Ashford Town (Middx) – We get to travel to this ground early on in the season and to be honest I’ll be glad to get it out of the way. It was dubbed a favourite for Terminal 5 by visiting Bromley fans last season. They have done very well the last couple of seasons rising up from the Combined Counties League. The station is miles from the ground, a definite cab ride. There are one or two likely lads in the bar who aren’t afraid to have their say.
Banstead Athletic - This basic looking ground out on the downs is only about 15 mins walk from Tattenham Corner Station and the bar is not bad. This can be a very cold place to visit in winter and they got two well earned draws against us last season, ex-Ravens Aaron Day and Marcell Dennis played in both those games for Banstead.
Bracknell Town – The fixtures computer did us no favours giving this one to us away on a Tuesday night! Once you have got your head around the bizarre geography of this new town, the bit outside the station looks like the set of the Teletubbies, it’s not too far a walk. It’s a nice proper football ground and they have a small band of very vocal fans. Not keen on their band though! They also have some gobby little shites who come in at half time.
Corinthian Casuals - A horrible ground in the depths of Tolworth, not too far from the station though and the locals are friendly enough. Their ‘Corinthian’ ethics don’t stop them from diving from penalties! We struggled against them in both games last season. For a team who once played at The Oval this is quite a come down!
Croydon – First day of the season and great to get it out of the way! An awful soulless athletics arena in Woodside, luckily it has it’s own tram stop. Not easy to get any kind of good view and we rarely do well there. I think Dave Garland is still in charge of them.
Croydon Athletic – Mayfields is not an easy ground to find, it’s out of the way in Thornton Heath and there is no simple way to get there by public transport. It’s nice enough when you do make it and the steak sandwiches are good. A very competitive side who are playing at the highest level so far in their history.
Dulwich Hamlet – The Pinkies our probably the only real rivals we have in this division, but to be honest the two clubs have such similar stories that there is a grudging respect for each other. They have some good vocal fans, but their ground is very much of the idendtikit new style. About 20 mins walk from Denmark Hill Station.
Egham Town – Another essential cab ride from the local station, but quite nice once you get there, it was probably very cool a few years ago. They also have a bunch of vocal fans and it’s a pretty friendly club.
Epsom & Ewell - They share with Banstead. The home crowd doubles once the racing has finished on the TV in the bar! A very direct side last season and they were top for the first couple of months and then fell away.
Hampton & Richmond Borough – Freshly relegated from the Premier Division, Hampton is a short walk from the station and not a bad ground. I understand they have added a new stand behind one goal since I last went there. It’ll be interesting to see how they get on in their first season down and how the crowds hold up. They have ex-Hammer Alan Devonshire in charge, who did very well at Maidenhead.
Horsham - A good old football ground which is close to the station and they have a large vocal following home and away. They were up in the promotion race last season, but fell away coming into January after drawing 1-1 with us! Will probably challenge again.
Leatherhead – Hmmmm, what can I say? Our MoP put his foot in it with The Tanners and spawned some very ill feeling over the three game series in October, which included two FA Cup games. I was really pleased we finally beat them in the league game and will want to do the same this season. They have a very loyal bunch of fans, who I believe actually own the club. A short walk from the station.
Lewes - The Dripping Pan is an amazing ground set in a natural amphitheatre and a very short walk from the station. They lost out on promotion last season by three goals to Bognor and will be up there again this season. The town is a bit scary, as Pete put it last year, ‘It makes Royston Vassey seem multicultural!’ We got a few curious stares. They also have a bunch of vocal flag carrying fans. We travel there just before Christmas.
Marlow – A nice ground and a nice place to go for the last game of the season. It’s a fair walk from the station, but a river trip is rumoured to be in the offing. They have swapped over from the Northern section, so are a bit of an unknown quantity, having played in all four Ryman Divisions in the last few years.
Metropolitan Police - A very nice ground, but then we all paid for it! Great pitch and floodlights, but beware of late cancellations for dodgy reasons. A 10 minute walk from Thames Ditton Station. They stayed up after winning a play off against Wembley at the end of last season. They also took four points off Bromley!
Molesey – A fair trek from Hampton Court Station, the ground is a strange looking place with what looks like a Cricket pavilion as a main stand! They took six points off us last season and just stayed up, but have since changed their manager.
Slough Town – The Rebels have just come over from the Northern section after finishing just off promotion last season. They have experienced all types of problems in recent times and look set to ground share with Windsor this season. If they do it’s a cab from Windsor Riverside, if not it’s a cab from Slough station and don’t drink in the local pubs!
Staines Town – A mad refurbishment of one side of their ground saw it turn into a sports centre and they got a nice new stand and bar in the process. It’s a cab ride from the station. They have a small number of vocal fans and have got a new manager this season who has brought in lots of players.
Tooting & Mitcham United – A nice new amazing looking ground, which is not far from Mitcham tram stop. They have a similar history and bunch of fans to us and Dulwich. They have had lots of personnel changes during the summer and will be looking to do better than last season, which tailed off poorly.
Walton & Hersham – A shortish walk from Walton on Thames station through the leafy commuter belt streets. Although this is an athletics stadium the view is pretty good and it’s got a good atmosphere. The fans are pretty good and they are fancied to do well this season.
Whyteleafe – A short walk between both the town’s stations and it’s set in a leafy valley out in the Surrey suburbs. They have a small passionate group of vocal fans, the club is very friendly and the bar is pretty cool too. Both Garland brothers were there last season. Will be hoping for another top six finish, which they got last season after a bad start.
Windsor & Eton – A definite cab ride from Windsor Riverside station. It’s a nice ground in the warmer months set on the corner of a Royal park, but can be pretty desolate come the winter. They have a few fans behind the goal and are also fancied to be up there this season.
Worthing – Favourites to be gunning for promotion with the main man Mr Pook from Withdean 2000 putting his bank balance behind the club and bringing in the better players from his old club. Their old manager Barry Lloyd has quit since the takeover, if Ben Carrington stays he will undoubtedly score against us! They have a fair support and it’s very close to the main Worthing station. It’s a shame our only coastal trip comes in November.
-- Col