On a hot and sunny afternoon, I strolled down to watch my local team Welling United play their opening Conference South fixture against Dulwich Hamlet. The match was a 2-0 victory for the home team.   The visitors were determined not to be relegated in their first season at this new level. Their giant team played robustly, and were not taking any prisoners, and were suitably rewarded when they had a player sent off after going 1-0 down.  The Hamlet players constantly hassled the referee and surrounded and disputed every decision.  They left a very sour taste with the home fans, and if they keep up all season, they will not be welcomed at many grounds.

During the game the large away following were clearly heard to chant loudly “They hated Tooting and Mitcham.” I spoke to a few Welling fans after the game, and they were shocked to hear the chants as they knew of the generosity made by the Terrors to share their ground and stay in existence.  Together with the Managers comments at the end of last season when he criticised the Imperial Fields playing surface, and the Terrors having to play second fiddle to match allocations, why do we need to put up with all of this! 

Obviously, the fans do not have a say in anything at Imperial Fields and the situation will only get worse. DC writes and mentions the money aspect of the ground share, but there is more to this than we understand, but I now have a better idea how this situation arose and why they were greeted with open arms.

Last edited by Mikem (05/8/2018 7:48 pm)