Following the fraught nature of the previous season, it was hoped that a little less “fire-fighting” would be necessary. The nucleus of the squad remained from the latter part of that campaign, however one notable addition was the return to Culver Road of Tony Miles from Wick. Additional old favourites would be introduced during the subsequent months, including Martin Gray, Dan Griffin and (the not so old) Adam Burton.
Preparations for the forthcoming “adventure” were not as smooth as would have been wanted – mainly due to the unavailability of the home ground. Culver Road was to undergo a long awaited “facelift”. For approximately 10-15 years the old South Stand had been the subject of rumours regarding its much needed replacement, unfortunately much of this appeared hopeful rather than factual. However, after much planning and discussion the demolition men and builders were hired. Initial estimates hinted at a July/August start, with completion by the end of 2007. To this end, it was agreed, where possible, that Lancing would play their away fixtures first, and begin home ones in the New Year. While there were a few exceptions to this, such as cup ties, matches were arranged away from Culver Road, including all pre-season friendlies.
The arranged friendlies were a mixed bag. A comfortable opener against Bromley Flamengo saw Lancing score seven without reply. A makeshift Burgess Hill Town provided a sterner test, but Lancing edged the three-goal outcome. Hailsham Town forced a determined display from The Lancers, but proved too accomplished for the visitors, winning by the odd-goal in three. Further visits to Dorking Wanderers and Newhaven provided little additional information about the squad.
The start of the campaign provided Lancing with the arduous journey east to Westfield. In hot conditions, Lancing struggled to perform as a unit, while the hosts turned in a workman-like display to earn all the points. Sam Palmer showed promise as he chased tirelessly up front, but to no avail. Eight days later, on Sunday August 19, at The Shooting Field, the F.A. Cup draw saw Kent league Faversham Town visit Sussex. A close fought encounter surprised the rather overly confident Kent side – their manager suggested his side should be pitted against superior opposition, not “the likes” of Lancing. The one-all draw was probably a just result, although both sides had their chances. Faversham were the silkier side, but Lancing, encouraged by Tony Miles, battled harder, and fully deserved to force a replay. The return match saw a weakened Lancing squad travel, with the home side taking full advantage. Appearances in the John O’Hare League Cup were more restricted, with East Preston winning by the odd-goal at the first attempt. A first league point was earned at Old Barn Way, where Southwick shared 4-goals, leaving Lancing 14th in Division Two.
September saw Lancing still seeking a first victory. The journey west to Midhurst saw Richard Whittington in outstanding form between the sticks. The home side dominated, and had umpteen chances to score, but a fine goalkeeping display and poor shooting contrived to keep the match goalless. A Friday RUR Cup tie at Middle Road saw Lancing switch off for the opening 15 minutes of the second half, and concede three goals. A home draw in the Sussex Senior Cup saw the fixture played at Crabtree Park, where Wick won by a comfortable four goal margin. The trip to Wealden, managed by Andy Gander, witnessed an incredible own goal by Simon Davey (ex-Lancing). An Ash Bailey long range free kick was launched speculatively towards goals. Slamming onto the bar, the ball rebounded down, and hit the wretched keeper to be directed over the line. Unfortunately, Wealden had the last laugh coming out winners, in a well-matched encounter, thanks to some rather dubious refereeing decisions. Defeat at Seaford preceded the F.A. Vase tie against Raynes Park Vale. Another close game against marginally superior opposition saw another poor fifteen minute spell, during which the game was lost. A late goal was well deserved, but left no time to build upon it. The trip to East Court saw East Grinstead Town on top of the table, with a 100% home record. Although Town had the greater possession Lancing were rarely troubled, but were worn down eventually.
A draw at Mile Oak was perhaps the fairest outcome, although either side could have gained maximum points, in the first October fixture. A Friday the 13th encounter at Lingfield was marred by some awful officiating, while a fine Ricky Mitchell strike, eight minutes into add-on time, provided little consolation. Littlehampton’s “physical” approach was fully condoned, as the experienced side gave Lancing a lesson in off the ball “tactics”. The Division Two Cup tie at Pease Pottage provided the opportunity for both sides to lose their winning ‘duck’. In a nervous, but entertaining game, Lancing fully deserved their victory against the bottom league side. In the grand scheme of things this meant little, but must’ve provided a little confidence boost.
The approach towards winter inexorably continued, as did the quest for a league win. A trip to The Haven witnessed a spirited performance, but the Crawley Down side edged the encounter by the odd goal in three. The trip to Broadbridge Heath produced an archetypal goal of two halves, with the points shared. The trip to promotion hopefuls Peacehaven proved fruitless. Despite opening the scoring, Adam Burton finding the net on his return, a poor 15-minute spell saw three goals conceded, and the game was lost.
December opened with a fascinating encounter at Sidlesham. Overall Lancing dominated, and enjoyed a comfortable two-goal lead. First half add-on time saw the hosts take advantage of poor defending. A soft penalty levelled the scores. Another goal for each side completed the scoring, with a point each. The league encounter with Pease Pottage followed, and that elusive first victory was finally achieved. The match itself was hardly a classic, but the three points lifted Lancing out of the bottom two for the first time since August. The final game before Christmas, 2 days later, produced an accomplished performance in the Division Two Cup, against a high-flying Littlehampton side. The form book remained true though, as a single goal separated the sides in this five-goal thriller. A 12-day break till the trip to Storrington, which ended without points. With the majority of away fixtures now completed, the New Year could only really get better, at least results-wise.
The New Year started with a home fixture, albeit played away. With Culver Road still not quite available, Mile Oak provided the ground for the first home league game of the season. A below-par performance gave the “away” side a comfortable three points. The penultimate away fixture was played at Rustington, where the hosts gained a victory in a rather dour game.
Finally the big day arrived. Culver Road was available for use, despite not having any dressing rooms. An amenable council gave permission for Lancing to use the Monks Rec dressing rooms, when not otherwise in use. This restricted home games to mid-week as the park teams had hired the facilities till early April. Thus began a gruelling routine of three games each week, with the first team playing Tuesdays, the reserves on Wednesdays, and the youth team on Thursdays. The first home game at Culver Road saw Crawley Down visit, however the hosts clearly relished playing at their real home, and comfortably won, despite a close score-line. Littlehampton visited at the end of the month, and were easily despatched 3-0. A recovery seemed to have started, but there were some challenging games approaching.
An inconsistent, but lively Midhurst side started well, but failed to take advantage, and the third win on the trot closed the gap with the escaping pack. Broadbridge Heath battled well, but gained nothing in a five-goal encounter. That win lifted the side out of the bottom two again, a feat which had seemed unlikely just a month earlier. An impressive Peacehaven display seemed certain to end the winning run, but Lancing rode their luck, and up to 8 minutes into add-on time held a single goal lead. However the intense Peacehaven pressure and a rather unlikely number of extra minutes earned the visitors a deserved share of the points.
March began with the final away fixture, at Steyning. A weakened Lancing side struggled to contain the hosts, until towards the end, when substitutions gave a more familiar look to the side, but it was too late. A keenly contested derby game with Southwick saw the sides split six goals. The visit of soon-to-be Champions, East Grinstead saw the top side leading at 90 minutes, but a late equaliser gave Lancing a vital point. Wealden visited, and ended the unbeaten home run, as Lancing produced a poor performance. The return with Steyning was decided by the lone goal for the home side.
Rustington visited on April Fools Day and failed to enhance their reputation, by whingeing about the size of the dressing rooms, compared to their clearly palatial premises. Although their mood, or that of the crowd, wasn’t helped by the referee failing to turn up, without notification, and a replacement taking around an hour to arrive. The home win lifted the side up another place, as games in hand were earning three points, the catch up continued. In fact this win virtually assured the side of Division Two survival. Pease Pottage Village visited next. Already relegated, the vistors clearly had a number of issues to address, and were duly thrashed 7-nil. Mathematically Lancing were now safe. Sidlesham and Storrington were both defeated as Lancing scored three in both games. Lingfield bucked the trend and were deserved winners. Seaford Town continued that trend, winning 2-4. Westfield also scored 4 to win in a close 7-goal thriller.
Statistically, not playing at home clearly had an impact, however performances were typically not as poor as results would suggest. On several occasions though, Lancing would "fall asleep" for 10-15 minutes, usually in the second half, during which time their opponents would take advantage. Overall, in the first half of the season, it would be difficult to say that the side were outclassed - often not the better side, but such a poor record was rather harsh. A six game losing run would suggest poor displays, but the loss of confidence was perhaps a more telling factor. The second part of the season saw real home games, and the side clearly enjoyed the opportunity to play in Lancing. A great seven game unbeaten run, including four victories, mostly against top half of the table sides, saved the ignominy yet again, of a drop out of 'senior' football, and deservedly so. While there is a massive task for the management team next season, there is also cause for quiet optimism. Maybe not first choice promotion favourites, but a comfortable upper middle table existence should easily be within this side's grasp. Add to this the new top-notch facilities, and next season promises a far better outlook.
| Highest at Culver Road | 90 | v Steyning Town D2 | |
| Lowest at Culver Road | 42 | v Lingfield D2 | |
| Highest Away | 121 | v East Grinstead Town D2 | |
| Lowest Away | 25 | v Pease Pottage Village D2C |
| Rob Partridge | H | D2 v Pease Pottage Village |
| Total Used | 39 | |
| No. of Ever-Presents | 0 | |
| No. with Over 10 Starts | 15 |
| Richard Whittington | 40 | |
| Dan Ford | 39+1 | |
| Tony Miles | 36+1 | |
| Rob Partridge | 33+3 | |
| Simon Hind | 29+2 | |
| Darren Boswell | 27+4 | |
| Scott Jacob | 25+3 | |
| Will Berry | 24+7 | |
| Dan Griffin | 24 | |
| Scott Hunt | 17+14 | |
| Mark Saxby | 16+8 |
| Total Number of Scorers | 19 | including 4 O.G. |
| Rob Partridge | 22 | |
| Adam Burton | 12 | |
| Dan Griffin | 9 | |
| Darren Boswell | 5 |
| Tony Miles | 250 appearances | ||
| Richard Whittington | 200 appearances | ||
| Dan Ford | 150 appearances | ||
| Rob Partridge | 100 appearances | ||
| Ash bailey | 50 appearances | ||
| Will Berry | 50 appearances | ||
| Darren Boswell | 50 appearances | ||
| Adam Burton | 50 appearances | ||
| Scott Jacob | 50 appearances | ||
| Mark Saxby | 50 appearances |
In what can best be described as an uncomfortable season from the sideline, it is often difficult to identify a good selection of players who impressed during the campaign. However, as has previously been mentioned, performances were not always as poor as the results may suggest. Top scorer, Rob Partridge, was fearless up front and never gave up on a cause as being lost. Richard Whittington was generally outstanding in goal, and on occasions prevented scorelines from becoming embarrassing. Dan Ford also seemed much more assured in his role, and was one of the most improved players. Tony Miles was uncompromising in defence, and fearsome in attack, although with just one goal, this was a barren season in that respect. As skipper he lead by example, with his enthusiasm and desire to win showing through. Several younger players also staked a claim for regular first team places, including Simon HInd, Darren Boswell, Will Berry, Scott Jacob, Scott Hunt and Joe Howard. The final choice though was between striker, goalkeeper and defender, Rob Partridge, Richard Whittington and Dan Ford. A difficult decision to split them, as they all made significant contributions to the cause over the course of the season. The official accolade however, went to Dan Ford, and it would be harsh to argue against that decision.