Pups, Hounds and Dogs...

.... and a club going to the dogs

I am so pleased that the club has managed to arrange a game at the Dog for next Saturday and what better opposition than the re-named Newham FC (formerly London Apsa).  The emergence of new clubs such as Newham, London Bari and Tower Hamlets and Sporting Bengal etc can only help to improve the standard of football in our area
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As you might know, over the past 30 years the east end of London has lost a number of football clubs.  Walthamstow Avenue, Ilford and Leytonstone were boiled down to merge with Dagenham FC.  In the course of that culling no less than three traditional football grounds were sold off for private housing.

A few miles north of the Dog at Lea Bridge Road, there is another football ground that lies empty, the Hare and Hounds, former home of Leyton FC.  Leyton FC were the second oldest senior football club in London when they went out of business in 2010 due to some dodgy goings on involving VAT fraud by the 'owner'.  However, the owners of the ground, have now rented the pitch to an adjoining Indian Restaurant and the rumour is that even they are not able to use the ground for 'sporting activity'.  It smacks of some kind of preparation for a legal move towards development instead of sport.  Surely there is sufficient money sloshing around in our national game to be able to preserve the Hare and Hounds as a football ground and make it available to this new breed of east end football clubs?

But what has this to do with Newham FC?

Our friends from E13 have recently had to play their recent home matches away and have been refused entry to the FA Cup because the McMillan Stadium had failed and FA ground grading.  Notwithstanding the lost revenue to the club, such action is hardly conducive with the FA's supposed support for grass roots.  Matters of concern included such atrocities as there being no turnstiles, no signs on seats, not delineating standing areas and failure to block a vantage point from where those outside the stadium were able to view the game (they must be extremely long sighted then!).

This heavy handed approach by the FA towards Newham FC was totally disproportionate with a club that had an average home attendance of 25 last season.

Yet still the FA, and the Essex Senior League, are content to stand idly by, waiting for the outcome of legal proceedings to determine the confusing issues  at Clapton FC rather than investigate, and exercise the same vigour in governance with which they have penalised Newham FC.

Meanwhile, I have been coming to the Old Spotted Dog for more years than to which Vince McBean lays claim to in his recent statement on his website.  From what I have seen, the questionable activity that permeates his running of 'Clapton FC' is becoming of increasing concern.  My hope is that Clapton supporters are not left with the same situation as befell Leyton FC following the ignominious departure of their final 'owner'.


LEW LISTZ
28th August 2014
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Ninja and Neil Lift The Atmosphere

I admit to never looking forward to visiting grounds that are primarily athletics stadiums with a football pitch in the middle and the Mile End Stadium certainly ranks among those.  In recent years Clapton's fortunes have enjoyed mixed fortunes at Burdett Road.  When playing against Sporting Bengal we have enjoyed zero success and our failures were summed up by the stunning second half comeback by our hosts last February.

Against Tower Hamlets (previously Bethnal Green United) our record has improved in the past few years.  Obviously our team had improved under Chris Wood and I fondly remember Neil Matthew's free kick winner a couple of years ago, the excellent 3-0 in the Gordon Brasted and the astonishing turnout of Clapton supporters for the league match last March.  So with hope of a decent turn out of 'oiks' and fans as well as a good result, I made the short trip along the Central Line to Mile End.

I managed to pop into a local pub, the Wentworth, which was festooned with Clapton fans.  I never thought in the 40 or so years I have been following my club that I would have witnessed such pre-match scenes before an away match.  The fans, who were in great spirits and good voice, even threw in a Beatles song for old timers like me.

The Mile End Stadium is soulless.  The dug outs are on the far side and the two teams conspired to serve up a match that was as unexceptional as it's venue.  It was very reminiscent of the goalless draw between the teams last March. Scrappy, no real invention, very dour fare.  The Clapton fans, again in great numbers, tried their best to raise the atmosphere.  By the way, loving the 'This is East 7' banner.

But then two incidents change the atmosphere totally.

Our old friend, and team coach Neil Day appeared in the stand.  I am still very disappointed by his departure but he appeared in good health and spirits and got a hero's welcome from the Clapton fans. I miss him on match days.

Then Ninja (Fahad Njanja) who, has always been a decent player for Clapton and it was a shame when he left the club a year or so ago, scored  His goal, a few minutes from the end was like an 'Open Sesame' moment.  Suddenly the stand erupted and it felt that, at last, we were at a football match and not an intermission from beer drinking. 

However, after the game I was delighted to see the team responding to the supporters.  If our club is going to move forward, the player/supporter relationship is very important.  I know that recently some players have been upset by being rested/dropped etc but I would ask them to hold tight and think about this carefully before letting their frustrations prompt a bad decision to leave.  Would they rather play in front of the fantastic support that our club now enjoys or turn out at a quiet, empty stadium where the players and benches make the most noise?

All in all, three very welcome points and the afternoon was topped off by watching Neil Day leading off some of the celebratory singing with the oiks. 

Now there is a long gap to the next game against Barking and we also miss out on Non-League Day.  Such a shame now that the impetus is with us.


LEW LISTZ
25th August 2014
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Bowered But Not Beaten

The two cup ties against Bowers has given Clapton supporters (such as myself) a chance to have a look at the 'new team' and to assess how we will fare this season.

Following 'Carnos Day at Haringey' and the narrow win against a poor Sporting Bengal team, it  was not unreasonable to expect that Bowers would provide useful opposition.
The game at the Dog was fairly even but Bowers could not have complained if Clapton would have won the day had Ike's Nzurba's first half shot dropped under the crossbar inside of bouncing off the woodwork to safety.  Also despite being hit early, the team recovered well and I am surprised that no credit was given for what was a superb equalising goal by Leon Lewis..  Instead of running at the defence of having a shy at the goal from 20 yards, Ike showed a lot of awareness in delivering a lovely 'dinked' cross which was met with a Leon's excellent controlled volley.

At the reply, I couldn't recall such an excellent presence of Clapton supporters in deepest Essex.  Again the 'oiks' went over and above the call of duty in spurring the team on, much to the delight and admiration of the hosts.

The Clapton team responded well and, without wishing to give a blow by blow a match report, one has to mention a sublime individual goal by Martelli.  Marvellous stuff, I nearly dropped my pork pie.

However, old timers like me might have been a bit confused by the referee's interpretation of the rules as regards the penalties, in particular the second one.  The passage of play leading up tot he cross, which the Clapton player was adjudged to have handled, included a agricultural two footed tackle of which Ron 'Chopper' Harris would have been proud in the 1970s.  We are led to believe that these are no longer permitted in the modern game, but play was allowed to continue in which the cross hit the Clapton player on the arm.  Although the deliberate act is still mentioned in Law 12 of the FIFA rules, there is a modern interpretation that allows a referee to consider whether the player intended to block the ball.  It refers to unnatural position of the arm.   I considered that we were pretty unfortunate to have that award given against us, particularly after a dive of Tom Daley/dying swan proportions brought about the first penalty.

It's a old maxim that there will always be at least one manager, 11 players and loads of fans who will insist they have been hard done by and next time, it could be the opposition who raise this issue when we are the beneficiaries.

The penalty shoot out is a lottery and in my day there would have been a second replay.  Sp I am recording this as a creditable 3-3 draw and looking forward to the lads going one better when we play Bowers later in the season.

Anyway, congratulations to Bowers and Pitsea FC, great hosts and nice people.  I very much hope they continue to play the banner for the Essex Senior league in their match with Colney Heath in the next round.

Onto a more local venue on Saturday.  Hopefully the lads can bounce back and grab three points.  The fans, supporters and 'oiks' will undoubtedly be there and supporting the team but, as is the new mantra, 'Not The Regime'.


LEW LISTZ
20th August 2014
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Giving The Dog A Bad Name

As I looked through our fixtures for the new season on the FA website I couldn't help notice the listing for the venue of our home games - "Old Spotted Dog Stadium".  This change of name has gone unnoticed and there can be no logical reason for it.  Had a sponsor ploughed money into the coffers to re-brand the ground, then it might be understandable but why this.

When Clapton arrived in Upton Lane in 1888, the place as called the Spotted Dog enclosure, because that what is was. A large space with and array of cricket and football pitches that ran from the Spotted Dog up up to the Romford Road.  It certainly wasn't an 'Old' Spotted Dog in those days, even though the pub has been there since the 16th century.

However, by 1924, it was being referred to as the 'Old Spotted Dog' in Clapton FC programmes and has remained that way until the start of this season.

I am beyond trying to second guess Mr McBean's thought process as it relates to the club and have chortled at his use of Dictionary definitions in attempts to put forward his point of view.  So, what is a stadium?  According to the dictionary it is

"a very large, usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports event, concerts etc."

With respect, that doesn't sound much like the Dog to me.

A neutral and objective appraisal was nicely set out in the The Educated Left Foot blog following their attendance at the Bengal game and whilst  this Dog may have has it's day, there is no reason to put it down.   As far as I am aware a framework was in place whereby the ground could have been once of the best venues at this level.  The lease is held by a Charity set up over twenty years ago but they appear to have totally ignored the state of the place.  I am personally unaware of the specifics but it's a shameful set of affairs.

Meanwhile, I don't wish to appear unfair but the 'improvements' at the ground can easily be be construed as another smokescreen and an attempt to show that the club and ground is in good hands.  This season we have turnstiles, two new kits, the manager strutting around in new tops etc and even some footballs. The ground is what it is, and the responsibility lies solely with those who hold the reins.

We don't need a change of name but a change of direction if the club or ground are going to survive.

I am not sure if Newham Council or local historians are aware of this change of name. I can imagine that they might have something to say.

As for the apparent new facilities at at the club.  It's a bit like wallpapering over a hole in a wall.  As someone once said "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."

LEW LISTZ
18th August 2014
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My thoughts on the cup ties(s) will follow at the end of the week.

More Team and Supporter Interaction

Having put last week's events at Haringey fully behind me, I arrived at the Dog last Tuesday  keen to see how the team would react to some of the criticism levelled at them, and the team management, over the weekend.

First off, what about the turnstiles! Couple that with the new kit and bench gear and it looks as if Vince is making an effort to try make it look like the club is being properly run.  Not sure that I am Con-Vinced (sic).  However, it makes a change from others having to lump out for stuff or, as we did last season, playing a full term with an old away kit.

During the match there were a lot of encouraging signs and, despite Sporting Bengal being very, very ordinary opposition indeed, the team did enough to nick the three points, thanks to Ike's solitary strike.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign was that, despite the idiocy in the change of team management, the 'oiks' in the Scaffold remain solidly behind the Clapton team.  In return the players responded when, following our goal, they ran to the 'Scaff' to celebrate.

Undoubtedly many of the players value the support they receive, which is unique at our level.  Even the team manager appeared to show some interest in interacting, whilst 'Vince's Man', the Director of Football' continues to do very little to endear himself to the fans. It's his loss and I had to laugh about the 'Neil and Chris' chant.  I fear he is just keeping their seat warm until the inevitable happens.

Curiously, the new coach, Stuart Purcell, was missing from the bench.  Any ideas why?

On to Saturday now and a very interesting clash with Bowers and Pitsea.  They have started  well, have a new manager and stuck four goals past Hullbridge during the week.  However, it's eleven against eleven and provided our players remain intent on pleasing the crowd and being a part of the atmosphere that the supporters bring to the game, then it should be a good match.

Recently there has been more speculation as to who I actually am.   I know that Neil Day was mistakenly thought to be me, hence his sacking and, Mr Croft, you weren't even close.  Safe to say that I am a fan.  After many years of seeing my team in the doldrums, I am encouraged by what I now see happening, and am hopeful for the future of Clapton FC.

One last point, whilst Vince and his entourage (including his team management) have adopted some kind of siege mentality, surely as supporters, who pay our admission fee, we should be entitled to know more about the players/team. We are one of the only grounds at our level who do not have a team board on which team sheets are published before the game.  A good start would be to sort this out as a first step to showing appreciation and encouraging the involvement of the fans.

So, Fans, Ultras and Players - keep it up.
Team Management - Stop Sucking Lemons.
Vince - Time to go.


LEW LISTZ
14th August 2014
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Green Is The Colour

It has been very difficult to sit down and write this column after what I witnessed at Haringey yesterday.  After what has been a difficult summer, during which a very good management team was unilaterally dismembered by Vince, we were treated to the pre-season friendlies against relatively tame opposition.  Yesterday, the chickens appear to have come home to roost.

This in, in no way, a criticism of the players.  I have no doubt that every player who pulls on the Clapton shirt does so for his love of the game and gives of his best for the cause.  Yesterday was all about how the club presents itself to other clubs and neutrals.

Tons supporters will recall Clapton teams where the level of ability was far less than what we saw last season..  This deficiency was punctuated by a manager who constantly criticised the lads and showed very little in the way of example.  Consequently the team fell into disarray and were something of an embarrassment.  'Street footballers' was a termed used to describe us at the time.
In the last two season things clearly improved and, despite the 'off the field' wrangling, there was every reason, before the dismissal of Neil and Chris, that things were very much on the up.
Yesterday we turned up with the wrong kit, the manager was late and before you could say 'Souvlaki' we were 3-0 down.  Can you imagine what the players were thinking before the game?  Evidently, it was hardly the best way to send your players out onto the field for the first match of the new season.
The performance was not what we could have expected even though Haringey are likely to be one of the better teams in the League this season.  However, the lack of organisation, the defensive frailties, and overall naivety showed our team and the team management to be as green as their kit.  It's not the fault of individual players as the buck stops with the Michael the manager and the 'Director of Football', Marc Nurse.

An interesting point is that once the manager arrived we played better and stopped haemorrhaging goals.  Coincidence or not?  In the words of the Director of Football,  we should have a long think about that.

Furthermore, to cap it all there has been the embarrassment over the unpaid money to Croydon FC from last week's friendly game.  This is an off the field issue and lies squarely with the club or, in reality, Vince.  Both manager and Director of Football were aware of the arrangement whereby Clapton FC would pay the ref and were reminded of this before the game by Dickson Gill, who himself is a former Clapton manager.

Nonetheless they chose to leave the ground without settling up.  Initially I thought that this was squarely down to them but, on reflection, they were probably not given the money beforehand (a substantial sum of £100) and were therefore probably expected by Vince to pay it out.  I put the reason for the leaving without settling the bill as their being 'embarrassed' because, at any normal, properly run club, this would have been taken care of.

I further understand why they chose not to pay it out of their own pockets.  Chris Wood is still owed a substantial amount of money by the club/Vince despite a promise to to settle.  I have no doubt that Michael and Marc are aware of the debt to Chris and, probably with this in mind, decided that not to stick their hand in their pocket.

Perhaps, on matters such as this, as opposed to yesterday's debacle, they are switched on and not as green as that awful kit.


LEW LISTZ
10th August 2014
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