I certainly don't want to finish bottom, says Cray Valley boss Steve Chapman

CRAY VALLEY (Paper Mills) manager Steve Chapman says he wants to avoid finishing in the basement in the club’s inaugural Kent Hurlimann Football League campaign, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Eltham based outfit have gone 360 minutes since scoring their last goal after being guilty of missing some decent chances during the goal-less draw at Fisher on Monday night.

Cray Valley have played the most games in the League (eleven) and have picked up two wins and three draws and are presently sitting in a false position of eleventh.

“We’ve come an awful long way,” said 48-year-old Chapman.

“I’ve been at the club since 1982 when I joined as a player.  I’ve always been a Cray Valley player, secretary and a manager. 

“I was looking at some statistics the other day and Cray Valley’s first team since we’ve been reformed has never been relegated from any division so I don’t want that association with me. 

“I don’t know if there’s any relegation (from the Kent League into the Kent Invicta League) this year.  I certainly don’t want to finish bottom and be the first person to be in charge of the first team to go down.  In all the league’s over the years’ we’ve never been relegated.”

Cray Valley hold the favourites tag for the first time this season when they travel to Sidcup to lock horns with Seven Acre & Sidcup in the London Senior Cup on Saturday.

Lee Hill’s side sit in fourth place in the Kent Invicta League with a record of three wins and three draws from their league outings and are eight points adrift of league leaders Bly Spartans.

Chapman said: “I’m not taking it easy.  I know Lee Hill, I used to play football with him many years’ ago when we were 16-18 for Yarnton, the same team as (former Chelsea player) Paul Elliott and we had a good team many years’ ago.”

Chapman is relishing the London Senior Cup game, especially as his side won the more junior London Intermediate Cup for the past two years.

He said: “Lee’s good.  I’m pleased for him.  He puts as much effort if not more than me into Seven Acre’s as a club.  He puts a lot of his own money in and he’s taken a gamble to come away from their ground to get them Step Six.

“I’ll still be fielding a strong team.  We’re not going to win the League this year so a Cup run would be a bonus because we won the Intermediate Cup for the last two seasons.  A nice run in the Senior Cup will be nice.”

The Cray Valley stalwart gave an update on the progress being made at the club’s ground at Middle Park Avenue in Eltham.

“The ground is fantastic by the way.  We get a lot of compliments,” he said.

“You can see how much our ground has improved.  The dressing rooms are fantastic, the bar and we’re looking to get the stand and the floodlights up in March so before the end of the season.  We’ve got to get them up by next season, otherwise we’ll get relegated and I don’t want that!”

Visit Cray Valley (Paper Mills)’ website: www.cray-valley.co.uk  

Seven Acre & Sidcup  v  Cray Valley (Paper Mills)
London Senior Cup (Sponsored by Coventry Scaffolding) Second Round
Saturday 1^st October 2011
Kick Off 2:30pm
at Sidcup & District Conservative Club, Oxford Road, Sidcup, Kent DA14 6LW