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What is your name ?
Neil Wyatt.
What is your date and place of birth ?
14th May 1971, Wimbledon General Hospital.
Where do you live ?
Highgate, London.
What was the first Margate / Thanet match you ever saw and what can you remember about it ?
It was August 1980, a 3-1 home defeat to a Tonbridge side who had finished bottom the previous season. I remember waving my jumper over my head when we scored. But I dropped it over the barrier and my father had to retrieve it for me..
What was the first away game you went to ?
Canterbury, December 1982. Lost 2-1, Brian Woolfe scored.
Who is your all-time favourite Margate / Thanet player and why ?
Frank Ovard - the man was an entertainer. Him joining Thanet was like Jimi Hendrix playing a gig at your local church hall. Sadly it couldn't last.
Who would be in your all-time favourite Margate / Thanet X1 ?
1 Joe Radford
2 Greg Oates
3 Eliot Martin
4 Bill Edwards
5 Billy Plews
6 Mark Munday
7 John Keister
8 Jay Saunders
9 Leonard Charles Lee
10 Joe Brayne
11 Frank Ovard
Of all the Margate / Thanet matches you've seen which is your favourite and why ?
The 1994 Kent Senior Cup Final - too perfect for words.
What's the best goal you've ever seen a Margate / Thanet player score ?
Frank Ovard on his TUFC debut v Andover at Hartsdown on 17th January 1987. Here is what I wrote at the time (I used to keep records of our matches).
"It is the last minute of the game and the teams are tied at 2-2. Ovard picks up the ball on the left wing and beats four men in a mazy run. He then cracks in a shot from the edge of the box which keeper Chris Plain can only palm into the net. A marvellous and dramatic goal."
What one game in the club's history do you wish you'd seen and why ?
The Southern League Cup Final v Ramsgate in 67/68. Three matches in all, but you know what I mean. I would love to have been around in an era when Thanet derbies captured the interest of its population.
What are the top three highlights of your time supporting Margate / Thanet ?
1. Winning the Southern League in 2001.
2. Winning the KSC in 1994.
3. Promotion in 1999 - though it was soured by having to wait for us to win the appeal.
And what are the three worst things you can remember ?
1. I remember a freezing night watching us lose 0-5 to Dover at Hartsdown in the Southern League Cup in 88/89. There were a handful of people at the Coffin End and the whole club seemed to be on its knees.
2. Losing to Dover on Boxing Day 2001. Terrible game, terrible result. Had an utterly miserable coach trip back to London after the match.
3. Losing 5-1 at Canterbury on Boxing Day 1992.
What's the funniest thing you've witnessed during a Margate / Thanet match ?
The assortment of characters on the Hartsdown terraces over the years beat anything you could see in a sitcom.
Do you have a favourite piece of Margate FC memorabilia or do you own any unusual items ?
I don't own one but it has to be the FA Cup on a stick !
If you could re-sign one former player who's still playing elsewhere then who would it be and why ?
No one comes to mind. The team has improved so much over recent years.
Have you ever seen a full season of competitive matches (ie not missed any) or come close to it ?
No, I probably came closest in 93/94.
How many games would you say you've seen in total ?
Certainly more than 500, but probably less than 1,000.
What's your current favourite away ground ?
Gravesend. It has character.
And which current away ground do you least like ?
Tamworth sucks.
What's your all-time favourite away ground ?
This will raise eyebrows but I always had a soft spot for Erith's old ground. Seedy and ramshackle, it epitomised what non-league is all about.
And which ground out of all the ones you've ever been to did you like least ?
Anywhere with a track around the pitch.
Which Margate / Thanet player that you never saw play do you wish you'd seen ?
Any of the hot shots of the past (Amato, Randall, Fahy, Vanderpeer, Ballagher, Roche etc).
Have you ever played football on the pitch at Hartsdown ?
No.
Which Margate / Thanet kit is your all-time favourite ?
You can't beat the kits of the 50s and 60s.
And which have you liked the least ?
When Thanet wore light blue shirts with dark blue shorts.
Added to the site in 2003.