*BS*SHAUN WELFORD has returned to Dover Athletic – and boss Andy Hessenthaler has named him in the squad to face Met Police at Crabble.

*BF*The striker has rejoined the club after three years at Ramsgate, where he has top scored every season.

Reserve-team defender Laurence Ball goes in the opposite direction on-loan until next summer.

Hess said: “I’ve only seen Shaun play once – but have spoken to a lot of people about him, and everything I hear is positive.

“He gives us something different up front and he has top-scored at Ramsgate for the past few seasons – and they’re playing a level up.

“With the chances we’re creating, hopefully it will work out perfectly with Shaun putting them away for us because, without doubt, that’s an area we’ve been struggling with.

“Tim Dixon has been watching him for us, as he’s been going to lots of games on scouting missions, and Clokey is big mates with Shuan.

“I’ve been told that Shaun will run through a brickwall for the team’s cause and is not afraid to put his head in where it might hurt.

“That’s exactly the type of character we need at this club and I’m hoping this is going to work well for everyone.

“Shaun and I had a long chat this morning and he’s thrilled to be coming back to the club.

“I’m certainly quite excited by the prospect of him bagging the goals. I don’t want to put pressure on the lad but one person told me, ‘he’ll win the league for you’.

“But I am not expecting him to ‘win the league for us’ as that will be a collective effort from the team across the park – and our aim is to continue creating chances for the strikers to put away.

“Shaun won’t start against Met Police but he will definitely be involved. It’s going to be a very hard match for us tonight. We’ve had them watched a few times now and they’re a very tough side.

“I’m well aware we’ve lost at home to them the last two seasons. Hopefully, we can reverse that tonight.”

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*BS*SHAUN WELFORD has returned to Dover Athletic – and boss Andy Hessenthaler has named him in the squad to face Met Police at Crabble.

*BF*The striker has rejoined the club after three years at Ramsgate, where he has top scored every season.

Reserve-team defender Laurence Ball goes in the opposite direction on-loan until next summer.

Hess said: “I’ve only seen Shaun play once – but have spoken to a lot of people about him, and everything I hear is positive.

“He gives us something different up front and he has top-scored at Ramsgate for the past few seasons – and they’re playing a level up.

“With the chances we’re creating, hopefully it will work out perfectly with Shaun putting them away for us because, without doubt, that’s an area we’ve been struggling with.

“Tim Dixon has been watching him for us, as he’s been going to lots of games on scouting missions, and Clokey is big mates with Shuan.

“I’ve been told that Shaun will run through a brickwall for the team’s cause and is not afraid to put his head in where it might hurt.

“That’s exactly the type of character we need at this club and I’m hoping this is going to work well for everyone.

“Shaun and I had a long chat this morning and he’s thrilled to be coming back to the club.

“I’m certainly quite excited by the prospect of him bagging the goals. I don’t want to put pressure on the lad but one person told me, ‘he’ll win the league for you’.

“But I am not expecting him to ‘win the league for us’ as that will be a collective effort from the team across the park – and our aim is to continue creating chances for the strikers to put away.

“Shaun won’t start against Met Police but he will definitely be involved. It’s going to be a very hard match for us tonight. We’ve had them watched a few times now and they’re a very tough side.

“I’m well aware we’ve lost at home to them the last two seasons. Hopefully, we can reverse that tonight.”

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*BS*TWO LEAGUE GAMES in three days has come round again for Andy Hessenthaler’s team, who are aiming for six points out of six to keep up with the manager’s points target for October.*BF*

Hessenthaler will be keen to avoid the same errors made against Chatham when Met Police come to SeaFrance Crabble on Monday evening, in what promises to be another tough home game considering Dover are yet to take a point off the Met at Crabble in a league game.

Before then, however, is an away fixture at Burgess Hill, where Hessenthaler and Matt Carruthers scored late goals in a 2-0 win in the FA Cup earlier this season. Dover hold a 100% record in their three matches away to the Sussex club but have twice left it late to leave with the victory. In 2006 Lee Spiller nicked the three points with a last-minute winner in a tight game. Only in April 2007 have Whites had a comfortable afternoon against the Hillians.

*BS*Team News*BF*
Fairly strong for Hess at present. Frannie Collin is expected to return to the starting line-up, having missed the FA Trophy win at Maldon with a tight hamstring. He is likely to replace Byron Walker in attack. Centre back Matt Bourne is a doubt though with a continuing groin niggle but fellow defender Liam Quinn could be back in the squad having missed out on a chance to play at Maldon due to a slight injury.

Whites front three of Collin, Jimmy Dryden and Lee Browning will be keen to see the net ripple after a frustrating few games of near misses. Fans will hope to see them back in the goals and their confidence given a boost in a crucial 72 hours for the team’s season.

*BS*BURGESS HILL (AWAY) – SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER*BF*
*Lpic1*
*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Two fairly comfortable wins for Athletic against a Hillians side suffering from a failure to defend set pieces. Craig Cloke and Matt Bourne capitalised on this frailty at Crabble in a 2-0 win indicative of Clive Walker’s reign.

Back in April Dover continued their good form and free-scoring at Leylands Park in a 4-1 victory, with Jimmy Dryden scoring a wonderful brace of left-footed volleys.

*BS*Key Players*BF*
Goalkeeper Chris Winterton was in good form for the Hillians when Whites beat them in the FA Cup earlier this season, showing good handling skills and composure for a 19 year old. Powerful defender Tom Edmonds also left an impression that day.

Burgess Hill’s most dangerous player is undoubtedly Shaheen Sadough, who started his career at Crawley and has wandered round six or seven Sussex sides in the past five years. Sadough has hit the net 11 times so far this season, including a hat-trick against struggling Molesey in August. He has scored three times in the past two league matches, including one at Met Police in a 2-1 loss.

*BS*Early Club History*BF*
Burgess Hill Town Football Club was founded in 1882 and was a founder member of the Sussex County Football Association. In the Club’s formative years it was one of the founder members of the Mid-Sussex Football League, and won the League Championship in it’s inaugural season.

*BS*METROPOLITAN POLICE (HOME) – MONDAY 29 OCTOBER*BF*

*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Whites endured two awful matches against the Met last season, losing 1-0 at Crabble and 2-0 at Imber Court. The Imber Court game will perhaps be one of the hardest to erase from the memory of Dover’s travelling fans, on an all-round disaster of a day that perhaps summed up why the club failed to gain promotion two years on the spin.

Whites are yet to beat Met Police at Crabble in the Ryman League, having been thumped 3-0 in the 05/06 season.
*Ppic1*
*BS*Key Players*BF*
There really is one main player for Met Police this season and that is Craig Carley. Signed from Walton Casuals in the summer, Carley has been one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the past three years of Ryman League football.

Carley’s best performance against Dover was last December when he destroyed Whites’ midfield and defence in the first 20 minutes, a virtuoso display of dribbling skills and link-up play in a 2-0 victory that left the Crabble faithful stunned.

Carley has scored 11 times so far this season, including two penalties. Three of those 11 goals were scored in a 5-0 league cup romp against Harrow. He also hit the back of the net twice in a 3-2 win at his former club.

Up front alongside Carley is Dave Stevens, a true non-league character. Another player with plenty of flair and creativity, Stevens is on scoring form at present. Not the most athletic player but Stevens is a potential match-winner and an entertainer to boot.

*BS*Early Club History*BF*
On 6th July 1829, Sir Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police, the first organised Police Force in the world. Ninety years later, in 1919 the Metropolitan Police Football Club was formed. They played friendly matches until joining the Spartan League in 1928 and, apart from the war years (1939-45), remained in that competition until 1960.

A major step forward was made when the club were accepted into the Southern League where they played until 1977, when the club was one of the founder members of Division Two of the Isthmian League.

NULL

*BS*TWO LEAGUE GAMES in three days has come round again for Andy Hessenthaler’s team, who are aiming for six points out of six to keep up with the manager’s points target for October.*BF*

Hessenthaler will be keen to avoid the same errors made against Chatham when Met Police come to SeaFrance Crabble on Monday evening, in what promises to be another tough home game considering Dover are yet to take a point off the Met at Crabble in a league game.

Before then, however, is an away fixture at Burgess Hill, where Hessenthaler and Matt Carruthers scored late goals in a 2-0 win in the FA Cup earlier this season. Dover hold a 100% record in their three matches away to the Sussex club but have twice left it late to leave with the victory. In 2006 Lee Spiller nicked the three points with a last-minute winner in a tight game. Only in April 2007 have Whites had a comfortable afternoon against the Hillians.

*BS*Team News*BF*
Fairly strong for Hess at present. Frannie Collin is expected to return to the starting line-up, having missed the FA Trophy win at Maldon with a tight hamstring. He is likely to replace Byron Walker in attack. Centre back Matt Bourne is a doubt though with a continuing groin niggle but fellow defender Liam Quinn could be back in the squad having missed out on a chance to play at Maldon due to a slight injury.

Whites front three of Collin, Jimmy Dryden and Lee Browning will be keen to see the net ripple after a frustrating few games of near misses. Fans will hope to see them back in the goals and their confidence given a boost in a crucial 72 hours for the team’s season.

*BS*BURGESS HILL (AWAY) – SATURDAY 27 OCTOBER*BF*
*Lpic1*
*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Two fairly comfortable wins for Athletic against a Hillians side suffering from a failure to defend set pieces. Craig Cloke and Matt Bourne capitalised on this frailty at Crabble in a 2-0 win indicative of Clive Walker’s reign.

Back in April Dover continued their good form and free-scoring at Leylands Park in a 4-1 victory, with Jimmy Dryden scoring a wonderful brace of left-footed volleys.

*BS*Key Players*BF*
Goalkeeper Chris Winterton was in good form for the Hillians when Whites beat them in the FA Cup earlier this season, showing good handling skills and composure for a 19 year old. Powerful defender Tom Edmonds also left an impression that day.

Burgess Hill’s most dangerous player is undoubtedly Shaheen Sadough, who started his career at Crawley and has wandered round six or seven Sussex sides in the past five years. Sadough has hit the net 11 times so far this season, including a hat-trick against struggling Molesey in August. He has scored three times in the past two league matches, including one at Met Police in a 2-1 loss.

*BS*Early Club History*BF*
Burgess Hill Town Football Club was founded in 1882 and was a founder member of the Sussex County Football Association. In the Club’s formative years it was one of the founder members of the Mid-Sussex Football League, and won the League Championship in it’s inaugural season.

*BS*METROPOLITAN POLICE (HOME) – MONDAY 29 OCTOBER*BF*

*BS*2006-07 meetings*BF*
Whites endured two awful matches against the Met last season, losing 1-0 at Crabble and 2-0 at Imber Court. The Imber Court game will perhaps be one of the hardest to erase from the memory of Dover’s travelling fans, on an all-round disaster of a day that perhaps summed up why the club failed to gain promotion two years on the spin.

Whites are yet to beat Met Police at Crabble in the Ryman League, having been thumped 3-0 in the 05/06 season.
*Ppic1*
*BS*Key Players*BF*
There really is one main player for Met Police this season and that is Craig Carley. Signed from Walton Casuals in the summer, Carley has been one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the past three years of Ryman League football.

Carley’s best performance against Dover was last December when he destroyed Whites’ midfield and defence in the first 20 minutes, a virtuoso display of dribbling skills and link-up play in a 2-0 victory that left the Crabble faithful stunned.

Carley has scored 11 times so far this season, including two penalties. Three of those 11 goals were scored in a 5-0 league cup romp against Harrow. He also hit the back of the net twice in a 3-2 win at his former club.

Up front alongside Carley is Dave Stevens, a true non-league character. Another player with plenty of flair and creativity, Stevens is on scoring form at present. Not the most athletic player but Stevens is a potential match-winner and an entertainer to boot.

*BS*Early Club History*BF*
On 6th July 1829, Sir Robert Peel formed the Metropolitan Police, the first organised Police Force in the world. Ninety years later, in 1919 the Metropolitan Police Football Club was formed. They played friendly matches until joining the Spartan League in 1928 and, apart from the war years (1939-45), remained in that competition until 1960.

A major step forward was made when the club were accepted into the Southern League where they played until 1977, when the club was one of the founder members of Division Two of the Isthmian League.

*BS*ALAN POUTON has revealed for the first time that he can see light at the end of the tunnel regarding his injury nightmare.

*BF*The Geordie midfield ace broke his collarbone in two places after a collision with team-mate Liam Quinn during the 1-0 win against Leatherhead in August.

But Whites player-boss Andy Hessenthaler reported that Pouts returned to training last Thursday evening – to the applause of his team-mates.

Pouton, 30, said: “I can now see a glimmer of light and am jogging again. It’s all light work at the moment but I was so happy to get back out there with the lads, even though I’m only jogging at the moment.

“It’s been a frustrating couple of months but the lads have done a great job in the games I’ve been missing – and hopefully by the time I return we’ll still be right up in the mix.”

The former Grimsby, York and Gillingham star was an instant hit with the Dover faithful after signing for the club during the close season.

His superb range of passing and dominating, skillful performances at the centre of the park were proving to be worth the admission fee alone.

Hess and his team, along with the entire fanbase, are eagerly anticipating his return to action – but Pouts is still in the dark as to when exactly that will be.

He said: “I’m due to have an X-ray on December 11 but trying to get a second opinion on the injury. So I’m hoping to see a shoulder specialist and see if we can bring things forward.

“I can jog now and have slowly been getting better. My arm was in a sling for three weeks and I was in a great deal of pain. I could hardly sleep at night – but, thankfully, that has subsided now.

“It was great the first time I was able to visit the lads again in the changing rooms and now I’m back on the training pitch. That’s such a big relief. Now I just want to get back playing football – and help the lads win promotion out of this division.”

*Q1*Pouton, who has vast experience at Championship and League One level, is without doubt one of the best midfield players outside the Football League.

And it was something of a coup for Dover Athletic to obtain his services, after he retired from professional football due to a string of injury problems.

Hess, who signed him from Grimsby when he was manager of then Championship club Gillingham three years ago, clearly played a big part in persuading him to join his Crabble revolution.

Pouton said: “Hess had a good look at the club and was impressed with the set-up. He saw it as one with a lot of potential and, no disrespect intended, Hess would not have taken a managerial job at any other club at this level, or indeed many levels up.

“He can see that the club’s average gate is the envy of nearly all the clubs outside the Blue Square Premier and believes he can take Dover Athletic back to where they were 10 years ago – at the pinnacle of the non-league game.

“I was at a crossroads football-wise because I didn’t know what I was going to do after retiring from pro football. Hessie got me down to Dover, told me his plans and how he wanted to play.

“It fitted in perfectly with me because he wants to play total football. That’s how I like the game, to be played to feet and attack-minded. And the manager has kept to his word because that is the way the team has played.

“Of course, it goes without saying the team cannot always play that way, especially away from home where the pitches won’t allow it.”

Pouton is not surprised Hess has started well in his return to non-league football. Despite the fact that he is now managing part-time players, Hess’s approach to games is every bit as professional as when he used to prepare his Gillingham side for tussles against the likes of West Ham and Sunderland in the Championship.

*Ppic1*He said: “Of course, Andy has been out of the non-league game for a while and needed to get to know the scene again. But he manages Dover in the same way he successfully managed Gillingham.

“For him, dropping down to Ryman One wasn’t a problem, because going away to play against smaller clubs doesn’t faze him. He knows how to grind results out away from home and Hess, and the way he likes his teams to play, can mix it against anyone.

“Hess hasn’t got a squad he is 100 per cent happy with, of course. I’m sure there are some other players he’d love to get down to Crabble but he knows how to make do.

“I used to enjoy my tussles with Hess as a player. He’s so committed and, like myself, loves football. I am certain he is going to do a superb job with Dover Athletic. The team is in very safe hands.”