Welcome to Grays then after their long journey up to Brunton Park, and no doubt the longest trip they have made in their history for a cup game, today being the first time the clubs have ever faced each other. The closest the sides ever came coming as Grays were promoted into the Nationwide Conference from the Conference South in the same season that Carlisle went back up into the Football League after defeating Stevenage 1-0 in the play-off final. Grays Athletic came around when the 1890-founded Grays Juniors renamed themselves as Grays Athletic in 1906, that coming after another club in the area, in Grays United, had disbanded in 1905. Juniors, having played at "The Hoppit" in Thurrock as well as "The Lawn", then moving grounds to United's old home of the Recreation Ground, where the club, as Grays Athletic, remains today. Life in the Athenian League, the Corinthian League and then the Isthmian League followed before they became founder members of the Conference South in the 2004-05 season. The club, having gone full-time the year before under the ownership of Mick Woodward, doing the double in that campaign as they won the Conference South title and also the FA Trophy. Their first season at Nationwide Conference level found them still on the rise, finishing third in the table and losing out in the play-offs to the now defunct Halifax Town 5-4 on aggregate. Turbulent times have taken over since then though with the club finishing just one point above the relegation zone in 2006-07, although they did end up in the mid-table reaches last season with a healthy 70 points. Woodward, in Michael Knighton style, has taken over as manager of the club twice and it is off the field where there has been a lot happening recently. Four weeks ago, with the Essex club down the wrong end of the Blue Square Premier table, the board announced that the clubs three major sponsors had been forced to withdraw their financial support for the club and that therefore some drastic economic cuts would have to be made. One of the impacts of that, for a full-time club on average crowds of 654, being that salaries paid to contract/non contract players and staff would have to be reduced, thus meaning players salaries being cut by 50%. The club would however seek to repay the deficit at times when, and if, funds become available. Wayne Burnett, moving from Conference South side Fisher Athletic, took over as the manager of the club in September 2008 and his arrival, added to the financial situation at the New Recreation Ground has seen a raft of players come in and out of a seemingly constantly revolving door. The squad now already having four non-contract former Fisher players within it at the time of writing, in Damien Batt, Kenny Beaney, Luke Hickie and Gavin Dayes. Names that United fans may recognise are, ex-Rushden defender Rob Gier, former Barnet goalkeeper Ross Flitney, ex-Yeovil winger Ishmael Welsh, who scored against Carlisle while with the Glovers, and former Ipswich veteran Fabian Wilnis. One player may be best remembered though, that being Jamie Slabber who, along with former Sutton striker Scott Forrester, signed non-contract forms with the Essex club ten days ago. Slabber, featuring for Aldershot at the time, the player who got on the end of a Nick Crittenden cross to head home past Matty Glennon in injury time. So taking the tie to extra-time and then THAT penalty shoot-out, on that memorable Nationwide Conference play-off second leg night at home to the Shots in early May 2005. The 23-year old, who started his career as a trainee at Spurs, having become a non-league nomad around the south of England in recent times. Stuart Elliott is the only player in the Grays squad to have played for United, the London-born defender having played seven matches on a non-contract basis under the stewardship of Roddy Collins at the start of the 2001-02 season. The only other possible link in the match, with Ben Alnwick now cleared by his parent club to play for Carlisle in the FA Cup, seeing two on-loan Tottenham goalkeepers facing each other, with David Button currently at Grays for the season from the North London club. This campaign, thanks mostly to the turmoil off the field leading to a weakened squad on the field Grays are currently second bottom in the Blue Square Premier with 12 points from 17 games. All those points have been gained at the New Recreation Ground, with the away record of the Essex club reading played nine, lost nine, scored three, conceded sixteen. A 2-0 home win over AFC Totton in the Fourth Qualifying Round, thanks to goals from Stuart Elliott and a Barry Cogan penalty, seeing Grays here today. |