Ebbsfleet United FC Blog

Ebbsfleet 2 - 0 Woking

The BBC had this to say about today’s match.

Substitute Kwesi Appiah made one goal and scored the other as Ebbsfleet eased past struggling Woking.

Appiah, who also hit the bar, headed home the opener after a mistake by Tom Hutchinson and he then teed up Neil Barrett who fired in the second.

Neil Barrett, Michael Gash and Ricky Shakes all went close to adding to the home side’s total.

Woking barely threatened with a Colin Miles header that went well wide as close as they came to scoring.

The Fleet today received one of the highest offers for one of their players to date. This offer is for Big John for the amount of 140,000 pounds. The club is taking votes from their members on the offer to get the fans input and feel on if it would be good for the club.

After the euphoria of Saturday’s demolition of Stevenage, Fleet players and fans were brought down to earth with a bump in the unfamiliar surroundings of the Dripping Pan this afternoon. A windy day, which seemed unsure whether to rain on the Fleet parade or break into sunshine, in the event did neither - and there was certainly precious little sunshine on the pitch.

John Akinde started up front alongside Michael Gash due to Ricky Shakes’ injured foot, meaning Luke Moore slotted into the midfield, and Gash it was who almost carved out an opening in the first minutes, bounding into the area and past two defenders before being bundled out of possession inside the box.

But that initial cheering moment for Fleet fans was about as good as it got. The game, not helped by the conditions, soon degenerated into a midfield battle characterised by niggling fouls and hopeful long balls from both sides. Gash saw a 14th-minute header tipped over the bar, while Lewes went one better on 27 minutes when the imposing Chamal Fenelon rose above the defence and between himself and Matt Geard looped the ball over Lance Cronin and off the crossbar.

The Rooks’ Michael Standing also sent a couple of long-range free-kicks on target, though they were perhaps more noteworthy for the even longer-range run-up he took.

The Fleet finally finish the 2007/08 season with a rout over Cray Wanderers in the Kent Senior Cup Final.
New Fleet signing Michael Gash started his life at Ebbsfleet partnering Luke Moore up front.  It was Moore who got the party started on 34 minutes when he opened the scoring.  The Fleet went in to half time still 1-nil up.
Ebbsfleet’s travelling army had to wait until the 72nd minute when Stacy Long scored his 16th goal of the 2007/08 season (or was it the first goal of the 2008/09 season?)
The Fleet had a goal disallowed shortly before Luke Moore scored his second of the day and the third for Ebbsfleet via the penalty spot, the penalty awarded for a trip on Long.
George Purcell got in on the action shortly after coming on the pitch with the forth goal, securing the Kent Senior Cup for Ebbsfleet.  Another glorious day in the history of the Fleet. Full time 4-0.

On Saturday The Fleet host Charlton Athletic for a friendly match.  This will be the first time to see Ebbsfleet United in game action since the winning match for the FA Trophy.  Stonebridge Road is also having a BBQ with music, sounds like a great time I wish I was there instead of being in Kentucky this weekend!

The Fleet announced their new shirt today it is all red with a white strip down the top of each shoulder and from under arm to base of shirt.  With of course the Ebbsfleet United crest on the left breast.  Sponsored by Nike, and with each sales of 250 Nike will completely kit out one of the youth and/or ladies teams!  It is a good choice really as it was one of the things members of the club got to vote on.  See pic of shirt below.

Defender Peter Hawkinis a key player last season for Ebbsfleet has renewed his stay at the club after signing a new one year contract yesterday. Hawkins will be 30 when the new season starts, he has made over 80 appearances and one goal for The Fleet.

The members of Ebbsfleet United voted in favor of the largest player budget of £10,000 per week. This will give management a big boost in keeping players on full time and future recruitment incentives to enhance the depth and quality of our club.

Some of the other hot topics going on at Ebbsfleet United besides the player comings and goings and new executive club management, whew it is busy over there at The Fleet.  Is the new stadium plans and how that development is coming along.  This is a topic that always brings controversy as to most fans it is great, but there are always cost, taxes and other monetary reasons that gets people attention and of course if the stadium as a new physical location the memories seem to come to the forefront.

In a meeting with MyFC Society Board members, Fleet Group Development - the subsidiary group set up to work on the new stadium project - has revealed the progress made on securing a new stadium for Ebbsfleet United. The meeting revealed that FGD has identified a site within Gravesham, inside three miles radius of Stonebridge Road, that it believes is suitable for the stadium and that initial plans will be to open the stadium with between 5,000 and 8,000 seats in the main stand and terracing on the other three sides. There is as yet no firm timeframe as to when EUFC could realistically be in a new home because of funding issues and land purchase, but FGD has drawn up a five-phase plan that could see Fleet playing football in a new stadium within four years of design finalisation and funding assurances.

MyFC Society Board member Steve Sullivan commented: “The actual design of the stadium complex is at a more advanced stage, and fans will be fully consulted as to the type of facilities they would like to see included. We were advised that the intention is that the new stadium will be capable of housing a Championship Team, should EUFC ever progress that far! Additional seating can be installed later should the need arise and subject of course to cost, making the stadium ‘future proof’.

“You will note from the images [above] that the architects are aiming to deliver something more pleasing on the eye than the typical new stadiums we see being built today, hopefully with some environmentally friendly features in the final design.”

Replacing interim Chairman Brian Kilcullen will be ex-Conference chief John Moules. Having been Chief Executive of the Football Conference for eight years, John Moules has been a central figure in the growth and success of the Blue Square Premiership.

In addition, David Davis who has a background in IT (DELL and BT) will become the football club’s new CEO. Speaking about both appointments, Paul Charnock, Chairman of the 30,000-strong MyFootballClub Trust, commented:

“Both John and David were the unanimous recommendation of the entire Society Board and have been fully endorsed by the MyFootballClub web team.

New Chairman John Moules’ knowledge of Conference football is second to none, and he’s on fir! st name terms with a host of club chairmen and managers alike. John is also an excellent communicator and has great experience in media liaison.

David Davis will bring a wealth of experience in finance, business and management but also a firm commitment to the ideals of the MyFootballClub venture. He also has a good understanding of all of the views members have about the development of a democratically run Football club.”