TT REVIEW

Clive Hayward – @byehorse

Clive discusses the game at Plainmoor

There is no shortage of tasty talking points as the Yellow Army basks in the afterglow of Saturday’s semi-final success. There is enough for a weekend blog too, but you’ll have to ask me very nicely. For now, here are my top five:

We brought the noise

I’ve been going to Plainmoor since 1976. The Pop Side has normally made a good racket over the years, but Saturday was special. Living close to the ground, I’m not normally in a rush to get there. I walked up the hill 20 minutes before kick off, and as I turned into Westlands Lane the normal view was in front of me: pool to the left, school to the right and turnstiles in the middle distance. But there was something else: the decibels were ridiculous! “Yellow Army” was being belted out by terrace and Bristow’s alike. Stereo bedlam! I can honestly say it’s the loudest I have ever heard the old ground.

There was, of course, loads to keep the atmosphere going throughout the 90 minutes, but we kept the singing going all afternoon. What was excellent was that the crowd seemed to sense when the team needed a lift: it would get really loud whenever Dorking got a corner and, late on, when they got a couple of goals and you just felt a faint shudder down your spine, everyone was determined to lift it again, and keep the visitors at bay.

The only thing is: please, please, please can we bin the “12th man” nonsense? It’s ok for Argyle, but we’re better than that!

Deon Moore

In Ray Duffy’s phrase: “Oh My Word!!”

Maidstone’s loss is our gain. When big Deon arrived in March, I must admit that I had my doubts. He had fallen down George Elokobi’s pecking order and hadn’t had a lot of football. He was obviously strong, but he probably looked a little bit short of a gallop.

But it’s now clear that he wasn’t just “a body” brought in when numbers were ridiculously low. He has come into his own, genuinely looking better with every game. He does everything Cody Cooke can do and probably has a yard more pace. It is very difficult to get the ball off him, and his hold-up play is brutally effective.

The manager predicted that once he got a first goal the floodgates would open. Jimmy clearly knows his onion bags, because Deon has proved that he knows what time it is. He started with a couple in the 5-1 romp at Slough, there was an equaliser in the Hemel defeat, and he got the crucial opener at Tonbridge last week, winning his header and following it up with deadly effect from close range. Yesterday, he gave an immense performance. George Knight drew the short straw, and Deon had won his joust with the Dorking centre-back after about 10 minutes. GK tried manfully, holding on to our number 19 like a drowning man to a straw, or perhaps like a knight to his horse.

It was Moore who opened the scoring with a calm finish on 22 minutes to give us a deserved lead, and he rolled his marker after 59 minutes leading to United’s third- a goal which put us out of sight and gives him six goals in four games at the sharp end of the season.

We have kick-started his career, and Deon will almost certainly be in demand this summer. I feel sure Jimmy will try hard to keep him on the Riviera.

Matt Worthington

I don’t really buy “redemption arcs” with footballers. We’re not writing a screenplay here and there might not be a huge audience for NLS tales anyway. Suffice to say that Matt, who arrived in the summer on big money and with huge hype by our standards, didn’t cover himself in glory on or off the pitch for several months.

Although Paul Wotton loved him, he seldom got the best out of his new captain.

Things have started to change now. Matt has stepped up at the best possible time. A superb technical goal at Weston on Good Friday was the key to our win up by the mud flats- the first we have managed there. In subsequent games he has continued to be influential. I’m not sure “attitude” is the full answer to his improvement. It seems more likely to be a combination of different management and a more appropriate role.

Jimmy Ball coached the young Worthington at the age of 12, and he clearly knows what he does best. The recall of Nash Sundire on Saturday allowed Matt to play much further forward, and the switch has paid huge dividends. He can cover a lot of ground and gives quick impetus to United attacks. I had a chat with the manager on Saturday night, and he said he could never understand why Worthington was being asked to play so deep earlier in the season: “Why was he having to pick balls up from the goalkeeper?” Dropping deep to dictate the play is fair enough, but the former Yeovil man is showing that he is capable of much more.

Marc White

There are probably youngsters writing PHD theses about the cockerel fanciers’ supremo. Marc White is good copy: a journo’s dream.

He is never shy of sharing an opinion about his club, the league or the wider game. He knows what he’s talking about. He has been the driving force in Dorking Wanderers’ rise from park football to the National League, and it’s clear that his tactical knowledge is deep. In terms of what he has helped to create, I have been to Dorking three times, and it is a well-run, welcoming place.

But sometimes you feel that less might be more. Dorking thrive on the publicity he generates, and he needs no encouragement to let us know what the world according to White looks like. It’s no secret that he has upset many people in the game, and his touchline presence is loud and bombastic. He is probably keeping several people at the FA in gainful employment, with an horrific disciplinary record. The media circus which always surrounds him is entertaining in small doses but overwhelming in its need for controversy to keep the clicks up. He has a large supporting cast (some have called them his monkeys), and his attempts to intimidate officials are frequently unattractive.

Dorking certainly had a raw deal this week. It was unfair to expect them to come to Devon for a Saturday lunchtime kick off after playing their quarter final on Wednesday night. White has also had to deal with horrific injuries- not for the first time. These have seen the Surrey men blow a six point lead at the top of the table, and they arrived with several walking wounded. You have to

think that our old adversary Sam Pearson was in fact unfit: for me he’s the best player I’ve seen this season and I can’t think of another explanation for him to have been a non-playing sub.

But White does not- maybe cannot- help himself. Interviewed on the bus on the A30 on Friday afternoon (thanks to Simon Bittlestone for his forensic geographical analysis of the footage!) he said that his players were highly confident they would win the game and described the Yellows as a “basic” team to play against. He had enough self-awareness to say that he was doing Jimmy Ball’s team talk for him. Maybe not such a good idea, that!

Hornchurch Away, Ole Ole

As we now know, we will travel to Hornchurch’s athletics track on Saturday for United’s biggest game in years. Fans and team alike need to approach the tough task with confidence and humility.

The scramble for tickets may have started by the time you are reading this. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that with only 900 available we could probably sell our allocation at least three times over.

My understanding is that the club will run ballots for Season Ticket holders. This is a double-edged sword, because although a ballot is fair it means that whether you get a ticket is a game of chance.

I think it’s fair enough. We are where we are, and prioritising supporters who put their money where their mouth is in the summer is probably the way to go. The practicalities dictate that this is currently the only way to reward loyalty. But it’s not quite as simple as that. Many Season Ticket holders are not regular away fans. Equally, those who continue to support Torquay despite living hundreds of miles away are likely to be frozen out. In an ideal world, I would argue that it would be better to reward the most regular away attendees. Many clubs have the data to do this- running points systems to make sure that those who travel most often get first dibs.

This should be a goal for the future- as should delivering on the Forever Yellow scheme which prioritises those in the higher membership tiers.

On thing is certain: every one of the 900 lucky fans who go to East London next Saturday will be hoarse by the end of the day and, if things go our way, will celebrate a victory like there’s no tomorrow.