The football community has been paying tribute to a hugely popular stalwart of the sport in Battle.
Tony Elliott, who played for Battle Rangers and Abbey for around two decades, tragically died on Wednesday, last week, at the age of just 46 following a 14-month battle with cancer.
Andy Bashford, another man with a long association to Rangers, sa
id: "He was one of the best footballers I've seen at our level and I've got no doubt he could've played at a higher level, but he stuck with Battle through some pretty thin times.
"A measure of him is that everybody got on with him. The youngsters loved him as much as all the guys that had played with him for years. He was just an ordinary nice guy, very unassuming, you never heard Tony bragging at all."
Tony grew up in Netherfield and began his footballing career with his home village. He later had brief spells at Linton, Little Common and Westfield, but spent the thick end of 20 years with Battle, also managing the club latterly and playing a large part in keeping it alive.
St Leonards-based Tony played for Sunday side Abbey (also known as Chequers and Kings Head) for a similar length of time punctuated only by two or three years with the highly successful Fishermens team under Shaun Hardy.
Kev Martin, who knew Tony for around 40 years and played alongside him, added: "He was reliable, dependable and very loyal when you consider as a footballer he was exceptionally good. You could put him on a par with anybody locally.
"He was a bit of a Georgie Best type, drop the shoulder and swivel his hip. Mazy runs he was known for. He could beat four, five, six players and play the killer pass or put it in the top corner. Yet alongside that there was no ego, he was just a top man."
Tony was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that begins in cells of the immune system, in November 2008. Despite undergoing chemotherapy throughout his illness, he kept working until December last year.
He never stopped fighting his disease and showed tremendous courage, never complaining about his illness, just trying to carry on with his life as normally as possible and always keeping his sense of humour despite at times suffering severe pain.
His brother Darryn, also an accomplished footballer, said: "I will not only miss him as a brother but also as a wonderful friend. He was always willing to help anyone without expecting anything in return.
"On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to thank the Pevensey Ward at Eastbourne District General Hospital, the staff at the Conquest Hospital who looked after him and a special thank you to the nurses at St Michael's Hospice for making sure Tony remained in comfort and kept his dignity in the final few days of his life. He will be sorely missed by all of his family and his many friends."
A Facebook group entitled "Let's organise an Abbey FC v Battle Rangers Tony Elliott Memorial Game" has already been set up in honour of a man who spent his schooldays at Netherfield Boys' School and Claverham Community College.
Dave Hales, who played with Tony and managed him for the best part of 25 years, added: "He was just a pleasure to play alongside and even more of a pleasure to manage. He always gave 100 per cent and would always help the young players. He's going to be greatly missed."
Tony, whose versatility was such that he played in a number of positions, leaves behind a son Jake, 20, daughter Natasha, 22, and granddaughter Layla. He worked in Bexhill at Sabre Controls Ltd as a production manager.
His funeral will take place next Friday (February 12) - the day after what would have been his 47th birthday - at Hastings Crematorium from 10.15am. All friends, past and present, are welcome to attend.
