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Varc's Ex Files
Season 2, File 4

There's always room in non league for ex R's and with yet another of them dropping out of the pro game it's probably just as well. Little Bradley Allen scored 32 goals in his QPR career, and the bulk of those were in the Premiership, but all good things come to an end and his time is now up.
 

His club is now Hornchurch of the Ryman Premier League and he will find it a very homely place. He joins Mark "Who shall I sign for this week" Graham, and Keith "midfield maestro" Rowland.

Over at promotion rivals Grays Athletic things are improving for Leroy Griffiths. Having been accused of taking lunch on his opponents he upped and left Farnborough Town and joined Grays, where it appears he is an inspiring force on the pitch.

This weekend he helped Grays to the 4th Qualifying round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Hendon. Meanwhile at the other end of the table a certain Danny Murphy is having no luck in lifting Harrow Borough away from the bottom three.

He'll find himself even less useful in the dressing room too. He left the pitch early after mouthing off at the referee and receiving the red card as they went down 3-0 to Thurrock. Good old Danny.

Over in the Dr Martens League Eastern Division, and blazing a trail, is Hamid Barr. He hit the back of the net twice more this week for Tonbridge Angels, beating Stamford 3-0. The Angels are already 8 points clear at the top of the table!

Incidentally the top scorers in this division were actually Eastleigh. Still there and helping his side to a 6-2 win is Christer Warren.

Someone else soon to play a part in the Dr Martens League is Fraser Digby. He has recently signed for Worcester City, although hasn't actually played yet.

Jumping up to the top of the pyramid it's interesting to see how ex hoops are helping teams pushing for Nationwide League football. Barnet before this weekend were doing very well. They were 3rd in the league but a defeat to Tamworth dropped them a place.

The heart of the Bees defence is still Danny Maddix and Chris Plummer. And, with Martin Allen at the helm, they are still looking like good bets for a shot at the title so time will tell if the duo can show they are still capable at the next level.

At Burton Albion, Andy Sinton is still playing a part in what could be a mid table season for them. He is hoping to be in contention soon having recovered from a broken foot. He was back warming a bench seat for the entire draw at Forest Green on Saturday.

Intriguingly a player who Ian Holloway was reportedly interested in a few weeks back, Steve Chettle, is a regular in the Burton line-up. This fact doesn't exactly inspire you to think he could make it in the 2nd division.

Ex player of the day for me though is Lee Charles. Recalled to the starting line up for Aldershot against Halifax, he slotted home their 2nd in a 3-1 win. Aldershot are now firmly engaged in the promotion fight and he will be hopeful of propelling the ex Football League team back from whence they came.

It's been a long time since the "Shots" were in the top divisions and the financial disaster that robbed them of their status should be a lesson to us all. It is however comforting that with loyal support they have come as far as they have.

But enough of the "old", there is still some of the "new" involved in the Conference and Ryman league at the moment.  First up is Ben Walshe. He is at Gravesend and Northfleet helping keep them out of immediate trouble at the bottom of the table. According to reports, he wasn't at his best on Saturday in a 2-2 draw at Morecambe and was subbed after 65 minutes.

Also having a hard time of it is Marian Ifura. His side Farnborough have yet to win a game and sit plum bottom of the conference. It would seem unlikely he will be back soon with Warren Barton coming into the Rangers squad, so Marian should get himself comfortable at Cherrywood Road.

Finally, don't tell anyone I told you, but Jake Cole is having a few games for Hayes in the Ryman Premier. He's not on loan as such, and doesn't even appear on the Hayes website but he is playing the occasional first team game and doing fairly well. Hayes are currently in 4th place.

He didn't play this weekend in their FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round game against Borehamwood which ended in a 1-1 draw, but it may be a bit speculative for me to suggest it was at Ollie's request so that he isn't cup tied for later in the competition!

That's all for this "file" but if you hear of anyone, contact me at the usual address...

varc@qprnet.com