The Times - UK (2021-12-06)

When Guernsey finally played their
first league game in more than 600
days against Sutton Common in
October, some thought it was the end
of the Channel Island club’s toughest
period. But for manager Tony Vance
his problems were just starting.
No club in the English football
pyramid have experienced the
pandemic in the way that Guernsey
have. In August 2020, the club were
granted a unique “pause” of their
membership of the Isthmian League,
after strict border policies imposed by
the local governments of the islands
made travel to and from the mainland
impossible. The club were offered the
chance to return, their place in the
league’s South Central division
preserved, a year later.
Fast forward 12 months and
regulations had become no less
cautious. Vance, who has led the
islanders since they joined the
English system at level ten in 2011,
was preparing his team to kick off the
season in August when it was
confirmed that the requirement for
visitors to the island to show proof of
vaccination would extend beyond the
start of the league season. Neither the
club nor the league would
countenance making this stipulation
of visiting teams to Footes Lane.
In all, the team had their hopes
raised then dashed three times before
local restrictions allowed them to
begin the season – two months later
than the rest of the league. The
freedom to return to competition,
though welcome, laid bare a cache of
obstacles for the manager to traverse.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult
time,” says Vance, who has guided
Guernsey from the tenth to the
eighth tier during his tenure. “We
started our pre-season early at the
end of May to try and get them up to
speed. For the first three weeks,
people were on it. We built some
momentum.
“Then we heard the borders were
staying shut and the motivation
just went. Attendance and
motivation dropped from about
100 per cent to about 40.
“There were plenty of pensive
false hopes. Every week that
went by, the logistical
problems got worse. We’re
going to have to catch all
this up.
“We got about two
weeks’ notice before
finally playing our first
game. We had a group of
players that had
attempted three pre-
seasons and when it
came to it we were
nowhere near ready.”
There is a particular
reality to life as an
island football club. The

thegame

Amateurs with

£200,000 travel

costs per season

Guernsey are back but

battling relegation after

600 days of restrictions,

says Robert O’Connor

pool of players from which to recruit

is finite. As an all-amateur side

competing against semi-professional

opponents, resources have to be

squeezed for all they are worth.

There is also an astronomical cost.

Vance estimates that travel for his

team and for away sides – the club

foots the bill for all visitors for league

games – tops out at something close

to £200,000 per season.

But there is also a considerable plus

side. The club holds the status on the

island of something closer to a

national team than a domestic side,

with the whole island united in its

support and bringing in regular

crowds that dwarf the average

attendance for non-League football at

this level. That in turn provides a not

insignificant financial boost. Then

came the cost of Covid. “We’re very

fortunate to be sponsored financially

by local businesses,” Vance says. “We

also have crowds of around 900, way

bigger than anybody else at our level.

Without that, we’d never be able to

operate,”

One alternative was to kick off on

the understanding that visiting teams

could only bring double-vaccinated

players to the island. The Isthmian

League chairman Nick Robinson

made it clear that the league wouldn’t

countenance imposing the kind of

sporting imbalance this would cause

and the prospect was quickly shelved.

The concern now is for Vance’s

amateur squad as the fixture

backlog takes its toll. It has been a

difficult start to the season on the

pitch. The team are as many as

five matches behind some

of their rivals. That

game against Sutton

Common brought

one of only two

league wins so far,

and last week the

club were

thrashed 6-0

away to Marlow.

“My guys are all

amateur,” Vance says.

“That’s going to take a toll

when the games start to

pile up. For Saturday’s

game I had 12 players

available. It’s fantastic for

the island that we’re back.

but it’s increased my stress

levels immensely.”

Vance is contending with
a large fixture pile-up

HOW THEY STAND

P W D L F A GDPts

Bracknell Town 1513 1 1 34 6 28 40

Basingstoke .....15 10 2 3 30 21 9 32

Uxbridge............ 13 9 3 1 29 13 16 30

Marlow................ 13 9 2 2 23 6 17 29

Chertsey Town. 13 8 4 1 32 19 13 28

Bedfont Sports 14 8 3 3 31 17 14 27

Hanwell Town 13 8 2 3 33 18 15 26

Binfield............... 14 7 3 4 29 22 7 24

South Park......... 15 6 4 5 32 21 11 22

Ashford (Middx) 15 5192429-516

Westfield 14 3 6 5 19 20 -1 15

Thatcham.......... 15 3 6 6 21 29 -8 15

Chipstead........... 15 3 5 7 23 25 -2 14

Tooting & M ..... 14 4 1 9 22 27 -5 13

Sutton Common 15 4 1 10 20 44 -24 13

Northwood 16 3 1 12 19 41 -22 10

Staines Town.... 15 3 1 11 15 40 -25 10

Guernsey............ 11 2 2 7 14 26 -12 8

Chalfont St Peter 15 2 2 11 13 39 -26 8

6 Whyteleafe withdrew from the league

14 1GG Monday December 6 2021 | the times

Premier League

Home Away

PWDL FAWDL FAGDPts

Y 1 Manchester City.................................. 15 5 1 1 17 3 6 1 1 15 6 23 35

Y 2 Liverpool................................................ 15 4 3 0 18 5 6 1 1 26 7 32 34

Z 3 Chelsea.................................................... 15 4 2 1 18 4 6 1 1 17 5 26 33

W 4 West Ham United................................ 15 4 2 2 16 12 4 1 2 12 7 9 27

Y 5 Tottenham Hotspur............................ 14 6 0 2 11 8 2 1 3 5 9 -1 25

Y 6 Manchester United............................. 15 4 1 3 14 13 3 2 2 11 11 1 24

Z 7 Arsenal.................................................... 14 5 1 1 12 6 2 1 4 5 14 -3 23

W 8 Wolverhampton Wanderers............ 15 3 1 4 5 7 3 2 2 7 6 -1 21

W 9 Brighton & Hove Albion.................... 15 2 3 2 6 8 2 5 1 8 8 -2 20

Y10 Aston Villa.............................................. 15 4 1 3 14 11 2 0 5 7 13 -3 19

Z 11 Leicester City........................................ 15 3 1 3 11 12 2 3 3 12 15 -4 19

W 12 Brentford................................................ 15 2 1 4 8 9 2 4 2 11 12 -2 17

Z 13 Crystal Palace....................................... 15 2 4 1 10 6 1 3 4 9 15 -2 16

Y14 Leeds United......................................... 15 2 4 2 9 11 1 3 3 6 11 -7 16

Y 15 Southampton........................................ 15 2 5 1 8 7 1 2 4 6 14 -7 16

Z16 Everton................................................... 14 3 1 3 11 12 1 2 4 6 12 -7 15

W 17 Watford................................................... 15 2 1 5 10 17 2 0 5 10 12 -9 13

W18 Burnley................................................... 14 1 3 2 8 8 0 4 4 6 13 -7 10

Y19 Newcastle United................................ 15 1 4 3 12 17 0 3 4 5 13 -13 10

Z20 Norwich City......................................... 15 1 2 4 5 11 1 2 5 3 20 -23 10

Non-League, Scotland, Women and Europe

Vanarama National League

Aldershot 2 Altrincham 2

Whittingham 28

Sylla 40

1,596

Mullarkey 45

Colclough 90

Barnet^3 Maidenhead United^0

Hall 31

Brundle 48

Mason-Clark 55

906

Bromley^3 Wealdstone^2

Alexander 25

Sablier 29

Webster 90

Umerah 8

Cook 72

1,747

Sent off: G Wickens (Wealdstone) 56

Dagenham & R 3 Grimsby 2

Rance 20

Akanbi 51

Balanta 53

McAtee 45

Bell 68

1,734

Sent off: J McAtee (Grimsby) 63

Dover Athletic^0 Wrexham^1

838 Davies 84

Solihull Moors^2 Woking^0

Sbarra 28

Rooney 78 (pen)

1,214

Sent off: J Loza (Woking) 87

Weymouth^1 Torquay United^2

Goodship 68

1,559

Lewis 65

Armstrong 70

P W D L F A GD Pts

Chesterfield...............17 10 6 1 35 15 20 36

Boreham Wood........17 10 5 2 26 13 13 35

Bromley......................18 10 4 4 34 22 12 34

Wrexham.................... 19 9 6 4 34 20 14 33

Halifax.........................17 10 3 4 28 16 12 33

Grimsby......................18 10 2 6 31 20 11 32

Notts County............. 18 9 5 4 29 21 8 32

Solihull Moors.......... 18 9 5 4 24 20 4 32

Stockport County.... 17 9 3 5 28 20 8 30

Dag & Red.................. 19 9 2 8 37 26 11 29

Yeovil........................... 17 8 4 519 15 4 28

Altrincham................. 18 7 4 7 33 28 5 25

Barnet.......................... 18 7 4 7 24 30 -6 25

Woking........................ 18 8 0 10 30 28 2 24

Eastleigh.....................16 7 3 62121 024

Torquay...................... 18 6 3 9 26 31 -5 21

Wealdstone............... 18 5 6 7 19 28 -9 21

Aldershot.................... 18 5 2 11 20 32-12 17

Weymouth................. 18 4 3 11 21 37 -16 15

Southend.................... 16 4 2 10 13 25 -12 14

Maidenhead.............. 16 4 2 10 18 33-15 14

Kings Lynn Town..... 17 2 2 13 15 37 -22 8

*Dover Athletic......... 18 0 414 14 41 -27 -8

* deducted 12pts for breach of league rules

North AFC Fylde 4 Blyth Spartans 1; Bradford Park

Avenue 0 Brackley Town 3; Chester 2 Leamington 1;

Curzon Ashton 1 Alfreton Town 2; Gloucester City 2

Spennymoor Town 0; Guiseley 0 York City 1;

Kettering Town 2 Boston United 3; Southport 2

Hereford 0.

P W D LF A GD Pts

AFC Fylde 16 11 3 2 32 15 17 36

Brackley Town..........15 10 4 121 8 13 34

Chorley........................ 16 8 5 3 28 13 15 29

Boston United........... 16 9 1 6 25 25 0 28

Kidderminster.......... 14 8 3 3 32 14 18 27

Gateshead.................. 12 8 2 2 24 15 9 26

Alfreton Town.......... 16 7 2 7 27 24 3 23

Curzon Ashton......... 14 6 4 4 1914 5 22

York.............................. 15 7 1 7 22 20 2 22

Leamington............... 16 6 4 6 19 17 2 22

Hereford .................... 16 6 4 6 16 17 -1 22

Southport................... 14 5 5 4 25 19 6 20

Spennymoor Town. 16 6 2 8 22 26 -4 20

Darlington.................. 16 5 4 7 28 26 2 19

Chester ....................... 16 5 4 7 26 27 -1 19

Kettering Town........ 14 5 3 6 19 20 -1 18

Farsley Celtic............ 15 4 4 7 12 26 -14 16

Gloucester City........ 16 3 4 9 19 32-13 13

Bradford PA............... 15 3 4 8 14 28-14 13

Guiseley...................... 14 3 3 8 11 21 -10 12

Blyth Spartans.......... 16 3 3 10 11 32 -21 12

AFC Telford United. 14 2 3 9 13 26 -13 9

South Chippenham Town 4 Dorking Wanderers 1;

Concord Rangers 2 Braintree Town 2; Dartford 1

Billericay Town 0; Dulwich Hamlet 5 Ebbsfleet

United 2; Hampton & Richmond 0 Hemel

Hempstead Town 1; Havant & Waterlooville 1 Bath

City 3; Hungerford Town 0 Oxford City 1; Slough

Town 2 Tonbridge Angels 1; Welling United 0

Eastbourne Borough 2.

P W D LF A GD Pts

Dartford...................... 15 9 4 2 29 11 18 31

Oxford City................ 15 8 6 1 29 13 16 30

Dulwich Hamlet....... 15 8 4 3 35 21 14 28

Ebbsfleet United...... 14 8 1 5 34 22 12 25

Maidstone United.... 15 7 4 4 22 17 5 25

Havant & We............. 15 7 3 5 24 18 6 24

St Albans City............ 13 7 2 4 27 18 9 23

Hungerford Town... 15 7 2 6 29 22 7 23

Hampton & R............ 14 6 4 4 27 17 10 22

Eastbourne Boro..... 16 6 4 6 34 29 5 22

Concord Rangers..... 15 6 4 5 23 28 -5 22

Chippenham Town. 16 5 6 5 26 23 321

Dorking Wanderers 14 6352625 121

Slough Town 15 6 3 6 19 22 -3 21

Bath City..................... 15 6 0 919 31 -12 18

Hemel Hempstead.. 15 5 3 7 19 33-14 18

Welling........................ 16 5 2 9 15 39 -24 17

Tonbridge Angels.... 15 3 4 814 21 -7 13

Chelmsford City....... 14 2 5 7 16 23 -7 11

Braintree..................... (^15258) 14 28-14 11
Billericay Town........ 15 2 112 13 33 -20 7
Pitching In Northern League: Premier division
Basford United 1 Stalybridge Celtic 1; Hyde United 1
Nantwich Town 0; Matlock Town 2 Stafford Rangers
3; Mickleover 2 Grantham Town 2; Morpeth Town 2
Gainsborough Trinity 0; Warrington Town 5
Lancaster City 1.
Pitching In Southern League: Premier division:
Central Barwell 0 Rushall Olympic 0; Biggleswade
Town 1 Alvechurch 0; Coalville Town 4 Nuneaton
Borough 1; Hednesford Town 4 Leiston 0; Hitchin
Town 0 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0; Needham
Market 1 Stourbridge 3; Peterborough Sports 0
Redditch United 1; Royston Town 0 Bromsgrove
Sporting 0; St Ives Town 2 Banbury United 1;
Stratford Town 1 Lowestoft Town 1. South
Beaconsfield Town 0 Yate Town 4; Chesham United
3 Truro City 1; Dorchester Town 3 Harrow Borough
1; Farnborough 3 Merthyr Town 2; Hartley Wintney 1
Weston-super-Mare 2; Hayes & Yeading 1
Metropolitan Police 2; Poole Town 6 Kings Langley
2; Swindon Supermarine 2 Salisbury 1; Tiverton
Town 2 Gosport Borough 2; Walton Casuals 1
Taunton Town 1; Wimborne Town 1 Hendon 4.
Pitching In Isthmian League: Premier division
Bishop’s Stortford 1 Carshalton Athletic 1; Corinthian-
Casuals 1 Wingate & Finchley 1; East Thurrock United
0 Bowers & Pitsea 2; Enfield Town 2 Folkestone
Invicta 3; Haringey Borough 3 Bognor Regis Town 3;
Hornchurch 2 Kingstonian 1; Leatherhead 0
Brightlingsea Regent 2; Lewes 1 Potters Bar Town 5;
Margate 2 Cheshunt 2; Merstham 1 Horsham 3;
Worthing 2 Cray Wanderers 0.
Cinch Scottish Premiership
Aberdeen^4 St Mirren^1
Watkins 6, 43
Ramírez 9, 71
Tanser 42
8,002
TODAY
Premier League: Everton v
Arsenal, 8pm, Sky Sports Main
Everton, without a league win in
eight games, host Arsenal. Mikel
Arteta’s side lost to Manchester
United last time out, but can move
fifth with a win here.
TOMORROW
Champions League group stage:
RB Leipzig v Manchester City,
5.45pm, BT Sport 2, talkSPORT2
RB Leipzig sacked their head coach
Jesse Marsch over the weekend.
Manchester City travel to Germany
on a run of eight successive wins,
WEDNESDAY
Champions League group stage:
Manchester United v Young Boys,
8pm, BT Sport 2
Ralf Rangnick will be looking to
avenge United’s defeat by Young
Boys back in September.
RESULTS
Aston Villa 2 Leicester 1
Konsa 17, 54
41,572
Barnes 14
Leeds 2 Brentford 2
Roberts 27
Bamford 90+5
Baptiste 54
Canós 61
Manchester Utd 1 Crystal Palace 0
Fred 77 73,172
Newcastle 1 Burnley 0
Wilson 40 51,948
Southampton 1 Brighton 1
Broja 29
28,706
Maupay 90+8
Tottenham 3 Norwich 0
Lucas Moura 10
Sánchez 67
Son 77
57,088
Watford 1 Manchester City 3
Hernández 74
20,673
Sterling 4
Silva 31, 63
West Ham 3 Chelsea 2
Lanzini 40 (pen)
Bowen 56
Masuaku 87
Silva 28
Mount 44
Wolves 0 Liverpool 1
30,729 Origi 90+4
TV AND RADIO
HIGHLIGHTS
13
TOP SCORERS
13 Salah (Liverpool, below)
9 Vardy (Leicester)
8 Jota (Liverpool)
7 Silva (Man City)
7 Mané (Liverpool)
6 Antonio (West Ham)
TOP ASSISTS
TOP SAVES
53 Schmeichel
(Leicester)
50 Krul (Norwich)
48 De Gea (Man Utd)
47 Fabianski (West Ham)
46 Sá (Wolves)
46 Meslier (Leeds)
9 Salah (Liverpool)
7 Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
7 Pogba (Man Utd)
6 Jesus (Man City)
5 Dennis (Watford)
5 Kovacic (Chelsea)