“From The Den to Wembley” is a new book on the shelves of Kent’s book shops and tracks the playing and managerial career of one of the top non-league managers the County has ever seen, Tommy Sampson, and he has been talking to KSN about it. 

The name of Tommy Sampson is a name that is almost synonymous with the FA Vase after his Kent League winning Herne Bay side reached the last four before Sampson moved to the Charles Ground and took Deal Town all the way to Wembley glory in the final year of the Twin Towers before Wembley was redeveloped. 

This year of course Steve King and the current Deal side have come agonisingly close to emulating Sampson’s side of 2000, and our chat began with Deal circa 2024.

“I couldn’t be more delighted for Steve and the current club for how well they have done,” Sampson told us.

“I have always said that the managers that came after me at the Club had the bar set so high for them! Steve has broken that now completely and is right up there heading for the top table of Kent’s Non-League managers ever, Chris Kinnear, Neil Cugley and me!” Sampson added grinning before continuing.

“This current side is exciting and play with a lot of freedom and have a lot of good players, they are a very good, talented, young side with a bit of steel as well. It was proved in games in the Vase this season.” 

“I have been asked to compare them to my Deal side of 2000 and honestly, you cannot do that, football is so very different now at all levels! I would not dare compare the two teams.”

“I was invited into the dressing room before an earlier round of the Vase and I told them that when it comes to winning the title or the Vase, you have to create your own history now.”

“And that is what this team are doing, they are creating their own history; I love watching them as I love the freedom that they play with, they play with a lot of freedom, whereas my team were efficient.”

“We were not that exciting to watch, but we used to do the job and the job got done. This Deal team now have goal threats from everywhere.” 

Sampson suffered a stroke in 2007 which nearly killed him and led to a complete life upheaval and the end of his managerial career. He published a first book with the story of how he overcame that massive set back in the incredibly powerful “Sudden Exit” in 2013.

Now he has written a second book, this time looking at his playing career and his incredible managerial success. He told us, “It’s hard work for me now as I’m wheelchair bound and my health has been poor for a number of years now, but I still love going to watch games.” 

“My love for non-league football still makes my heart pound. When the Vase games come along, for obvious reasons, I get excited, and the Deal run this year has been magnificent!” 

“The new book is called from The Den to Wembley – The Den was where I started with Millwall as a 15-year-old apprentice, and it is a journey of 31 years, my entire football career and it ends with the Vase Final of 2000!”

“It has taken a while to write, six years and I am having a book launch at Millwall on Good Friday. I had a wonderful time being an apprentice at The Den and when I came out of the League and went to Dartford, I played over two hundred games for the Club, and I got to love non-league football, it was the only type of football that I wanted to go and watch!” 

“Writing this book I tell you, is the greatest medicine that I’ve ever had, just thinking about the old days, the people I played with, people who went on to become super players and have great careers, I played in the same side as Barry Kitchener who is a Millwall legend and has a stand named after him at the New Den.” 

FROM THE DEN TO WEMBLEY is published by Victor Publishing and is available now…