United have the first of two home games in a week this evening when they entertain newly promoted Lewes.
The Rooks have struggled in their debut season in the Blue Square Premier, and currently lie second from bottom in the league, despite a slight upturn of form in recent weeks.
It is all a far cry from the end of last season, when Lewes secured the Blue Square South title with two games to spare by beating Dorchester. It was manager Steve King's third promotion in five years at the club, and his expensively assembled squad, including players such as Ian Simpemba, Andy Drury, and Paul Booth, looked well set to more than hold their own in the BSP.
However, it was to be a summer of turmoil at the wonderfully named Dripping Pan ground. Before the title celebrations had even died down, it was announced that King and Lewes had parted ways, with the club's directors stating that they were unable to match the manager's ambitions. King is perhaps the first ever manager to be sacked for being too successful.
In a way you can see where the directors are coming from: Lewes' rise from Ryman League South to the verge of the Football League has meant many alterations to the antiquated Dripping Pan set up. These have come at a cost, and with more improvements needed this year, they decided to cut back on the playing budget rather than risk the club's future.
While this prudent attitude may have pleased the bank manager, it certainly didn't add up for the fans, who had seen King guide their side to unprecedented success. It probably didn't help that his replacement, Kevin Keehan, came into the job with no management experience above Sussex County league (the equivalent of the Ridgeons League) level.
Keehan joined from Brighton and Hove Albion, where he fulfilled the role of Commercial Director. With all but one of King's squad having followed their erstwhile manager out of the door, he has built a squad of young, locally based players, who have unsurprisingly struggled to adapt to life in the hurly burly of the BSP.
The Squad
In goal for the Rooks this evening will most probably be Rikki Banks, although he picked up an injury in Saturday's draw with Grays. The former Crystal Palace trainee joined Lewes in the summer from Worthing. Number two stopper is Dean Ruddy (no relation to John), ex of Dover and Horsham.
As the one remaining member of last year's squad, Anthony Barness must appreciate more than most how different things are at Lewes this season. Having played at the top level for Charlton, Chelsea, and Bolton, he has been a rock in defence since arriving at the Dripping Pan at the start of 07/08. Alongside him, Kerry Mayo's presence has been a big boost for Kevin Keehan. The Brighton stalwart, whose wife is famously also called Kerry Mayo, made a loan move across Sussex last month.
Another ex-Brighton man, centre-back Danny Cullip, has spent much of the season on the sidelines, but returned for Saturday's draw with Grays. Other options include Chris Breach and Seb Wallis-Taylor, who both arrived in the summer from Bognor, ex-Palace player Steve Elliott, and Craig Richards, who spent last season with Salisbury. Aswad Thomas, possibly the only BSP player to be named after a reggae band, joined this week on loan from Charlton and is also in contention for a place.
Keehan (above) kept it in the family during the summer when he signed his son, Joe, from Horsham. He usually partners his cousin, Michael Standing, a former Villa trainee with Conference experience at Oxford and Grays, in midfield. Standing scored twice against United for the Essex side last year, but could miss out tonight after picking up a groin strain in Saturday's match with his former employers.
Ollie Rowland, a talented playmaker whose career has been hampered by injuries, has enjoyed a run in the Lewes side this year, as has teenage winger Stefan Cox, who joined in January from Luton Town. Cox's final pass often lets him down at present, but he will be a tricky customer if he can improve his end product. Matt Geard, another who has done the rounds on the Sussex non-league scene, is also in the squad.
Up front the only experienced head is Scott Taylor, who enjoyed a prolific career in the league before dropping down to join Grays last season. He is joint top scorer for the Rooks with two goals, a stat which aptly sums up their troubles this term.
Of late he has received support from another Brighton loanee Sam Gargan, who netted on his debut against Histon and grabbed a winner against Oxford. The teenager's strong running has provided Taylor with an effective foil. Also at Keehan's disposal are Shabazz Baidoo, a former QPR trainee and part-time grime DJ (yes really), and Chamal Fenlon, who started his career at Millwall but latterly turned out for Havant & Waterlooville.
This Season
Lewes started the season as firm favourites for relegation, but surprised their critics by picking up a point on the opening day with a 1-1 draw at Kidderminster. Justin Richards gave the home side the lead early, but the expected opening of the floodgates didn't occur and a Dean Bennett own-goal meant the points were shared.
Three successive defeats followed before they picked up their next point in a goalless encounter with Ebbsfleet. But they were unable to build on this in their next game at Burton and suffered a 5-2 thrashing, despite taking a 2-1 lead at one stage through Taylor and Standing.
It has been in front of goal where the Rooks have really struggled, and although they drew their next match, 1-1 at Woking, another three games without a goal followed, all of which ended in defeat.
However, they are unbeaten in their last three games, a sequence which started with a 1-1 draw at Histon. Gargan gave Lewes an early lead, and they clung on manfully until Jack Midson pounced with a late equaliser for the Stutes. However, this was soon forgotten when they claimed their first win of the season the following Saturday, beating Oxford 2-1 at the Dripping Pan. After falling behind to a Joe Burnell goal, Rooks fans must have feared the worst. But Standing poached a leveller against his old club, and in the last minute Gargan popped up with a neat finish at the far post to win the match.
Then last weekend the old goalscoring problems resurfaced, as Lewes played out a 0-0 draw with Grays. Taylor came closest to breaking the deadlock with an audacious lob that clipped the crossbar.
Keehan's side have certainly tightened up in defence recently, and despite their lowly league position could be a tough nut to crack for Gary Brabin and his players.
Matt Gooding
Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!
The views expressed on this page are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cambridge United Football Club or the webmaster.
AT081007
