The Ashford supporters deserve football at Homelands, says Paul Bowden-Brown

ASHFORD UNITED managing director Paul Bowden-Brown says welcoming Gillingham to Homelands on Wednesday night will end a year of frustration at the club, writes Stephen McCartney.


It has been over a year since the sad demise of Ryman League Division One South side Ashford Town and the new club are preparing for life as one of the sixteen founder members of the Kent Invicta League, the new League at Step Six.

Manager Tony Reynolds has enticed friendlies against Ashford’s former Ryman League opponents – but it’s the visit from League Two side Gillingham that the former Maidstone United chairman is excited about.

The club are expecting a crowd of over 1,000 for their return to football, having only played youth football in the Ryman Youth and Kent Youth League last season, although Maidstone United played Ryman Premier League football at Homelands last season.

“What does it mean? The end of all the frustrations I suppose,” said Mr Bowden-Brown.

“What happened last season and all the hard work that’s gone behind the scenes, to get this match even on and us to be playing in a league, its relief but it’s only what the supporters of Ashford deserve.”

Ashford will have to clinch two promotions to get back to playing Ryman League Division One South football, but Mr Bowden-Brown is happy just to be back playing football.

He said: “A lot of people are complaining where we are but as I’ve always said, I just wanted to get Ashford United playing football again and that’s what Tony (Betteridge) asked me to do in January when I got involved and I’ve ensured that we’ve done everything right with the FA and the Kent County Football Association.

“We’ve got a team now with a manager and a squad being put together and then we go from there.

“Yes, we will be playing football for the first time as Ashford United, so it’s our inaugural day on Wednesday night.”

Mr Bowden-Brown added: “This is me speaking as the managing director.  I’ll be honest with you, if 50 people turn up to watch the match that’s 50 people more than was here last season watching a football match!

“Tony (Reynolds) is unfortunately away on holiday because of the change of the fixture so Mark Patterson and Paul Chambers and the rest of them will put a squad out there that we can watch, we can work with and we know if they’re good enough for what we want this season.  The whole thing is we’re playing competitive football again at Homelands.”

The managing director says everything is in place to welcome Andy Hessenthaler’s side to Homelands Stadium in what is also the first football match to be staged in Kent after the summer break.

Mr Bowden-Brown said: “Ashford deserves a football team, Homelands is a fantastic site up there, not just for the football but for functions and everything else, which is what I’m running as a business and I’ll be honest with you, with Ernie (Warren) running our football committee and the rest of the volunteers, they deserve all the support from the supporters’.

“Yes, of course other supporters that were watching Ashford play football previously will say ‘we’re not going to watch park football’, well, that goes right over my head for one reason, you know me, twenty years ago, I started with park football (When Maidstone Invicta/United started their climb from the base of the Kent football pyramid) and as far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing.

“These teams are in Step Six for their own right.  We’ve got nothing over them apart from we’re very lucky to have a stadium that’s fully equipped.  We just have to prove we can play football and our achievements that we want.

“We will do the best we can to get out of (the Kent Invicta League), but we’ve got the same chance as those other fifteen teams in that league.”

Ashford United have been described as the team to beat in the Kent Invicta League this season as they have the best stadium and largest support in the division.

“When Tony (Betteridge) asked me initially in January, I thought it would be a walk in the park as they say but I found out the problems the FA wanted us to resolve,” explained Mr Bowden-Brown.

“But they’ve given us full support.  It’s been hard work.  You know me, I had to lie the law down.  The FA wanted a Limited Company, so be it.  Tony and I are the directors and we’ve got a football committee, as they wanted us to run it.

“I’ve learnt my lessons over twenty years what we have to do and the view down that tunnel that I’m looking down at the moment is to give those Ashford supporters a team to support and the only way that supporters’ support a team properly is if it’s a winning team and they play exciting football.

He added: “Yes, there is pressure. I’ve told them what I want and that will remain in my book closed, but what we have to do is take nothing for granted.  We’ll be playing against eleven players each Saturday and they will want to win as well.  There’s a lot of good teams in that division and what we have to do is ensure we do it professionally.

“If we do it right, we’ve got a very good chance of achieving what we want or what the directors’ want, but it’s all down to the team and the management team.

“But let’s be fair about it, and I totally support Tony Reynolds and Mark Patterson, who has come over as director of football for the club and  that’s what I need, I need professionals around because they know what I want and we have to provide football for our supporters.

“They call us the Dover, whatever they like to call us, I don’t care.  We know what we like to achieve and we will ensure they have the tools to succeed with what we want for next season.”

Looking ahead to the club’s high profile pre-season campaign, which sees Whitstable Town, Tonbridge Angels, Hythe Town, Ramsgate, Faversham Town and arch-rivals Folkestone Invicta visit, Mr Bowden-Brown said, “We are now starting to play football at Homelands and I’ve got to admit the pre-season is very good.  It’s been set out very well by Mark and Tony and I just like to thank everyone, especially Gillingham, to bring a team with their new signings, I’m told, on Wednesday.  We will be prepared.”

www.kentishfootball.co.uk begin our coverage of the highs and lows of the 2011-2012 season, by covering this game.

Admission Charges:
£5 (adults)
£3 (Seniors)
FREE (under 16s)

Visit Ashford United’s website: www.ashfordunited.co.uk

Ashford United  v  Gillingham
Pre-Season Friendly
Wednesday 6^th July 2011
Kick Off 7:30pm
at Homelands Stadium, Ashford Road, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent TN26 1NJ