Everything at Coney Hall needs to be addressed, says new director of football Chris Tucker

CHRIS TUCKER says he has returned to Coney Hall as director of football to turn around the club’s fortunes.

Tucker, 35, was in charge of team affairs at Tiepigs Lane between September 2001 and February 2006 before stepping down after the club’s ambitions didn’t meet his own.

Tucker answered an SOS call from chairman Ross Huxley last week and agreed to return to the ailing club.

The Hayes-based outfit finished in ninth-place in the Haart of Kent County League Division One after winning nine and drawing five of their 28 league games last season.

Tucker said: “I had a meeting with the chairman Ross Huxley on Tuesday of last week. He obviously needed some help and guidance as senior football is at a low down there. 

“Last Wednesday night I agreed to go back to Coney Hall Football Club to sort of become director of football of all senior football, Saturday’s and Sunday’s, but the agreement was I would only come back if there was a structure in place at the club.

“The committee positions were filled at the time and there were a couple of people doing the positions.

“On Thursday I received a phone call from Ross to say he’s filled the positions on the committee that haven’t been filled for quite some time and I’m pleased to say the new committee and work team and the management team are in place to take the club forward.

Club founder and former chairman Brian Downs and James Barker will come in as head of discipline and club treasurer respectively.

Tucker, who managed Combined Counties League side Warlingham after leaving Coney Hall added: “I haven’t spoken to Brian yet, but I will in due course on Tuesday when we speak to all of the managers and players.

“We now have a bar manager, which is an important part of the club that brings in revenue, who will oversee the bar facilities and canteen.

“I will take over the senior secretary job and oversee senior football and then we’ll start the process of trying to get the Saturday first team back to a decent standard of football.”

The club appointed Arren Tarry as their new first team manager recently, replacing loyal servant Peter Allen.

Tucker said: “We’ll have a look to see if I can work with Arren and see how he will set-up his reserve team and hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll see how we can take the club forward on a Sunday as well, which was very disappointing for the club’s point of view last year.

“There’s a lot of work to do but with a new management team in place that really needs to be done starting tomorrow.  I shall speak to Arren again tomorrow. I’ll have a look at the pre-season fixture list for the next eight weeks.  We’ll have a meeting on Tuesday night with the management and after that meeting we’ll have a meeting with all of the players to what we expect from them next season about their discipline.

“It’s going to be a lot of hard work in such a short space of time.”

Since Tucker’s departure the club have suffered a downward spiral, quitting the Combined Counties League and have struggled in the Kent County League.

He said: “Since I left in 2006 the club has obviously slipped down the footballing ladder.  I’m not coming back into the management side, but I’m coming back to help Arren as much as I possibly can.

“If it wasn’t where it was, the chairman Ross wouldn’t ask for my help. He knows I’ll come in and do a job pretty quickly.  It needs to be done in the right way but it has to be done quick.

“It’s not in a strong financial position.  It’s not in the best of states. It needs a lot of work to be done to it and it’s only through the hard work by several people at the club the club has lasted the season out from last year.

“It’s not been great in the last six or seven seasons but we now know that the club will never progress in a decent set-up because of the trouble they’re having with their lights, but that doesn’t rule out a groundshare  if the team are good enough.

“I want to progress in football.  If their good enough to get up the footballing ranks then we’ll go as far as we possibly can.

“Promotion, winning the league this year is our main aim.”

The club are two divisions below the Kent Invicta League, but Tucker who famously said he would guide the club into the Ryman League during his spell as manager has kept that dream alive in the longer term.

The club can only stage up to the Kent Invicta League at present as they are not allowed to install floodlighting at their modest Tiepigs Lane base.

Tucker said: “That’s as far as we can go, but it doesn’t stop other club’s progressing.  If the team is good and they want to progress and they are good enough to progress they will have my full support.  We will look into a groundshare, but that’s a long way off.

“I had a good chat yesterday with Arren on the phone and he thinks he’s got a good enough side there with one or two additions, maybe he’s got a good enough chance of getting promoted this year.

“If we don’t get promoted this year there’s nothing to stop us getting promoted the season after, but as I say it’s a long way off groundsharing and rising up again through the League’s is a long way off.

“I was fortunate when I was manager. That side I had a good set of players wrapped around me and I was determined to take them up very quickly and it happened.

“It’s unfortunate over the last six or seven seasons the club has been in a state of decline.  Now we need some help to get back to a decent standard and sort out the discipline and the financial side out of it.

“I only had a brief conversation I had regarding the financial situation with Ross.  When only one or two people were willing to help down the club it becomes a lot of weight on one or two people’s shoulders from what I can gather.

“The bar isn’t taking the money that it should be taking, hence why we’ve got a new bar manager coming.

“Everything in that club needs to be addressed and I’ll certainly make sure I’ll keep my end of the bargain.

To contact Chris Tucker, email christucker24@hotmail.com

Visit Coney Hall’s website: www.pitchero.com/clubs/coneyhallfc

Article published 16:40 – Sunday 1 July 2012