Teams like ours that rely on revenue and to not have a league game before you play in The FA Cup is a joke, an absolute joke in my book, says Sevenoaks Town boss Micky Collins

SEVENOAKS TOWN manager Micky Collins has criticised the poor decision to give clubs at Step 5 and 6 a make-or-break FA Cup tie on the first day of the new season.

The Oaks were drawn at home to SCEFL1 side Sporting Club Thamesmead in The FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round on 6 August with only pre-season friendlies as preparation going into the game.

The two sides met in exactly the same round last season with Seven Acre & Sidcup (as they were known then) coming away from Greatness Park with a 1-1 draw on 15 August 2015 before they were victorious on penalties, winning 4-2 after the game finished all-square at 1-1 after extra time.

Anthony Fenech, who went on to score 28 goals for the Kent Invicta League club last season, has since signed for Sevenoaks Town this summer.

The Southern Counties East Football League have decided not to start their League fixtures a week earlier so member clubs will have to hit the ground running going into their FA Cup ties.

“That’s not good enough for me, that’s a joke,” said Collins.

“The FA get an awful lot of things wrong like what we’ve just noticed watching the shambles of these Euros (England losing 2-1 to Iceland in the last sixteen) and maybe they’ll get another thing wrong with some of the people they’re going to put in charge again.

“It’s gone wrong from the top, it’s just not good enough anymore and it needs an overhaul. That’s not acceptable.

“Teams like ours that rely on revenue – and so does Sporting Club Thamesmead – and to not have a league game before you play in The FA Cup is a joke, an absolute joke in my book. It doesn’t do anyone any good!

“I don’t know who gains out of it. The FA gain out of it because the more people have to apply to go into it and they get more money. It doesn’t help the smaller club. It doesn’t make it exciting. I don’t understand what they’re trying to do with it?

“From my way of thinking, The FA certainly look after the people at the top of the game but are they looking after the people at the bottom of the game, i.e. grass roots?

“All these clubs, and ours included, work within financial parameters that are so tight, to try to generate revenue.  Now, all off a sudden for us and Sporting Club Thamesmead, we’ve got to go into our first game of the season with no practice, apart from pre-season friendlies and try to win the prize money because that’s important to us.

“People talk about expenses paid to players, budgets and whatever. Every club in the world will always discuss an FA Cup run or a FA Vase run or FA Trophy run depending on their level.

“Straight away we’ve thrown straight in to the first game of the season and it shouldn’t make any difference to it but it does so it gains the pressure on every single side, can we deliver first game of the season?

“Maybe I’ll eat my words and eat humble pie and it will be a great success and it probably will if we win – if we lose it will be the worst thing in the world.”

Collins, meanwhile, has enticed three National League clubs to play Sevenoaks Town at Greatness Park to test his side and to bring in some money.

The Oaks put on a good performance in a 1-1 draw against newly-promoted side Maidstone United last Thursday, which was watched by a crowd of 180.

Sevenoaks Town welcome fourteenth-placed debut finishers Bromley on Tuesday (admission price set at £5) and fifth-placed finishers Dover Athletic on Saturday.

“Tuesday night we come out against Bromley, a totally different animal and we’ve got to adapt to combat them and we’ve got to put our own stamp on the game,” said Collins.

“There’s no point having these friendlies against these really big sides and not actually having an effect on the game and giving them a good game. There’s no point in having these if you get beat seven or eight one and things like that. It’s not really going to do us any good. That could happen to us on Tuesday, that’s the calibre of the teams you’re playing against.

“I like to play it in such a way, we make it a good game for them so when there’s an opportunity to come and play us again they’ll go ‘it wasn’t a wipe out, we didn’t absolutely smash them!’

Collins guided the club to a personal best of fifth-place in 13 seasons playing at this level of football and hopes are high that Sevenoaks may be challenging for the title this time out.

Other clubs in the mix may include Ashford United, Beckenham Town and Crowborough Athletic, although it is too early to tell who will be mounting a serious bid for promotion into the Ryman League next April.

When Collins was asked his aspirations for the year ahead, he replied: “Just improve, just improve.  The club’s does everything I ask them to do.  Paul Lansdale (chairman) does it and the directors and committee support me and hopefully we deliver on the pitch and get it right. We’ve done it year on year and hopefully this year we do the same.

“Hopefully we improve again and we want to be a bit more challenging up to Christmas rather than just after and that’s what’s happened in the last couple of seasons.  

“Hopefully, the squad we’ve got and we’ve put together it all stays good. We’ve still got two or three to come in who are out injured at the moment so once these boys come back it’s going to be tough for me to pick a 16 out of 20-21 to start the first game of the season in The FA Cup, a tough ask but so far I’m pleased.”

Sevenoaks Town finished their campaign on an impressive 15 match unbeaten run, 16 if you include the friendly against Maidstone United.

Visit Sevenoaks Town’s website: www.sevenoakstownfc.co.uk

Sevenoaks Town  v  Bromley
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 19^th July 2016
Kick Off 7:45pm
At Greatness Park, Mill Lane, Seal Road, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 5AX