We've got our feet on the floor, says Cray Valley boss Steve Chapman

CRAY VALLEY (Paper Mills) boss Steve Chapman says he is looking to consolidate in their inaugural Kent Hurlimann Football League campaign, writes Stephen McCartney.


The Eltham based club clinched promotion after finishing below Hollands & Blair and Canterbury City in the Kent County League last season and Chapman has snapped up streetwise Kent League campaigners for the club’s first ever season at this level.

“I’m expecting to consolidate this year really,” said Chapman.  “We’ve got our feet on the floor really.  We’re not expecting, even if we’ve got a lot of new players, to storm the league and win it.  We just want to find our way and to finish in a respectable position this year.”

Aaron Firth (Chatham Town), Sam Prett (Phoenix Sports), Kris Hollidge (Fisher), Adrian Deane (Erith & Belvedere), Paul Fitzpatrick (Phoenix Sports), Phil McBean (Lewisham Borough) and Arron Jefferies (Holmesdale) have all put pen to paper.

“We’ve still got quite a lot on trial (including Anthony John from Lewisham Borough) at the moment, so I don’t want to say too much because they might not get in.

“We’ve attracted quite a lot of players with Kent League experience, but we’ve retained about ten players from last year.

“We’ve got a nucleus, funnily enough, I think most of our better boys’ are the ones we’ve retained from last year, youngsters Ben Healy, Joe Matthews and Jamie Miller.  Joe and Jamie got a trial at Welling at the start of the season but unfortunately they didn’t get in, so they’ve come back to me, which is good.

“I’ve lost a young lad, called Lanre Azwez, he’s been with me for about five years and he’s just signed a contract with Ebbsfleet.  He’s one to watch out for the future.  He played in their 1-0 win the other night against Southend and they offered him a contract after the game.

“He’s only nineteen, he’s been at Ebbsfleet for two years’ in their academy team and he’s played for me.  I’m the manager of the London Under 18’s so he played for me at London and played for Cray Velley before he went to Ebbsfleet and they’ve taken him on, which is good for him and for our club to develop the players and they get a lot higher.”

Chapman revealed that Welling United skipper, Jack Parkinson, 21, started his playing career with the club, saying, “I was the first person ever to give him his first game in men’s football with Cray Valley reserves.  He played in our under 18 team before he went to VCD.”

With home-less Greenwich Borough about to spend their third season playing in Bromley at Holmesdale’s Oakley Road ground, Chapman is doing all he can to be top dog in Greenwich.

“We had an article in local newspapers last week just promoting the club, not asking for players, just to let everyone know that the club has been refurbished and has gone up into the Kent League,” said Chapman.

“We’re going to get good local support.  We’ve been supported well in the past.  With a new clubhouse, it’s just not a promotion into the Kent League for us.  It’s a new era.  The article is based on us being the second biggest club in Greenwich because Charlton Athletic is the biggest.  Greenwich Borough now play at Holmesdale. We’re looking at doing a lot with the local company.

“We’re a Chartered Standard Club with youth teams in the Kent Youth League.  We’re looking to doing a lot of work for the community.  We want to put the club on the map.  A lot of people have heard of Cray Valley, a lot of people confuse us with Cray Wanderers.  We want to get our own identity really.  It’s a consolidation year to see how we can stand on our feet.”

Cray Valley Veterans’ side will lock horns with Charlton Athletic Veterans’ at Badgers Sports Ground, Middle Park Avenue, on Sunday, 4 September (1pm), for a joint testimonial for striker Mark Knuckey (who scored 32 goals last season) and goalkeeper Stewart Back.

Testimonial’s have become a thing of the past as footballers drift from club to club nowadays, but both have been rewarded for their ten-year loyalty to the club with promotion into the Kent League.

Chapman said: “Matt has had a little taste of it because he left us for ten games a few years’ ago with Croydon. That’s the only break he’s had.  I just done his pen pic and updated it for the website.  He went to the Kent League and scored a dozen goals for Croydon and didn’t enjoy it and came back the same season.

“It’s a great achievement for those players as well and we’ll award them a testimonial.

“Hopefully both of them will be in the line-up for the first game against Tunbridge Wells – Matt has certainly got the coveted number 9 shirt. 

“That’s my problem now, I’ve got four good centre forwards – Luke Tanner from last year, Aaron Firth, Sam Prett and Matt Knuckey.  Keeping four good centre forwards happy is a nice problem!”

Cray Valley (Paper Mills) kick-off their Kent League campaign with an away game at Tunbridge Wells on 13 August.

When asked what he is expecting against Martin Larkin’s side at Culverden Stadium, Chapman said: “Hard to say really because Tunbridge Wells are one of the unknown teams for us.  Teams more local like Erith & Belvedere, Erith Town, VCD, Fisher and Greenwich Borough, we know what players’ they’ve go but Tunbridge Wells is a bit of an unknown. 

“I haven’t monitored their results because pre-season results don’t mean an awful lot to be honest.

“We’re going to go down with an aim of not to let any goals in to be honest.  Hopefully we’ll catch a few teams on the counter attack.  I’m a great believer of it you don’t let goals in you don’t lose the game.  We’re not going to be boring but we need to make sure we’ve got our defence in order because I think a lot of Kent League sides rely on set-plays, so we’re looking at not looking to give free-kicks away on the edge of the area as we’d get punished.”

When asked what brand of football his side play, Chapman says his side are attractive on the eye.

“We actually play football,” he said.  “We play it on the floor. We’ve not got any kickers in the team.  We play a lot of fluid football, pass and move.  I’m a coach myself as well as a manager and I worked with Paul Elliott at his academy for five years and every coach I’ve worked under have thankfully taught me how to play football as such and not to kick people up in the air, so you’ll see us try and play football without playing like Blackpool’s suicidal football played it last year, suicidal.  Hopefully you won’t see Cray Valley five, Deal six, in a game.”

Visit Cray Valley’s website: www.cray-valley.co.uk