- 2 days ago
Matt Pole is joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and special guest Bognor Regis Town joint-manager Michael Birmingham.
Birmy, as most know him, was with Aldershot and Pompey as a young player then moved on to play for Dorchester and then for Bognor, where he spent many years and became something of a club legend.
After a spell managing Bognor he went to Gosport as player assistant manager, then after another stint playing for the Rocks, he was a player then a coach at Moneyfields, then youth team manager at AFC Portchester.
That led to the manager’s job at Horndean, where he spent a full nine-and-a-half years before last December’s return to Nyewood Lane as joint manager with Jamie Howell.
Birmy, as most know him, was with Aldershot and Pompey as a young player then moved on to play for Dorchester and then for Bognor, where he spent many years and became something of a club legend.
After a spell managing Bognor he went to Gosport as player assistant manager, then after another stint playing for the Rocks, he was a player then a coach at Moneyfields, then youth team manager at AFC Portchester.
That led to the manager’s job at Horndean, where he spent a full nine-and-a-half years before last December’s return to Nyewood Lane as joint manager with Jamie Howell.
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SportsTranscript
00:01Welcome to another episode of the Sussex Non-League Podcast, where we take a look at all the latest goings-on at grassroots football across the county.
00:07I'm Matt Pohl, and on this edition, I am joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and our latest special guest, Bognor Registown joint manager Michael Birmingham.
00:15Burmy, as most know him, was with Aldershot and Pompey as a young player, then moved on to play for Dorchester and then for Bognor, where he spent many years and became something of a club legend.
00:24After a spell managing Bognor, he went to Gosport as player assistant manager, and then after another stint playing for the Rocks, he was a player, then a coach at Moneyfield's then youth team manager, AFC Portchester.
00:36That led to the manager's job at Horndean, where he spent a full nine and a half years before last December's return to Nywood Lane as joint manager with Jamie Howe.
00:44Michael, thank you very much for joining us today. How are you getting on? You all right?
00:47Yeah, not too bad. Thank you. Thank you.
00:49Good stuff. You returned to Nywood Lane last December, as we've said, after a long time away, but having spent many years as a Rocks player and manager, how did your return come about?
01:01Oh, it's not the first time I got interviewed for the job. It was just before Jack and Robbie Blake done it as a duo.
01:09I got interviewed then, and if I'm going to be honest, the timing and the feeling wasn't right.
01:15It was only the second year, the first year after I'd been at Horndean, and it just didn't feel right.
01:20I felt like I would have been put in place, and I would have been Jack's little puppet, and he would have been pulling the strings.
01:27And I didn't think the timing was right. I didn't think I had enough experience for that, but only just being into the coaching scheme and everything like that.
01:35So when I got offered this one, if I'm going to be honest, I was probably starting to go through the motions at Horndean where I'd been there nine and a half years.
01:44We couldn't go any higher. We were mid-table after 18 games, 25 points, only needed 15 points of safety.
01:51But I didn't want to be waking up every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, just preparing myself for a mid-table clash.
01:57No, I wanted the drive. We managed to get Horndean up to where they wanted to be, and it's a great club, by the way, and I'll always be grateful for them for giving me the opportunity.
02:08And it's just, I felt the timing was right. I was going a little bit flat. I think the club was starting to pitch out.
02:14The club needed a new change, and like I said, the timing was bang on for me.
02:19So when you and Jamie took over mid-season back at the Rocks, the Rocks really were rock bottom.
02:27You know, they were a long way adrift.
02:30When you went in there, at that point, was the hope that you could keep them up, or was there already a feeling that that battle was lost?
02:39No, look, you can have a look at it now, and everyone said it was a free hit, he was already down.
02:45But me and Jamie, when we met up with Jack and that, we didn't plan to go down.
02:49We planned to stay up, and I honestly believe the big part of that was Potter's Bar away, where they conceded another goal in the 95th minute.
02:57We were 1-0 up, playing extremely well, doing well. We were in control of the game, but then lack of fitness.
03:03We looked very tired. We were fatigued. We dropped off deep.
03:07Blocky had to come off. He was very dominant.
03:09We put on another youngster, and that's what it was all about.
03:13It was individual mistakes that got the club in the situation of where it was last season, which was a shame, but that's what it is.
03:23Everything goes around in a cycle.
03:26And you actually took it to, you know, at one point, you looked as though you'd be down with a few games to spare.
03:30I think you took it to the penultimate game, didn't you?
03:33You know, you had a little revival towards the end, and people thought, oh, actually, I might just pull off the Great Escape.
03:37Yeah, we did, but we were down in five or six clubs, really, weren't we?
03:42And the big one where we thought, oh, we got a chance here, was when we went back-to-back, Potter's Bar and Dolce Ham, both at home.
03:48We won 1-0, kept two clean sheets.
03:50And then you're thinking, oh, here we go.
03:52But we also know the squad we had with the youngsters we had, the injuries we had, there was going to be a time where they just plateaued and just crashed and burned.
04:00They went no more.
04:01And that, unfortunately, happened at one game.
04:03And eventually, big game, every game, we had to be up for it.
04:07And the first half, we were very, very poor.
04:09And the nail was in the coffin from then.
04:11So with two games to go, you could look at it and go, the boys gave it everything.
04:16They gave it a good go.
04:18But you get relegated for one reason, you're not good enough over 40 games.
04:23Now, once relegation was confirmed, Michael, I guess it was all about starting the rebuild.
04:27What were the first steps in that?
04:32Trying to eradicate last season as quick as possible.
04:36No, look, me and Jamie, we had already had a little plan of who we were talking to.
04:42We had a list down.
04:43But the difficult thing was what league we were going to be in.
04:46If we was in the South East League, you're looking at all the Kemp clubs that have got huge budgets.
04:51They're unbelievably big.
04:52And that would have been very, very difficult with the budget Bognor's got, especially with the brand new pitch that hopefully we can get done by 2029.
05:02That's going to reflect on the budget.
05:05So once we got the Southern Central, we knew then that we could go to our list and start to work out properly who we needed, what areas, what cover we needed.
05:14If A said no, could we get B?
05:16And if B said no, what about C?
05:18So we had a list drawn up of what it was and we were just waiting to see what league we were in.
05:25Yeah, on that.
05:26Sorry, Steve.
05:27Me and Steve have been talking about the fact that Bognor and Littlehampton have been moved into the South Central quite a lot since the announcement.
05:33By all accounts, we were quite surprised by the move, weren't we, Steve?
05:37But it seems like you're quite happy that you've been moved in the South Central by the sounds of things.
05:42Yes, I was in the South East League for one season with Horndeen and that's brutal.
05:49That is brutal, that league.
05:50There's an unbelievable big sides in there.
05:53You've got all the money at Kent, which does it in a massive cycle.
05:56You've got Faversham come up now.
05:58Faversham are spending bombs as well.
06:00You've got Sittenborn.
06:01Okay, a couple of their players, they've lost to Ramsgate.
06:04But Ramsgate and that was there.
06:05You've got Harder going down, but you've got Dilltown.
06:08So, you've got Margate.
06:12So, you've got some big, big clubs there and that's a different calibre of football to what the Southern Central is.
06:19That calibre of football is all about pace, power.
06:21They get it wide.
06:22It's old-fashioned.
06:23They deliver the balls in early and that is all dominating about first touch, second touch.
06:29The Southern Central is a lot more probably from what I know of my time at Bognor as well,
06:35being in the Ishmael League, it was all in and around there.
06:38And you've got the historic clubs at the Leatherheads, the Kingstonians, etc.
06:42You know what I mean?
06:43Kingstonians' history in non-league football winning the FA Trophy, God knows how many times.
06:46You've got Leatherheads there on a little revival now of Ian Selley.
06:50He's made some great signers this summer.
06:51So, we know they're going to be up there.
06:53You've got Hendon, a very historic club as well, who absolutely tonked us last day of the season.
06:57So, we know there's totally different teams in there with the way they play and the way the leagues are divided
07:05and how everyone approaches each game.
07:08But it's more tactical and technical, the Southern Central, whereas the Southeast League,
07:14don't get me wrong, I still think the Southeast League is, quality-wise, a lot stronger.
07:20I really do.
07:21Because you look at Sittenborn, got through to the FA Trophy quarterfinal last year.
07:26And with two games to go, they was on 101 points and they hadn't even won the league.
07:32And Ramsgate was on 107 and only won the league with the second-to-last game to go.
07:38That's how strong and powerful that league is.
07:41So, you've talked about how some other clubs there are strengthening and making good signings.
07:47What about your own progress with the Rock Squad?
07:49You lost, you had to lose quite a few at the end of the season.
07:52That was bound to happen after relegation.
07:54But you signed quite a few in the last two or three weeks.
07:57How do you feel it's going?
07:58Do you feel you're nearly there in getting a good squad together?
08:01Yeah, yeah, we're nearly there.
08:03You can't always say, oh, yeah, we've got every single one.
08:06If I'm honest, I think we're still looking for three more players.
08:10Three more players that we can bring into the squad to make up a good squad of 16.
08:14Because I think if we have a look at it, we've got a strong 11, 12, 13.
08:18But then by the time injuries, suspensions, work commitments, etc., illness, anything like that happens, all of a sudden you're looking around going,
08:25we're struggling a little bit now.
08:28We're a little bit thin on the butt online.
08:30So another two to three silence would be great.
08:33And I know me and Jamie's out there and if we're not watching games, I went and watched a game last Saturday because we train Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
08:39Then Jack's out there watching games for us as well.
08:42So that's the reason we train Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
08:44Give us the weekend off and then we go and watch games.
08:47There's three of us.
08:47We all split our ways and go watch games.
08:49I was watching the PO local postcode, see what's around.
08:52Jamie is more Sussex.
08:54And Jack, the further away from us, the better.
08:56Jack would go anywhere for a game, wouldn't he?
08:59We know that.
09:00I know he would.
09:02And just maybe this might be an unfair question, but just tell us about maybe two or three of the signings you've made
09:09who you see as being key people in your starting 11 this season, who are perhaps new to Rock fans who they won't have seen much of yet.
09:18Well, to be honest, the biggest one we had to keep was Chadfield.
09:21That was the biggest one.
09:23Because Chichester City, yeah, Chichester City were all over.
09:26And I mean all over.
09:28I've done an interview after Horndeen got slapped by Reigns Park saying about pseudo-crim.
09:33Like, it really hurt.
09:34It was that painful.
09:35We had to remove Chichester City off of Chadfield with pseudo-crim.
09:40That's how much they was all over.
09:41And where they got this money from, where they can go, oh, by the way, our budget's £1,000 a week.
09:48Absolute garbage.
09:49I know what they offered Chad and everything like that.
09:52So they are up there mixing it with the boys as well.
09:56And fair play to them as well.
09:57Because Guy, Miles, Dabba and Brandy, before we passed, have done an unbelievable job of getting them from where they were to where they are now.
10:05It's absolutely fantastic.
10:07So Chad was the big one.
10:08If we didn't get Chad, we were struggling anyway to attract players.
10:13Because whether people like it or not, the name Bognor Registown has not got the same pulling power of what it had 10 years ago.
10:22Yeah.
10:22Everyone knows that.
10:24And that's unfortunately the way it's gone at the moment.
10:26Now, it's up to us to try and attract these players.
10:28That's why it's very difficult.
10:30We've got to sell the club, the history of the club, what the club's looking to do, et cetera, everything like that, and the pathway.
10:37We can't just get into talks and go, by the way, you want £500 a week.
10:40Because the amount of times people sit and go, £500 a week, they don't care about the club.
10:44They don't care about the club.
10:46They're only caring about the bank balance and their envelope.
10:48And, hey, listen, fair play to them.
10:49If they can get it, they can get it.
10:51But we can't do that.
10:53So he was huge, Chad.
10:55Yeah.
10:55And obviously we made him captain.
10:57And the only reason, well, not the only reason, sorry, because he is an exceptional leader.
11:02And I've been very fortunate to work with Chad closely.
11:05The reason I said to Jamie about taking the captaincy of Calvin Davies,
11:10wasn't to punish Calvin Davies.
11:13Because in football nowadays, who's the only person allowed to speak to the referee on the pitch?
11:18Captain.
11:19It's a captain.
11:20So if Calvin's getting booked for dissent and he's still got the armband,
11:25we're just throwing fuel on the fire.
11:27So we thought if we took the armband off of Calvin and explained it to him, which I did,
11:31we sat in the festing pub and we had a little chat and I told him the truth and everything.
11:36If we took that off him, all of a sudden Calvin Davies goes from playing 25 games a season
11:40because he's suspended for 10 to 15 to then playing 35 games.
11:45Because then he's going to get booked for tackles.
11:47That's the way Calvin is.
11:49Yeah.
11:49He's full blood.
11:50He's whole hearted.
11:51He's so-so.
11:52We didn't do anything to try and punish Calvin Davies by removing the armband.
11:57What we tried to do was help Calvin Davies and help Bovner East Town Football Club
12:01for getting another 10 to 15 games out of Calvin.
12:05And we was honest enough and had a chat with him about that.
12:08Cal Laycock's big.
12:09It's about time we had a big strong number nine who can hold the ball up.
12:12And no disrespect to Tommy Lee Higgs and Dan Giffen.
12:14But that's not their game.
12:16That's not their game.
12:17So, he's big there as well.
12:19And to me, it's Ethan Robb.
12:21Ethan Robb as well.
12:22He was a...
12:23Bognor Muffin.
12:24He was a Bognor midfield then.
12:26He fell out of love with the game big time after what happened to Brentford.
12:30He then went to Bognor, struggled to get back in.
12:32Went to Chichester, struggled to get back in.
12:34Made contact with Horndeen.
12:36And he was the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle.
12:39When Horndeen won the league, he joined us in December.
12:43We went 19 straight wins chasing Housie Porchester.
12:46Because Ethan Robb was the final missing link.
12:49And what he does on the pitch, he's very unnoticed.
12:52He does all the ugly work.
12:54He's game.
12:55He's a leader.
12:56And for 22, he plays like he's a 40-year-old man.
12:59He's got a very old head on young shoulders.
13:01So, I would say them three, through the spine to the side, was huge.
13:07And don't forget, Blocky's saying as well was huge.
13:11That was huge.
13:12Because I thought we had lost Blocky.
13:15And then, I'm not sure whether I gave him a phone call.
13:17I was in the bath one Sunday.
13:19If he was scared, I was going to phone him up being in the bath again.
13:21Because that must be a horrendous image.
13:23And I think that he probably thought, oh, my God, I can't have this happening anymore.
13:28I'm going to have to sign so it don't happen.
13:31It's one way to do it, isn't it?
13:32Yeah.
13:33Yeah.
13:33So, he can play however he can.
13:35Yeah.
13:35But fair play to Jamie and Jack.
13:37They got that one over the line.
13:38And it's great having Blocky on board as well.
13:41Yeah.
13:41He's got a good spine there.
13:42Yeah.
13:43Yeah, absolutely.
13:43Michael, I'm guessing promotion is probably the big aim for you and Bogdan next season.
13:48But is there kind of a worry that fans will simply expect that to be a formality, given
13:52the club that have been playing at a higher level?
13:55No, I don't.
13:56I think what the club's got to get is its identity back, first of all.
13:59They've got to get the identity of being a big name again.
14:02And I think the clubs would, I think the supporters, sorry, were fantastic last year with all the
14:08games that they've lost, didn't perform very well.
14:11I think supporters will accept that the team coming in now are there for all the right reasons.
14:16They're there because they want to be part of the club.
14:19They want to write their own legacy.
14:20They want to be started with a new era.
14:22Listen, our first goal is we must hit 40 points as soon as possible.
14:27That's it.
14:28After that, we've got targets in-house, but I won't say what the targets are or anything
14:34like that, because many of people have been shot down before.
14:37But our first priority, whether supporters want to hear it or not, whether the club wants
14:41to hear it, is we have to get 40 points ASAP and we have to get the identity of the club
14:46back.
14:48Once we've got that, you can add the excitement.
14:50And like I said, I think it was the last interview at Hendon last year.
14:53If it means we have to go two to three years of getting player X, Y and Z because we need
15:00to get there before we get A, B, C, then so be it.
15:03But as long as the communications between myself and Jamie are good with the supporters and they
15:09feel part of it, then I think they'll be a lot more patient than what a lot of people
15:14would think.
15:16And you've touched on there the sort of longer term.
15:19I was going to ask you about that.
15:20There's obviously a longer term plan at Bognor as well now with you and Jamie there to bring
15:25young local players through, create a pathway and set the stall out for years to come, really.
15:32Is that a fair summary?
15:35Yeah, of course it is.
15:36You need that conveyor belt.
15:37And like I said, where Bognor hasn't got that pulling power anymore, you need the conveyor
15:41belt of the youth structure coming through and being correct and guarded the right way.
15:46Now, I know Jamie does the academy and everything and he does all the kids teams coming up
15:50through.
15:50So everyone who knows the way Bognor play are being taught at an early age of how they should
15:56be.
15:57Now, I enjoy letting the youngsters have games because when I was at Orm Dean and I've already
16:03spoke to Jamie about it for the Sussex Senior Cup and not being disrespectful to the Sussex
16:07Senior Cup or the Portsmouth Senior Cup, I used to give that to my under-18s.
16:12I used to be in the dugout.
16:13I used to take the team, but it would be my little way of saying, welcome to the club.
16:18You're now going to represent the first team and it's going to be it.
16:21And tell you what, I think it was the first year back from COVID, my under-18s got through
16:25to the Portsmouth Senior Cup semi-final and got beat by Baffins, Milton Rovers, 3-0 their
16:30first team.
16:31And they were brilliant.
16:32Absolutely brilliant.
16:34I couldn't care they got beat 3-0.
16:36So, I celebrated like we won it.
16:37They were great.
16:39Absolutely great.
16:40And I think, I'm not saying we do it because obviously if you draw like Eastbourne Borough
16:44away, you're not going to take a team with a great team.
16:47But what you will do is take a few senior players and you'll bled four to five of them
16:52in and then maybe have three of them on the bench, stuff like that.
16:54But that's, listen, that's next season.
16:57But the main objective is to get the best youngsters, dangle the carrot and fuck them, sell the
17:03club to them, let them understand how big the club could possibly be again.
17:07And it's going to take a lot of work to get the club as big as what it was.
17:10And we've got to do that.
17:11And we've got to start off at the bottom level and work our way up again.
17:15And if at the bottom level we're getting it right, it will only feed through.
17:20Well, fingers crossed for you, Michael.
17:21Thank you very much for the brilliant insights and the latest goings on at the Rocks.
17:24And we wish you well, obviously, for next season.
17:26But stay with us because we have more questions to throw at you.
17:29But now we'll move on to looking at the latest from the Sussex non-league scene as the
17:322025-26 campaign rapidly hurtles into few.
17:36And we will start in the National League South where three of our clubs, namely Eastbourne,
17:39Borough, Horsham and Worthing, have learned their itinerary for the upcoming campaign.
17:43Steve, very exciting time of the season for both clubs learning their fixtures.
17:46What are the key dates for these trio?
17:48And when can we expect to see these three teams play each other in the National League South?
17:52Yeah, so the National League fixtures, including National South, came out yesterday.
17:58Fans are eagerly, you know, there's two schools of thought with fixtures, isn't there?
18:02There's a lot of people that eagerly anticipate them.
18:04And then there's the group that say, well, we're going to play everybody twice between August and May.
18:09So, you know, you can be in either camp.
18:11But most fans, I think, look forward to it.
18:13Starting with Eastbourne Borough, first then obviously got to playoff semi-final last year,
18:16lost to Maidstone.
18:18They're having another go at National South.
18:20They're going to start away to Farnborough on the 9th of August.
18:24Two home games in a week after that against Hornchurch and Dover.
18:27So that's not a bad start for them.
18:29There's no, I mean, Dover's an interesting one.
18:32I'll have to get information.
18:33There's no really big, big tests for Eastbourne Borough in that first month, really.
18:40Horsham away is an interesting one for them.
18:43Obviously, Horsham are new to National South, as you know all about.
18:46Tuesday, 2nd of September.
18:48A bit of a shame that Horsham against Eastbourne is on a Tuesday night, really.
18:51It could have been a bank or at least a nice sort of Saturday summer in the season.
18:55But fixture planners don't always sort of worry about such detail, do they?
19:01Eastbourne Borough at Christmas will be at home to Worthing on Boxing Day and then away to Tunbridge on the following Tuesday.
19:07Again, it's an odd festive schedule because there are no New Year's Day games in this league.
19:13They're playing Boxing Day, which is a Friday.
19:15They're then playing the following Tuesday, which seems a bit odd.
19:18And then back to Saturdays after that.
19:20But, again, I'm sure there's reasons for it.
19:23And then looking at Eastbourne Borough's run in five games in April to finish them off, which is Worthing away on Good Friday.
19:31Tunbridge at home on Easter Monday.
19:33Hemel away.
19:34Tottenham at home.
19:35And Chelmsford away.
19:35Not an easy place to go, Chelmsford.
19:38So, Eastbourne Borough are probably a bit disappointed to be away on the first day of the season and the last day.
19:45But that's the way it goes.
19:46Somebody's got to be, so that's the way it goes.
19:49We'll talk about Horsham as well.
19:52Similarly, really, they start at Chelmsford.
19:55So, they're away to Chelmsford on August the 9th.
19:57They've then got the first home game is the first Sussex derby of the season.
20:02So, Horsham against Worthing Saturday, 16th of August.
20:05That'll be a big one.
20:05Both clubs will really look forward to that one.
20:08Horsham have also got Torquay at home in August, the Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend.
20:14So, that's another big one for them.
20:17Christmas time brings a trip to Dorking, who, if you take the other two Sussex sides out of it, are probably Horsham's closest neighbours.
20:26So, they're off to Dorking on Boxing Day and at home to Farnborough on the Tuesday between Christmas and New Year.
20:33And just looking at the end of the season for the Hornets, they're at home to Dorking on Good Friday, away to Farnborough Easter Monday.
20:40And then they've got Maidstone at home, Salisbury away, Chippen at home after that.
20:44So, yeah, it's going to be hard for them.
20:47It's a whole new league for them.
20:52Interesting to see how they do, you know, and good luck to them.
20:56And we've covered when Worthing are going to be playing Eastbourne and Horsham.
21:03But Worthing, big thing for Worthing is they're at home on the first day.
21:06And if you remember last season, Worthing were, I think the first six or seven games were away from home.
21:12So, that in itself is a pleasant change for them.
21:15But I think all three, now they've got their fixtures, they can really plan.
21:19They'll be looking forward to who, to where they're going and when.
21:23It all becomes very real, particularly for Horsham, looking at that fixture list.
21:27There's a lot of new clubs there that they've never played before.
21:30So, a lot of excitement all around Sussex as to who can be the Sussex Kings within that division,
21:36but also who can push for promotion and playoffs.
21:39Absolutely.
21:40And a quick note on the fixture front, Michael.
21:42The Isthmian League fixtures are out next Thursday.
21:44Anyway, any preferences to who you want first up?
21:47No, you've got to play every one twice in here so it don't really matter.
21:51It don't really matter.
21:52So, I'd like to say someone at home, but I don't even think that's going to happen either, is it?
21:57It's someone at Chichester or God knows what.
21:59I don't know, is it?
22:01No, well, the good thing is it's not a million miles away, is it?
22:05It's not to say you've got to go to Margate away opening day.
22:08So, someone at the A3M25 would be perfect, lovely.
22:12You won't have to do Jersey away this season either, Michael, which I'm sure you're pretty grateful for.
22:18Yeah, I'd already left one then.
22:19Don't worry about that.
22:20I'd already looked at that and thought, right, I'd better go.
22:22Five cup draws were also revealed last week.
22:27Two for the FA Cup, two for the FA Trophy and one for the FA Vars.
22:31We will start with the FA Cup where ties for the extra preliminary and preliminary rounds were confirmed.
22:35First, Steve, obviously a lot of Sussex involvement in that, but when will these ties take place?
22:40And secondly, which ties have caught your eye?
22:42We did the roundup together, didn't we?
22:44We did.
22:44Yeah, it took us most of a day to sort through the rounds and either ors, didn't it, and to find out if Sussex plays with Sussex sides were doing what.
22:59So, yeah, let's start with the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup, which is going to be on August 2nd, very early start to the Cup again this year.
23:06Lots of sort of step four, step five clubs from Sussex are in it, and I suppose you'd have to say the highlights are the Sussex derbies, really.
23:16There's four of them that come out in that round.
23:18Pagham against Horsham YMCA, both in SCFL Premier.
23:22Then you've got three bridges against Shoreham.
23:24Tough one for Shoreham, that going to, aside from the step above, three bridges expected to do well again this season.
23:30East Greenstead against Eastbourne United is another one between an Isthmian side and an SCFL Premier side.
23:39And similarly, Lansing against Crawley down Gatwick.
23:42Obviously, we've spoken about Dean Cox being back at Lansing now, aiming for a good season with them.
23:49Lots of other Sussex sides involved in that extra preliminary round, including just quickly, you've got Midhurst in there, Bexhill, Littlehampton, Little Common,
23:58Forest Row, Haywood Seath, just to name but a few.
24:03That then moves on to the FA Cup preliminary round, two weeks later, 16th of August.
24:08The draw has been made for that.
24:10You've obviously got lots of either-or's there, but just a couple of Sussex interest ties that stick out there.
24:17The winners of Lansing or Crawley down Gatwick will be at home to the winners of Peacehaven or Haresfield.
24:23So you could have another Sussex derby there.
24:26You will have a Sussex derby in the tie that is currently Three Bridges or Shoreham, be Pagham or Horsham, YMCA.
24:34And again, lots of, you know, you can't look too far ahead with these rounds because, you know, who knows who's going to be in them.
24:40But I know you're going to ask, Michael, about this round for Bognor because this is where they come in.
24:48Yes, absolutely, Michael.
24:49The Rocks will travel to the winners of the extra preliminary tie between Bairstead and Hackney Wick in the preliminary round.
24:55What do you make of that draw?
24:56And do you have any preferences as to who you'd rather play considering you'll be away from home?
25:00No, look, it's the old cliche, isn't it, of this, the FA Cup.
25:05And I've been fortunate enough to get through to the second round proper and that.
25:08And we beat some big sides going there.
25:11So it's, and we've been beat, by the way, by sides that have been a lot lower as well.
25:16So I've been on the end of both of them.
25:18And it is, it's the best cup competition going.
25:21It is what it is at the end of the day.
25:23We are away from home.
25:24We know that.
25:24And we will have them watch properly two or three times, especially in the latter stages of the pre-season, then the first couple of games.
25:31And hopefully we get our prep work done and we manage to have a good day.
25:36Yeah, fingers crossed.
25:38And judging by the sound of it, I was going to ask you how important is the FA Cup to non-league sides like Bognor?
25:42But it sounds like it's a competition that's quite, you've got a good place in your heart.
25:47Yeah, but it's, well, you know, financially, it's a massive, massive reward for non-league clubs.
25:51I think when having Waterville got through to play Liverpool, I think they ended up pocketing just over a million.
25:56So, yeah, so you know that anyway.
25:59And the money's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
26:01So if you can get through to a few rounds, it does make life a lot easier.
26:06And until you actually become on the dark side, the backroom staff, you don't appreciate or understand how much financial reward there is.
26:13And it is huge for Bognor at this moment in time.
26:16Absolutely.
26:17Well, best of luck to you in the FA Cup this season, Michael.
26:19Only two Sussex sides are in the draw for the FA Trophy preliminary round, which is scheduled for the 23rd of August.
26:25Who are those two teams, Steve?
26:27Who will they play and how do you rate their chances of advancing to the next round?
26:31Yeah, it's an odd one, really.
26:32I don't really, if I'm honest, I don't really understand why there are so few games in the FA Trophy preliminary round.
26:37It must be because of the overall numbers in there.
26:39But it seems that some Step 4 clubs are in that round and some come in later.
26:45So in the preliminary round, which is 23rd of August, Saturday, 23rd of August, just the two games with Sussex interest.
26:51That is Sheppie against Haseks, who, of course, are in the FA Trophy for the first time after their promotion from Step 5 last year.
26:59And Marlowe against Three Bridges.
27:02So we'll be hoping for those two to go forward to the FA Trophy first qualifying round.
27:06That's the next one.
27:07That comes up on September the 6th.
27:10Again, two weeks after that early round.
27:13Quite a few more Sussex sides coming in there.
27:16The standout tie probably there is Jersey Balls against Hastings United.
27:19We had Lee Carey on last week, didn't we, on the podcast.
27:24And obviously the Hastings are off to the Channel Islands in the league.
27:27And he was saying, yeah, he's looking forward to it as long as he doesn't have to do any of the organising of the flights and all the travel plans.
27:35Somebody at Hastings will be plotting their way to Jersey already.
27:39Yes, absolutely.
27:40And I think that game against Jersey has come far too early for them, isn't it?
27:43Sooner than they'd rather, by the sound of things.
27:45But, Michael, the draw for the FA Trophy first qualifying round, we'll see the Rocks host Sevenoaks Town.
27:51Happy to be at home?
27:53Yeah, yeah, we are.
27:54But they're a good side to Sevenoaks.
27:55Like I said, I've come across them twice with Haunting in that league.
27:59They've got great facilities up there as well.
28:02Try to play the right way.
28:03They're one of the teams in there that do get it down and play.
28:05And they have got a very, very good set-up.
28:08So that will be a very, very tough game.
28:11Very tough.
28:11And finally, the draw for the first qualifying round of the FA Vars has plenty of Sussex involvement.
28:17I won't get you to name all the teams, Steve, because I think we'll probably be here for another half an hour.
28:22But when will the first qualifying round matches be played and which ties in particular stand out to you?
28:27So this is also taking place on the 23rd of August, same date as the preliminary round of the FA Trophy.
28:35Fair few Sussex sides in there, as you suggest.
28:38First, I'm just going to take the easy route and pick out the three Sussex derbies that I've spotted within that.
28:45Arundel against Stenning, which is, what's that, SCFL Division 1 against SCFL Premier, isn't it?
28:52Obviously, Stenning back in SCFL after relegation.
28:55You've got Lockswood against Eastbourne United, which is an all-SCFL Premier clash, I think,
29:01because Lockswood stayed up and Eastbourne United stayed down last season.
29:05And an interesting one in West Sussex, East Preston against Hayworth's Heath Town.
29:10Hayworth's Heath, who we will talk more about on podcasts as the season comes around,
29:15but will be fancy to do well again in the SCFL.
29:18And, you know, at that stage, you're going into the Vars.
29:21A lot of those sides will be to remember in 2022 when Littlehampton got to the final.
29:27You know, if you get a bit of luck with draws and get a bit of momentum going,
29:30you can go a long way in the Vars.
29:31So that will be the aim for all those Sussex sides at the first stage.
29:36Absolutely. Well, best of luck to all of those teams involved.
29:38Well, I think I'll call it there. That's it for this episode.
29:40Our thanks to Michael for joining us.
29:41Before we go, Michael, how is pre-season going on?
29:44And where are you off to next on your pre-season jaunts?
29:47We've got Pagham. We've got Pagham on Wednesday our way.
29:50So a nice little visit tonight in Belain.
29:53They've done well there, actually, especially with that stand.
29:56Unfortunately, it got blown down, but they've replaced it in a really nice stand now.
30:01So, yeah, so we're off there. Pre-season's going well.
30:03To be honest, me and Jamie, we've absolutely cruised it.
30:06We haven't even got a sweat on me and Jamie.
30:07So I don't know what these players are moaning about nowadays.
30:12But no, the boys, they're working extremely hard.
30:16They're looking sharp as well.
30:17So it's very pleasing at the moment.
30:20But we all know you can have a good pre-season, an awful season.
30:24It's a shocking pre-season and then something clicks and all of a sudden you're well beat.
30:27So, look, it is what it is.
30:30We're just boring old cliche.
30:32One game and that's all we work on.
30:35Excellent. Brilliant stuff.
30:36Yeah, thank you very much for your time, Michael.
30:38And hopefully you continue to have a nice, easy pre-season.
30:41And don't forget to keep checking out sussexworld.co.uk forward slash thoughtful,
30:45the best coverage of local football plus your local Sussex weekly papers.
30:49And keep your eyes peeled for more bonus editions of the podcast during the summer
30:52where we'll be joined by a variety of guests looking ahead to what 2025-26 will have in store
30:57for Sussex's non-league clubs.
30:58Thank you very much for listening.
31:00And, yeah, we will see you when we see you.
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