Kentish Football 
I thought we thrown it away, admits Erith & Belvederer boss Micky Collins
The Deres will be playing Ryman League football for the first time in August after pipping VCD Athletic to the title on a dramatic last night of the season.
The Deres appeared to have thrown away their title hopes when they were held to a goal-less draw at Lordswood last Saturday.
And when VCD Athletic beat Corinthian 3-0 at Oakwood, the Kent League title was heading to Oakwood.
But Vickers blew their title chances when they were held to a goal-less draw at Lordswood - and Erith & Belvedere romped to a 7-1 home win over Greenwich Borough to win the title by two points on Tuesday night.
VCD Athletic must now wait until The Football Association meet on 8 May to see whether two clubs will be promoted from the Kent League because the three Ryman League divisions will contain 24 clubs each next season.
Collins said: “Overjoyed with the outcome. I thought we thrown it away on Saturday and got it back on Tuesday with some help from other teams. It was just a fantastic climax to the season.”
Collins was quick to praise Russell and his assistant Ray Powell for pushing them all the way.
“They’ve been amazing,” he said. “The run that Tony and Razor have put together there is absolutely fantastic and they get all my credit. They took us all the way. They made a real, real fight of it, which was fantastic. Every bit of credit has to go to them because the team they put out there and the squad they formed in such a short space of time and the run they went on will never be repeated.
“Fair play to them, top, top boys to go and achieve that. They pushed us all the way and they deserve to get promoted as well.”
Collins revealed: “That’s not definite. That won’t be decided until May 8th, that’s when the FA League Committee sit.”
Collins revealed he knew exactly what was happening at Lordswood on Tuesday night – thanks to twitter updates.
“Football’s a funny old game,” he said. “We thought we blown it because VCD at the time and still are unbeatable and we’re the only ones that beat them in the league and drew them in the league.
“To be honest I thought they’d go to Lordswood with their tails up and get the win that they needed. Lordswood have done a fantastic job and held them 0-0 as they did to us. They were phenomenal against us Saturday.
“We were disappointed and the disappointing thing was it was out of our hands and then we had to win and score goals and rely on other results.
“No disrespect to Greenwich Borough, it was going to be an easier game than playing the likes of Whyteleafe, Lordswood or Erith Town on the last game of the season.
“We knew we could go and get goals. It actually felt on Tuesday night that the pressure was off us.”
Collins explained why his game started – and finished – after Lordswood’s goal-less draw against VCD.
He said: “It was such an ironic thing because we wanted to finish the game later than them so we knew if we needed goals what we knew what we had to achieve.
“Someone’s had a serious accident on the A2, which is absolutely devastating for someone and that’s delayed the kick-off for 10-12 minutes or whatever.
“As it panned out on the night we knew they (VCD) got their penalty and Lordswood had someone sent off and we were aware of what was going on, but we still had to keep the players focused and keep scoring goals.
“Seven-nil up, we knew their game was nearly done and it was such a surreal moment that we realised we won it by two points as supposed to have to do it on goal-difference. The scenes that followed are indescribable really.”
Champions Erith & Belvedere will face Corinthian in the Kent League Cup Final at Park View Road on Saturday 11 May (kick-off 12pm).
“You want to win everything you go in, there’s no doubt about that,” said Collins. “To be honest I’m not putting any thought in the cup final yet. I’m going to savour the moment. It’s taken three years of my life to get the club back to where it should be.”
Collins will sit down with chairman John McFadden soon to start planning for the club’s inaugural Ryman League campaign – although the club won’t know whether they will be placed in the Northern or Southern Division until the Football Association meet on 8 May.
Collins said: “All credit to my chairman, directors and supporters at the club and everyone who puts the effort in. My management team have been fantastic with all the help they gave me. Mainly the players, a lot of them can play at higher levels.
“We don’t run on a big budget. We’ve probably won the Kent League on the lowest budget every spent. That’s documented. That’s fact.
“I haven’t spoken to the club yet. We’ll sit down and get May 8th out of the way and see what league we’re going to be in, and we’ll go to the cup final and do what we do there and have our presentation and then we’ll sit down and discuss it and see what we have to do with the club to build and come up with a game plan for next season and so on.
“It’s great times to be at Erith & Belvedere. The club needed it for a long time. It’s been in the doldrums for a long while and we have proved you can be professional and change it with the right ethic.
“We were runners-up last year but I don’t think we were close to winning it because Herne Bay did a fantastic job and first year we had a look at it. It was new to me. I was new to senior management. Second year we had a push at it and the third year we’ve gone and achieved what we set out what we wanted to do.
“From Saturday to Tuesday was a roller-coaster of emotions. If it hadn’t gone our way it would have been devastating!”
Park View Road is the place to be this season because Jamie Day’s Welling United won the Conference South title and now Erith & Belvedere have been crowned Kent League champions.
The Wings, who will host Kent Senior Cup winners Charlton Athletic in a pre-season friendly on 6 July, announced yesterday that they have released former VCD Athletic, Cray Wanderers, Tonbridge Angels and AFC Wimbledon striker Jon Main.
Collins said: “It’s funny. You go into reflective mood when you’re not having to pick teams and worry about injuries and the everyday running of a football club.
“Two things that have stuck in my mind this year has been two teams in the same ground winning promotion.
“From a little time in my junior career, I played a few games for Pheonix Sports, they won their league. I was at Gillingham, they won their league. I was at Welling and they won their league and I played for Erith & Belvedere and they won their league.
“I had a little spell at Thamesmead Town a few years ago and I hope Keith (McMahon) wins his promotion as well.
“It’s been a good year. It’s been hard work.”
Collins admitted that he hasn’t even thought about how next season will pan out.
He said: “I haven’t even thought about it! Just stay in it! Don’t go down! It’s all new. If we went in the South then I know the clubs a bit more because I’ve played in that region, but the North will be a completely new thing for me. We hope that Keith gets promoted into the Ryman Premier and we can pick his brains and use some of his notes.
“We’ll wait and see and see whatever it delivers us, it delivers us and we’ll move forward in the right way.”
When asked what his negative points were during the season, Collins admitted their disappointing FA Vase defeat in Guernsey topped the list.
He said: “The plus points obviously are keeping a group of players together. When you set a target and you achievement and win something and you achieve that aim you go through the emptions and it lands on your lap then great! We set out to do what we’ve done this year.
“The lowest point out of it was when we went to Guernsey and just didn’t turn up. As a manager I take the blame for that because it was my fault. I got that wrong.
“In hindsight if we had the run and down what Tunbridge Wells have done, we might have squandered the league title. I wanted the league title. It would have been lovely to go to Wembley. We wanted the league title and maybe we could have lost out on both there.
Collins hopes Ryman League football will entice bigger crowds to watch his attack-minded side next season.
“Of course you want a bit more people to come and watch you,” he said.
“I know we’ve been criticised at times for our apparent direct style of play, but watching Erith & Belvedere this year, even as a neutral, must have been a great time. We scored 113 goals and we let in our fair share as well.
“People can’t say it’s not exciting at our club. That’s why it was absolutely amazing we drew 0-0 at Lordswood on Saturday and all credit to them.
“I need a rest now. It’s tiring doing what we do. I don’t get paid to do it. It’s voluntary for me and my management team. We can sit down and enjoy our summer now and enjoy it with our families.
“You put in a lot of hours and a lot of people don’t appreciate that and I do when I speak to managers and coaches from youth football all the way up. We put in a lot of hours and you don’t see your family and you don’t see your kids’ all the time you’re out watching games and looking at players.
“It’s a big commitment and a big sacrifice and when you do achieve something and you win something it means a little bit more and the texts and the tweets that I’ve had from some lovely football people who have wished me and the club well is fantastic.”
Hadlow resident Collins revealed he will be taking his son to his Brentford training session on Saturday morning before driving to Wembley Stadium to watch The FA Carlsberg Vase Final between Spennymoor Town and Tunbridge Wells.
Tunbridge Wells have sold 11,094 tickets for the showpiece final – with thousands more making the pilgrimage from the Garden of England.
Collins said: “If Tunbridge Wells win that Saturday and we can hopefully go and do the double, it’s a fantastic season.
“Two or three of the boys at Tunbridge Wells are our ex-players and not only that we know all of their team and their management and everyone involved in the club.
“I live close by as you do (in Tunbridge Wells), it would be amazing thing if they can bring that back, but it’s going to be a tough game for both sides there with the run in they’ve had.
“The best team will win it. The same as our league, someone comes out on top at some point and hopefully it’s Tunbridge Wells on Saturday and we’ll all be celebrating that. We’ll wait and see. It will be a great day out and a great spectacle and whatever happens to them, that is an amazing achievement what they’ve done and they should be proud of themselves.
“All of our boys are going up to watch, which is great. My son trains at Brentford on Saturday so I’ll go and watch him train and drive across with my wife and we’ll go and enjoy the day and go and support them.
“I might not wear red but I won’t wear blue and white. I will certainly be in the Tunbridge Wells end and cheering their boys on.
Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website: www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk
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