:00:16. > :00:24.From the four corners of the south- east they have come to follow with
:00:24. > :00:31.pride. They are the club that refused to
:00:31. > :00:41.die, marching on. They rise and reach towards
:00:41. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:49.limitless Sussex skies. They battle, deep inside, they find
:00:49. > :00:56.a way to survive and strive for more.
:00:56. > :01:03.COMMENTATOR: What a goal, Kevin Nolan! For them, the glory of
:01:03. > :01:08.winning England, its greatest prize. Bald Eagles swooped on the city to
:01:08. > :01:17.keep their club arrive. And now they soar...
:01:17. > :01:21.COMMENTATOR: Darren Ambrose! What a brilliant goal. An outstanding goal
:01:21. > :01:30.from Darren Ambrose. From the valley of despair, they
:01:30. > :01:40.forged new hope. In barking ham her blue they grew
:01:40. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :01:48.beyond their forefather's dreams. And from Hertfordshire goals of old,
:01:48. > :01:51.they once upheld the best. From the green lawns of the garden of
:01:51. > :01:57.England where they fly the flag for Kent.
:01:57. > :02:05.COMMENTATOR: It's in! To the south coast, where they found their way
:02:05. > :02:15.home, at last. East to the orient, where they
:02:15. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:22.stood the test of time. COMMENTATOR: The mission goes, it
:02:22. > :02:29.is all over at Wembley. Way out west, they don't dim their spirits.
:02:29. > :02:33.They keep the faith. COMMENTATOR: What a beautiful goal!
:02:34. > :02:42.Made in Dagenham, red and blue, two clubs became one to scale new
:02:42. > :02:51.heights. And enter the den, hear the lions
:02:51. > :03:00.roar, the 12 man cheering, cheering on their team.
:03:00. > :03:05.Their teams, 14 teams with 14 dreams.
:03:05. > :03:10.The one and only, Barry Davis, taking us through the teams. We are
:03:10. > :03:14.following them between now and May. I'm dauk Dan Walker delighted to be
:03:14. > :03:18.with you. In the studio, we have Mark Bright and Sam Allardyce. Here
:03:18. > :03:24.is what is coming up on the programme. West Ham's push for the
:03:24. > :03:30.Premier League gathers pace, we speak to Big Sam about the big plan.
:03:30. > :03:38.We discover the secret behind the Wimbledon's success.
:03:38. > :03:42.And we ask how far League Two Crawley can go. We are the best in
:03:42. > :03:47.Britain, behind Manchester United in terms of wins.
:03:47. > :03:51.And remember when an injury crisis at Watford, led to a footballing
:03:51. > :03:55.nightmare. Since this show is mainly about the Football Leagueing
:03:55. > :04:01.league, Sam, I know you will not want to be here next year, but how
:04:01. > :04:06.much are you enjoying London life? Very good. Settling into a
:04:06. > :04:10.wonderful style of living in Canary Wharf. Me and my wife, Lineker. Not
:04:10. > :04:15.too far from the training ground of up the on park, so comfortable, and
:04:15. > :04:21.of course, more important will with the team's minuting -- winning.
:04:21. > :04:26.Well, we start with AFC Wimbledon. Every single Dons supporter played
:04:26. > :04:32.a part in getting in the league, but one fan did more than any to
:04:32. > :04:42.complete the return. This parks the drbg mashes the
:04:42. > :04:52.failure of a decade long plan by the fans to reinstate the team.
:04:52. > :04:52.
:04:52. > :04:58.COMMENTATOR: Luton take theirs first... Courtesy of goalkeeper Sam
:04:58. > :05:03.Brown! It's been denied! It was an emotional day. There are probably
:05:03. > :05:09.about 1 million and one photos that I could do without being splashed
:05:09. > :05:15.over the internet with me in tears. All too much for the Wimbledon man,
:05:15. > :05:20.his parents are life holders of AFC season ticket holders.
:05:20. > :05:25.Here, they are hoping it will now get them the goals to keep them
:05:25. > :05:28.there. Growing up as a fan you must have watched this guy? It is crazy.
:05:28. > :05:35.Everyone is so excited he has joined us.
:05:35. > :05:40.Jason, are you feeling it? I think it is good to have that little bit
:05:40. > :05:43.of pressure. It Spurs you on a bit more. For me it is about coming and
:05:43. > :05:48.enjoying the football. The time being back with the fans and the
:05:48. > :05:56.players. Well, it is a busy life as the
:05:56. > :06:00.Wimbledon number one. Where are you off to now? Off up to Roehampton
:06:00. > :06:06.University to study sports science and coaching.
:06:06. > :06:11.What are your lessons today? Psychology and nutrition.
:06:11. > :06:16.What you are learning on the course, did it help on the penalty shoot-
:06:16. > :06:19.out? It made me think about anxiety. How the little things can make
:06:19. > :06:23.people not concentrate that little bit. Everyone knows about the
:06:23. > :06:30.little piece of paper. It puts a seed of doubt, does he know what I
:06:30. > :06:35.am going to do. We are in the media, waiting for MK
:06:35. > :06:38.Dons waiting to come back. We have to play it, that is our
:06:38. > :06:41.responsability as professional footballers. With a supporters head,
:06:41. > :06:46.I am definitely of the side that I would not want to be anywhere near
:06:46. > :06:49.that game. Like you say it almost justifies the existence of that
:06:49. > :06:52.club. That is something that I think that
:06:53. > :06:57.the whole thing of AFC Wimbledon was against.
:06:57. > :07:02.Did you see that approach on the player. Is he a player looking to
:07:02. > :07:06.learn? He works with the goalkeeper and coach very hard.
:07:06. > :07:11.He knows as far as football is concerned as well as his education
:07:11. > :07:16.he has a lot to learn. There is not much to teach Seb
:07:16. > :07:23.Brown about the art of saving penalties.
:07:23. > :07:31.# Light up, light up # As if you have a choice
:07:31. > :07:36.# Even if you cannot hear my voice. # Mark, they are one of football's
:07:36. > :07:41.great feel-good stories? We say it all the time, a fairytale. From
:07:41. > :07:48.disbanding or moving, starting up a new club. Moving through the
:07:48. > :07:53.dwoigss into a feeb, they have had to struggle.
:07:53. > :07:58.-- televisions into the football league. They have come off the back
:07:58. > :08:03.of 12 games without a win to win at the weekend. So they have done the
:08:03. > :08:08.double on Port Veil. So they have got back on track.
:08:08. > :08:14.Mark Richards put them ahead in that game. Sam, it was someone on
:08:14. > :08:18.loan from West Ham. This is the goal for Port Veil, but George
:08:18. > :08:23.Moncur in his debut? It is great because development for the players
:08:23. > :08:28.is most importantly, for me, it is getting them into somebody's first
:08:28. > :08:34.team as quickly as possible. As his young age, he has ability. I don't
:08:34. > :08:39.think he can learn a lot behind closed doors, so the chance to go
:08:39. > :08:43.to Wimbledon, for all of the young players we have sent out. Robert
:08:43. > :08:48.All is in our first team squad having gone to Oxford on loan for a
:08:48. > :08:53.couple of months. Frank Noodle has been to Gillingham. So they have
:08:53. > :08:57.all benefited from that, I am hoping that George Moncur will do
:08:57. > :09:01.the same. The pressure at the football team at any shrefl what
:09:01. > :09:06.they need. So, that is a couple of players for
:09:07. > :09:10.the future. In terms of now, West Ham are doing OK. You are the top
:09:10. > :09:15.of the championship, are they where you expected them to be?
:09:15. > :09:21.difficulty was at the start of the season, I did not know quite how
:09:21. > :09:27.good we were going to be. Because there are about 23 players left.
:09:27. > :09:33.It is a remarkable turn around? is unbelievable. We had about 16
:09:33. > :09:37.new players coming in, 14-16. So fitting that together, moulding the
:09:37. > :09:41.players into a team is probably one of the hardest jobs in the game.
:09:41. > :09:46.You have to achieve results almost instantly.
:09:46. > :09:52.We had the worst start we could have ever had on live television on
:09:52. > :09:56.the BBC, Cardiff at home. First game of the season, losing the last
:09:56. > :10:02.minute. You wonder what the reaction may be, but as we have
:10:02. > :10:08.grown through the season, getting the -- to know the players better,
:10:08. > :10:13.they have formed partnerships and Kevin Nolan the captain, bringing
:10:13. > :10:17.the dressing room together. We have a healthy squad. December, there
:10:17. > :10:22.were too many injuries, suspensions, we ended up losing three out of
:10:22. > :10:27.five. That was a blow as we were on a real good run in November. We are
:10:27. > :10:31.over the injuries, hopefully we can continue to push on. A couple of
:10:31. > :10:36.people I have spoken to say that they are doing alright, but not
:10:36. > :10:40.playing in the West Ham way? get that a lot? When did West Ham
:10:40. > :10:43.play the West Ham way, last? You know what I mean? I mean West Ham
:10:43. > :10:47.have not played the West Ham way for years, now.
:10:47. > :10:52.All they've been doing is struggling against relegation,
:10:52. > :10:58.losing football matches. When I got there they will won two away games
:10:58. > :11:03.in two seasons we have won eight away games now. Whatever you say
:11:03. > :11:09.about football today all fans like to see the team win and win with
:11:09. > :11:13.style. We play with a lot of style in this division but it is the
:11:13. > :11:18.championship. There is less style in this division than there is in
:11:18. > :11:20.the Premier League as the players are not as good, but we have
:11:20. > :11:25.fantastic players with Premier League experience.
:11:25. > :11:31.Let's have a look at some of the action. You talk about the
:11:31. > :11:37.importance of Kevin Nolan, but Mark Noble has been important? Noble, he
:11:37. > :11:41.is just 24, 25, he has been in the West Ham team since he was 18. He
:11:41. > :11:45.scored every penalty this season. At the end here it was a winner.
:11:45. > :11:50.Our problem at the moment, unlike at the start of the season, is not
:11:50. > :11:55.securing the goals with the chances that we have created.
:11:55. > :11:59.We would all agree that was the right decision with the referee.
:11:59. > :12:05.In terms of January, you brought in George John, West Ham fans will
:12:05. > :12:09.want to know how many are coming in. You said you made 22 out? Because I
:12:09. > :12:12.have touched on the fact that we have created loads of chances,
:12:12. > :12:17.loads of opportunities, we have not been clinical enough to finish them
:12:17. > :12:21.off. I would say to do something on the front line a little more it
:12:21. > :12:25.would help. It would bring us in a little more cutting-edge. I think
:12:25. > :12:32.that the players that we have got will get back to goal scoring in
:12:32. > :12:34.the early parts of the season. Now we have to get back to that
:12:34. > :12:38.sort of quality in front of the goal.
:12:38. > :12:41.West Ham are one of five championship clubs we are covering
:12:41. > :12:51.here on Late Kick Off. Let's see how the other four got on this
:12:51. > :13:00.
:13:00. > :13:04.The Seagull's boss provided this game and said it was the best of
:13:04. > :13:08.the season. The team play helped and contributed to the second
:13:08. > :13:16.finished by Will Buckley. They were told there will is more
:13:16. > :13:20.to come. Dougie Freeman praised his side's
:13:20. > :13:25.energy levels. Chris Martin back with his second
:13:25. > :13:31.goal. This came on the stroke of halt
:13:31. > :13:41.with the controversial sending off of Shaun Scannel. The ten men could
:13:41. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:59.side were not good enough. Comings turning a century into the net.
:13:59. > :13:59.
:13:59. > :14:06.Netted then again, the defeat confirmed by Adam le Fond.
:14:06. > :14:12.The home fans laid the blame for this defeat on the officials. Harry
:14:12. > :14:17.McCain going close. Curtis striking first, before
:14:17. > :14:25.Shaken Larry red carded. The tall striker did not appear able to stay
:14:25. > :14:30.on his feet. Went down easily. Leading to the second red card.
:14:30. > :14:39.Marlon King doubled the advantage. Four goals in the last 1 minutes
:14:39. > :14:47.compounding the injury. Then King bagging his second and
:14:47. > :14:49.Nathan Redman adding the third. So, it's a decade since you managed
:14:49. > :14:54.So, it's a decade since you managed in this division.
:14:54. > :15:01.It has gone quick that. No doubt you know where the
:15:01. > :15:05.challenge is to come from, where are you worried about? It is
:15:05. > :15:10.Southampton. Obviously, like Norwich last year they came out of
:15:10. > :15:17.League One, straight to the top end and got promise olted again.
:15:17. > :15:24.Everyone -- and got promoted again. Reading beat us 3-0. Cardiff, of
:15:24. > :15:29.course, depending on whether they get injuries or to the Carling Cup
:15:29. > :15:33.final, it may have a distracting effect on them, but they will be
:15:33. > :15:37.there or theres about. Somebody coming from the pack. Maybe
:15:37. > :15:41.Birmingham, now they are out of Europe. They may come strong. I
:15:41. > :15:44.thought that Leicester might, but unfortunately, that has not
:15:44. > :15:50.happened with their heavy investment and Nigel working out
:15:50. > :15:54.the best way for that club to go forward, but a really competitive
:15:54. > :16:00.division and you can never take anything from granted.
:16:00. > :16:05.When I was asked which team I would like to visit. In true BBC style I
:16:05. > :16:11.remained 100 impartial, but the Late Kick Off bus ended up in my
:16:11. > :16:17.home town of Crawley. It was just the way it was. Let's start with a
:16:17. > :16:27.geography lesson. 20 miles that way, you are in London, ladies and
:16:27. > :16:32.
:16:32. > :16:37.gentlemen, welcome to West Sussex, welcome to Crawley.
:16:37. > :16:45.There are various claims to fame, the Cure hailed from here, Kevin
:16:45. > :16:50.Muscat was once a resident. Darren Southgate lid down the road and
:16:50. > :16:54.rumour has it even Chico lived in Crawley as a teenager.
:16:54. > :16:59.But the town has never been on the league match until now. We are
:16:59. > :17:05.putting them up with the men who put them there, the chief executive,
:17:05. > :17:11.the star player, and the boss. Where better to start than the man
:17:11. > :17:15.who takes care of all of the off- the field playing in Crawley, he is
:17:15. > :17:20.in here. The chief executive, the journey continues, sir? It does,
:17:20. > :17:26.another busy year. What is it like being the top man a
:17:26. > :17:31.team doing great things in a League Two situation at the moment? Well,
:17:31. > :17:36.it has been a transition into the Football League. So a lot of work
:17:36. > :17:39.behind the scenes having a platform for Steve to work off and move
:17:39. > :17:43.forward. Is the club where you would like it
:17:43. > :17:48.to be? It is exactly where we like it to be. Probably a little ahead,
:17:48. > :17:52.but we are achieving what we want to achieve. Probably a little
:17:52. > :17:57.quicker than we thought. We are pleased with that.
:17:57. > :18:03.Matt Tubbs, I've been looking at your statistics, you tell me you
:18:03. > :18:08.are not a man that looks at statistics, but they are rather
:18:08. > :18:15.impressive. Social networks are cropping up,
:18:15. > :18:20.telling me, Twitter, Facebook, they are reminding me that -- of that,
:18:21. > :18:25.and I look at them, they look good. What are the up-to-date statistics?
:18:25. > :18:30.My last stat was 57 goals in 57 games.
:18:30. > :18:33.So, I want to keep that. What does it feel like to be the
:18:33. > :18:37.most heated club in the Football League, considering this is your
:18:37. > :18:44.first season in the Football League? I think it comes from the
:18:44. > :18:50.perception. What people add to it. We don't
:18:50. > :18:53.hear that in boardrooms or around the country nor the Stans that stay
:18:53. > :18:57.behind here. It is becoming less and less. I
:18:57. > :19:01.think that people arewiseing up. They are looking and seeing the
:19:01. > :19:07.amount of teams that we play, the squad numbers on the back of the
:19:07. > :19:12.programme, the people in our squads are 32 first-team players and want
:19:12. > :19:19.to hide behind the excuses that Crawley has money, but we have done
:19:19. > :19:25.the club proud. Cut out the cars, it has been unprecedented and in
:19:25. > :19:31.terms of points, we are the best in Britain and behind Manchester
:19:31. > :19:41.United in terms of wins. The club crest, a bit of Latin.
:19:41. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:58.: Noli Crederi, is that your attitude, "Never give up."? Yes,
:19:58. > :20:00.
:20:00. > :20:05.never give up. In my prayers I see the manager and
:20:05. > :20:11.the coach screaming at the men to get into the line for the challenge.
:20:11. > :20:18.We never give up. We may fail but we will never give up.
:20:18. > :20:21.God luck in the Champions League! It might happen. Exciting times for
:20:21. > :20:27.Crawley, but at the weekend a goalless draw.
:20:27. > :20:34.Now, we have a striker and manager. Tubtstubtstubts did not get a goal,
:20:34. > :20:39.but the record is impressive? Phenomenon al. He is 57 in 58 now,
:20:39. > :20:47.but he will not get awhich with that one.
:20:47. > :20:53.I think this is Scot Neilson having a few chances. They have had two
:20:53. > :20:57.bids for him from born muth. He came in late from Salisbury. He has
:20:57. > :21:02.just started to make the most of his second opportunity. As anyone
:21:02. > :21:07.who scores goals, that is always sought after. If they can hold on
:21:07. > :21:12.to him, the chance of promotion, fantastic, it if not, they have to
:21:12. > :21:17.be careful. What about the manager? He backs
:21:17. > :21:21.himself, gets in trouble, but he has done a great job? He has
:21:22. > :21:27.learned his trade at that level over man, many years. I think that
:21:27. > :21:29.his management style is getting the best from the players as well as a
:21:29. > :21:35.good investment. We were talking earlier, with Brighty, the amount
:21:35. > :21:40.of money that they made from the FA Cup and how wisely they spent that
:21:40. > :21:45.has got them where they are. A good manager and a good manager running
:21:45. > :21:55.the Football Club. He desetbacks the chance. Let's see how far he
:21:55. > :22:07.
:22:07. > :22:12.Wickham await their first win of the New Year.
:22:12. > :22:17.Gary Waddock felt decisions went against his side and had Stuart
:22:17. > :22:22.Bevan's head been allowed to stand, the outcome of this could have been
:22:22. > :22:27.different. If the Blues are to stay away from relegation trouble, they
:22:27. > :22:34.have to improve at the back. Goals all coming from corners. For
:22:34. > :22:42.the third and the last of Preston's goals, Stuart fuellishly barged
:22:42. > :22:50.Craig Morgan. Preston had Stephen Smith sent off, but Trotter's
:22:50. > :22:56.second amounted to a consolation effort.
:22:56. > :23:06.Russell Slayed described David Maddy's opener as one of the best
:23:06. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:15.goals he had seen. Bottomside Chesterfield grabbed an equaliser
:23:15. > :23:20.and Leyton Orient had this one down too.
:23:20. > :23:26.Brentford struggles at home persist. Marcus Bane could not beat Jimmy
:23:26. > :23:32.Walker. At the other end, Simon Moore did
:23:32. > :23:40.well to keep out John Macon as the Banes drew for the tenth time this
:23:40. > :23:48.season. Despite the freezing conditions,
:23:48. > :23:53.Barnet enjoyed their first away win since mid-November at Accrington.
:23:53. > :23:59.Ricky Holmes getting things warmed up. It was over when Sam Dearing
:23:59. > :24:06.took his second bite from long range. The Bees' cushion from the
:24:06. > :24:13.drop-zone is now five points. John Steels dagger's second game
:24:13. > :24:20.unbeaten run came to an end. They were unlucky not to snatch a point.
:24:20. > :24:28.Then Wood a lrbg l could not force a fourth league game. All eyes now
:24:28. > :24:38.on the replay match with Millwall. I must point out that Gillingham
:24:38. > :24:40.
:24:40. > :24:47.are in the pink shirts. Luke Rooney's shot was saved by
:24:47. > :24:51.RossFully any. Then Mark Wright made it 2-0.
:24:51. > :24:54.So a good win for Barnet in League So a good win for Barnet in League
:24:54. > :24:58.Two. A memorable league for the top of
:24:58. > :25:08.League One. It is difficult to talk about your friend if they are not
:25:08. > :25:12.doing well, but they are doing well, what has he got? Well, he has sat
:25:12. > :25:17.everybody down, 18 players, this is a goal with Sheffield Wednesday,
:25:17. > :25:23.they had not lost at home. He sat everyone down and say that this is
:25:23. > :25:26.their target, to be focused to go through the season, to look for
:25:26. > :25:30.promotion to get out of the division. A good staff around him
:25:31. > :25:35.and the team gelled. Everything is happy and pulling one way. You
:25:35. > :25:40.can't, if you score goals like they do, they have got a good line at
:25:40. > :25:45.the back. They are looking like they are on the way for promotion.
:25:45. > :25:53.They are hotly chased by both Sheffield clubs.
:25:53. > :25:57.Sam is learning a lot as his first time as a manager.
:25:57. > :26:04.My first job was Limerick in the Southern Ireland league. I had to
:26:04. > :26:08.go that low down to start cutting me teeth on management, but if he
:26:08. > :26:13.as trance formed from being a player to a manager, that is a
:26:13. > :26:16.highly dedicated professional. He worked his way up. Brighty told me
:26:16. > :26:23.he started playing the Crystal Palace. He started to play for
:26:23. > :26:28.England a couple of times. He has been waiting and waiting. Of course,
:26:28. > :26:31.Charlton is a club he loves. He has the affection for it. So I would
:26:31. > :26:35.say probably more machine management style and getting the
:26:35. > :26:39.players bonded together. He has got talented players of course, but you
:26:39. > :26:45.have to get them all pulling in the same direction. At the moment it
:26:45. > :26:49.seems to be working well for him. They got rid of Sheffield, but
:26:49. > :26:55.Sheffield United are coming up. We are out of time. Before we go,
:26:55. > :27:00.more from Sam is on our Facebook page at:
:27:00. > :27:05.Or follow us on Twitter at: Hopefully you have all of that. All
:27:05. > :27:09.of the regional versions of the Late Kick Off are on iPlayer every
:27:09. > :27:13.single Tuesday morning. Live action on the BBC this week, commentary of
:27:13. > :27:18.the FA Cup between Millwall and Dagenham & Rebridge, Diamond
:27:18. > :27:22.Jubilee radio on Tuesday night. The winners at home to Southampton in
:27:22. > :27:27.Round Four. Well, that is it for this week.
:27:27. > :27:32.Well, for every moment of glory, there is a miserable one. We have a
:27:32. > :27:42.look at one of thoughs days where it has gone horrible wrong for
:27:42. > :27:49.
:27:49. > :27:55.someone, somewhere. Please, sleep My Watford nightmare, the 1987 FA
:27:55. > :28:01.Cup final. A couple of weeks before the game. Tony Coaten got injured.
:28:01. > :28:09.We thought we had Steve Sherwood in reserve. He got injured as well.
:28:09. > :28:12.COMMENTATOR: Gary Plumly, answered the call.
:28:12. > :28:18.This season, the football has taken a back seat.
:28:18. > :28:25.He has nothing to lose. After ten minutes, Clive Alan had a
:28:25. > :28:30.shot. I'm not ashamed to admit it I burst
:28:30. > :28:40.into tears. The second goal in off a wicketed
:28:40. > :28:45.deflection. Paul Alan beat him at the near post.
:28:45. > :28:50.Lashing in to make it three in half an hour.