Ryman Premier here we come...

By -

Before today's game, Dartford Football Club only needed a single point to be sure of winning the Ryman League Division One North. Failing that, we needed AFC Sudbury to drop points. Even if they caught us, we still had a commanding goal difference advantage. The league looked to be ours – but there was still an anxious wait before we could hear the phrase "mathematically impossible" used to refer to Sudbury's chances of victory.

As it happens, we lost today's game (away at Edgware) to a last-minute goal. The celebrations started as soon as the final whistle sounded, though, because Sudbury had also lost. Dartford FC weren't victors on the day, but the championship was ours.

Winning the league means so much to the club that it's difficult to express it in words. It's the first time we've finished top of a division since the club was re-formed in 1992 – yet in that time, we've played in four different leagues, at three different levels of the football pyramid. Including next season, we will have played in four different divisions in four consecutive seasons, including all three of the Ryman leagues! The automatic promotion (to the Ryman Premier league) means the club will have made it onto the Soccer Saturday vidiprinter: a small step that illustrates the extra exposure, publicity and (hopefully) money the club will generate.

The achievement is just reward to everyone who has supported the club over the last fifteen years – from the dark days of 1992, through fourteen years of nomadic existence, against financial woes, fire and flood – both on the terraces and behind-the-scenes. It shows what you can achieve when you work together, united in the belief that one day the club would return to where it belongs. That means back in the borough, in our fantastic new home, but it also means back in the big time: the Conference is a goal, the Premier League our dream (of course).

Yes, I'm getting slightly carried away, but it was ambition that got us to where we are now, and it will be ambition that will see Dartford FC prosper and survive. Undoubtedly, next season will be tough: there'll be plenty of challenges, local derbies, very strong teams, the battle to establish ourselves in the higher division. Whatever happens, it will be fantastic.

We Are Premier League, I Said We Are Premier League!

Popular posts from this blog

Why I'll be watching the FA Cup on Setanta

By -
Image
Screen capture by David Murray, all rights reserved. ITV HD © ITV 2009 How difficult can it be to broadcast a football match? I only ask because ITV have been determined on several occasions this season alone to make a ruddy-great hash of it. They've picked the wrong games to show, they've messed up scheduling, they've missed the only goal of a game... and now they've put on a truly shambolic display in high definition, too. I say high definition, but for the majority of last night's Champions League final, it was actually upscaled-SD that we were watching on the ITV HD red button service (they haven't even opted to make it a fully-fledged channel). With poor quality audio. And no clock. We were even treated to a farcical montage of a bespectacled Steve Ryder, bemused Teddy Sheringham and boring shot of a studio floor - twice . It's bad enough having to listen to their sub-standard coverage at the best of times. So from now on, whenever there's a
Read more

The Italian Job

By -
Image
I've seen it once at the cinema, but I couldn't resist watching "The Italian Job" (2003, USA) one more time, if only to compare it with the original I have on DVD. How they can claim that this film is a "re-make" of the original, I'm not really sure. Yes, there's Mini Coopers and a plot based around messing up the traffic systems, but the 1969 version was never about stealing the gold. It was about Charlie: about his own cunning, wit and charm. Croker's character provided everything, from the memorable one-liners to the tragic fall . OK, perhaps the new version brings the action kicking and screaming up-to-date: but where's the charm? "Remember - in this country, they drive on the wrong side of the road" - Charlie Croker (1969) "You should never mess with Mother Nature, mothers-in-law, and mother-freaking Ukrainians" - Skinny Pete (2003)
Read more

Berlin ePrix 2 qualifying report

By -
Mahindra's dominance and news of Sébastien Buemi's disqualification in round seven set up a fascinating qualifying session for the second Berlin ePrix of the weekend. Stephane Sarrazin was the first to take to the track, but despite improving times from the Saturday sessions, he could only take provisional third. Both Mahindra drivers were drawn in the first group, but had mixed fortunes. Rosenqvist set a time in the low 1:08 range, but Nick Heidfeld suffered a problem with his throttle that put him last. Nelson Piquet Jr. took the fourth slot, Maro Engel in provisional P-2. In contrast to many drivers' strategies, Daniel Abt took to the track as soon as the pit lane opened, hoping to time it right and set a fast lap with an empty track ahead of him. It paid off, although his time wasn't enough to beat Rosenqvist. But with both Renaults in the same group, both men were relegated a place when Buemi set a quicker time. Team-mate Nicolas Prost also reached the top five,
Read more