Ambitious club await floodlight decision before applying to Kent League - EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

Holmesdale Football Club, currently in third place in the British Energy Kent County League table, have aspirations of becoming a Kent League club in the very near future, writes Stephen McCartney.

The club based at Oakley Road, Bromley Common, are currently celebrating their 50^th anniversary and are nine points behind Ashford based leaders Bromley Green, but with two games in hand.

Holmesdale have already splashed out £15,000 on their smart ground but the only thing that’s holding them back is that old chestnut - floodlighting.

Kent League clubs often complain about the lack of teams currently in their league and the poor facilities at some grounds.

There are currently fifteen Kent sides in the division and Surrey based outfit Croydon, who are eleventh points behind leaders Whitstable Town in second placed.

And there’s a team from east London, Sporting Bengal United, that are simply not good enough to compete at this level, having leaked 70 goals from their 20 league games and are rock bottom.

“We are currently awaiting the result of our floodlight planning application through Bromley Council,” chairman Mr Ray Tolfrey said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.  

“Subject to acceptance we will then be on the hunt for funding or sponsorship.

“It’s difficult for clubs at our level as you can only get funding for £20,000, which will not get floodlights installed. Once you are in the Kent League, you can get £100,000.

“We have enquired to the Kent League and have had a visit, not an inspection, to advise us of what work we need to carry out to meet the required criteria for Kent League football.

“If successful with the floodlighting, we shall apply to the Kent League.”

Holmesdale have spent £8,000 building a scaffold and bench seated stand, and Mr Tolfrey added: “It does meet the criteria once we have marked out the individual seats and the required officials’ sections.”

But the club are currently working out the costs to improve their ground, which will also need a public address system and a separate board room.

“We have recently converted the home, away and officials changing rooms to meet the criteria,” said Mr Tolfrey.

“The pitch has a full perimeter barrier of post and rail with a path on half of one side. However, under the new criteria we would also have to complete a path around the full perimeter of the pitch.”

In fact the club have already put in training lights, changing facilities up to Kent League standard, pitch barrier that has cost in the region of up to £15,000, all of which has been raised through fund raising events, sponsors and donations.

Mark Hayes, who doubles up his duties as club secretary and groundsman, scooped the Groundsman of the Year award for 2006 for the London and South East Region for their level of football.

“Our pitch is one of the better surfaces within the Kent County League, especially considering that we do all the work ourselves, forking, cutting, marking, rolling and spiking, etc,” said Mr Hayes.

“The surface is a good playing one but we have struggled this year with the wet weather and an area near the stand where a shadow has been cast.

“We need to fund some verti-draining, which will hopefully help the situation.”

With clubs such as Bromley, Cray Wanderers, Beckenham Town and Croydon within a couple of miles of the club, Holmesdale believe their support will grow once they progress into the Kent League.

“Who knows? It would be nice to think so,” said Mr Tolfrey. “We have a young squad, with an average age of 22 and the majority of which have come through a previous youth set-up and they are keen to progress along with the club.

“We have a couple of main sponsors - PSM Plant and Tool Hire, M R Scaffolding and R&T Roofing and we get an average about thirty spectators for first team games.

“But we do play attractive football, we are not a long ball team, so hopefully we can attract some more support in the future.”

Mr Hayes added that he hopes the club will get their floodlights to compete at the higher level.

He said: “This season is Holmesdale’s 50^th year. It would be a magnificent achievement if we could win the league and gain promotion to the Kent League as originally we had hoped just to stay up in our first season and have a good cup run.

“The management team and players have done extremely well thus far. We have sixteen league games left to play and there are at least four clubs that could win the title so it will be an exciting run-in.

“Hopefully, all the hard work that every one is putting in from the chairman, club officials, managers, coaches  and the supporters we will reap the rewards a club of Holmesdale’s standing deserves.”

Dale welcome Crockenhill, a club that lost their Kent League status in the 90's due to their floodlight application being turned down, to Oakley Road next Saturday, 10th February.  The Crocks are bottom of the premier division table.

Visit Holmesdale’s website: www.holmesdalefc.co.uk

Please visit  www.footballgroundsinfocus.com/TT67042.htm  to view photographs of Holmesdale’s Oakley Road ground.

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