- 2 days ago
Matt Pole is joined by Sussex sport guru Steve Bone and special guest Worthing FC manager Chris Agutter, a familiar football face not only at Woodside Road but around the whole of Sussex.
Chris is just starting his second season in the Rebels hotseat and after coming so close to guiding them to the National League South title last season, he is out to go one better this time.
Chris was appointed at Worthing in May of last year following two spells as Hastings United manager and other management and coaching roles with Eastbourne Borough, Stevenage and the Brighton & Hove Albion academy.
Chris is just starting his second season in the Rebels hotseat and after coming so close to guiding them to the National League South title last season, he is out to go one better this time.
Chris was appointed at Worthing in May of last year following two spells as Hastings United manager and other management and coaching roles with Eastbourne Borough, Stevenage and the Brighton & Hove Albion academy.
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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 games on at grassroots football across the county.
00:07I'm Matt Poul, and on this edition, I'm joined by Sussex Sport Guru Steve Bone and another special guest,
00:12Worthing FC manager Chris Agata, a familiar face not only at Woodside Road, but around the whole of Sussex.
00:18Chris has just started his second season in the Rebels hot seat, and after coming so close to guiding him to National League South title last season,
00:25he is out to go one better this time.
00:27Chris was appointed at Worthing in May of last year, following two spells as Hastings United manager
00:31and other management and coaching roles with Eastbourne Borough, Stevenage Borough and the Brighton and Hovervian Academy.
00:38Chris, thank you first and foremost for joining us today. How are you feeling? How are you?
00:42Oh yeah, good. Thank you for having me. Nice to catch up, but all good to this end. Thank you.
00:49Absolutely brilliant to have you on. First, let's just briefly reflect on last season, Chris.
00:53You were very, very close to taking the title and might even have done it on the final day,
00:57but you ended up in the lottery of the playoffs and lost to Maidstone.
01:01Does it all still feel quite raw?
01:05No, it's not too raw, to be honest.
01:11It's obviously come so close and to have it in your hands with a week to go and then to be in a completely different situation
01:26come the final day of the season, you know, to be first and then fourth within days, really, was a rollercoaster of emotions.
01:41But in time, we'll look back on it and we'll reflect and we'll think that's an invaluable experience to help us move forward, really.
01:50Chris, since the end of the season, you've been quite busy reshaping the squad.
01:56Obviously, that's been the top priority.
01:58And the first thing you did after the end of the season, really, was actually move quite a few players on
02:05or allow them to leave, you know, different circumstances.
02:08Was that something you felt you needed to be the first thing done to give you sort of scope to get the squad how you wanted it for this season to come?
02:18Yeah, I think, ultimately, like, we'd done relatively well last year, but we didn't achieve anything, really, in the grand scheme of things.
02:30So, the first thought was really to keep the best bits of the existing squad.
02:37What did we like about the existing group and what were the reasons that we'd come so close and done a lot of things well?
02:44And, ultimately, like, why didn't we get over the line and why did we falter at the back end of the season, really?
02:55And that was obviously what influenced the player recruitment, retainment process at the end of the year.
03:03And we've obviously gone to a different training model as well to try and make us even more competitive.
03:12And that then obviously has a knock-on effect to the players and players that are established part-time players that have careers outside of football.
03:22To go from part-time football to more of a hybrid model, which we're doing now, is obviously going to present certain challenges for those particular players.
03:35So, it just meant we'd like to have kept one or two of the lads that left, but because of circumstances, finances, et cetera, we weren't able to keep those players on board.
03:52But, equally, that presented a really good opportunity to bring in players that we liked and that we feel could flourish within our way of working at the football club.
04:01Chris, yeah, you've mentioned recruitment and bringing players in.
04:07Tell us about some of the signings you brought in over the summer.
04:09It seems you brought in players in all positions.
04:12Who would perhaps be three or four you think of the new boys that would be vital to the team's chances of success in the upcoming season?
04:18Seb Stacey.
04:21Obviously, the goalkeeper has come in on loan from NK Dons.
04:25He's a big improvement on last year in pretty much all departments, really, and we've already seen that.
04:36That's a big boost.
04:37I mean, there was a lot of individual errors last year that led to goals.
04:43Couple that with 40% of the goals we conceded were from set pieces.
04:47So, that's obviously not solely down to the goalkeeper position, but if we can be more dominant in that department, then it's only obviously going to help that stat move in the right direction.
05:00Harry Vanson, in my opinion, should be nowhere near this level.
05:07He's an excellent, excellent footballer.
05:10He's proved it so far in pre-season.
05:13He's been great for us on and off the pitch.
05:14And I'm just pleased that, despite a lot of interest in other clubs, he opted for Worthing.
05:24He felt it was the right place to give him a platform to kick on again and showcase what he can do.
05:29So, that's been a massive addition.
05:33Toby Byron.
05:35So, I've got the squad list next to me.
05:36I'm looking up here.
05:39Don't forget anybody.
05:40So many changes.
05:41I need a reminder.
05:42Toby Byron's coming from Wingate.
05:46He's a real rough diamond, I think.
05:50And again, within our training model, I think we can help him improve the bits he needs to improve.
05:56And equally, he's 6'3", left-footed, quick.
06:01He's been very impressive pre-season.
06:03And then, obviously, on top of that, Raz Coleman-Begraft, Kwaku Frimpong, Matt Burgess, through midfield and wide areas.
06:16And then, obviously, we've significantly bolstered in the forward line as well with Anoitli Chukwu, Brad Dollahan, Nathan Odekuniero.
06:26And we've also changed the position of Bailey Smith.
06:30And to be fair, of all the centre forwards, Bailey's probably been the most impressive pre-season.
06:34So, yeah, we're happy of where we're at.
06:39And, yeah, we're looking forward to building on what's been a solid start to pre-season.
06:49And I was going to ask you about pre-season so far.
06:51One of the big things which you've touched on is that you've moved up from two training sessions a week with the players to four.
06:58And I think from the start, you've noticed that's made a big difference, haven't you?
07:01How has pre-season gone, do you feel, generally?
07:05And how big a part has that played in it?
07:07Well, last pre-season, we had 12 training sessions and six games, whereas we're already up to, I think, 15 training sessions.
07:20We have over two weeks left.
07:23We've already had four games.
07:26It's just the contact time just makes such a big difference.
07:28We need to be cautious initially because some players that are transitioning from part-time to full-time,
07:35they obviously present certain challenges physically because the load is very different.
07:41But, you know, it's been a real positive.
07:47And it's not so much the physical improvement in the players.
07:51It's more the technical side of things.
07:53The consistency of the players' technical execution is so much higher.
08:01And it's purely because they're getting more contact time with the football.
08:06Ideas are obviously landing a lot quicker.
08:09You've got more time to work on set-pieces and hopefully address the 40% conceded.
08:14And so, yeah, it's just for someone like myself who's a coach, Dino as well as a coach, Ben Corneas, we're all coaches.
08:23So to get that extra time with the players makes a big difference.
08:28And also, we've done an awful lot of stuff remote last year.
08:32So the players would be getting WhatsApp messages at 11 o'clock at night.
08:37And whether or not that's best practice, I'm not sure.
08:39But we're obviously trying to bridge the gap to the other teams in the league that are full-time.
08:46So just being able to do meetings with the players face-to-face, individual meetings, unit meetings, team meetings,
08:52it just makes a big difference.
08:53And also, like with the players that we've recruited, we've recruited players that are very serious about their football,
09:00that want to progress and climb.
09:03So they're on board with those sorts of ideas and those ways of working.
09:07So it's been really positive.
09:10I mean, the four games we've had, they've all been against full-time teams as well.
09:14So obviously Brighton, West Ham, obviously full-time professional teams,
09:18but Chatham and Havent are both full-time as well.
09:20So it's given us a really good initial sort of period during pre-season, a real good test.
09:31So I guess, Chris, what's the million-dollar question?
09:34Is it the realistic aim for this season?
09:36Is it to win the title and avoid the need for more play-off fun, if you look at it that way?
09:42That'd be nice.
09:44To be honest, I'm pretty relaxed about it all.
09:50I think because we have had success long before I was at the club,
09:57and obviously we built on that in terms of points last year,
10:03I think there is probably a perception of we need to win the league by 15 points.
10:10But from my perspective, the staff, the club, directors, we know where we're at,
10:19and we know that we've had success as a football club and doing things a certain way,
10:30but we also appreciate that the level's incredibly competitive.
10:33I mean, obviously you see all the league prediction tables and stuff like that,
10:40and some of the predictions or the sort of perception of where certain clubs are at versus the reality is really interesting.
10:54So I'm pretty sure we'll be at the right end of the table.
11:00The thing for us is we want to progress on what we've done last year.
11:04It's obvious what that means.
11:06But then equally, we acknowledge that the league's going to be very competitive.
11:11I mean, like I said in the prediction tables,
11:14I've seen so many people talk about Horsham as relegation candidates.
11:19There is absolutely no chance of that happening.
11:23No chance.
11:24And I look forward to teams underestimating Horsham this year
11:31because ourselves, Maidstone, Torquay, who played against Horsham last year,
11:36will all vouch for that.
11:38But they're not being promoted to just hang in there.
11:45So you look at teams like that who, again, from the outside,
11:49looking in perception is they're not going to do anything.
11:51They're going to be incredibly competitive as well.
11:53So it's going to be a really challenging league, but it's exciting.
11:56And I think the fact that perhaps the feeling is that Wertham,
12:02or the expectation is for us to go and win the league by 10 plus points,
12:05is a reflection of what the club's done when it's competing
12:10with the likes of Dagenham, Maidenhead, Ebsfleet, Torquay, et cetera.
12:15So we'll see.
12:15We're just going to try and let our football do the talking
12:18and let Chelmsford and Co. talk about winning the league by 10 plus points.
12:25Because you've got more and more teams going full-time, that's step two.
12:30And actually this week we've heard about a few at step three
12:32that are now going full-time in the Eastman Premier.
12:34It's quite scary, really.
12:36That must make it harder for a club like Wertham.
12:40You're still relatively new to step two.
12:42It must get harder year on year just to sort of stand still
12:45and just to achieve the same things.
12:47It's a constant sort of pressure to, it's almost a pressure
12:51to spend more money and do more and go full-time
12:55and do everything else.
12:56You know, that must be something that as a club you talk about
12:59and you have to look at the best way to cope with that pressure, don't you?
13:05Yeah, I think that I might be wrong,
13:09but I'm pretty sure Wertham have never spent their way
13:12to a league title previously or spent their way to success.
13:15I mean, under Adam Inchwood, who's a far more capable manager than me
13:22and coach and he's a better player and had a way of playing smart
13:30with their recruitment.
13:31And that's how they manage the points on the board and have success.
13:38So, despite, again, perception, I would be shocked if we were anywhere
13:47near the highest paid or highest payers at the level.
13:53But that doesn't mean, it was the same as last year.
13:55We lost the league title by one point.
13:57So, I think we'd probably be about mid-table if it was based purely
14:03on financial spend.
14:07But that's not an excuse for us.
14:08We just have to do it a certain way, like play in a certain way,
14:12recruit a certain type of player, find your Toby Byrons,
14:15find your Quaker Frimpongs who are rough diamonds,
14:19find your Temi Babalolas who, when we signed him last year
14:23from Bows and Pizzi, it was a few eyebrows raised.
14:28And then towards the back end of the year, if you found a more effective
14:31sent forward at the level of his type, I'd be shocked.
14:35So, it's up to us to try and find those gems and develop them
14:39and stay really competitive and keep pushing.
14:45But, yeah, as I said, it is difficult.
14:50But, as I said, I'm obviously speaking about before my time at Worthing,
14:55but I'm pretty sure Worthing have never been, as I said,
15:01the man city of the level in terms of finances.
15:06And I think credit where credit's due,
15:09the clubs has obviously done a great job previously
15:11with the people that it's employed in terms of maximising their output
15:15with the resources they've got.
15:20Well, thanks for that insight, Chris.
15:21But stay with us while we look at some of the other goings-on
15:23in the Sussex non-league scene.
15:25And we've discussed at length Worthing's non-league South ambitious
15:28for 25-26.
15:29We will now take a look at the latest goings-on
15:31at the Rebels divisional rivals Eastman, Burrott and Horsham.
15:34Steve, both clubs have made new signings
15:36and been in pre-season action since the last pod.
15:39What's the latest from the sports and Hornets?
15:42Yeah, both.
15:43Obviously, we spoke a week ago anyway about how they were doing,
15:45but a mixture of friendlies and the odd signing
15:49for both of them since then.
15:51Horsham have played a couple of games.
15:53They drew 0-0 with Bromley under-21s last weekend
15:57and then had a bit of a thriller against Wimbledon,
16:00AFC Wimbledon under-19s in midweek.
16:025-4, I think they were on the right end of that one as well,
16:04so that was a good game for the fans down there.
16:07And they've also signed a player who played a little bit
16:11for them last season, Greg Lua.
16:14Chris will remember briefly from Worthing.
16:16I think Greg was at Worthing when you first went back, Chris.
16:23Sorry?
16:24Spent two minutes with me and had enough.
16:25Yeah, we need to get him on and ask him why that was.
16:31I'm sure it's nothing personal, though.
16:34But obviously, Greg will be known to Eastbourne Borough fans
16:36and he's had a good career around some football league clubs as well,
16:40so it looks like a good signing for Horsham.
16:42Horsham didn't quite sort of work out with him sort of going there last season
16:46and I don't know the ins and outs of that, but a good addition.
16:50Obviously, we spoke last week a little bit about the fact
16:52that Horsham have let some players go that they perhaps didn't want to.
16:57You know, they're being careful to be not to overspend
17:01and to only spend what they've got,
17:03so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
17:05But certainly the friendlies seem to be going well for them,
17:07building up towards the first game on August 9th.
17:11Similar at Eastbourne Borough,
17:12so far Eastbourne Borough have played three friendlies and lost them all.
17:15They've lost to Farnham, Dartford last weekend
17:21and Aldershot in midweek.
17:23They're not too worried about that at this stage.
17:25I don't think any manager worries too much about pre-season results, really,
17:29unless they're absolutely awful and Eastbourne Boroughs haven't been awful.
17:33They've just not quite found their scoring boots yet.
17:36They've also made an interesting signing from Alderm Athletic.
17:41And you'll have to forgive me if I'm not pronouncing his name right.
17:44Jez Uchambulag, who was at Alderm last season,
17:49was involved in their playoff, their national league playoff win at Wembley.
17:54They're very pleased to get in.
17:55A bit of a coup for them.
17:57And Matt Gray was speaking to our man Kevin Anderson after that game
18:02and said he's still looking to bring in about another four players.
18:05He still thinks they're maybe four or light, which is interesting.
18:09They've spread their buying out over a longer period, perhaps, than Worthing have.
18:16So, yeah, we spoke last week, didn't we, with Will on here about who's going to,
18:20you know, which of those Sussex sides are going to do best.
18:23Actually, Chris, I think all three of us on the podcast last week
18:26predicted Worthing would be the highest Sussex finishers in the league.
18:29So, no pressure or anything.
18:33You'd expect Eastbourne Borough to be up there competing again.
18:39I don't think anyone would be too worried about the fact they've lost a few friendlies.
18:42Matt Gray seemed to have made quite a strong impression, very much his own man.
18:46Different style probably to Adam Murray, who was there last year.
18:51And both have got two or three friendlies, at least a couple of friendlies still to play.
18:55So, lots of time for a few little tweaks to be made before the big kick-off on August 9th.
19:01Yeah, absolutely.
19:02Chris, I've no doubt that you keep an eye on the latest goings on at both Eastbourne Borough and Horsham.
19:07We've kind of touched a little bit upon Horsham already,
19:10but how do you think both sides will fare in the National League South next season?
19:14And I think the main one for me, really, is that do you think Borough will be right up there,
19:18challenging with you at the top end of the table next season?
19:20I'm not sure, because, like you said, Adam Murray done a brilliant job there.
19:29They've had a high turnover, but obviously Matt Gray is a brilliant manager.
19:36He's had loads of success at the level.
19:38He's proven at this level he was above.
19:43So, Eastbourne Borough will be really competitive again.
19:48And I think Horsham will be pushing for playoffs.
19:54That's interesting.
19:56Yeah, I think I look at their squad.
20:02I look at the players they've added.
20:06I really, well, as I said, obviously Horsham's very close to home with myself,
20:15but I know people further afield won't be as well informed.
20:18But, yeah, for me, when Horsham start strong like they, I expect them to,
20:26it certainly won't be a surprise, whereas I think it'll catch a few people cold.
20:29So, yeah, I think it'll be really competitive again.
20:34And I think it'll be a really good advert for Sussex football.
20:37Yeah, couldn't agree more.
20:39Meanwhile, our clubs in the Isthmian League have also been busy
20:42as preparations continue to pace for the new season.
20:45We won't do it club by club, Steve, as we will be here for about an hour and a half.
20:48But what will the main talking points be from our Isthmian League clubs
20:52since the last pod?
20:53Yeah, again, it's been a mixture of a few more friendlies.
20:57The signings side of things at that level seems to have slowed down a little bit.
21:02I think most clubs have signed who they wanted to.
21:05There's probably a bit more business to be done between now and the start,
21:07but they're not, you know, nobody is signing sort of three players a week
21:11or anything like that.
21:12A couple of people that we've spoken to recently,
21:15I spoke to Gary Mansell at Burgess Hill this week.
21:19Obviously, he's, him and Jay are taking the Hillians back into the Isthmian Premier
21:24after a few years away this season.
21:27They've retained most of last season's squad, as we said last week.
21:31They've also made some good signings, people like Jaden Perez,
21:33Rocco Rees, the next Worthing goalie as well.
21:36And he was saying that it's been going very well for them.
21:40Pre-season results have been mixed.
21:42They lost to Haywards Heath, but had a draw at Horsham,
21:45which was a quite notable result.
21:47Obviously, one thing that's happening at Burgess Hill,
21:51which is going to disrupt their start a little bit,
21:53is having a new 3G pitch put down.
21:56So, just like Worthing did last season,
21:59Burgess Hill's first six games are all away from home,
22:02which he says he's going to test and the Chris will give that a wry smile,
22:05as he remembers travelling to Chippenham and everywhere else
22:08on August bank holiday afternoons and things like that.
22:11I think he enjoyed it, really.
22:14So, that's going to be a real test for Burgess Hill.
22:16But as Gary said, you know, at some point in the season,
22:19they're probably going to have sort of five out of six games at home.
22:21And I think that's going to come around the middle of the season.
22:23So, if they can sort of hang in there in those early weeks,
22:26that could work to their advantage.
22:29Spoke also to Dabba down at Chichester City,
22:33Darren Kilpatrick at Chichester this week.
22:36They're building up nicely.
22:37Not the finished product by any means and possibly still one or two players light
22:43in the squad of where they need to be.
22:45They've lost Jimmy Wilde for half the season through injury.
22:48So, that's a worry for them.
22:49They're looking at different options there.
22:51And we've also had some bits and pieces from Jude MacDonald
22:55at Eastbourne Town down in Isthmyn South East.
22:58One of seven Sussex teams playing in the Isthmyn South East this coming season.
23:04He's very much looking forward to seeing if they can build on
23:06what was a very good season at step four last season for them.
23:10They stayed up comfortably, really.
23:12They were never in relegation danger.
23:14And I said to him, you know, is there a second season syndrome worry?
23:17You know, could the second season be harder?
23:19And he said it could be.
23:21We just don't know until it starts.
23:22Our aim as coaches and players is to be a bit better than we were last season
23:27and see where it takes us.
23:28So, yeah, I think over the next couple of weeks,
23:31there'll be a few more signings.
23:33There might even be one or two departures from those clubs
23:36if players get better offers from higher up.
23:39But generally speaking, they're all building up quite well towards kick-off
23:45and it'll be interesting to see how they all go in their early games.
23:50Yeah, absolutely.
23:50And sticking in the Isthmyn South East, Chris,
23:53one of your former clubs, Hastings United,
23:55they're now preparing for life in the Isthmyn South East
23:57after relegation from the Isthmyn Premier last season.
24:00First and foremost, do you still keep an eye on how the youth are doing?
24:04And how do you think they'll go on at step four?
24:06Do you think promotion at the first time of our skin is something
24:09that will be on the cards for Hastings this season?
24:12Well, I hope so, because Hastings is such a massive football club.
24:20It's a great, no, we're here at step four.
24:24Gary Elfman, I'm a mate of getting out of that division.
24:29Obviously, the next part of the years is at step three,
24:33he competed for sort of playoffs and for them to obviously go back to step four
24:39is really frustrating for, I think, everyone involved at the football club,
24:42especially the fan base, brilliant fan base, massive fan base as well.
24:49It's difficult, though, because there's been a real turnover of players there.
24:55Obviously, Lee, I'm really pleased Lee got the job as well,
25:01because the club went in a different direction after I left.
25:08We've tried and tested and it didn't work.
25:14And obviously, like with Caro getting the job, it's his first manager's job,
25:17but he's definitely got to start somewhere.
25:22And he's young, ambitious, knows the area, knows the football club,
25:30will develop younger players.
25:33So it feels more in keeping with the direction that the club originally went in
25:39when they had that upward climb and where they could be in the step three.
25:44I really hope so, but I also think it's a big job
25:48and there's a lot of work to do there.
25:50But if anyone's going to do it, I think Lee can do it.
25:55I know Dean's really hands-on as well.
25:59In the background, I'm just frustrated that Dean didn't get a hold of it
26:04in a managerial coaching sense towards the back end of the season a bit sooner,
26:09because I think they probably, as their results showed
26:12when him and Caro went in there, their results picked up.
26:16It's a shame they didn't do it sooner, because I think they could have stayed up.
26:19But it's a big job, but it's one of them that once you get the town behind the team
26:25and the supporters are on board with what they're seeing on the pitch,
26:29it can be a powerful, powerful thing.
26:33So hopefully they can build the manager again.
26:36But I do think it's – the biggest thing is, like what you said about Burgess Hill,
26:41Borsham, obviously Danik Werven had done a 3G pitch.
26:43They need to put a 3G pitch down.
26:45It's so obvious.
26:49There's no training facilities in Hastings.
26:52If they put a 3G pitch at the pilot,
26:56with it, I'd like to make the platform for that club to go
26:59and find the lead very quickly.
27:03And again, build momentum.
27:05And that could be an absolute monster of a football club.
27:07So, 3G pitch down.
27:11Get that 3G pitch down.
27:13And best of luck to – yes, absolutely.
27:16And best of luck to Hastings this season and to all our clubs in the Isthmian League.
27:20And finally, to round off this week's episode,
27:22we also saw the release of the fixtures for the 2025-26 SCFL Premier
27:27and Division I seasons.
27:29The Division II fixtures are set to be released at a later date.
27:33We thought they would take about an hour and a half to do all of the Isthmian League,
27:36Steve.
27:36So, I imagine if we did all of the SCFL Premier and Div 1,
27:39we'd probably hear for about four hours.
27:41So, which of the fixtures are – because I think they've released all of them,
27:44haven't they, now, in the Premier and Div 1?
27:47I think so, yes.
27:49Yeah, we've had to wait for these SCFL fixtures, haven't we?
27:52But they're out there.
27:53So, everybody knows at least how they're starting the season
27:56and then what the next few are.
27:58A couple of standout ones from the Premier Division.
28:01It's going to be an interesting Premier Division this year
28:03because you've got Lansing and Stenning going down.
28:05And then you've got the Timbs that were in the playoffs last year
28:08that didn't quite make it.
28:09They'll all be strong again.
28:11And you've got some good sides that missed out on playoffs last season,
28:15like Peacehaven, New Haven, that they'll be pushing.
28:18So, just picking out a few from the opening week.
28:20And there's two sets of fixtures in the opening week.
28:23Day one sees Wick.
28:25Nice local derby for Wick.
28:27They're away to Guernsey.
28:29So, that's a way to start the season.
28:31I suppose if you're going to go to Guernsey,
28:32you might as well go over there in the middle of August.
28:33They probably have a quite a bit.
28:36East Point United against Stenning is an eye-catching one
28:40from the opening day.
28:41That's two teams that will be wanting to be at the top end.
28:44So, you know, you could argue that's a big game
28:47that's come a bit too soon for them,
28:48but they'll have to get on with it.
28:49Lansing against Forest Row is another interesting one
28:53because Lansing is obviously one of the clubs going down
28:56from step four to the SCFL Premier,
28:58playing Forest Row, going in the other direction,
29:01up from step six to step five.
29:04New Haven against Roffey is another one where, you know,
29:07you look at both those clubs and you think,
29:09well, they're just a little underachieved,
29:12but they just sort of missed out on being good enough
29:15to get in that playoff mix last season.
29:17And they'll be looking to go again.
29:20Crawley down Gatwick are never too far off it.
29:22They go to Shoreham on the first day.
29:24There's also then a midweek set of fixtures.
29:27Just pick out a couple of them.
29:29Crawley down Gatwick against New Haven.
29:30So, again, two pretense there.
29:32Roffey against Lansing looks a good one.
29:36Wick, if Wick get back from Guernsey in time,
29:39they do play at home to Horsham YM.
29:41And I know Horsham YM have had a bit of a rebrand.
29:44They are now Horsham YM rather than Horsham YMCA.
29:47I know Liam Giles has brought in a few new faces down there
29:50in his squad, so I'd be interested to see how they do.
29:53Stenning against Pagham is another of the midweek games.
29:56Peacehaven, Lingfield, and so on and so forth.
29:59And then if you go into Division I,
30:01again, they now know at least their first few fixtures.
30:05I'll quickly run through the first day's fixtures
30:08in Division I.
30:10Huckfield Town against Infinity.
30:12Arumdell against AFC Wall Countians,
30:15who are a new team in that division.
30:17There's quite a few Surrey teams coming into the division now,
30:21so we need to do our homework
30:22and find out a bit more about some of them.
30:24So that's over the border,
30:26so we don't know too much about some of them.
30:29Copthorne against Ringmer.
30:30Ringmer we'll be talking more about on this pod soon
30:32because they've come up from mid-Sussex Premier.
30:35Then you've got Dorkingby against Billingshurst,
30:39East Preston against Saltdean,
30:40Godamming-Loxwood,
30:42Myeloke against Rygate,
30:44Oakwood against Worthing United.
30:46Worthing United are tipped to win it last year
30:48and they're still in there,
30:49so I won't tip them this year.
30:50Chelsea against Jarvis Brook.
30:54So, yeah,
30:55at least those clubs now can start
30:57sort of planning their first few weeks
30:59and jostling for position around the tops of those tables.
31:04Absolutely.
31:04Way day at Guernsey not appeal to you then, Chris.
31:06That was a pained expression.
31:09It's done two or three.
31:14It's really,
31:16they really disarm you
31:17because they're really welcoming
31:20and they really look after you.
31:23But then as soon as the game kicks off,
31:25I've never had so much abuse
31:27from a load of support.
31:31It's the windiest place in the world.
31:33It's got a running track around it, honestly.
31:35If you can get out of it.
31:36Oh, God.
31:38And then,
31:39apart from all those Sussex sides
31:42who are going to Guernsey,
31:43a load of others in the Eastman South East
31:44are going to Jersey, aren't they?
31:45So,
31:47I'll have to see if there's any game
31:48double-headers over there the same weekend.
31:50They can share a plane or something.
31:52The best bit as well,
31:53the plane that takes you out there
31:54is like a throwback Indiana Jones plane.
31:59This might not be.
32:02Some people won't want to hear this.
32:06Well,
32:06I think we can all say
32:07Godspeed to everyone
32:08travelling to Guernsey and Jersey
32:09this season.
32:10Yeah,
32:11we'll say a few Hail Marys
32:13before you take off.
32:14Brilliant stuff.
32:15I think that's about it
32:16for us this week.
32:17Chris,
32:18before we finish,
32:19for those who don't know,
32:20who have Worthing got left
32:21in pre-season
32:22before the big kick-off?
32:23We've got
32:25Lewis this Saturday.
32:28We've got
32:29Hastings
32:29next Wednesday
32:31and then
32:32Braintree at home.
32:33So,
32:33Lewis away,
32:34Hastings away
32:34and then Braintree at home
32:35on August the 7th.
32:39Perfect.
32:40Brilliant.
32:40Well,
32:40best of luck in those games
32:41and best of luck
32:41for the season ahead,
32:43Chris.
32:44Don't forget to keep
32:45checking out
32:45sussexworld.co.uk
32:46forward slash bot
32:47for all the best coverage
32:48of local football
32:48plus your local
32:49Sussex weekly papers.
32:51And keep your eyes peeled
32:51for the next edition
32:52of the podcast
32:53where we'll be joined
32:53by another guest
32:54and we'll look ahead
32:55to the league season
32:56and what it will bring
32:57for our non-league teams
32:58across Sussex.
32:59My thanks again to Chris
33:00and thanks to Steve
33:01for joining us
33:01and we will see you
33:02when we see you.
33:04Thanks.
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