*BS*Dover Athletic face their eighth cup game of the season on Saturday, and with a 100% thus far there is every reason to be confident – especially given the side’s overall form.*BF*

With ten wins, one draw and just one defeat from their previous twelve games, and fresh off the back of an emphatic 4-0 victory away at Chelmsford City, Dover will really start to feel that they have turned the corner and are now able to turn this season into a successful one.

The club still bring involved in four competitions approaching December – the Conference South, FA Cup, FA Trophy and Kent Senior Cup – has previously been a rare achievement. Despite Saturday’s opponents being in a lower division to Dover, and with a trip to MK Dons to enjoy next weekend, the signs are that manager Chris Kinnear will take this competition as seriously as ever, and be determined to progress to the next round.

Speaking after the draw was made, Kinnear said: “There would have been a time early in my career when I would have prioritised the league, but nowadays I just want to win every game. There’s no reason why a club like Dover, with a squad as strong as ours, can’t be competing in several competitions. We want to win them all.”

Whilst lifting the FA Cup is – let’s be honest – unlikely, the general consensus is that there is no reason why success cannot come in the Trophy. The furthest the side have reached in the competition is the semi-final. In the 1997/98 season, Whites reached the last four stage but missed out on an appearance at Wembley, losing to Cheltenham Town.

Midfielder Liam Bellamy states: “The club want to win the Trophy, and I think we can win it too – the cup runs have so far been great for everyone involved with the club.”

The prize money from cup competitions have so far seen almost £50,000 added to the club’s coffers, with an additional £5,000 on offer for the winners of Saturday’s match.

Opponents East Thurrock United currently sit in 18th place in the Ryman Premier Division, having won two, drawn one and lost four of their seven matches at their Rookery Hill ground so far. They are at this stage of the competition, just one round away from their best ever performance, on the back of wins against Eastbourne Town (0-0, 6-2 in the replay), Canvey Island (2-0) and Merthyr Tydfil (4-2).

The sides met in a pre-season friendly in 2011, when goals from George Purcell and Donovan Simmonds sealed a 2-1 victory for Dover.

Their overall form in the last seven games is impressive, with five wins, one draw and one defeat – meaning that they are likely to hold their own confidence coming into the match. Top scorer for The Rocks is Leon McKenzie, with eight goals from 18 appearances. Also in John Coventry’s side is ex-Whites midfielder Simon Glover, who joined the club in September after a spell at AFC Hornchurch.

Despite an unfruitful start to the season in front of goal, Whites have now found the net 14 times in their last six games, with four of those six seeing the side win to nil.

Barry Cogan will miss the game with this being the third and final match of his suspension.

This match – along with the scheduled Kent Senior Cup quarter-final clash away at Dartford on Tuesday night – gives players a chance to impress Chris Kinnear ahead of the forthcoming FA Cup tie with MK Dons.

*BS*A Football Association arbitration panel has ruled in favour of Dover Athletic following a claim for compensation from Margate FC in relation to the signing of Tom Murphy.*BF*

Whites had originally made a gesture offer of £500 to the Thanet club after Murphy signed for Dover back in August.  The offer was turned down by Margate, who asked for FA Arbitration.  

Following Tuesdays meeting at Wembley, the FA found that the original offer was satisfactory.

*BS*Born on October 22nd 1962 in Portsmouth, David Leworthy signed for his hometown club as a youngster and still holds the record for the shortest first-team careers in Pompey’s history – just twelve minutes as a substitute, in a match against Newport County in October 1981, was the striker’s only appearance for the South Coast side.*BF*

His release from Portsmouth left Leworthy feeling naturally despondent: “I was very disappointed when I left Pompey, as I started there at 10 years of age and left at 19 – as any local player will tell you, playing for your home town team is a great honour. I still go to watch them now.”

Leworthy signed for non-league Fareham Town and enjoyed two years at the current Wessex League side. Despite dropping down into non-league football, the striker was always confident of returning to play at a higher level: “When I first signed for Fareham, it took me a while to accept that I was no longer a professional football to be honest.

“However, I had a very strong self-belief and I knew that if I got my head down and worked hard, I would get back into the professional game – but I couldn’t have ever expected my next move.”

His prolific goalscoring brought him to the attention of Tottenham Hotspur, who paid Fareham a then non-league record fee of £43,000. Leworthy made his debut for Spurs in a 2-0 home defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal in front of over 40,000 fans at White Hart Lane, and went on to make a further ten appearances for the North London side – finding the net on three occasions.

David’s first game for Tottenham understandably ranks as one of his career highlights, describing it as an experience he will “never forget”.*Q1*

Leworthy then moved to Oxford United, a fellow top-flight club, and scored eight goals in 37 appearances – most notably finding the net against Manchester United, another highlight of his: “Playing against United, and scoring, was special.”

Spells with Shrewsbury Town, Reading and Colchester United followed, with Leworthy adding 14 more goals to his collection as a professional footballer.

In 1991, ‘The Legend’ dropped down into non-league football once more. Whilst his last period out of the Football League had only lasted for two years, this decade-long spell would lead to over one hundred goals. This time, Leworthy was more upbeat about coming out of the professional game: “I didn’t have a problem dropping into non-league with the experience I had before, and Farnborough were a great club to move to.”

Moving to Farnborough Town midway through the 1991/92 season, Leworthy made 20 appearances for the Hampshire side and scored 13 goals, including all four in a 4-2 win over Macclesfield Town in March of that season.

Having played every minute of every game since joining Town, Leworthy had established himself as a potent striker and this excellent form carried on into the following season. A further 48 goals in 54 appearances, playing the full 90 minutes in all of these, established a strike rate of 0.82 goals per game, a figure most players – both professional and semi-professional – can only dream of.

Despite being the top scorer in the Conference in his second season at Farnborough, the side were relegated – I’d be interested to know if a relegated side, in any division, has ever boasted the league’s top scorer before – and Dover manager Chris Kinnear identified Leworthy as his main target in the summer that followed.

Signing for Dover for a non-league transfer record of £50,000, Kinnear had got his man. The signing made BBC’s national news, and, whilst the pressure of being signed for a high fee can sometimes weigh too heavily upon a player’s shoulders, this was certainly not the case with David: “I was flattered by what Dover paid for me at the time, but the price tag never affected me at all.

“I was still going to give my all for the club, as I always have. I think the opposition fans and defenders had a problem with the price though – I was always getting verbally abused about it, but that’s football.”

A glorious four years were spent at Crabble, and his 86 goals in just 152 starts (plus 6 as substitute) rightly saw Leworthy voted as the club’s best ever player on the excellent poll, ran on the unofficial club forum in 2011. Unofficial or not, there is surely no doubt that anyone who was privileged enough to see, or hear of, Leworthy’s ability during his spell at the club would class him as our best ever.

Speaking of his award, Leworthy said: “Winning the club’s best ever player award was a great honour, there have been so many quality players who have played for Dover over the years – so to win it was amazing.*Lpic1*

“I was very excited when I signed for Dover, as they had high hopes to challenge for promotion to the Football League, which I wanted to be a part of – especially with the amount of money the club spent on the ground to bring it up to the grading it needed. The club had amazing support too, and I made many friends there during my spell at the club.”

On a personal level, I feel blessed to have seen David play for my club and can’t help but wonder who, possibly, could ever take his mantle at the top. Yes, Adam Birchall was a fantastic player and his goals helped us to a record-breaking FA Cup run, and if he had stayed at the club instead of moving onto Gillingham to perhaps he could have rivalled Leworthy – but David is a deserved number one.

His record at Farnborough meant that rival players in the league knew of his talent and would do their utmost to mark him out of a game, but his quality was just too much.

In January 1997, he was signed by Rushden & Diamonds for £15,000 and scored the goal that kept the club in the Conference. It’s fair to say there was significant disappointment upon his departure, and when I asked David about the reasons for him leaving, he remained respectfully tight-lipped: “There is a reason why I left the club, but being the gentleman I am I promised a certain person I would never reveal it, and I will keep my word. That said, it was a very sad time for me when I left – I could see myself being there for a very long time.”

His time at the Northants club was short-lived, however, and the striker moved to Kingstonian four months later for a club record fee of £18,000. Some of his most successful and high-profile days were spent at Kingsmeadow, including two consecutive FA Trophy-winning appearances at Wembley Stadium in 1999 and 2000.

Subsequent managerial exploits at Havant & Waterlooville, Banstead Athletic and Croydon followed, but to no significant fruition – his best days were certainly spent on the field instead of in the dugout, and his 457 goals in 830 games – including reserve team matches for various clubs – ensures that Leworthy is one of the most prolific goalscorers in non-league football in the past two decades.

Speaking of his managerial days, Leworthy says: “The transition from player to manager was quite difficult, as you were now making decisions on players who, the week before, you were playing with. I did enjoy it, but I enjoyed the coaching more. At the moment, I have no plans to get involved in football again as I very much enjoy watching my old clubs – including Dover – and mixing with the fans on the terraces again.”

The striker’s career honours include being named at Tottenham Hotspur’s Young Player of the Year in the 1984/85 season, the afore-mentioned two FA Trophy winners’ medals, a Conference Charity Shield winners’ medal, a Ryman Premier League winners’ medal, the Golden Boot award in the Conference in 1993, selection in the Conference team of the year in that same year, and four England non-league team caps.*Lpic2*

Given the club’s forthcoming FA Cup tie against Milton Keynes Dons, I thought it wise to ask Leworthy about his own experiences with Dover in the competition: “We always seemed to get knocked out of the Cup in the fourth qualifying round, so to reach the second round proper is brilliant. For the club it helps financially, and for the players it gives them a chance to play at a big stadium and a decent crowd, and to see how they do against players who they may have been, or may become, one day.

“For the fans, it’s the excitement of the FA Cup and the chance to pull off an upset – and let’s not forget, a chance to meet one of the big boys in the next round.”

“For everyone involved, it’s a great day for all concerned – so enjoy the occasion, especially as there could be another round coming, and who knows what that could bring. For the players, don’t have any regrets – and win!

“My time in football was an amazing experience, both professionally and semi-professionally, and Dover will always hold a special place in my heart for my time spent there. It was an honour to play for the club and I will always remember my four goals against Woking as one of my favourite highlights.

“Thank you to everyone at the club who made my time there a special one – of this, I will always be very grateful. All the best.”

*BS*What are your favourite memories of David’s time at Dover Athletic? Use the ‘User Comments’ section below.*BF*

*BS*Born on October 22nd 1962 in Portsmouth, David Leworthy signed for his hometown club as a youngster and still holds the record for the shortest first-team careers in Pompey’s history – just twelve minutes as a substitute, in a match against Newport County in October 1981, was the striker’s only appearance for the South Coast side.*BF*

His release from Portsmouth left Leworthy feeling naturally despondent: “I was very disappointed when I left Pompey, as I started there at 10 years of age and left at 19 – as any local player will tell you, playing for your home town team is a great honour. I still go to watch them now.”

Leworthy signed for non-league Fareham Town and enjoyed two years at the current Wessex League side. Despite dropping down into non-league football, the striker was always confident of returning to play at a higher level: “When I first signed for Fareham, it took me a while to accept that I was no longer a professional football to be honest.

“However, I had a very strong self-belief and I knew that if I got my head down and worked hard, I would get back into the professional game – but I couldn’t have ever expected my next move.”

His prolific goalscoring brought him to the attention of Tottenham Hotspur, who paid Fareham a then non-league record fee of £43,000. Leworthy made his debut for Spurs in a 2-0 home defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal in front of over 40,000 fans at White Hart Lane, and went on to make a further ten appearances for the North London side – finding the net on three occasions.

David’s first game for Tottenham understandably ranks as one of his career highlights, describing it as an experience he will “never forget”.*Q1*

Leworthy then moved to Oxford United, a fellow top-flight club, and scored eight goals in 37 appearances – most notably finding the net against Manchester United, another highlight of his: “Playing against United, and scoring, was special.”

Spells with Shrewsbury Town, Reading and Colchester United followed, with Leworthy adding 14 more goals to his collection as a professional footballer.

In 1991, ‘The Legend’ dropped down into non-league football once more. Whilst his last period out of the Football League had only lasted for two years, this decade-long spell would lead to over one hundred goals. This time, Leworthy was more upbeat about coming out of the professional game: “I didn’t have a problem dropping into non-league with the experience I had before, and Farnborough were a great club to move to.”

Moving to Farnborough Town midway through the 1991/92 season, Leworthy made 20 appearances for the Hampshire side and scored 13 goals, including all four in a 4-2 win over Macclesfield Town in March of that season.

Having played every minute of every game since joining Town, Leworthy had established himself as a potent striker and this excellent form carried on into the following season. A further 48 goals in 54 appearances, playing the full 90 minutes in all of these, established a strike rate of 0.82 goals per game, a figure most players – both professional and semi-professional – can only dream of.

Despite being the top scorer in the Conference in his second season at Farnborough, the side were relegated – I’d be interested to know if a relegated side, in any division, has ever boasted the league’s top scorer before – and Dover manager Chris Kinnear identified Leworthy as his main target in the summer that followed.

Signing for Dover for a non-league transfer record of £50,000, Kinnear had got his man. The signing made BBC’s national news, and, whilst the pressure of being signed for a high fee can sometimes weigh too heavily upon a player’s shoulders, this was certainly not the case with David: “I was flattered by what Dover paid for me at the time, but the price tag never affected me at all.

“I was still going to give my all for the club, as I always have. I think the opposition fans and defenders had a problem with the price though – I was always getting verbally abused about it, but that’s football.”

A glorious four years were spent at Crabble, and his 86 goals in just 152 starts (plus 6 as substitute) rightly saw Leworthy voted as the club’s best ever player on the excellent poll, ran on the unofficial club forum in 2011. Unofficial or not, there is surely no doubt that anyone who was privileged enough to see, or hear of, Leworthy’s ability during his spell at the club would class him as our best ever.

Speaking of his award, Leworthy said: “Winning the club’s best ever player award was a great honour, there have been so many quality players who have played for Dover over the years – so to win it was amazing.*Lpic1*

“I was very excited when I signed for Dover, as they had high hopes to challenge for promotion to the Football League, which I wanted to be a part of – especially with the amount of money the club spent on the ground to bring it up to the grading it needed. The club had amazing support too, and I made many friends there during my spell at the club.”

On a personal level, I feel blessed to have seen David play for my club and can’t help but wonder who, possibly, could ever take his mantle at the top. Yes, Adam Birchall was a fantastic player and his goals helped us to a record-breaking FA Cup run, and if he had stayed at the club instead of moving onto Gillingham to perhaps he could have rivalled Leworthy – but David is a deserved number one.

His record at Farnborough meant that rival players in the league knew of his talent and would do their utmost to mark him out of a game, but his quality was just too much.

In January 1997, he was signed by Rushden & Diamonds for £15,000 and scored the goal that kept the club in the Conference. It’s fair to say there was significant disappointment upon his departure, and when I asked David about the reasons for him leaving, he remained respectfully tight-lipped: “There is a reason why I left the club, but being the gentleman I am I promised a certain person I would never reveal it, and I will keep my word. That said, it was a very sad time for me when I left – I could see myself being there for a very long time.”

His time at the Northants club was short-lived, however, and the striker moved to Kingstonian four months later for a club record fee of £18,000. Some of his most successful and high-profile days were spent at Kingsmeadow, including two consecutive FA Trophy-winning appearances at Wembley Stadium in 1999 and 2000.

Subsequent managerial exploits at Havant & Waterlooville, Banstead Athletic and Croydon followed, but to no significant fruition – his best days were certainly spent on the field instead of in the dugout, and his 457 goals in 830 games – including reserve team matches for various clubs – ensures that Leworthy is one of the most prolific goalscorers in non-league football in the past two decades.

Speaking of his managerial days, Leworthy says: “The transition from player to manager was quite difficult, as you were now making decisions on players who, the week before, you were playing with. I did enjoy it, but I enjoyed the coaching more. At the moment, I have no plans to get involved in football again as I very much enjoy watching my old clubs – including Dover – and mixing with the fans on the terraces again.”

The striker’s career honours include being named at Tottenham Hotspur’s Young Player of the Year in the 1984/85 season, the afore-mentioned two FA Trophy winners’ medals, a Conference Charity Shield winners’ medal, a Ryman Premier League winners’ medal, the Golden Boot award in the Conference in 1993, selection in the Conference team of the year in that same year, and four England non-league team caps.*Lpic2*

Given the club’s forthcoming FA Cup tie against Milton Keynes Dons, I thought it wise to ask Leworthy about his own experiences with Dover in the competition: “We always seemed to get knocked out of the Cup in the fourth qualifying round, so to reach the second round proper is brilliant. For the club it helps financially, and for the players it gives them a chance to play at a big stadium and a decent crowd, and to see how they do against players who they may have been, or may become, one day.

“For the fans, it’s the excitement of the FA Cup and the chance to pull off an upset – and let’s not forget, a chance to meet one of the big boys in the next round.”

“For everyone involved, it’s a great day for all concerned – so enjoy the occasion, especially as there could be another round coming, and who knows what that could bring. For the players, don’t have any regrets – and win!

“My time in football was an amazing experience, both professionally and semi-professionally, and Dover will always hold a special place in my heart for my time spent there. It was an honour to play for the club and I will always remember my four goals against Woking as one of my favourite highlights.

“Thank you to everyone at the club who made my time there a special one – of this, I will always be very grateful. All the best.”

*BS*What are your favourite memories of David’s time at Dover Athletic? Use the ‘User Comments’ section below.*BF*

Midfielder Liam Bellamy spoke to Doverathletic.com after his strike started a four-goal blitz as ten-man Whites took apart a hapless Chelmsford at the Melbourne Stadium on Saturday.

Bellamy opened the scoring just before half time, 15 minutes after on-loan midfielder Tom Sawyer had received his marching orders for a rash tackle, before a Tom Murphy second half brace and a late Michael Bakare penalty completed the rout.

‘We were excellent’ said the player, signed from Ebbsfleet in the summer. ‘We actually played better with 10 men than we did with 11!’ He also gave special praise to man of the match Murphy ‘He really can run and is always in fifth gear – His finishing was brilliant!’

Any suggestions that it was Chelmsford defender Goulding with the final touch to give Dover the lead were quickly quashed by Liam. ‘There was a bit of a fumble, but I just got there in the end. It was definitely my goal and I’m not just saying it!’

It appears that a rallying cry at half time from in-form Nathan Elder inspired the team to a second half annihilation of their opponents. ‘I was really sceptical at half time, but Nathan got us all together and reminded us of the quality we all have and that we were all in this together.’*Lpic1*

He added ‘Chelmsford may not be doing well at the moment, but I know some of them and they are good players. We really showed there is not much weakness in this team and you only have to look at the players not even making the bench to see the quality we have!’

Though whites are sitting in 12th currently, Bellamy is still confident of promotion, especially as they are only four points from fourth place in the table. ‘It’s a very tight league and there is not much in it at the moment. A couple more wins will really boost us.’

An injury in pre season has meant the talented midfielder has endured a frustrating start to his Dover career, but with more pitch time under his belt, having started 3 of the last 4 matches, he admitted to being a much happier camper. ‘Hopefully I can carry on playing as I am fully recovered from my injury now. I just want to show I am worth my spot on the pitch.’*Q1*

Athletic are back in cup action again with a Trophy trip to East Thurrock of the Ryman Premier as look they continue their 100% cup win rate so far this season. ‘We will have to be on our game on Saturday’ said Liam. ‘The club want to win the trophy and I think we can win it too – the cup runs so far have been great for everyone involved with the club!.’

Midfielder Liam Bellamy spoke to Doverathletic.com after his strike started a four-goal blitz as ten-man Whites took apart a hapless Chelmsford at the Melbourne Stadium on Saturday.

Bellamy opened the scoring just before half time, 15 minutes after on-loan midfielder Tom Sawyer had received his marching orders for a rash tackle, before a Tom Murphy second half brace and a late Michael Bakare penalty completed the rout.

‘We were excellent’ said the player, signed from Ebbsfleet in the summer. ‘We actually played better with 10 men than we did with 11!’ He also gave special praise to man of the match Murphy ‘He really can run and is always in fifth gear – His finishing was brilliant!’

Any suggestions that it was Chelmsford defender Goulding with the final touch to give Dover the lead were quickly quashed by Liam. ‘There was a bit of a fumble, but I just got there in the end. It was definitely my goal and I’m not just saying it!’

It appears that a rallying cry at half time from in-form Nathan Elder inspired the team to a second half annihilation of their opponents. ‘I was really sceptical at half time, but Nathan got us all together and reminded us of the quality we all have and that we were all in this together.’*Lpic1*

He added ‘Chelmsford may not be doing well at the moment, but I know some of them and they are good players. We really showed there is not much weakness in this team and you only have to look at the players not even making the bench to see the quality we have!’

Though whites are sitting in 12th currently, Bellamy is still confident of promotion, especially as they are only four points from fourth place in the table. ‘It’s a very tight league and there is not much in it at the moment. A couple more wins will really boost us.’

An injury in pre season has meant the talented midfielder has endured a frustrating start to his Dover career, but with more pitch time under his belt, having started 3 of the last 4 matches, he admitted to being a much happier camper. ‘Hopefully I can carry on playing as I am fully recovered from my injury now. I just want to show I am worth my spot on the pitch.’*Q1*

Athletic are back in cup action again with a Trophy trip to East Thurrock of the Ryman Premier as look they continue their 100% cup win rate so far this season. ‘We will have to be on our game on Saturday’ said Liam. ‘The club want to win the trophy and I think we can win it too – the cup runs so far have been great for everyone involved with the club!.’

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*BS*Dover Athletic are pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Lee Sawyer on loan from Woking until January 1st. The 24-year-old is available for selection for Saturday’s FA Cup clash.*BF*

Chris Kinnear has added to his midfield options by capturing highly-rated midfielder Lee Sawyer on loan from Woking until January 1st. Sawyer, who started his career at Chelsea, has made ten appearances for the Skrill Premier side this season.

With loan experience at Southend United, Coventry City and Wycombe Wanderers, Sawyer adds Football League experience to the side, making over 60 professional appearances.

Sawyer made his international debut for the England under-16 side in November 2004, and has also played for the under-18 and under-19 sides – scoring a goal for both teams. He has twice previously played against Dover Athletic – in Woking’s 2-2 draw at Crabble in the 2010/11 season, and in a pre-season friendly against the Surrey side at the start of this campaign.