Soccer Shorts: Lordswood part company with manager after just three league games

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DARTFORD boss Tony Burman believes his struggling side are more than capable of pulling off a victory at much-fancied Staines Town tomorrow.

The Darts, Ryman League Division One North champions, are finding the going tough in the higher division, winning only one of their opening six league games.

And Burman, speaking to www.dartfordfootballclub.co.uk, said: “I cannot hide the fact that I am disappointed with our points tally so far, but there has been a lot of positives from our performances to believe that things will change.”

Former Dartford midfielder Junior Kadi, who attracted mixed opinions during his time at Princes Park, scored the winner with a late stunning side as his new side, Carshalton Athletic, came away with a 3-2 midweek win.

“Our overall performance on Tuesday was not that bad against a good passing side, but once again, after taking the lead we have not held on to it for a long enough period," said Burman.

“To lose the game was a bitter pill to swallow, not because of who scored the goal, but how we conceded it.

“We have paid the price for some individual errors this season where the players concerned for some reason have got into bad habits.

“This has got to change and the sooner they get back into the good habits, which made them very good players, the better.”

Midfielder Nick Barnes, who is nursing an ankle ligament injury, is expected to be out for around two weeks and Burman will assess his squad ahead of their trip to Staines Town tomorrow.

Looking forward to their trip to Wheatsheaf Park, Burman added: “Tomorrow we have a tough away game against many people’s favourites to win the title.”

MARGATE, who welcome AFC Hornchurch to Hartsdown Park tomorrow, have added two new players to their squad.

Midfielder Lee Maskell signed for the Blues on Tuesday morning and was part of the match-day squad that drew 1-1 at Harlow Town in midweek.

Maskell, who made his debut as a second half substitute at the Barrows Farm Stadium, was part of the young Ebbsfleet United side that looked so impressive in knocking Margate out of last season’s Kent Senior Cup.

Also signing for the Blues is goalkeeper Mark Beresford, who makes the step up from local football and was also on the bench at Harlow. He provides cover for the long-term injured, former Maidstone United stopper, Pat Mullin.

Roberto Corbishley (ankle), Jack Parkinson (groin) and Michael Power (knee) are all doubtful against an AFC Hornchurch side that opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory in Thanet, against Ramsgate.

Margate’s top scorer, Dan Young, meanwhile, serves his one-match ban following his red card that he picked up against Canvey Island.

SITTINGBOURNE, who travel to Godalming Town tomorrow, are targeting further new signings.

Manager Gary Abbott says a goalkeeper is amongst the players he is aiming to sign, as is a strong centre half, but the Brickies confirm that they're awaiting international clearance for him. There is also a welcome return for Brian Glover who has rejoined the club following a short spell with Croydon Athletic.

www.kentishfootball.co.uk shall be covering Sittingbourne’s home game against Crowborough Athletic on Monday night.

Meanwhile, Sittingbourne’s supporters are planning to run their first ever Bullseye Event in their clubhouse at Bourne Park on Friday, 19^th September 2008.

Based on the famous TV game show, but with a twist, teams will comprise of four members, including a nominated darts player.

Cost is £5 per person (£1 discount for Supporters’ Club members). However, only eight teams will be allowed to compete.

For further details, contact Stuart Charlesworth on 07809 651 014 or Ken Medwyn on 07885 910 975.

A £5 deposit will be required per team. Please mention that you read this article on www.kentishfootball.co.uk when making contact.

SLADE GREEN manager Matt Longhurst has completed the signing of highly-rated midfielder Luke May from their Ryman Premier League neighbours Dartford.

May is one of three players to have put pen to paper for the Kent League club this week.

Longhurst has snapped up Andrew Willis (a PASE player at Ebbsfleet United) and Ebennezer Masade returns to the club following a stint with Blue Square South side Thurrock.

“Luke will bring with him not only the experience but also a great attitude I feel over the last two games we have lacked,” Longhurst told www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“Some of the lads have had a “we’ve arrived” attitude after a few good performances and this is not good enough.

“We are still missing two key players through injuries. Once we get them back, plus the additions, we will be fine.”

Longhurst takes his side down to Deal Town for a Bulmers Cider Kent League fixture tomorrow, looking to emulate the same result as last term.

He said: “We must go into the game fully concentrated. We had a great game there last season, which we won 4-3 in the last minute.

“It’s a difficult place to go but we will be well equipped with the added players to the squad.”

Willis, who also boasts Millwall as one of his former clubs, can play either as a central midfielder or out wide on the right and is added to the squad for tomorrow’s trip to the Charles Sports Ground.

Longhurst is also pleased to be able to call upon Msade.

“Ebs left the club at the end of last season and signed for Thurrock, scoring against Welling United recently,” he said.

But Longhurst warns players they can expect to leave the club if they fail to impress.

“There are several players leaving the club in the next week as I am also in talks with another highly-rated Kent League striker this week and hope to tie that up early next week,” he revealed.

But the former Dartford coach slammed mercenary footballers who leave his club for money at the same level as Slade Green.

“We have had several seven-day approaches for our players, which is bound to happen when people know we don’t pay any wages,” explained Longhurst.

“I expect one or two to leave to move up a league or two, but players that leave to gain £30 or £40 to play in the same league, which is hardly a life changing sum of money, seems crazy, but players will do this and I except that.

“I only want committed players to Slade Green and not mercenaries. If our near neighbours can offer x amount of pounds and players want to leave, they are welcome to do so.

“We can’t do anything about that. I still feel even with the players going through the exit door, the ones we have replaced them with are equally as good.

“Lets see if moving around the Kent League progresses them as footballers.

“So far, since I have taken over, we’ve seen Rhett Bernstein leave and play for a League One team in Sweden, Ryan Johnson leave and he is now at Welling United, Joe Horlock leave to go to Sittingbourne and Lee Craig leave and come back after a spell at Ramsgate.

“I feel the players are benefiting from good coaching and getting good progressing moves. I just hope the players that do move on go to the right places for the right places.

LORDSWOOD have parted company with manager Kevin Phillips, just three games into the new Bulmers Cider Kent League season.

The Lords are currently rock bottom in the table, without a point, and the club have acted swiftly to part company with the former Chatham Town reserve team manager.

A statement issued by the club on Tuesday morning said: “Following a meeting of Lordswood Football Club committee, on Friday, 29^th August, it was decided that Kevin Phillips would be relieved of his job as manager.

“He was asked and agreed to stand down at 7pm on Monday, with immediate effect.”

ERITH & BELVEDERE supporters have named striker Aiden Pursglove as their player-of-the-month for August.

Pursglove was the clear winner with 57% of the total votes, just two per cent behind John Farley who picked up the most number of votes back in March this year.

“This is the fourth month of the last five that Pursglove has finished in the top two of the voting and he becomes only the second player to win the award twice, the other being Matt Johnson,” a statement from www.disa.org.uk said.

Meanwhile, a familiar face returns to Park View Road, following the signing of striker Nick Smith from Ryman One South neighbours Thamesmead Town.

The former Lordswood striker scored 21 goals in 28 appearances last season, before injury forced him to miss the final third of last season.

“Having made only brief appearances for the Mead this season, joint managers Chris Cosgrove and Paul Gorman swooped to sign the former Lordswood front man following the League Cup tie against Tunbridge Wells last Tuesday,” said a Deres statement on www.erithandbelevederefc.co.uk.

MARK TOMPKINS has set his sights on bringing the Kent League title to Croydon.

Tompkins, who exited rivals Erith Town on the eve off the new season, was unveiled as the Trams’ new manager seven days ago, after signing for the club originally as a player.

But Dickson Gill’s ill-health has forced the chairman to take a backwards step in running team affairs and Tompkins is relishing his new role at the Croydon Sports Arena.

“I’m really looked forward to the challenge ahead,” Tompkins told www.croydon-fc.co.uk.

“I have known Dickson for a long time and wish him a speedy recovery.

“I am a very ambitious manager and want to manage at the highest level I can.

“With a lot of hard work and some lady luck I can take Croydon Football Club back into the Ryman League, where I once played for them.”

Tompkins is hopeful that he can add to the squad and the club have submitted a seven-day approach to his former club, Erith Town, for the versatile Adam Heaslewood.

“I will be trying to strengthen the team in the next few weeks, but must say we have some good players at the club already.

“Let’s hope we have something to cheer about come the end of April.”

MIKE ROBBINS is pleased with the progress his Tunbridge Wells side are making so far this season.

A quick sweep around the various internet forums at the moment indicates that by the end of August, the turnaround in fortunes at Culverden Stadium was starting to become more visible to the Kent League community as a whole.

This week, The Wells’ first team manager Mike Robbins and assistant manager Martin Larkin spoke with www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk to discuss the continuing development of the playing side of the club following a gutsy midweek come-back in the League Cup at Erith & Belvedere.

“I think it’s fair to say that a few people are beginning to take notice of what we are putting together,” observed assistant manager Martin Larkin.

“Tuesday’s comeback in our 2-2 draw at Erith & Belvedere certainly showed the progress we have made; 15-20 games ago that result would have gone a very different way - but the guys are beginning to believe that they can get a result out of any situation, and with the players that have come in we now have the quality and the spirit to do so.”

Robbins said: “I am glad that the lads found it in them to respond favourably when they could easily have been dead and buried. It gives us something positive to build on after the disappointment of the Horsham YMCA defeat in the FA Cup only days before.”

“During the last 30 minutes we played some of the best football you will see at this level”, continues Larkin.

“We really passed the ball around very well and opened them up a number of times, that’s not to say we are the finished article though - we’re not - but I was saying to Mike after the game that, for me, that is the most satisfying result since Mike took over last November.

“I get much more pleasure from getting a result from a situation where we should have got nothing, than beating someone four or five nil.”

Robbins recently went on record saying that the dogged, ground-out wins at the start of the season in the league enabled players to slowly learn that they could compete with, and beat any team in the division with the right level of application.

But just how difficult is it for the management to maintain a consistency of self-belief for the long haul, enabling sustained pressure on the leading pack over an entire season?

“If you’re talking about challenging for a top four position, then there are a couple of ways of instilling that belief,” Larkin explains.

“The first is to bring players in who have won titles and played regularly in sides finishing within the top four - they help to instil confidence and belief.

“The second is to get results away from home at the top sides like Erith & Belvedere whilst beating the big guys when at home, like we did against VCD.

“As a squad we are very happy, and I spend a lot of my time instilling that belief into players like Joe Fuller, Gary Clarke and James Russell that they are up there with the best players in this league.

“They have a responsibility to understand how good they can be, and therefore not waste a season trying to work out how good they are.

“It’s a double edge sword, in the end, though. Yes you would like to have players that have challenged for titles in your side - but if you have that you will probably have players that have challenged but missed out (only a select few have the winner’s medal).

“What we have is a young, hungry group. If they are in a position to challenge, they won’t have memories of previously missing out to hamper them - that’s got to be a mental edge - and it will allow them to attack the challenge with vigour.”

“Winning breeds winning,” Robbins affirms. “That in turn breeds confidence. But we must remember that the line between confidence and arrogance is very, very thin.

“We are a young side, and we are at the beginning of this journey, so we need to go about things in such a way as to keep the players feet firmly on the floor.

“Moving on with the right balance, we have to show that we can do what we’ve done in August consistently - and we need to get our game-plans spot on. It is our responsibility to set the guys up to achieve our objective in every match. There is plenty of room for improvement, as the players are just accepting that this run was not an accident.

“The new players are starting to settle in and gain the trust and respect of their peers. It’s fair to say, we’re only starting to gel properly now.”

“Bottom line,” concludes Larkin, “the results are the biggest factor. The longer we go unbeaten at home and the more points we pick up on our travels, the more the lads will naturally believe.”

And the next challenge comes tomorrow when Faversham Town visit for a Kent League match.

“This is a game that we rightfully go into as favourites,” Robbins remarked. “Anything less than a win will be seen as a disappointment from all, so we need a reaction from the guys. Obviously Faversham beat us at the tail end of last season, so we have that to avenge.”

“We have prepared the same as we always do,” Larkin added. “The guys have a strong home record to protect and a growing crowd to entertain. We will have a game plan built around our knowledge of Faversham (as will they… their manager was sat behind us at the Horsham game). We’ll look to build on the strong start.

“With two of the favourites playing each other Saturday (VCD and Hythe), one - if not both - will drop points, and in a short season like ours gaps will quickly open up.”

Following Saturday’s game, September will bring matches in the League, the FA Vase and League Cup. It could be argued any management team needs to keep a strong sense of perspective at this early stage in the season.

“Our intention is to win every game we play but certain competitions are held in higher esteem,” Larkin explains.

“For me the league will always be the priority. The Vase is a wonderful competition offering a great day out at the end. Mike and I went to watch the Final last year at Wembley, and it certainly got the blood pumping.

“If you won a competition like that, it would stay with you for life. At the same time, if you win it you don’t move up your league table, and league progress is how you are ultimately judged.

“The players and this club want to play the likes of Ashford Town, Cray Wanderers, Crowborough Athletic and Kingstonian each week, and even one day Maidstone United and Tonbridge Angels on a level footing.

“Having said that we are building a winning culture, and with our league only having 32 games in a season we could comfortably handle a nice cup run and a final.”

Visit club websites:

www.dartfordfc.co.uk

www.margate-fc.com

www.sittingbournefc.co.uk

www.lordswoodfc.com

www.erithandbelvederefc.co.uk

www.croydon-fc.co.uk

www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk