A club like Fisher shouldn't be bottom of the league in the first place, says Martin Ford

MARTIN FORD says the lure of joining the management team at Fisher was the reason to come out of football retirement after three years’ out of the game.



Fisher are rooted to the foot of the Kent Hurlimann Football League table after winning only one and drawing four of their sixteen league games this season.

Former boss Steve Firkins was forced to resign on earlier in the month due to family concerns and his assistant manager Gary Davies followed.

The club appointed Firkins’ former number two, Billy Walton, who left the club at the end of last season and had brief coaching roles at VCD Athletic and Greenwich Borough earlier on in the season.

Walton, famed for his eye-catching brand of carpet football, was unveiled as the club’s new manager on 13 January – and made a surprise phone call to Ford and the pair will be working as joint-managers starting with Saturday’s home game against Sevenoaks Town at Champion Hill Stadium.
 
As a player, Ford spent eight years as an apprentice and junior at Charlton Athletic, before moving on to non-league football, playing for the likes of Maidstone United, Gravesend & Northfleet, Sittingbourne and Tonbridge.

However, his break into management came in 1993 when he was appointed as boss of VCD Athletic.

Four years later he led Vickers to the Kent County League championship by winning the title by a record 15 points, gaining promotion to the Kent League in the process.

He has twice gone close to winning the Kent League title, finishing as a runner-up in 2003, losing on goal difference to Maidstone United, and resigned eight games before the end of the 2006-07 season, when the club lost the title to Whitstable Town in the final week of the season.

Ford returned to management in January 2009 to take over Slade Green, but left the club at the end of that season when the club opted to pull their team out of the Kent League.

He teamed up with then Erith & Belvedere joint-managers, Richie Radbourne and Paul Gorman, in a general manager role, but he lasted only a couple of months at Park View Road and has been out of the game since October 2009.

”At the time I couldn’t give the 100% commitment needed due to work,” said Ford, whose son Joe, 24, is now on the coaching staff at Kent League side Cray Valley (Paper Mills).
 
”I’ve been out of the game for a while now, but I’ve been involved with plenty of coaching. I run a succession of soccer schools with my young boy which have been very successful.

”I’ve been watching a lot of games so I’m well up to date with the current regime.”

Ford revealed that he and Walton are joint-managers at Fisher.

”Billy took the job last Monday, he rang me on the Tuesday morning and asked me if I’d come in and be joint-manager with him.  We’ll run it 50-50. I’ve known Billy for many a year so it wasn’t a hard decision.

”Bill’s got all the enthusiasm, I’d like to think I’ve got the experience and knowledge we’re going to run a club like Fisher.

”To be honest with you, I’ve not missed the 24-7 of running a football club, but come Saturday morning’s I’ve really missed the game part of it, but I’ve been compensated with that by going along to watch Joe at Cray Valley. Where ever he goes I go and watch him.  I’ve kept in touch with it that way but I’ve missed my Saturday’s.

”I’ve said to Bill, we can split our time between the football club and hopefully take it on where they want to be.

”I enjoy life. I have a good life outside of football but this really did bring back my taste buds back.  Before Steve (Firkins) and Billy took over a couple of years’ ago, I did apply for the job down at Fisher, so I’ve been interested in that side of it for a while.

”I wouldn’t come out of retirement unless it was for a club like Fisher and I see them as a massive sleeping giant.  Obviously we’ve got no funds or budget but I think it’s a club we can beg, steal and borrow players and take it on.”

A couple of Fisher’s games have been postponed due to the cold snap and this has been a blessing in disguise for the new management team to get to know the club’s present squad as they prepare for Saturday’s basement battle at home to Sevenoaks Town on Saturday.

Simon Jones’ side are one place above them in the table, with three wins from their 16 games this season.

”Six-pointer? Certainly is!” said Ford.

”To be honest with you, we’ve made a few signings last week and we’re trying to get our backroom staff together. Hopefully other people I’ve approached will come on board for us by the weekend.

”I don’t know if we were ready for the Beckenham game last week if I’m honest with you. We had a lot of fresh faces who we didn’t know, but it’s given us another ten days.  We’re happy and off and running and the players’ we’ve brought in will benefit from it.

”I said to all the players after training we’ll give all players a chance.  We’re not going to bring a fresh team in. The players’ need some organisation and I think we’ll be ok and looking at the couple of training sessions we have certainly got some good players involved at the club.

”No disrespect to the other management team, they just need organising.

”The break has been perfect. As you can imagine my phone’s been absolutely manic over the last week. A lot of people have been ringing me up and wishing me well and that it’s good to have me back.

”I’m trying to hit the ground running. Bill has his ideas and so do I and the two of us can take this little football club where they want to be.  Having talked to the people involved they love their little football club and they’ve brought it back from the dead.

”We’re not under no illusions. It will take us a few weeks to sort the players out that we’ve got.  Hopefully we can build the squad up until the end of the season.  The powers at be, whether they want us to take it next year then we will and if they do we’ll get the club more organised than we can do short term.”

Ford spoke about his aspirations for the remainder of the season.

He said: ”A club like Fisher shouldn’t be bottom of the league in the first place anyway but I think we’ve got sixteen games left to play, 48 points, there’s plenty of points to play for.

”We definitely won’t come bottom! We’re too good of a football club to come bottom! I’m looking that we can nick 30 points and if we can do that we’ll finish midtable.

”I’ve got plenty of contacts in the game still so I’ll try to beg, steel and borrow and we’ve got five games at home next. 

”I’d be lying to say I’ve missed the 24-7 running of the football club – I’ve not!  I’ve enjoyed that break. I’ve enjoyed some quality family time together.

”I just feel the right time now for me to come along to see if we can get the club back on an even keel and start thinking about winning more games than we lose.

”Bill can benefit from my experience maybe and I’m looking forward to working with him.

”I’ve never worked as a joint-manager before so it’s a new thing for me.  I’m not getting any younger so it’s a challenge that I want to take up along side Bill.”

Visit Fisher’s website: www.fisherfc.co.uk  

Fisher  v  Sevenoaks Town
Kent Hurlimann Football League
Saturday 26^th January 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Champion Hill Stadium, Dog Kennel Hill, Edgar Kail Way, East Dulwich, London SE22 8BD