Paul Barnes’s reign as Dulwich Hamlet men’s team’s interim manager continues to be something of a curate’s egg. The new gaffer was a high whisk appointment when he was poached from lowly Redhill, the board having cracked and dismissed long-standing boss Gavin Rose. Fans have taken to Barnsey’s sunny-side and his hard-boiled approach to game management. But while The Hamlet are clearly performing better, they keep getting beat. The mid-October game against high-frying Dartford was a case in point, with the Pink and Blues going ahead early on, before Dartford equalised with substitute Sheringham subsequently soaring like a souffle to head home the visitors’ second. There was unfortunately no huevos back for a shell-shocked Hamlet. Let us hope the new management team can hatch a plan for getting us out of the bottom oeuf of the league.
The Rabble are certainly hoping for some good results in November, including from the three home games against Weymouth (1st November), Hampton and Richmond (5th) and Ebbsfleet (26th). Matches are often sell-outs these days, so if you’re not a season ticket holder it may be best to buy your ticket online beforehand (although some walk-ups are available on matchday). Food and booze is available at all corners of Champion Hill so if the football is pants you can have yourself a cheeky pitchside Bacchanal by way of mitigation. Dogs eat for free, from dropped and discarded chips and gyros meat trodden into the terrace concrete.
Meanwhile, after a slow start to the season, Dulwich Hamlet women are beginning to shift through the gears. The day after The Dartford Disappointment (a particularly dull Robert Ludlum novel), The Hamlet goal-machine humbled visitors Aylesford 7-0 in front of a lucky crowd of 213 people and 5 dogs. The women’s team tend to play on Sunday, with their one scheduled home game in November happening on the 13th when they’ll take on the Kentish Women of Ebbsfleet.
With the days shortening, the temperature chilling, and the economy collapsing, it may be some woolly Dulwich Hamlet merchandise is in order to lift the spirits. A woolly beanie or bobble hat perhaps and a nice pink and blue scarf to go with it. If you fancy a bit of that, and more besides, why not take a look at the online Dulwich Hamlet Supporters Trust souk of a site at https://dhst.org.uk/.
Up the Omelette.