It's crunch time in the Second Division Play-Offs ... and there's finally a result in the long-running Enfield Town points-deduction débâcle

Stevenage F.C. versus Southend United

Football League Division Two Play-Offs
Kick-off: Sunday 10th May, 2015 @ 6.35pm

Regulars will probably already know that I'd been denied the chance so far of watching Enfield Town in action in the Ryman Premier League Play-Offs. So I decided to get along to watch a (relatively) local alternative play-off game, instead. It was a strange kick-off time on an unusual day of the week; but, putting on my "Neutral" shirt this Sunday at tea-time, I was looking forward to standing on a terrace again, to watch some League football.

With Enfield Town F.C. still engaged in a legal dispute with The Feeble AMATEURS (The FA) over a duplicitous and controversial points deduction and their own play-off place, this was, arguably the best I could hope for, at present. My 'neutral' shirt, incidentally, was Fulham FC's away kit from 1994. The GMB-sponsored red and black halves number by Vandanel, which I was often spotted sweating vigorously into at Wanderers Club practice evenings, in the mid-'90's. (Come On, You Whites!). Back in those days when I was (frequently) asked why the GMB union had chosen to sponsor Fulham I used to say, only half-jokingly, that it was because our players were mostly semi-skilled labourers. How we larrffed!

There were other Fulham FC connections that evening. The last time I'd been along to Broadhall Way was for a Fulham pre-season friendly, back in the '90's. When the Away end wasn't even covered - and, of course, it rained... heavily! I haven't been along there since. There were a couple of other more recent Fulham FC connections, which others might have missed, on Sunday. Firstly, FFC's former goalkeeping coach (originally appointed by his old Crazy Gang buddy, "Dirty" Lawrie Sanchez) 56 year-old Dave Beasant, was named on the bench as substitute goalie, in the absence of his son from the Stevenage line-up. Secondly, former FFC Reserves player, Michael Timlin was turning out for Southend; and really "made his mark" on the game - see below.
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The Home End: surprisingly quiet and less than full.

Stevenage boss Graham Westley is in his third spell in charge at the club. His journeyman playing career included spells at Gillingham, Barnet and Enfield (where he later also managed). His opponent in the dugout, Phil Brown, will be well-remembered for his tenure in charge at Hull City - and his on-pitch half-time impromptu coaching/remonstrations with his players. Both of today's competing clubs were in rich veins of form, coming into the clash. The Away side had sold out all their tickets; and their fans provided most of the game's atmosphere, in a relatively small play-off crowd of just 5,183, in a ground with a  6,722 capacity. Southend were the better organised side. They also showed a better touch in a first half memorable mostly for some great goal-keeping and one of football's more horrific head clashes.

The sun sets over Broadhall Way, as a late Southend corner is sent in under floodlights.

Former Fulham man, Timlin, was in the wars with Stevenage captain Bira Dembele. Their 'coming together' forced a 9-minute stoppage in play, during which not one but TWO stretchers were on the pitch, simultaneously. Fortunately both left the pitch unused. Amazingly, Dembele played on and finished the half before being substituted. Timlin did NOT carry on. A glimpse at the photo's below (courtesy of the BBC Sport website) probably shows why. It's a proper man's game down in the 4th tier.
 

The second half saw action of a different kind. First came the long-awaited opening goal. Arguably against the run of play, Dean Parrett put the hosts in front, with a 25-yard effort after 51 minutes, finally beating the well-regarded Southend stopper, Bentley. The BBC later described it as "a stunning, curling effort"; and then Stevenage dropped deeper, trying to close up the game. There were to be plenty more chances at both ends, though, before the Essex visitors got what they so clearly deserved - an equaliser, after 9 minutes of nervous endeavour. The club's top-scorer, Corr sent a towering, far-post header in, deflected off "the unfortunate Andy Bond".

Parrett (white, #18, wheels away after firing Stevenage in front. I saw the ball go in ... but my camera didn't! The Southend crowd were suddenly silenced. Briefly.

There were seven yellow cards, in a game played in relatively good spirit. These were mostly for cynical, play-stopping interventions. There were, however, to be no further goals, despite which, it seemed like £20 relatively well spent. Although it would have been nicer if the fixtures had been reversed, so that we could have had the chance of a Sunday out by the seaside, with cockles, whelks, jellied eels, kiss-me-quick hats and a gentle afternoon stroll on the mud.

All over; all-square; and off to Roots Hall on Thursday for the return fixture.

As I type up my notes, it is currently the same score-line, 1-1, in the second leg as well ... with just 20 minutes left to play. It looks as though there will be extra time; and, perhaps, penalties? These are two evenly matched sides, even if Southend do have the edge in terms of touch and finesse; and it will be a shame to see either team fail to make it up the Wembley Way, as one of them must. Oh, and if you can believe it, Michael Timlin IS playing again tonight, despite a gaping hole in his head.
Meanwhile in another, similarly surreal world ...

ETFC Appeal unsuccessful

ENFIELD TOWN FC STATEMENT - 12th May 2015

"Enfield Town Football Club has today (Tuesday) been unsuccessful in its bid to overturn the verdict of the FA Regulatory Commission in respect of alleged breaches of FA Rule E10 (fielding a player while suspended) ... the Board has taken the unanimous decision not to take any action that would delay the play offs any further". A total travesty and a shambles of unfairness. So the FA's own record-keeping ineptitude is irrelevant. Their previous commitment NOT to take disciplinary action against Town, in recognition of their own ineptitude at record-keeping, is also irrelevant. I am too gutted and angry to say much more. It's been an up and down season. Mostly up, since Brad Quinton took over as manager; but it's particularly disappointing that, after losing points to so many weak teams throughout the year, it turns out that a win against any one of those poor sides would have been enough to have kept Enfield in the play-offs, even with an unjust points deduction. I hope you've enjoyed some of the action, vicariously, through my blog page. It's gonna be a long close-season!

See you all next season, for more of the same, then!?

DES

"Sweet" FA: The Sequel ... like a sore nose in January, this one could run and run

Enfield Town versus The Football Association
Ryman League Premier Division
Kick-off: Friday 1st May, 2015
Second leg: May 8th, 2015 (tbc)

Greg Dyke: unlikely to be personally responsible for this latest F.A. mess; since he's probably never even heard of Donkey Lane. Although perhaps he had a sly side-bet on the Met Police making the play-offs?

"Why Always US?" As suspected, the 'news' that was so confidently predicted here, on North London's favourite non-league football club blog, over a week ago, has finally come to pass (see "Sweet" FA: Last Day Blues for Ten-Man Enfield?). So it looks, after all, as though matters really ARE going to be left in the hands of m'learned colleagues, now. Only the lawyers' pension plans, surely, can benefit from this sorry saga of institutional administrative ineptitude and accountability-dodging. Feeling themselves to have been boxed into a corner (on the wrong side of an unfair decision, frustrating flip-flopping and over-extended prevarication) Enfield Town F.C.'s board yesterday reached what may come to be seen as a momentous and historic decision for non-league football. Appropriately enough, on "May-Day, May-Day", the following news broke via a club statement on the Towners website:
http://www.enfieldtownfootballclub.co.uk/news/club-statement-1423226.html

... in relation to charges against ETFC and Aryan Tajbakhsh. The Board has decided to proceed with an appeal against the FA decision. A date for this appeal has been set for 8th May. The Board will aim to make an announcement next week on whether or not the Club intends to appeal against the Ryman League decision.

In the meantime, the club would like to thank other clubs, supporters and commentators for the overwhelming messages of support ... We have been truly overwhelmed by these sympathetic messages, including some which have put forward some suggestions for fund-raising, should we wish to pursue the issues further. The ethos of non-league football has been evident in every message!

This was in response to a bureaucratic and jargon-infested, self-supporting statement from the Ryman League, made earlier on the same day:

A Football Association Regulatory Commission found a charge against Enfield Town FC of two breaches of FA Rule E10 proven on 22 April 2015.

This arose from the fact that the Club played their player Aryan Tajbakhsh in two matches when the player should have been suspended for reaching 10 cautions in the season. (DH: Yes, do get on with it. We all know about that, already. The only questions at stake are "whose fault it is that this situation arose in the first place?" and "why has the F.A. reneged on an apparently written commitment to take no disciplinary action against the blameless Enfield Town F.C.?"). Following that finding, the Ryman League charged the Club with two offences under their Rule 6.9 of playing an ineligible player in two matches. (DH: This is a charge the club have never contested. It is the Enfield Town board's oft-stated view and much-documented stance that it was only the club's own research which brought the administrative inconsistencies of other parties, including the F.A., to light, in the first place!) The Club requested a personal hearing which took place on 29th April. The charge against the Club was found proven and, following Rule 6.9, it was ordered that Enfield Town FC have the three points it gained from the matches concerned deducted and that the Club pay a fine. The impact of the three point deduction is that Enfield Town FC, which had qualified for the Play Offs having finished in fifth position, now fail to so qualify.

The Board of Directors of the League met on Thursday (April 30) and expressed their great regret (DH: I'm currently checking my dictionary, here, for the meaning of the phrase "weasel words") at the outcome of this charge. It was disappointed (DH: Ditto - see above) that although the Club had reported the matter to The FA on 26th January, The FA had not been able to hold a hearing until 22 April. (DH: The F.A. appear to have needed all this time to prevaricate at length and pontificate over why they had made such huge inter-league administrative assumptions and errors, without spotting them first, themselves) The Board also regretted the effect to the other Clubs involved in the Play Offs. (DH: Really?! Scr*w them!.) The Board wish to make it clear that there was no alternative to the order made  (DH: I'm currently checking my dictionary for that phrase again, here) because Rule 6.9 states: “Any Club found to have played an ineligible player shall have any points gained from that match or matches deducted from its record…and have levied upon it a fine.” It should be noted that the matches concerned were not ordered to be replayed nor were penalty points levied against the Club which it could have done. (DH: I almost start to feel sorry for them. Diddums!)

The Club now has the ability to appeal the League's decision to The Football Association which has the power to alter the decision of the League. The Board hopes that others will refrain from comment without knowing the full facts of the matter (DH: yeah, good luck with that!). The Board also hope that all Clubs will understand that once a charge is proved the Board has no alternative but to deduct points gained and levy a fine. The order made follows Rule 6.9 and many previous decisions in fairness to the Clubs sanctioned previously by the League. The Board will urgently seek a meeting with the Director of Football Services [at The FA] to discuss various aspects of this case, particularly the timing of the action. (see http://www.isthmian.co.uk/enfield-town-league-statement-010515-24284/)

And so it begins. The Ryman League and The F.A. have, thus, successfully managed to cast themselves in the roles of slopey-shouldered, administratively blundering (apparently yoga-loving?) Pontius Pilates -  washing their hands of the whole matter - and vindictive Herod Antipaters ... as depicted in a quite well known, earlier, non-footballing story, which some readers may remember. It is a shame that Enfield Town's hard-fought, roller-coaster of a season might yet end within the dark and murky, labyrinthine confines of the law courts, rather than on a verdant football pitch, in glorious May sunshine. Come On, You Towners!

As a famously-combative and pugnacious former-Prime Minister might have said (in a week of UK General Election): "We shall go on to the end. We shall fight ... on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our club, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the pitches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the law courts; we shall never surrender ..." ¡No pasarán!

Raphael: The Mond Crucifixion (about 1502-3).'The Crucified Christ with the Virgin, Saints and Angels', at the National Gallery, London. It formerly served as the altarpiece of the side chapel in S. Domenico in Città di Castello.