and Ramsgate are so strong
14:58and from the very first game, they just haven't let up. So, I think, obviously,
15:02they've got to be your favourites. But yeah, Birch Hill will be there or thereabouts.
15:08And Chris, I mean, your win at Birch Hill at the end of November, I think it was 3-0.
15:13That must be your result of the season, wasn't it? Yeah, we've had a couple of shocks probably,
15:18but that probably was the biggest one. It was one of them days where everything went right for us.
15:25We haven't had many this year, but we defensively were really good. Birch Hill missed their chances,
15:32which they probably haven't done a lot of this year. And then we were absolutely clinical.
15:40Goldie was absolutely on fire, took every chance he had. And if we'd been in that form all year,
15:49then I'd like to think we would have definitely been a lot higher than where we are. So,
15:54yeah, no, it was just one of them days. Everything was good for us. They had a penalty
16:00early in the second half and our keeper saved it. So, it was just one of them days.
16:08Well, the most talked-about story in Sussex non-league this week involves Billy Wood and
16:11Lansing, who we've mentioned, and AFC Uckfield Town. Wood has left AFC Uckfield to become first
16:16team manager at Lansing. With Uckfield playing their trade in the SCFL Division 1 since
16:22relegation last season, it means Wood has jumped two tiers for just his second managerial role in
16:27men's football at Step 4 Lansing. Steve, it's all a bit of a tangled web, but could you tell us a
16:32little bit more about the situation, if you can, and what does this move mean for both Uckfield and
16:38Lansing, respectively? Yeah, I mean, it's been a turbulent season for Lansing, and in particular,
16:44it's been a turbulent week for them. They've struggled all season. Obviously, they had Dave
16:49Eltendorf there last year, who did really well. They were very close to getting in the playoffs,
16:54along with Chichester City, actually, at the end of April last year. People forget that,
16:58looking at where Lansing are now. Jamie Hollis took over in the summer, had some results but
17:05didn't really work out, and he was dispensed with. Sam Morgan came in and, again, had a decent start
17:13and had some good results, but results recently under Sam have not been good. They've been letting
17:19in a lot of goals, and I think they've lost something like seven out of eight games. So,
17:25the Chiefs down at Lansing have decided to make another change, and I think to the surprise of
17:30many, certainly to the surprise of us, they've brought in Billy Wood, who was at Uckfield,
17:35had been at Uckfield since last summer. I think most people thought he'd gone there as quite a
17:40long-term project, but what's a long-term project in football? Things change, don't they? Things
17:46change very quickly and opportunities come up for people and they move on. So, yes, uncertain times
17:53at the moment, I think, for Uckfield and for Lansing. There's no news yet of a new manager
17:58at Uckfield. They're in mid-table in the SCFL division. We'll come to the SCFL a bit later,
18:03but they will want to sort of rescue their season with a quick appointment. Billy Wood's
18:11going into Lansing with a heck of a job on his hands, as was shown last Saturday when they'd
18:15lost 9-0 at Beckenham. A lot of the players who were playing for Lansing under Sam Morgan have
18:22left, have decided to leave. According to Billy Wood, they've all sort of conducted themselves
18:27well in that, but they have decided to move on. Some, I think, have probably found new clubs
18:32already and it's left Lansing with another big team rebuilding job and they haven't got that many
18:38games to save themselves, really. They need to turn around in fortunes pretty quickly. We'll
18:43mention later on who they're playing tomorrow. That's a real sort of six point. But, I mean,
18:51best of luck to all involved. Sometimes these surprise moves work out well and surprisingly
18:56well. Billy Wood might take them on a 10-game unbeaten run. We don't know. But at the moment,
19:04it just feels like a surprise move, a left-field move. Billy, we know well from his connections
19:13with Hastings United. He was chairman and chief exec there. He's been manager of the women's teams
19:17at Haywards Heath and Eastbourne Borough. He's had involvement at Eastbourne United before that.
19:23Wherever he goes, he likes to make an impression. He didn't go there to muck about. He's there
19:29to look for success and try to build success. I'm sure that'll be the case at Lansing. So,
19:34it'll be very interesting to see how it turns out for them and for Uckfield, the team that he's left.
19:41What do you make of it all, Chris? As Steve said, it really did take us all by surprise,
19:45all of these managerial to-ing and fro-ings involving Uckfield and Lansing.
19:49I mean, it's not the first one of the season, really, is it, with the other local sides? But
19:56it's always difficult because you don't really know. There's a lot being said,
20:00but you don't really know the truth. I was surprised that they got rid of Sam because
20:04as much as the results over the last few weeks had not been good and were a bit of a surprise,
20:10sometimes it's just the run of games that you get. If you're playing Ramsgate, Sittingbourne,
20:17your Bo Seals, and you get them at the right time, you've only got to play two of them and a couple
20:25of the top ten sides, and then you've got to accept you're going to get beat at times. You
20:33might scrap results and points, but where they were, it made some great signings. It dragged
20:40some players back from Hayward's Heath and made some great signings. So, I think sometimes you
20:48think maybe the club's acting a bit quick with it, and that would be my only query, really,
20:55is the timing. It doesn't give a lot of games to try and rebuild to get what you want out of
21:02the side going, and it almost seems like it was a plan for them to set up, get us ready for next
21:10year rather than for this year, and it seems strange because they were still savable. You've
21:16only got to put together three or four wins and you could be out and about, but that's what it
21:21seemed like because Sam's been in that position before and got teams out of it with the likes of
21:26Sutton Cup and Rovers and etc like that. I don't know Billy really well, but we've spoken a few
21:34times over players that we've discussed and got back with the forwards and he's a football person.
21:40He is committed to the game. He loves the game and, like you're saying, he does put a bit in.
21:46I feel a little bit for Upfield because when people are going in to really do, like they say,
21:53a rebuild or a plan, you want it to at least be seen through for a whole season at least.
22:00But they've got a great community working behind the scenes.
22:06They'll be absolutely fine. They'll get themselves back and go in and reset again and what he did
22:11there was good from what I understand, so it has put them on at least a bit of a rebuild and
22:17got the momentum going. They just need to carry it on and pick the right person to come in there.
22:23Yes, definitely a situation we'll be keeping our eyes on. Meanwhile, in the Eastman Premier portion,
22:28who picked up a vital victory over playoff rivals Cray Valley P.M. last weekend are just three
22:33points off the summit, while relegation-threatened Bogner have begun to show signs of life in their
22:37battle to escape the dreaded drop. What's the latest from our sides in the Eastman Premier,
22:42Steve? Plenty of action at both ends of the table. Yes, we'll do the same there. We'll start at the
22:47top and move downwards. Horsham are like the Burgess Hill of the Premier Division really,
22:52because they're third. I'm sure they haven't, but they seem to have been third for a while now.
22:57It's a bit closer there than it is in the Southeast Division, but Horsham have now got
23:00a six-point gap between them and the sides in fourth and fifth, while I've heard Cray Valley
23:04P.M. they beat last week, of course, so that was a big win. Title talk, Don plays it down,
23:10I think, when he speaks to you, but it's still a possibility. The top three there are on 66.64
23:17and Horsham on 63, so every chance that if they have a good run, and they have had a good run
23:21over the last couple of months, they've only dropped points in a couple of games, so they
23:26could be in with a shout there still, and if they don't win the title, they'll be looking for a good
23:30home semi-final play-off. So, yes, good luck to them over the next few games. Going down from
23:37there, Chichester City dropped a few points lately. They've been on a really good run at their
23:41first defeat in 12 last weekend away to a hashtag. They're probably not going to get in the play-offs
23:50and they never thought they would really. I don't think anybody ever thought they would.
23:54Survival was the big aim after they went up last season and they've certainly done that.
24:00They're well positioned. Lewis and Whitehawk both look okay. Whitehawk have improved a lot
24:06under Sean Saunders since he went back. Lewis have started to pick up again after quite a difficult
24:10winter, so they're Lewis 13th, Whitehawk 15th. But then in the bottom four, we have Hastings
24:17and Bogner, but both actually level on points now, although Hastings have had a couple of games
24:20postponed lately and have got three games in hand on some of the teams around them, two on others.
24:27But points-wise, both of those two are currently 10 points off safety, which is a lot when you've
24:33only got 10. Well, Bogner have got 10 games to go, Hastings have got 13. Fixed congestion for
24:39them could become an issue if they can't get some of those played soon. I spoke to Danny Sell at
24:44Hastings the other day and he said from training and on match days you wouldn't know that it was a
24:50group of players who were in a relegation fight. The spirit is really good, the vibe he said is
24:54brilliant. They still very much believe that they can get out of that and I think so do Bogner at
25:00the moment because they've won their last two. They won at Canby Island and then had a good home
25:04win last weekend against the bottom team, Bowers. So that's given them a chance, that's given them
25:10a little platform to try to build from, but they need to keep it going. If they can win another
25:14three or four in a row, then they can look at where they are and they'll have given themselves
25:18a chance, which from where they were a few weeks ago is incredible really. So, action to come at
25:25both ends of that table for our Sussex teams. Yeah, absolutely. And Chris, we've spoken a little
25:30bit about Horsham before, but they are going great guns, aren't they, this season? Do you
25:34think promotion is a distinct possibility for them this season or is play-offs potentially a lottery,
25:38isn't it? Yeah, unfortunately, the play-offs have been good. They're adding the play-offs in,
25:43certainly, to our level and the county level. You can see the interest it's given for the later
25:48stage of the season, which is really good. But when a team has been up there all season, Ramsgate
25:55had it in our league last year and Horsham, to be there pretty much all season, they started slow
26:01because of the FA Cup run. But apart from that, they've been up there. For them not to do it
26:07would be absolutely gut-wrenching. But I think they can win the league. I don't know. I haven't
26:16looked at their fixtures remaining to see how they sort of fall. But they've been nicking some good
26:24wins and some good results. So, yeah, I mean, it would be good for the town, definitely.
26:31Yeah, absolutely. And I believe that you played Whitehawk in the Sussex Senior Cup in October,
26:37Chris. Is that right? What did you make of them? I think they're a much-changed team since you
26:42played them. Yeah, massively changed. Obviously, Ross had them then and they were quite a different
26:52side. But they were a good side and on the day they were too good for us. We didn't play well
26:58enough. But Simmo and Sean have done a great job since they've been in there. Instant impact,
27:07brought back a lot of their contacts and the lads that they know, merged them with the lads that
27:12they've kept and gone back to basics a little bit of scrapping out the wins and working hard to do
27:21it, I'm sure. But yeah, they've done a fantastic job to turn it around. And in the National League
27:27South, Eastbourne Borough and Worthing continue to duke it out at the top end of the table.
27:32The Sports are just a point behind leaders Dawking, albeit having played a game more,
27:36while the Reds are five points off Wanderers, but they have a game in hand.
27:40Both sides have tasted defeat since our last podcast. What's the latest from Eastbourne
27:45Borough and Worthing, Steve Bowen? Yeah, every time we talk about these two, I talk about how
27:50they're both a bit inconsistent. But I think I'm being a bit mean to them because,
27:55well they are, they're not winning every game, but they're still very much in there. You look
27:59at the league table, they can't be that inconsistent, because Eastbourne Borough are
28:03second, one point off top spot, and Worthing are fourth, with games in hand over all the top three,
28:10and they're only four points off top spot, which is a pretty good position to be in. I think if
28:13you said to either at the start of the season, would you take this position at the end of
28:18February, start of March, I think they'd probably have taken it because they're right in the mix.
28:23Nobody has run away with this league, as has happened sometimes in recent seasons.
28:29Dorking are top and may win the rest of their games and end up running away with it.
28:34Equally, you've got Torquay in sixth place, you wouldn't put a good run past them,
28:40but Eastbourne and Worthing are very much still in there. Eastbourne dropped points last Saturday,
28:45they were 2-0 and 3-1 up at home to Hemel, and ended up with a 3-3 draw, which is going to feel
28:51very much like two points dropped. Worthing have had a couple of slip-ups, a good come-from-behind
28:58win at home to Salisbury last Saturday, but then lost at home again on Tuesday, lost at home to
29:04Farnborough. First home defeat for a long time in fairness, and both on the road tomorrow with
29:09quite tough away games. Eastbourne are off to Bath City, Worthing are off to Chelmsford.
29:15I think if either of them could get a point from those games, they probably wouldn't be
29:18complaining too much. But it's that sort of promotion race there that any game you draw,
29:24you could lose a bit of ground because there's so many other teams involved
29:28with sort of equal number of points. So, not a lot of room for any more slip-ups from either of them,
29:34but it certainly makes for an exciting end to the season.
29:37It does indeed. And finally, in the SCFL Premier, Hassocks now have a 12-point lead at the top of
29:42the table, but just seven points separate Hayward, Heath and Second, and Crawley, Dan Gatwick in
29:47seventh. How is the race for promotion shaping up in the SCFL Premier, Steve? And also, what's
29:53the latest from Division One as well? Yeah. So, taking the Premier Division first,
29:58Hassocks, you would still say, have got too much of a lead. You can't really see them being caught.
30:03I'm sure one or two of the other teams will. So, I think the dogs are very excited about the SCFL.
30:11So, Hayward, Heath and Second at the moment, 12 points behind Hassocks.
30:15Feels like too many points to make up, but we'll see. Reading down from there, you've got Kroger,
30:20Petersfield, Roffey and Eastbourne United and Crawley, Dan Gatwick, all still in the playoff
30:26race. Even Peacehaven down as far as eighth, we'll still be looking at fifth place and whether they
30:30could get into that. And Chris, I was just going to ask you about Roffey, because they've had a
30:35really good season, were second at one stage. Obviously, not long come up from Division One.
30:42And not impossible that they could get in those playoffs and join you in at step four next season.
30:50I think they're definitely in the shelf of the playoffs. I think it's quite,
30:58it's a bit like ours at that stage, it's really tight that even a couple of wins or a couple of
31:03losses could quite easily put you comfortably in or throw you back out, unfortunately. I think
31:08they found over the last week, I think they've lost one game in God knows how long and all of a
31:13sudden they've dropped three places just because other teams are making a run for it. I think teams
31:19like Eastbourne United and stuff will come strong. You know, since obviously getting their pitch done
31:25and everything like that, they'll come strong. So it's going to be tough. But they're definitely
31:31going to be in with a shout. Early doors in the season, you'd have obviously said Hassocks and
31:37Hayworth Heath were out and out, the two sides, you know, probably Hayworth Heath early doors,
31:42you would have said were the side that would have won it and would have been there. But yeah,
31:48Hassocks have been brilliant all season, really well, really well managed again. And they've got
31:52a great group, you know, just a good bunch of hard working lads, which is exactly what we had
31:57when we went up. So they'll do great. I don't think they'll let that slip. The playoffs is
32:03literally anybody's. It's probably going to be one of the more exciting playoffs of the
32:10ones locally, I think. I think you're right, yeah. At the bottom end of the SCFL Premier,
32:16a little common in Saltdean, still the bottom two as they have been for most of the season.
32:20Lockswood aren't too far off the bottom two. Are you a bit surprised to see them
32:24that far down, Chris? They've had a few changes this year and trying to rebuild a little bit.
32:28Yeah, yeah. I did. And at one point, I think they were about four or five places higher and they
32:37looked comfortable. You know, they look set and they look pretty like they were going to be not
32:42dragged in. The problem really is the fact they are a really young side. You know, since the
32:49changes, the young lads, they've got great, great players. But when you start getting dragged into
32:57them sort of games and you're going away to your Bexhill or your Eastbourne and stuff like that,
33:03and it starts getting tough, especially when the pressure comes on as well.
33:09So, you know, I mean, football wise, yeah, I think they've been doing really well. I think
33:15the lads have been playing really quite well. But I just think a bit of physicality and a bit of
33:20experience is really what they're lacking. But it is so hard over there to get
33:26players. You know, they are on the outskirts and a bit of a stretch to get the players. When you're
33:34talking about the locality of players or the locality of teams, they are a bit of a drag.
33:40You really do need sort of the manager that's in there or the managers that go in there,
33:45you do sort of need to drag a few friends and favourites in there to be able to get people
33:53locally. And even then, it's a big commute and drive over there.
33:58In Division One, SEFL Division One, Seaford have opened up a bit of a gap. I'm sure last time we
34:03did a podcast, they were neck and neck with Forest Row. They've now played three games more than
34:07Forest Row, so I'm assuming Forest Row have had a couple called off and Seaford are, well,
34:12the 12 points clear of Forest Row and 11 clear of Dorking Wanderers. So some games in hand that
34:19could change that, but you would say Seaford are now strong favourites for promotion there.
34:24The playoff race is similarly open. You've got Dorking B who can't, I think, can't go into the
34:29playoffs and be promoted. So you've then got the next four down of Forest Row, Godalming,
34:33Infinity, Worthing United, and just behind them and still in with a bit of a chance of Billingshurst,
34:38Chris, you'd be pleased to see them get into the playoffs there, wouldn't you?
34:42Yeah, definitely. Actually, I live in Billingshurst. It's my local village,
34:47so Eddie French has done a great job there, a brilliant player, was always going to be a good
34:56manager. He was such a likeable guy as well and knows his football. So yeah, I think it would be
35:06brilliant for the village and for them, even if they scrape in and they don't make it through,
35:13to be there and compete in again and make that end rather than where we were fighting the other
35:18end. I think it will be great for the village and hopefully, I know that the support has picked up
35:24where Eddie's been doing a good job, so hopefully that will even help even more.
35:30Just to complete the set, down at the bottom of SCFL Division One, Montpelier Villa and
35:35Allfold still the bottom two, Copthorne not too far ahead of them.
35:39Bottom two are going to be any two from those three, you would think?
35:43And as ever, wrapping up the podcast, we will now pick our Games of the Week between us,
35:48me and Steve, where we pick our Game of the Week involving a side playing in Sussex this weekend.
35:53You've kind of alluded to it, Steve, but what have you gone for this weekend?
35:56Got to be Lansing against Hythe, really, for me. Billy Wood's first home game,
36:02goodness knows who's going to be playing for them. I'm sure he's got some players
36:05lined up and he will have used those that haven't left. Hythe Town are the bottom side
36:11and lost 5-0 at Littlehampton on Tuesday, so it's a great chance for Lansing to get that win that
36:18could just turn things around for them. If they don't get the win tomorrow, you sort of fear for
36:22them a little bit, you know, will that be a golden chance gone and will they then have too much to
36:27do? But if they can get a good win, if they can win two or three nil, get the atmosphere buzzing
36:33again down there a little bit, could be massive for them, so best of luck to them tomorrow.
36:39Absolutely, yes. I've gone for, I'm sticking in the same division, I've gone for Burgess Hill
36:43Town against Ramsgate, it's third v first. As Steve has said, I think a win won't do anything,
36:48Burgess Hill will be third in perpetuity, but it will be a real statement of intent for them if
36:53they can get a result against the Ramsgate side who have run away with things a little bit this
36:56season. Although not in Sussex this weekend, I'll have to give a special mention for Dartford v
37:00Horsham, which is second v third in the Istvan Premier, and if results go their way, Horsham
37:05could find themselves top of the table by the end of the weekend, so best of luck to them.
37:09And for those who don't know, Chris, who are Broadbridge Heath up against this week
37:13and how are you and the squad feeling going into it?
37:16Yeah, we got Ereth Town, so we played them quite early on in the season and
37:22they beat us one nil at their place. I think they scored after something like three minutes and then
37:28we couldn't break them down. So, yeah, we're looking forward to it. I mean,
37:33for once, the weather looks great. I'm just hoping it does enough to the pitch,
37:38but it would be nice to have a game of football in the dry rather than the wet that we've had
37:43recently. So, we hope it's all good and it's on and, yeah, we need to turn our home form around.
37:51Our away form's been amazing, but our home form hasn't, so we need to get that going.
37:57No doubt you will. Best of luck, Chris, and best of luck for the rest of the season.
38:00Well, that's all for this episode. Our thanks to Chris for joining us. Don't forget to keep
38:04checking out sussexworld.co.uk forward slash sport for all the best coverage of local football plus
38:09your local Sussex weekly papers. Join us again soon for another look at all things
38:13non-league in Sussex. Thank you very much for listening and we will see you when we see you.
38:18Cheers, guys.