 Geoff Pay's father (on the right) pictured at Hartsdown Park in October 1936 |
What is your name ?
Geoffrey Pay.
What is your date and place of birth ?
18th June 1952, Ramsgate.
Where do you live ?
Sutton at Hone, near Dartford in West Kent.
What was the first Margate / Thanet match you ever saw and what can you remember about it ?
Exeter City Reserves November 1959 - I was 7 years old. 1-0 to Margate, goal by Kearns but I cannot remember it because I was terrified of losing my uncle. I did not move off the spot, completely overcome by the noise and pipe smoke. Terrified when I got to the turnstyle of getting stuck in it then losing my uncle. Mum knitted me a hat with red on one side and blue on the other because my team at the time was Exeter ! All our holidays were in Devon see. I had to turn the hat around at half time, think I was quite sorry when the Gate won dare I say ! But when I saw the Brentford game in the FA Cup a few years later I was hooked on the Gate.
What was the first away game you went to ?
Ashford Town in the FA Cup in 1966. Had a run-in with a bell as featured in the old Margate FC fanzine 'On The Wagon'. We lost 1-0 but Phil Amato 'scored' a great 'goal' but unfortunately it landed in a swamp and the wind and slope drifted the ball back into the goalmouth and the Ashford goalie then saved it from drowning !
Who is your all-time favourite Margate / Thanet player and why ?
It has to be Phil Amato, he was a genius - scoring fantastic goals, wonderful dribbling and great passing. I have to say Brian Gregory came close but I saw very little of him and the side he was in was poor really.
Who would be in your all-time favourite Margate / Thanet X1 ?
1 Brian Hughes (terrific shot-stopper and penalty-saver)
2 Greg Oates
3 Eliot Martin
4 Sam Sodje
5 Bob Harrop (has to be there)
6 Tommy Marshall
7 Gordon Burden
8 Phil Handford (terrific player in mostly crap sides)
9 Dennis Randall
10 Brian Gregory
11 Phil 'The Demi-God' Amato
Of all the Margate / Thanet matches you've seen which is your favourite and why ?
Well, that has to be Margate 6 Ramsgate 4. Pouring rain, three days after the Ashford debacle. 4-1 down at the break then kicked to the Coffin end - it became Ramsgate's coffin. Huddart powerless to stop us scoring 5 in the second half and the crowd noise was so bad my ears were ringing at midnight. Unable to get home by car so caught the train but the station approach was flooded - a train finally left at 11.00 pm. I wish that one was on tape because I'd love to hear the songs and the fanatical support - no foul songs then. Suppose Swansea comes a close second. By the way, after the Rams game people were stuffing soggy pound notes down the Gate players' socks - there was a pitch invasion see.
What's the best goal you've ever seen a Margate / Thanet player score ?
I liked Eliot Martin's one against Havant a few years ago and Jay Saunders at Forest Green too.
What one game in the club's history do you wish you'd seen and why ?
Notts County in the FA Cup in 1961 - I went up to St.Peters rec. in the afternoon and heard the roar of Gate's goal up there, all of two miles away. The heartbreak of the equaliser must have been very sad.
What are the top three highlights of your time supporting Margate / Thanet ?
1. The Championship game against Newport County in 2001.
2. The 6-4 against Ramsgate.
3. Beating Swansea City in 1972.
4. (Sorry - my daughter's favourite game) The Dover game at Gillingham in 1994 - she remembers my missus telling me off for climbing the fence ! Hooligan !!
And what are the three worst things you can remember ?
1. Receiving a sheet of paper for a programme in the late 1980's with 'A.N.Other' all over it for non-existent players plus players being paid from the fruit machine money ! Yes it's true - circa 1980.
2. Losing to Banstead twice in the FA Cup.
3. Coming bottom of the Southern League in 1982 although I only saw a couple of games.
What's the funniest thing you've witnessed during a Margate / Thanet match ?
Paul Lamb being booked for not retreating 10 yards when the ball hit him.
The misery of the Cardiff game being relieved by the ball boy snatching the ball out of a Welsh international's hand.
'Singin' in the Rain' song at Gravesend - not original but a good laugh.
At the recent Ramsgate FA Cup tie a low-flying plane went over and we all sang 'The Dambusters'.
Do you have a favourite piece of Margate FC memorabilia or do you own any unusual items ?
Two mugs, one car ring and a piece of grass in the garden but it's got lost amongst the rest.
If you could re-sign one former player who's still playing elsewhere then who would it be and why ?
Paul Sykes without a doubt.
Have you ever seen a full season of competitive matches (ie not missed any) or come close to it ?
No.
How many games would you say you've seen in total ?
About 500, perhaps more.
What's your current favourite away ground ?
Stevenage and Halifax.
And which current away ground do you least like ?
Stonebridge Road - bleak.
What's your all-time favourite away ground ?
Halifax.
And which ground out of all the ones you've ever been to did you like least ?
Southwood - it's deplorable apart from the pitch.
Which Margate / Thanet player that you never saw play do you wish you'd seen ?
Freddie Kearns in his heyday and more of Brian Gregory.
Have you ever played football on the pitch at Hartsdown ?
No - only ran onto it to get away from the police when trying to get from one end to the other in 1964.
Which Margate / Thanet kit is your all-time favourite ?
The deck chair kit - it got us known.
And which have you liked the least ?
Don't mind any of them so long as the Gate are wearing it.
Added to the site in 2003.