Copy of Fan Zone 09/01/2026
- TUST
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
FAN ZONE
By Nick Brodrick, TUST's Chair and TUFC board member.
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WHITE CLIFFS? DOVER SOLE? IT’S SNOW JOKE AS FANS DRIVE 520 MILES FOR NOUGHT
ASA GETS THE BETTER OF HIS OLD BOSS AS TIVVY WIN TWO IN A ROW
CHRISTMAS QUIZ ANSWERS AND JOINT WINNERS
We begin this week’s fans’ zone column with an old call sign joke, ‘Dover and out’ and a new mystery book on the shelves, ‘Tragedy on the White Cliffs’ by Eileen Dover.
But for the Yellow Army, many of whom set their alarms for an unearthly hour to leave South Devon by 6.30am their 264- mile journey to the Channel port was certainly no joke.
On the Friday the match was on despite freezing temperatures and with the Dover ground having suspect areas but the United squad left Plainmoor for an overnight stay at considerable expense.
That the game was called off at mid-day is surely unacceptable and brings into question the National League’s protocols.
United’s trip to Kent was not alone in being the only fixture with a big question mark hanging over it. For Truro had to travel from Cornwall to Essex to play Southend only for their fans to hear that match was called off late Saturday morning.
It was even worse at another venue as Morecambe’s fixture at Altrincham was postponed at 2.50pm after the players in the warm-up found the pitch unplayable leaving fans already inside the stadium having to go home.
Why does it seem that the football authorities (and TV companies) treat fans with such disrespect?
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Just to conclude the Dover fiasco down the road the Isthmian League Premier leaders Folkestone Invicta played their match with Chatham Town in front of 2,166 although they probably wished they hadn’t as despite being 12 points clear at the top, lost their first home game of the season 1-2. They also lost at home on Tuesday night 0-1 to Aveley.
United will now travel back to Dover on Tuesday February 3rd 7.45pm.
Elsewhere on Saturday seemingly runaway leaders Worthing had to snatch a 97th minute equaliser to salvage a point against bottom side Chippenham.
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At Thursday’s Press Call Paul Wotton confirmed that with 22 matches still to play United are very much in the title race.
Tomorrow, Hampton & Richmond are the visitors, now led by Alan Dowson, trying to move out of the relegation zone. Last season they went away with all three points so if United have sights on automatic promotion this is a must win game.
In the last month Dowson has signed five new players, one permanently from Aldershot, another on loan from The Shots, a third on loan from Oxford United while the best- known signing is Max Kretzschmar from Wealdstone joining as a player/assistant manager.
It will be, as Wotton always says, another tough test.
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Non-League Crowd Watch: Carlisle 6,853, Yeovil 3,573, Kidderminster 2,759, Worthing 2,429.
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Last Saturday I spent a pleasant afternoon at the Slee Blackwell Solicitors Stadium in Ladysmead to watch the M5 derby between rock bottom Tiverton Town led by Asa Hall and Gary Johnson’s Taunton Town.
Taunton fresh from their first home win since August and Tivvy who had recorded only their third win at Plymouth Parkway played on a pitch marginally better than a ploughed field in front of a bumper attendance of 1,173 with queues at the turnstiles.
Hall, Johnson’s Torquay skipper, showed his former manager how to run a mid-field as he led by example. Speaking with Asa after the game he is really a great, modest person and he’s certainly learning to be a manager – maybe at Plainmoor one day?
For the record Tivvy won 2-1 with a spectacular 84th minute goal of the season.
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Many thanks to those who entered the Christmas Quiz, these are the answers: 1. 5-1 2. 1927 3. The Magpies 4. 219 5. Crewe Alexandria 6. 5 7. Kevin Hill 8. Robin Stubbs 9. Rodney Jack 10. Colchester United 11. 1971-72 12. Frank O’Farrell 13. 5,135 14. Aldershot Town 15. 5 16. 1,010 17. Bristow’s handrails, grow lights, big screen, clock 18. Veni-Vidi-Vici.
Congratulations to our joint winners Tony McHale and Nick Wotton who each get a Club Shop VX3 voucher.
You could be a winner if you’re in the draw on January 14th in the 1899 Lotto. Go to https://draw.ourclublotto.co.uk/tufc/.
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How would you react? You’re staying in the Blackpool FC Stadium Hotel in a room costing you £137 a night overlooking the Bloomfield Road pitch. But if you open the curtains while there’s a match in progress you are liable for a whopping £2.5k fine.
How could this be? Well, The Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc) Act 1985 prevents the drinking of alcohol in view of the pitch at matches played in the top five tiers of English football. In theory, if found guilty, that could be a £1,000 fine. Then currently going through The Lords is the Unauthorised Entry to Football Matches Bill which wants to fine anyone watching an EFL match without a ticket. And if you are now checking the date, it is not April 1st.
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After last Sunday’s postponement United’s Women play their first match of the New Year at Coach Road (2pm) against who should have been last week’s opponents, AEK Boco.
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Good to see an ex-Gull Liam Rosenior becoming manager at Chelsea. Liam played 10 games on loan from Fulham for his father’s side in the 2003-04 season. There was, I recall, one match, possibly before he signed for Torquay when he sat next to me in the Family Stand.
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All of us at TUST are sorry to learn of the recent passing of Bobby Baxter who was an important member of Frank O’Farrell’s team joining in 1967 and making 69 appearances, scoring six times, before returning to his first club Darlington.
We send our condolences to his family and friends.
COYY
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