Tom Oxtoby

 

Woking fan banned from Kingfield after smashing away team dressing room window

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Published March 7, 2013, in Sport

Woking 1 Mansfield 2

CONTROVERSY reigned at Kingfield last night after an attack on the away team dressing room.

A Woking fan was believed to have thrown a brick through a window and into the room where Mansfield were celebrating a smash and grab victory over the Cards.

But Woking chairman Mike Smith later issued a statement confirming that no brick had been hurled and the supporter had used his hand to break the glass.

SPOT ON - Bradley Bubb celebrates his penalty leveller Picture by: David Holmes

SPOT ON – Bradley Bubb celebrates his penalty leveller Picture by: David Holmes

Mr Smith said:  ”Following last night’s Blue Square Bet Premier home game against Mansfield Town, an individual home supporter, who was exiting the stadium broke the window to the away team dressing room with his hand.

“Stories about a brick being thrown are untrue. Mansfield officials and players were inside the room and thankfully, no one was injured.

“For reasons of personal safety and in the interests of wider safety and crowd management, ground operations staff and security removed the individual from the situation, as Mansfield players and officials understandably reacted. Order was quickly restored.

“On behalf of Woking Football Club and its supporters, I apologised to the directors, players and officials of Mansfield Town, which was accepted.

“The individual responsible is known to the club as a season ticket holder and has had the privilege removed. In addition, he has also been informed he is no longer welcome at the club. Woking Football Club has also referred the matter to Surrey Police.

“This kind of behaviour is repulsive and deplorable to all proper fans of football. It has no place in football or at Kingfield.”

Mansfield keeper Alan Marriott, who allegedly suffered a small cut, tweeted: “Something defo came through the window and got me!”

But he also said he didn’t believe the object used to smash the glass was a brick.

Mansfield manager Paul Cox said: “Thankfully Alan was facing the other direction and only suffered a small cut. The shards of glass were huge and someone could have been blinded or scarred for life.”

Cox claimed he had also been spat at and said: “It went straight into my eye. I wouldn’t accept that on the street so I am not accepting that just because I am a football manager.”

Bradley Bubb’s 69th-minute penalty cancelled out Louis Briscoe’s strike but Matt Jones popped up with a winner 13 minutes from time to leave Woking empty handed.

Woking College students Florence Robjohn and Joanne Jones stage London art show

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Published March 6, 2013, in Other News

ART students from Woking College are hoping to draw in the crowds by ­exhibiting their work at the prominent Chelsea ­Gallery in London’s Kings Road.

Stunning collections of art, photography and sculpture from the college’s past and present A-level students are now on show in the gallery at an ­exhibition that opened to the public on Tuesday.

BUCKET AND SEE - Florence Robjohn with her piece called Bucket List

BUCKET AND SEE – Florence Robjohn with her piece called Bucket List

The event is down to a stroke of genius by two entrepreneurial students who are in their final year at the college.

Florence Robjohn and Joanne Jones, both 18, were inspired by their fine art teacher Chris Bird to organise the impressive ­London display.

Florence has completed work placements at the Saatchi Art Foundation and sees the exhibition as another big ­helping hand.

She said: “This is an exceptional opportunity for young talent to have a showcase in a leading London gallery.”

The talented twosome decided to ask other students to get involved and called up ­galleries in the capital to find a suitable venue to host their creative works. Joanne, who was brimming with pride at their achievement, revealed: “We organised the entire event within one day.”

Former Woking College student Amy Flanagan will also be showing some of her latest art, having recently been awarded for her outstanding work shown at the college’s Summer Art ­Exhibition at The Lightbox.

THE show at the King’s Road Chelsea Gallery in London will run until Sunday, March 17.

FUTURE CHILD - Joanne Jones with a portrait of herself now, and as an infant

FUTURE CHILD – Joanne Jones with a portrait of herself now, and as an infant

Garry Hill says one point earned, not two dropped

By:
Published March 4, 2013, in Sport

Woking 1 Lincoln City 1

CARDS failed to build on Brett Johnson’s second-minute opener and were forced to share the spoils with Lincoln City.

Johnson got Woking off to a flying start, meeting ex-Imp John Nutter’s cross to head home.

But Cards didn’t have it all their own way and City got back on terms through Vadaine Oliver in the 25th minute.

ON YER 'ED - Cards celebrate taking the lead

ON YER ‘ED – Cards celebrate taking the lead

A share of the points means Woking now only need two more to reach Garry Hill’s magic 50 target.

But they’ll have to wait until Wednesday’s game with Mansfield for another bite at the cherry.

Hill had no complaints about the result, he said: “It was a point won today. I thought we did enough to win it but when you look at the week, we’ve taken four points out of six against Forest Green and Lincoln City which is a good return.”

“It is disappointing not to have won but managers, players and supporters get greedy when you’ve been on a good run.”

Former Lincoln skipper Nutter revealed his frustration at full time.

He said: “They’re fighting for their lives but it wasn’t to be.  They made it hard for us but once we got the ball down and started playing we looked the better side.”

“We’ve been on a decent run and we’ve had a draw today which isn’t something we’ve had much this season. Sometimes a point is good to pick up and we’ll see how many points we can now get.”

Bradley Bubb’s spectacular acrobatic was as close as Woking came to finding a winner but Paul Farman was a match with an equally good save.

Good news for the Cards came at the end of the week as Hill secured the services of Billy Knott for a further month from Sunderland.

It is hoped that he will be returning to the action soon following a hamstring injury.

WOKING: Brown, Newton, Cestor, Ricketts, McNerney, Parkinson, Bubb, Betsy, Johnson (McCallum 45mins), Stockley, Nutter.

ATTENDANCE: 1766

Jack Parkinson puts Woking on cloud nine and boss Garry Hill pledges his future to the Cards

By:
Published February 27, 2013, in Sport

Woking 2 Forest Green Rovers 0

JACK PARKINSON thundered in a second-half beauty to lift Cards up to ninth on a night when Garry Hill was quizzed about the vacant manager’s post at former club Dagenham and Redbridge.

Parkinson, usually known for his defensive qualities, rattled home a 79th-minute gem after Kevin Betsy had drilled Woking into a 1-0 lead.

JACK THE LAD - Parkinson celebrates his wonder strike

JACK THE LAD – Parkinson celebrates his wonder strike

And after claiming a sixth win in eight games to gatecrash the top half of the table, Hill moved quickly to assure fans his future lies at Kingfield.

The gaffer said: “Dagenham is a club I have had some great times with and some great memories. All chapters move on in life and I’m very happy with where I am.”

Hill had nothing but praise for his industrious team who ran themselves into the ground to secure back-to-back wins.

He added: “There is a big gulf between part-time and full-time in this league, but if you’ve got heart and if you want it bad enough, it’s surprising how far you can go.”

Full report and pictures in this week’s News & Mail – out Thursday.

Snowfall a white nightmare for working parents but delight for children

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Published January 25, 2013, in Headlines

WHILE children revelled in a winter Woking wonderland as schools closed early, people travelling to and from work were battling the blizzards.

Angry commuters were left frustrated by South West Trains’ revised timetables.

But even though service alterations were made before a single flake of snow had fallen, councillor Ann-Marie Barker reckons SWT’s pre-emptive action just about struck the right balance.

She said: “I asked a few people about the changes when they were announced on Thursday and I got mixed reviews. There was a lot of division and some people thought it was a terrible idea to be cancelling trains before the snow had hit.

HAVING A BALL - Liz Perera with sons Oliver, four, and William, seven

HAVING A BALL – Liz Perera with sons Oliver, four, and William, seven

“There were no trains first thing on Friday and only two an hour after that, as opposed to four or five.

“On balance it makes sense to run less trains if they can assure they run on time. I think a lot of people had decided not to go into work on Monday so it would have been easier to cope.”

When the snow did fall on Friday, it came down fast and furiously.

Schools across the borough were hit by closures, resulting in a white nightmare for working parents but powdered delight for youngsters.

As the snow eased on Sunday and Monday, temperatures remained icy and it wasn’t much joy for students sitting exams who were forced to battle their way to school or college, otherwise they would have to wait until the summer to take them.

Surrey Police’s Nicola Bur-ress confirmed that, despite early warnings, the force had an influx of calls as icy roads got the better of Woking’s drivers.

A statement said: “Without going through every call, we did experience an increase in the number of calls reporting collisions due to snow and ice on Friday – our advice to motorists was not to travel unless absolutely essential.”

The snow was back with a vengeance on Tuesday evening, with Woking FC having to cancel their game despite fans pitching up on Monday to help clear the Kingfield ground.

Big freeze fails to cool Woking fans’ burning passion

By:
Published January 25, 2013, in Sport

SOMEONE up there did not want this game to be played.

Despite the unparalleled effort of fans, the expert and precision decision making of the ground staff, plus all the will in Woking, Cards could not fulfil their Blue Square Premier meeting with Newport County on Tuesday.

A blanket of snow was carefully rolled off the Kingfield turf on Tuesday and, when match officials arrived at the ground at around 5.30pm, the pitch was deemed playable.

But a violent and unrelenting snow storm arrived to ruin the party, undoing all the volunteers’ efforts in a matter of minutes.

By 7pm the game had been chalked off – just the latest casualty in a long list of matches to be claimed by the freezing temperatures.

Garry Hill’s hopes were dashed as the green turf disappeared under a fresh coat of powder.

He also expressed his gratitude to the fans who helped give this fixture a fighting chance.

He said: “I feel so sorry for the supporters and everyone who have put in so much hard work earlier in the week. What I have learned at Woking is that we are all in it together.

“You’ve seen that response and that effort in the fans trying to get this game on. They all played their part and that is an encouraging sign for Woking.

“It’s unfortunate because there has been a lot of work put into this game by everyone connected with the club.

“The chairman, the directors, the supporters – everyone has put in such a great effort – and the groundsman has done brilliantly to get the pitch in perfect playing order at 6pm. It looked a treat – but all of a sudden the sky opened and the snow came down.

“It’s disappointing that we’ve now got to arrange the game for a later date.”

Hill’s primary concern is the prospect of a trip to in-form Kidderminster on Saturday, having not played a competitive game since the 1-0 win over Ebbsfleet on January 13.

Steve Burr’s Harriers will not be the same team who shared the spoils at Kingfield in November – but Hill urged fans not to forget Cards’ recent run heading into Saturday.

Kidderminster have rocketed up the table after losing their first five games of the season.

Burr’s side now occupy the final play-off place, and sit just six points off top spot.

But Hill pointed to the Cards’ recent upturn in fortunes and said: “They are a good side and are arguably as good as any we’ve played this season.

“It will be a very tough game for us because I think they’ve only lost something like two in their last 20 league games.

“They are flying but we’re not going too badly ourselves at the moment so hopefully we’ll get a good result.”

Lock tribute to canal stalwart Peter Redway

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Published January 25, 2013, in Other News

A STALWART supporter of the Basingstoke Canal will be forever remembered – after a lock was named in his honour.

Lifelong St Johns resident Peter Redway MBE lived beside the waterway he so dearly loved, and became dedicated to its restoration after repair work began in the 1970s.

Sadly, Peter, who had been chairman of the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society for 16 years died, aged 79, in 2011.

LOCK, STOCK – guests braved the snow on Sunday for ceremony at Basingstoke Canal’s Lock 11, now renamed the Redway Lock

LOCK, STOCK – guests braved the snow on Sunday for ceremony at Basingstoke Canal’s Lock 11, now renamed the Redway Lock

But his family – including his widow, Marguerite, and two sons – friends and fellow canal devotees braved a snowy Sunday morning to gather as a stone plaque was unveiled in his memory at Lock 11, now forever known as the Redway Lock.

Surrey county councillor and chairman of the Basingstoke Canal Joint Management Committee, Linda Kemeny, said: “Peter’s total commitment delivered the important St Johns back-pumping scheme to ensure a stable water supply for year-round navigation.

“He was honoured in the 2007 Queen’s birthday honours with a well-deserved award of the MBE.”

Guests at the ceremony included Robin Higgs OBE, vice president and former chairman of the now-renamed Basingstoke Canal Society, the current chairman Philip Riley, members Chai Ken and Denise Hall and John Kingsbury, leader of Woking Borough Council.

The party later retired to The Rowbarge pub to thaw out with some liquid refreshments and a buffet provided by the canal events organiser Verna Smith.

Paul Newman’s suit a perfect fit for Woking finder

By:
Published January 25, 2013, in Other News

A WOKING man renting a house in America was poking around the basement when he was surprised to find some fine clothes stuffed in a rubbish bag.

A tailor’s tag listing the client’s name on one of the suits startled him even more – “Paul Newman – January 1986”.

Illustrator Peter Gamlen, 23, of Hook Heath, said he believes the suit belonged to the late actor, director, entrepreneur and racing driver.

The suit was made by the tailor Henry Stewart.

NEW CLOB - Peter tries out Paul's suit

NEW CLOB – Peter tries out Paul’s suit

So Peter researched Stewart and found an obituary in the New York Times from 1993 that listed Newman among his clients.

Peter, speaking from New Haven, Conneticut, said he began to shout and run around when he made the discovery.

“Guess where my legs are?” he asked one of his friends.

“They’re in Paul Newman’s trousers! The suit is incredibly well made. The whole cut of this is absolutely beautiful.”

Peter also found a photo of Newman in the pocket of a sports jacket he had also found.

In it the heart-throb actor was wearing sunglasses, standing with three other men.

Newman, who died in 2008, lived in Westport, about 30 miles from New Haven.

Peter, who said The Hustler starring Newman is one of his favourite films, went to work in the US about a year ago.

Newman’s long-time friend, AE Hotchner, said that he could not imagine how New-man’s clothes would end up in New Haven, although he did not rule out the possibility.

He added: “Paul was notoriously under-dressed.

“He owned a tuxedo but he burned it so he would have an excuse not to attend any more black tie events.”

Brookwood residents alarmed over plans to build 30 new homes at Connaught Road

By:
Published January 10, 2013, in Headlines

PROPOSALS for 30 new homes in  Brookwood have caused outrage among residents.

The scheme at 112-126 Connaught Road would see nine one-bedroom flats and 21 two-bedroom flats rise on land currently occupied by industrial buildings which would be demolished.

Woking Borough Council’s website has received nearly 40 complaints in the last two days about the scheme.

Brookwood councillor Kevin Davis met a number of concerned residents at the site on Wednesday.

Brookwood Residents’ Association chairman Mike Peel told the News & Mail: “I have been unable to find anyone locally who has received notification by post from Woking Borough Council.

CONCERN - Mike Peel

CONCERN – Mike Peel

“I am appalled that local small industry in Brookwood could well be decimated and local staff have to be made unemployed in these austere times.

“This three-storey building will be an eyesore locally if it goes ahead and will be seen from all areas of Brookwood.

“It is totally out of character with the village environment. This application has clearly been drifted in over the quiet seasonal period.

“Looking at the Woking Borough Council site there have now been around 40 objections and as so many have responded I cannot imagine this will go ahead in its present form.

“They will require to go through the scrutiny of the planning committee, giving us plenty of opportunity to be prepared.

“The WBC website includes a letter from the owner of Wesson Fencing who apparently is having the ground beneath his business sold from under him.

“If this goes ahead then he will probably have to lay off staff and close his business, which is absolutely appalling.”

Super Woking make Hatters mad with brilliant Kingfield display

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Published January 2, 2013, in Sport

Woking 3, Luton Town 1

BILLY had the Hatters tied in Knotts as magnificent Cards capitalised on Luton’s New Year’s Day hangover to avenge their Boxing Day blues.

With no trace of a celebratory hangover, Woking exploded into action and took the game to their promotion-chasing visitors at a relentless tempo.

BILLY THE KID - Knott celebrates his second goal of the afternoon again Luton. Picture by: David Holmes

BILLY THE KID – Knott celebrates his second goal of the afternoon again Luton. Picture by: David Holmes

Billy Knott produced a third-minute screamer to give Woking a surprise lead but Aaron Howe’s mistake allowed Andre Gray to equalise five minutes later.

Howe redeemed himself with a game-changing save and two goals in five minutes made it three wins from Cards’ last four matches.

Knott was the hero, stabbing home in the 73rd minute after Mark Tyler had palmed away Bradley Bubb’s low shot.

And super-sub Jayden Stockley eased the tension with a third five minutes later as Woking gained total revenge for their 3-1 defeat at Luton on Boxing Day.

Sunderland loanee Knott said: “I’ve seen the ups and the downs since I’ve been here and hopefully the club can move on.

“Everyone is together and they all want to play for each other. I’ll take that battle and that desire to win games from Woking because it means something to everyone here.

“When we got amongst them Luton didn’t really fancy it. They got a bit worried and it was a good performance from the lads

“It’s great getting games, the fans have been great with me and I just want to thank everyone.”

Full report and reaction in Thursday’s News & Mail.

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