Fans take up chairman's early Christmas present

But, at Crabble, the boom has well and truly arrived, and pundits are predicting a long and glorious journey back up to the pinnacle of non-league football.

Dover Athletic chairman Jim Parmenter was "absolutely thrilled" to see 2,760 supporters take advantage of his Christmas present to the town of Dover: free entry to Tuesday night's 3-0 win against Tooting and Mitcham.

And the size of the crowd has shown him that there is clearly enough interest in Dover Athletic to sustain a march towards League Two.

Speaking to www.doverathletic.com, Mr Parmenter said: "We'd normally expect around 700 for that game. It was a cold night, it's just before Christmas and people are short of money.

"So to see nearly 3,000 turn up was terrific. I hope the 2,000-odd people who came to the game that perhaps normally wouldn't could see that we've made some big improvements not only to the playing staff, management team, but the facilities too.

"We feel this club has so much potential and if fans can come to watch us on a regular basis we can make real progress, make no mistake about that.

"Forget Premier League football. I no longer see that level of football as the keepers of English football. The current plans to play a 39th Premier League game in Asia or wherever is just the latest thing that is killing our game.

"But the game is not dead at our level - and you can watch decent football for a good price. A tenner to watch your local side playing attractive, winning football is better than paying £30-plus at a club where they don't give a damn about fans or our national game.

"Dover Athletic is a good release for people to escape from the doom and gloom. We're trying to put smiles on people's faces - and there was a lot of them on Tuesday night."

Whites travel to Worthing to take on John Maggs' Horsham on Tuesday before returning to Crabble on Saturday, December 27 to face Maidstone United in a Kent derby.

The Stones are dear friends of the Crabble club - but you can be sure of an energy-charged, passion-filled match.

Mr Parmenter said: "Maidstone are a club that are having tough times at the moment and we hope they get out of them and climb the ladder back to where they should be. Both sets of fans have a good rapport with each other and are sure to share a few drinks and stories before and after the match.

"That's what is good about non-league football, something you do miss in the professional game, especially the Premier League.

"We need to keep racking up the points. We're 16 points clear at the top but I'm not going to start celebrating until the title is wrapped up for sure. We all know how football can be cruel - and strange things can happen.

"But I hope a big crowd will support us at the Maidstone game and also any new fans we may have attracted, please tell your friends about us.

“Spread the word about Dover Athletic because we really are an ambitious club that wants to go places. We want great crowds, great football and to climb to the highest level we can."

Article courtesy of www.doverathletic.com

Horsham v Dover Athletic
Ryman Premier League
Saturday 20^th December 2008
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Worthing FC, Woodside Road, Worthing, West Sussex RH13 5AD