NOTICE

1)    Apologies

2)   Confirm the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of 2011

3)   Matters arising from those Minutes

4)   To receive the Chairman’s Report

5)   To receive the Secretary’s Report

6)   To receive the Treasurer’s Report & Adoption of the Club Accounts

8)   Election of Officers  & Committee

9)   Any other business for which written notice must be given and is accepted as being  relevant

to an Annual General Meeting and received by the club secretary no later than 7 days prior.

G T Johnson

Secretary

WTFC

When Luchford signed  Beecroft in March this year with just a couple of months till the end of the season Luchford said:

“I am delighted to announce that on Wednesday night I completed the signing of Jake Beecroft from Tonbridge Angels. Jake is 22 years old and comes with a decent CV. He started his career coming through the ranks of Rushden & Diamonds from youth to the first team. Following a couple of loans, Jake left there and joined Tonbridge Angels at the beginning of the 201-12 season. He has scored 2 goals and has played 20 times for the Conference South club.”

Since Beecroft joined in March   the side has looked stronger and more organised, Jake made an immediate impact both on and off the pitch.

PRESS RELEASE: WHITSTABLE RECRUIT NEW KENT YOUTH LEAGUE TEAM:

Neil and Ben  are keen to further develop their squad within a Ryman League club as the boys enter this crucial stage of their football development and see Whitstable as the ideal set up to work with.

The exciting plans for Whitstable Town’s development under new Chairman elect, Gary Johnson, with First Team Manager Justin Luchford and the stability offered by the club encouraged Neil to move from Canterbury as he believes the opportunity for players to progress will be enhanced by this change.

Neil said “We are confident of creating a strong squad and have already had a number of players expressing interest in joining this exciting new venture. Working with the football management team gives us the chance to develop the boys to a point where many of them will have a realistic chance of playing for the first team in the next few years”.

An invitation has been posted on the Kent Youth League site for players to participate in two friendly games over the next two weekends as part of the selection process and interested players are asked to ring Neil on 07793680633.

Whitstable Town FC are competing in the  u15 age group  in the Valley Express Kent Youth League. Whitstable Town FC are committed to both the personal and  football development of young players and will be providing a minimum of two hours training per week on a 3G pitch, a chance to learn from senior players and coaching staff and one of the best  pitches in the area to play on.

We prefer to support boys to show their potential in games rather than the stress of open trials and if this appeals to you call Neil Snee on 07793680633

THURSDAY 10 MAY 2012: PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL LEAGUE SYSTEM STEP 5 REVIEW:

By way of background, the Review Group was established by the Leagues Committee in 2011 to look at a possible reduction in the number of Step 5 divisions from 14 to 12 for the commencement of season 2013/2014.  Following an initial meeting with all competitions in July 2011 there followed an extensive consultation period during which all Step 5/6 competitions were met on an individual basis to seek their views on this matter.  The initial remit of the Group was altered to take into account the feedback from these meetings.  In the early part of 2012 the Group held a series of meetings to which all Step 5 leagues, their member clubs and County Football Associations were invited to consider the suggestion for change.

As a result of these meetings the Review Group, taking into account both the feedback from the discussions and correspondence received, complied their Final Report and the following recommendations were agreed by the Leagues Committee today.

• That the process of reducing Step 5 leagues from 14 to 12 was deemed unworkable and the initial suggestion withdrawn.

• That, in order to continue to compete at Step 5 of the National League System, ALL clubs must meet the National Ground Grading Category F in FULL by 31 March 2013.  Clubs that do not meet these requirements WILL be relegated to an appropriate Step 6 division/competition.

In addition all Leagues must fully comply with the Regulations for the Establishment and Operation of the National League System, Standardised Rules and National Ground Grading Document.

• That all Step 5 divisions must have a minimum of 20 clubs with a maximum of 22 clubs from the commencement of season 2013/2014.

• That the Leagues Committee would, in future, in conjunction with the appropriate leagues, manage the promotion/relegation process between Step 5 and Step 6 and that as from the end of season 2012/2013 clubs would be placed into “feeder pools” and allocated the most appropriate geographical division.

• That, with effect from Season 2013/2014, the Premier Divisions of the Isthmian, Northern Premier and Southern Football Leagues (Step 3) be increased to 24 clubs.

• That, with effect from Season 2013/2014 and in order to create 14 relegation places at Step 4, the Isthmian League Division 1 North and Division 1 South (Step 4) be increased to 24 clubs with each relegating 3 clubs to Step 5, subject to any club issues arising during or after the completion of the playing season.  It was noted that the Northern Premier and Southern Leagues have no desire to increase to 24 clubs for their Step 4 divisions.  This will mean that a number of additional clubs will be given the opportunity to be promoted from Step 5 to Step 4 for season 2013/2014, the process is to be agreed.

In future seasons, to stimulate promotion, consideration would be given to clubs that finish in 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd positions in Step 5 competitions provided that they meet the entry criteria for Step 4. There would, however, be only one club promoted from any Step 5 competition in any season. In addition, it was agreed that at the conclusion of Season 2012/2013 the clubs finishing in bottom position in each of the Step 4 divisions would be relegated.

• It was further agreed that discussions should take place with all leagues to look at the possibility that, regardless of any vacancies occurring, the club finishing in the bottom positions in divisions at Steps 1 to 5 of the National League System will be relegated.

• That there remained issues to be addressed at Step 6, not least in the Essex area, and these will be progressed in the coming months.

Review Group wished to place on record their thanks to all those leagues, clubs, County Football Associations and others that had contributed in any way to the consultation process.

Mike Appleby

Leagues & Clubs Manager

On behalf of the Leagues Committee

May 2012

ENDS

ALL THE ACTION:

The first 90 minutes were as tight as expected in front of a crowd of 1,411; both teams had finished the league season on 83 points. Defences were generally on top and chances were at a premium.

The hosts had the majority of possession in the first half but the clear chances fell to Lowestoft. Joe Francis headed over from close range and Chris Henderson broke clear only for his low shot to be kicked away by keeper Joe Woolley.

The game began to open up in the last 20 minutes and Lubo Guentchhev twice struck the Hornchurch bar from 20-yard range while at the other end Andy Reynolds – who had not been expected to play because of injury – pulled off a double point-blank save from Carl Rook.

In the 90th minute Frankie Curley put a powerful header straight into the arms of Reynolds, and in the final minute of added time Reynolds did well to tip over another Curley header and force an extra 30 minutes.

McKenzie had replaced Rook during added time and it was he who broke the deadlock four minutes into extra time, firing home when an attempt to block a cross teed the ball up nicely for him.

Woollley tipped over a fierce shot by Scott Mitchell as the Trawlerboys tried to respond and they levelled it in the last minute of the first period when Curley conceded a penalty and Dean Sinclair, whose spot-kick deep into added time had won the semi-final, again made no mistake.

Mitchell thought he had given Lowestoft the lead in the 115th minute but Woolley somehow flung himself to his right to claw away the goalbound header.

A penalty shoot-out looked inevitable but Spencer, making his 150th appearance for Hornchurch, had other ideas. He had replaced Andy Tomlinson near the end of the first extra period and on 119 minutes he found himself in space on the left of the box before drilling his shot wide of Reynolds into the far corner.

Henderson had a chance to save the day for the visitors but he sliced his effort well wide and Urchins were soon stepping up to receive the trophy from League Chairman Alan Turvey.

The result meant that, for the first time since the league introduced play-offs, all three finals were won by the side that finished runners-up in the league.

Hornchurch will be playing in Conference South for the second time. They took part in the inaugural 2004-05 campaign but off-field problems forced them to withdraw at the end of the season. For Lowestoft it was a second successive defeat in the play-off final.

North

A HEADER by Walid Matata in the 17^th minute made the difference as Enfield Town beat Needham Market 1-0 in Sunday’s Ryman North play-off final.

Needham seemed somewhat unlucky to have a penalty claim and a goal disallowed as Town, founded as recently as June 2001, reached the Premier Division for the first time in front of 817 at the QE2 Stadium.

It was a fitting way to end what had already been a memorable season for the club, who acquired a ground of their own for the first time when they moved into the stadium in November.

The game itself was somewhat flat by the standards of most Ryman play-off games, perhaps because delays caused by last week’s rain meant that Enfield had played their semi-final only on Thursday and Needham’s was as recently as Friday.

Both semi-finals had been gruelling extra-time affairs and Enfield’s had gone to a penalty shoot-out.

That match was covered in our last bulletin: Needham reached the final with a thrilling 4-3 victory at Tilbury.

It was Tilbury who scored first through skipper Gary Henty in the sixth minute and they should have stretched their lead before Sam Newson equalised with a penalty three minutes before half-time.

Substitute Duane Wright headed Needham into a 72^nd-minute lead, from Newson’s cross, a few moments after entering the fray but Eljay Worrell made it 2-2 13 minutes into what proved to be almost 18 minutes of added time, due to a succession of injuries.

Jack West put Tilbury ahead again five minutes into extra time but then it was over to Newson, who had scored just one goal, a penalty, in 15 previous games since a six-week injury absence.

He netted his 32^nd goal of the season in the 104^th minute to make it 3-3 and won it with his 33^rd in the 120^th minute, also completing his hat-trick.

South

BOGNOR made up for their bitter disappointment of a year earlier, when they missed the title by a single goal and lost at home to Dulwich in the play-off semi-final, by beating the same opponents in the Ryman South final to regain Premier status after a two-year absence.

Centre-back Stuart Axten headed the goal for Rocks from a 17^th-minute corner in front of a Nyewood Lane crowd of 2,011, the biggest for any Ryman League game this season.

Bognor’s other hero was keeper Craig Stoner.

He dived to push away a second-half penalty by Sanchez Ming to follow up his decisive save in the penalty shoot-out against Godalming in the semi-final.

ALL THE ACTION:

It was also much ado about nothing for, apart from two swaps of mid-table places, everyone ended up precisely where they had been at kick-off time.

That means that Wednesday’s play-off semi-finals will be Hornchurch v Bury and Lowestoft v Wealdstone.

Lowestoft needed a victory at champions Billericay to have a chance of the runners-up spot and they achieved it in style, winning 4-1 in front of a New Lodge crowd of 1,145.

An early exchange of goals saw Michael Frew put the Trawlerboys ahead only for Dale Cockrill’s headed own goal to level it. Lubo Guentchev’s long-range shot restored Lowestoft’s advantage just before the half-hour, Cockrill reset his sights to make it 3-1 in the 58^th minute and Frew broke clear to add his second.

It was all in vain; Hornchurch – the only other team to win at New Lodge this season – held on to second place on goal difference, three points behind the champions, with a 2-1 home win over relegated Leatherhead.

Carl Rook, making his first start for Urchins, put them ahead after 19 minutes. Although sure to finish 19^th, Tanners needed points to give them a better record than the sides finishing in that position in the Southern and Northern Premier Leagues in case there are reprieves available in the summer.

Greg Andrews gave them hope when he equalised two minutes before half-time but Leon McKenzie restored the Hornchurch lead immediately after the restart and that was enough, leaving Tanners third in line for any vacancy that may arise at this level.

Wealdstone’s fine end-of-season run continued with a 3-1 victory over Concord which sealed fourth place and a trip to Lowestoft on Wednesday.

It took Alex Dyer less than 25 seconds to put them ahead but Steve King levelled matters with a looping header in the 11^th minute.

Cometh the hour (or in this case the 50^th minute), cometh the man. It was, inevitably, Richard Jolly who restored Stones’ lead with his 48^th goal of the season and his 32^nd in the league, clinching the Golden Boot – though only just, as we shall see. Scott Fitzgerald made sure with 13 minutes left.

Bury pair John Sands and Billy Clark both hit hat-tricks in a 7-1 romp at Tooting which made sure that two Suffolk clubs will be involved in the play-offs. The Terrors terrified few opponents this season, conceding 116 goals on their way back to Ryman South.

Sands started the rout with two goals in three minutes, the 18^th and 20^th, and Clark went one better with two in two minutes just after Hassan Ibrahim had fired home from long range for the home side on the half-hour.

It was three for Sands after an hour and three for Clark 12 minutes later, this one a penalty, before Kieron Leabon nodded in the seventh.

A crowd of 1,038 turned up at the Dripping Pan to see whether Lewes could make the play-offs and they watched a 4-2 home win over Harrow. But the Rooks needed Bury or Wealdstone to slip, and so they remained in sixth place.

Jon-Jo Bates put Harrow ahead in the second minute but Lewes responded with headed goals from Paul Booth and Chris Breach before half-time and another soon after it from Nathan Crabb. Booth made it 4-1 with a penalty and Danny Leech notched Harrow’s second.

Hendon needed a big win to have any chance of making the play-offs and they certainly got it, matching Bury with a 7-1 victory at another relegated club, Aveley. But it was all in vain and they stayed in seventh place.

The only goal of the first half was a penalty by Greg Ngoyi in the 36^th minute, awarded by Nolan Wilde. He was then injured and assistant Paul Howard took over the whistle, awarding a penalty of his own after 50 minutes which Scott Shulton converted.

The floodgates then opened as Isaiah Rankin fired a seven-minute hat-trick and Elliott Charles made it 6-0 by the midpoint of the half.

Kayan Kalipha missed a penalty for Aveley but Liam Thomas did pull one back before Elliott Godfrey notched Hendon’s seventh in added time.

They were the only games to affect the significant positions, but East Thurrock’s 5-2 win at Kingstonian lifted them above their hosts into tenth place and also featured a valiant effort by Sam Higgins to land the Golden Boot.

Starting the day three goals behind Jolly, Higgins scored twice in the first half, after Bobby Traynor had put K’s ahead. Ben Wood and Kye Ruel made it 4-1 after the break.

Traynor, the top scorer in his division for the past three seasons, has not contended this time but he reduced the arrears with his 17^th league goal. Higgins completed his hat-trick with seven minutes left, his 40^th goal in all competitions, but by then Jolly had taken his haul to 32 and Higgins could not score a fourth to match him.

Canvey also scored five, in their case with no reply from visiting Margate: a fine send-off for defender Steve Ward, playing the last game of his 12-year stay with the islanders.

Kevin Dobinson put them ahead after three minutes and it was 3-0 by half-time thanks to Rob King and Jason Hallett. Dobinson scored again after 73 minutes and Steve Sheehan completed the rout.

Wingate were the only other side to move up the table, taking over 13th place from Concord with a 2-1 home win over Carshalton. Tony Burke gave them a half-time lead, Paul Vines equalised from the spot and Leon Smith settled it with a late solo effort.

It was a satisfactory Premier debut campaign for Wingate, as it was for Met Police who finished 12^th after their 2-0 win at Hastings. Mu Maan and Staforde Palmer scored midway through the second half.

Cray gave a rare start to Michael Power and he rewarded them with two goals in the first ten minutes against bottom club Horsham.

A massacre threatened, but it was the 85^th minute before Tony Dolby scored the third goal and Horsham’s six-year stay in the Premier ended on a cheerful note as Wayne Clarke fired home from long range in the last minute to make it 3-1.

North

IT’S up for grabs now, as a famous commentary once said. In this case it’s the Ryman North title, which remains undecided after leaders Leiston had their home game against Potters Bar called off on  Saturday and again on Sunday because of a waterlogged pitch. They will try again tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

Leiston need to win after Enfield Town took over at the top, two points clear, with a 3-0 victory at Grays, who had already clinched their play-off spot.

After a tight, scoreless first half the game swung Enfield’s way when Grays defender Bradley Thomas was shown his second yellow card in the 52^nd minute. Liam Hope converted the resultant penalty for his 26^th league goal of the season and he will be the division’s top scorer barring something extraordinary in the rearranged matches.

Further goals in the last eight minutes from Tyler Campbell and Walid Matata ensured that Leiston cannot afford to slip up.

Grays were one of three teams who were sure of a play-off spot and started the day on the same points total, chasing third place and a home semi-final.

It went to Tilbury, who won a 4-3 thriller at Thamesmead. Rikki Cable gave the hosts the lead after little more than 30 seconds but Tom Wraight soon equalised and Gary Henty gave Dockers a half-time lead.

Cable completed his hat-trick with two goals in the first six minutes after the break, the second of them direct from a corner. Aaron Matthews put Dockers back on terms after an hour and Paul King headed the winner with 13 minutes left.

Tilbury will be at home to Needham Market, who went down 2-1 at home to Brentwood. Martyn Stokes opened the scoring shortly before the interval and Abs Seymour doubled the lead midway through the second half.

Bradley Barber pulled one back with an 83^rd-minute free-kick, Needham’s 104th goal of the season. But it was not enough to save them, and they also conceded the honour of being the league’s top scorers to Bognor.

The relegation battle has also gone into overtime after Ware’s home game against Waltham Forest was postponed.

Ware are now two points adrift at the foot of the table after Great Wakering, already relegated, beat Romford 2-0 with late goals for Ashley Hawkins and Dan Trenkel.

Ilford, though, are the team in Ware’s sights. They went down 2-1 at home to Harlow, who went ahead through Danny Elmes in the 28^th minute and doubled their lead with an own goal by Gbenga Sonuga just after half-time.

Abdul Jeetoo’s reply in the 87^thminute did not affect the result but makes Ware’s task a little harder. Three points behind the Foxes, they need to win by a three-goal margin to escape the drop.

Tom Holdstock and Callander put Heybridge 2-0 up at Sudbury before Chris Bryan replied.

Callander scored again right on half-time, converting the rebound after his penalty was saved, and scored his third with six minutes left to complete a 4-1 win.

Jack Daveney’s goal in the 40^th minute gave Waltham Abbey a 1-0 victory at Cheshunt.

Adam Flanagan and Sos Yao, with a penalty, earned Maldon a 2-1 home win over Soham, who had taken the lead in the 50^th minute through Jack Paxman.

Redbridge’s home game against Chatham was another victim of the weather.

South

IT WAS tight at the top when the Ryman South action kicked off on Saturday but the situation was straightforward enough for Whitehawk.

A home win over Chipstead would clinch the title for the ambitious Brighton club in only their second season since moving up from the Sussex County League.

Playing into the strong wind and heavy rain, Hawks started nervously but began to relax when Joe Keehan gave them a 28^th-minute lead with a 20-yard volley, a shot he did remarkably well to keep low in such conditions.

His pass enabled James Fraser to make it 2-0 three minutes before half-time and there was never likely to be any way back for Chipstead against the wind.

Sam Gargan headed the third goal midway through the second half and Lee Newman made it 4-0 in the 81^st minute.

Dulwich started the day one point behind but found themselves on the wrong end of the day’s shock result, a 1-0 defeat at Burgess Hill who thus escaped the relegation noose.

Tyrone Berry scored the vital goal with just 12 minutes left, giving Hillians their second successive victory.

A draw would not have been enough for them, because Whyteleafe won 2-0 at home to Whitstable and thought they were heading for survival until news arrived of Berry’s goal.

They struggled in the first half but took the lead in the 50^th minute when Ian Selley scored direct from a corner and doubled it two minutes later through Omar Folkes. Hopes were high, but it was not to be and Leafe depart from the league after a 28-year stay.

Back at the top end of the table, Bognor overtook Dulwich to finish as runners-up, wiping out a 2-0 half-time deficit to win 4-2 at Maidstone. Their final goal tally of 105 is the league’s best.

Stones needed a victory and a Godalming defeat to reach the play-offs themselves, and they were 2-0 up at the interval after Shaun Welford scored early and late in the half.

It all changed after the break, when Maidstone were perhaps disheartened by the news of Godalming’s 3-0 lead. Terry Dodd pulled one back on 58 minutes, Ben Johnson equalised five minutes later and Dodd put Rocks ahead on 72 minutes. Steve Harper added the fourth.

So Stones will remain in this division when they make their long-awaited return to their home town next season.

Bognor, denied automatic promotion by a single goal last season, will be at home to Godalming in their play-off semi-final on Tuesday while Dulwich entertain Folkestone, who had no game yesterday but were already safe in fourth place.

Godalming are the in-form side going into the play-offs, having booked their place with five straight wins in April topped off with a 4-2 victory over Eastbourne yesterday.

They needed only a point but were soon on course for three as Dan Read netted twice in the game’s first quarter.

Jamie McClurg added another just before the break and Scott Harris made it 4-0 soon after half-time.

With their play-off place secure, G’s relaxed in the latter stages and the visitors pulled two goals back through Danny Curd and Joe Summerbell.

Sittingbourne will look back with gratitude to the afternoon of January 7, when they beat eventual champions Whitehawk 2-0. It proved to be their only post-November victory and a 4-0 defeat at Walton & Hersham yesterday meant that they finished only two points away from relegation after taking only one point from their last eight games.

Swans, by contrast, have dropped only two points in April and hauled themselves into a mid-table position, so the result was no great surprise.

Jason Henry scored after seven minutes and three more goals came in the last 20 minutes, after Brickies had lost keeper Adam Woodward to injury. Graeme Purdy struck twice, either side of a goal by Harry Smart.

Faversham, another side finishing the season poorly, took an early lead through James Peacock and held it until the stroke of half-time, when Danny Green equalised for visiting Corinthian-Casuals. Glenn Boosey and Ross Defoe scored two in two minutes just after the hour and Casuals won 3-1.

Casuals, the Walton variety, also won 3-1 away from home, aided by the fact that Ramsgate defender Tom Hickman was sent off for handball after only three minutes. Sol Patterson-Bohner converted the penalty. Danny Fernandez and Sean Bradley made it 3-0 by half-time, with Ian Pulman replying in the 75^th minute.

Dave Cook’s 86^th-minute goal earned Hythe a 1-1 draw at Merstham, who had taken the lead six minutes before the interval through Joe Holland.

Gabriel Odunaike’s header in the 65^th minute gave Crawley Down a 1-0 victory at Worthing, who were on course for the play-offs at the end of March but lost five of their last six, the exception a win over Bognor which ultimately denied their fierce rivals the title.

The Anvils finished 16^th in their debut season, a position they would certainly have accepted after eight games when they did not have a point to their credit.