Welcome to DAFCtv - A free Service for all fans of non-league football                         

DAFCtv - A Mixed Season

An insight on what it takes to run DAFCtv

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So Here it is, my league table of clubs I have visited and filmed at their grounds.

You may have read in my blog (see above) that some clubs I visit make my filming of games at their grounds a real pleasure whilst some make it a complete pain.

Marks are out of 10 and if really pressed I will comment on individual clubs, but generally this gives an overview of my experiences.

Have fun!

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DAFCtv Members site is undergoing maintenance at the moment so logins will not currently work.

I want to hear about your greatest Dover Athletic moments although I need to have footage of it (or you will have to provide footage of it). Send as many moments as you like since I will be compiling a special feature of DOVER ATHLETIC's TOP 50 GREATEST MOMENTS CAUGHT ON FILM.

It can be absolutely anything GOOD OR BAD.... perhaps Tommy Tyne's winning goal at Woking in the FA Cup, Mark Hotte's handball on the line for Scarborough, an excerpt from one of Clive Walker's notorious interviews...... in other words absolutely anything you like.

Also, you may be asked to describe it on camera as you saw it, what went through your mind at the time it happenned.

So get emailing and let me know your favourite memorable moments. greatmoments@doverathleticvideo.com

TERMS AND CONDITIONS - Viewing and the downloading of video clips from DAFCtv

Video clips contain highlights of football matches and interviews with those connected with those matches. By downloading and viewing video clips from the site you agree to the following…….

• The content of highlights is controlled by the author and is intended to be balanced with an emphasis on Dover Athletic. The author of these highlights do not provide tailor-made highlights of matches to suit an individual’s taste. The visual or audible presence of particular action or incidents within video clips do not suggest in any way the authors condoning or otherwise of an individual’s actions.

• The content of interviews are not necessarily the views of the author of the video clip and is thus the author will not be held responsible for its content. Editing of interview content will only take place by the author where deemed appropriate.

• Due to the nature of football, video clips may unintentionally contain obscene profanities. The author shall not be held responsible for such content either through audible or visual means.

• The author shall not be held responsible for content of video clips should they unintentionally contain images a viewer may see as offensive.

• Without express written permission from the author, you will not use any video clip downloaded as evidence in any committee, tribunal, board, panel, hearing or trial in pursuance of any action against an individual who appears in a video clip or any individual who is connected with the making a video clip. This includes match officials using the footage as evidence of a particular incident. It also includes the author of the video clip and the interviewers.

• Video clips remain on the computer to which they are downloaded and the person downloading will not pass it on to any other computer, person, or transfer it via any media or communication method.

• Video clips are intended for personal use and therefore unless express written permission has been received from the author, video clips must not be used on any other website or entertainment medium. Video clips shall not be sold, re-sold, hired, lent, or shown to the general public other than on this website.

Media

Video clips are available to media companies. Those requiring video footage in HD must give notice in advance of the event otherwise all footage is supplied in DV or Digital8. Rates vary. Please contact me for more information.

DAFCtv - A Mixed Season

An insight on what it takes to run DAFCtv

 Through the ups and (mainly) downs of 8 years of filming for Dover Athletic I can safely say this last season has been the most difficult season for me so far.

 I do not film and edit videos for a living, which came as some surprise to one of my work colleagues recently when, as a fellow Dover supporter he found me working for the same company.

 The difficulty has of course been having to watch my father pass away over 4 months of the season culminating in my missing the Easter Monday game at home to Ashford. Added to that, losing my job last May and having to find a new one really has made this last season a season to forget for me.

 It is a strange sort of irony therefore that the club has won its first title since I started filming and I have at last had the great pleasure of filming some of the best football to be witnessed at Crabble in many years. Not since filming the early years of St.Leonards in 1994, (Stamco FC as it they were then) have I witnessed and filmed such wonderfully flowing football when the likes of Steve Gatting, Mike Trusson, Brian McDermott and Jimmy Gilligan were gracing the Sussex County League.

 DAFCtv in one form or another has been in existence since the 2000/01 season, Dover’s penultimate season in the Conference and it has seen many changes in that time. It has developed from a service where people only knew it existed when they wanted a video of a game, to the present day where people can enjoy free highlights of matches over the internet. It is safe to say that in those days it was more for the club’s playing management of Bill Williams and Clive Walker than it was for the fans. With the huge expansion of the internet and the incredible pace of technology, today the emphasis has most definitely swung the other way to a provision of video highlights for the fans over the internet.

 This change, as you might expect, has also increased the workload in provision of the service whereas in those early days I merely filmed a game and constructed a video when someone wanted one.

 It is also probably safe to say the DAFCtv has been one of the leaders in providing non-league highlights over the Internet on a regular basis and is now emulated by many other clubs. I am truly delighted to see fans from other clubs such as Tonbridge AFC look to provide their own service for their club with Maidstone already providing an excellent service.

 So what is the typical working pattern of running DAFCtv in the modern day?

Well let’s start with a Saturday match……..

o       Friday Evening …..Prepare website for updates… Gather my equipment together…. charge batteries.

o       Saturday 12.45pm Leave home, drive to Dover (or wherever) and film game.

o       Wait around (seemingly endlessly) for an interview.

o       Leave Crabble at 5.35 and drive back to Hastings.

o       Arrive home at around 6.45pm. Start highlights immediately and finish updating website around 9.30pm. At last have something to eat!

o       Sunday…. archive the footage since it will take up too much space on my PCs.

 Now a Monday night game is a whole different kettle of fish…..

o       Sunday Evening …..Prepare website for updates… Gather my equipment together…. charge batteries….. put together a change of clothes.

o       Monday morning. Get up 5.15am. Drive to Ashford catch train from Ashford to London to do a day’s work.

o       Get Back to Ashford around 5.45pm. Grab some food somewhere (anywhere), drive to Dover and film game. Leave Crabble around 10pm arrive back at Hastings 11pm.

o       Tuesday morning, get up at 5.45am travel to London to do a day’s work. 6pm get back home and start compiling highlights. Around 8.45pm,  update website and then have something to eat.

o       Wednesday evening ….archive the match.

o       Thursday night…. Free.

o       Friday night….. start all over again preparing for the Saturday match.

In all one match takes about 11-12 hours worth of work.

 So do I enjoy all of this? Well, there must be some enjoyment otherwise I wouldn’t do it, but there are down sides as well as ups. So here’s a list of the things I enjoy and to balance things a list of things I really could do without?

 Things that I enjoy….

o       Filming the match

o       Talking to genuine Dover fans who are not canned up

o       The Dover match day experience

o       The drive to Dover over the Romney Marshes.

o       Clearing up those controversial moments that people didn’t see properly the first time around

o       Being involved in matchdays.

o       Cloudy days with no rain. (See below)

o       Friendly and helpful away clubs

 Things that are a real pain….

o       Disrespectful and inconsiderate supporters who have had too much to drink

o       Paying to get into away grounds

o       Players who want DVDs but never want to pay for them.

o       The A21 and M25.

o       Players who never say as much as ‘thank you’ when I go to a lot of trouble of sending DVDs to the FA and getting them off their red cards.

o       Bright sunshine in the Autumn and Winter (Casts horrible shadows that the camera has difficulty dealing with when it reaches bright sunlight)

o       Swirling rain.

o       Unfriendly and unhelpful away clubs.

 In a season of such successes, it is hard to focus on things that were rather unpleasant but the game at Ashford on Boxing Day has preyed on my mind since it took place. I had spent the whole Christmas going back and forth to the hospital when my dad was first admitted, and my family encouraged me to go to Ashford to ‘Enjoy myself’. How utterly ironic that it turned out to be one of the least enjoyable matches I have ever filmed. Some of our so called fans showed no respect or consideration for what I was doing and persistently ignored any pleas to move away from the camera. I simply cannot contemplate what goes though the minds of such people other than their arrogant and selfish acts were fuelled by an inability to control the effects of alcohol that they believe necessary to enjoy themselves.

 Two things happened on this day….. firstly, it made me ask myself if I really needed this although thankfully, the majority of Dover supporters are responsible people and have respect for others who want to enjoy matches in their own way and their messages of support I received far outweighed the memory of the pathetic antics of those few ‘Dover followers’ that day.

 Secondly, Interviewer and Commentator Tom Crawley decided he had had enough and disappeared never to be seen again.

As for Tom, I can completely understand that he was upset by the antics of those fans and he has the right to choose what he wanted to do about it. Tom was a great commentator and interviewer, but more than that he was a great support to me with DAFCtv. However, I was disappointed with him in the manner of his departure and in particular the timing in that his angry words to me that day were the last words I have ever heard from him. It was a time I needed support more than anytime before and for this reason I view the messages on the forum calling for his return with a certain unease.

 Well what about next season for DAFCtv? Well I have thought long and hard about this since there are many factors that will affect it.

 Firstly, I do look towards next season with a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Obvious excitement at seeing and filming football at a higher level with an exciting new team, but then again a worry that the number of Kent derbies and the acrimonious exchanges that seem to be part and parcel of such games will exasperate the type of scenes we saw at Ashford on Boxing Day. Despite the various unpleasant exchanges that surrounded the Dartford and Ramsgate games in recent years I received nothing but courtesy and help from these clubs, but the prospect of being amongst two sets of fans who have this bizarre and inexplicable hatred for each other does not hold much attraction for me.

 Secondly, I am so grateful for the Dover Athletic Supporters Trust and their sponsorship of DAFCtv last year although I do not believe that they have had the return in membership and support that I had intended. It seems that an increasing number of people are showing apathy towards the Trust and they are not renewing their membership. This is a huge disappointment to me since from its inception to the current day I believe that the Trust provide one of the major backbones to the club with its hard work of fundraising and in its early days when saving the club.

 DAFCtv costs in the region of £1400 per season to run and with fuel costs rising at an alarming rate it is highly likely it will cost more this coming season. Had it not been for the Trust last season, the service simply wouldn’t have happened. Even if the Trust were willing to support DAFCtv again I am not about to easily let the Trust depart with its hard-earned funds again without more commitment towards the trust from all.

 DAFCtv is beyond me to fund, free highlights are a luxury that kills stone dead any revenue from sales of DVDs that would otherwise offset some of the costs of running the service.

 There have been many suggestions of a ‘Pay-Per-View’ service although this actually increases the administration and I am reluctant to increase the already high workload of maintaining DAFCtv.

 Thirdly, there is the time it all takes. My wife deserves a medal. She never ever complains about the endless hours I spend compiling highlights and posting them on the web. If anyone is responsible for DAFCtv continuing all these years, it is her. A Dover legend and nobody realizes she is there. Whilst she would not complain about whatever decision I decide to make about next season, it is simply not fair to ask her again to accept me giving up every Saturday evening from the middle of August until the end of April.

 I am currently talking to the Supporter’s Trust regarding next season and how it all went last season, and over the course of the next month I hope that with their support I will come to some decisions regarding the service for next season. What I am trying to do here is give and insight into the background to DAFCtv which may otherwise remain unknown in that it is one of those time-consuming volunteer things that Dover Mosquito eluded to in his blog some weeks ago. It is also intended to give everyone an indication of the types of things that will influence the decisions that will be made over the coming month regarding DAFCtv. Those decisions may or may not be ideal for everyone, but they will be realistically maintainable.

 Thank you for your continued support.

 Dave Shirley - DAFCtv