20thdec04

Cut-backs hit Folkestone

In further steps to balance their books, Ryman League Premier Division club Folkestone Invicta have mutually agreed with John Walker and Martin Chandler to cancel their existing contracts.

They will now only be paid if they play, reports www.nonleaguedaily.com

Walker, 20, has come through the youth and reserve team ranks at Invicta to force his way into the first-team squad.

Chandler, 21, originally progressed from the club’s youth set up before being signed by West Ham United. Before being released in 2001, he was part of the Hammers’ squad that beat Coventry City 9-0 on aggregate in the 1999 FA Youth Cup Final and travelled with the first-team for the 1999 InterToto Cup Final.

Chandler is still awaiting a scan of the injured knee that has dogged his season and his fitness level.

Meanwhile Lee Dyson, assistant-manager and trainer, is moving to the Grantham area, thus reducing the payroll even further.

He is a PTI with the Army and has worked hard with manager Neil Cugley to raise the fitness levels of the playing squad.

Meanwhile, Folkestone's next home game, against local rivals Dover Athletic, will be a very lucrative pay-day for the club on 27th December.