Folkestone urgently need cash injection following cup exit

Folkestone Invicta Football Club today announced the departures of defender Sam Kola Okikiolu and striker Ellis Remy, writes Andy Bown & Tom Marchant - www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk

After being knocked out of the FA Cup and the FA Trophy at early stages in both competitions, the Cheriton Road Club have had to make cutbacks on the wage budget accordingly in order not to jeopardise the financial position of the club. Folkestone Invicta Football Club naturally wishes both players well in the future.

The disappointment surrounding the release of these two players is felt by the management team and also the Board.

But as has been well documented in the local press, and publicly for a number of years, the club has a real need for new Directors to come on the Board, to assist in the running of the Football Club in terms of a financial and time contribution.

The chairman appeals for any interested party who may be willing to help in any way, to contact him, where he will more than happy to talk to them.

The chairman’s contact details can be found on this website; click on the ‘Contact us’ tab on the menu bar.

In the meantime the club asks fans to remain upbeat and positive and to contribute in any way they can, and the Board hopes to see as many fans as possible at the Buzzlines Stadium tonight where Invicta take on Ashford Town in the Kent Senior Cup.

Strong forward Remy had made fourteen starts for Invicta, scoring a total of seven goals. Solid defender Okikiolu had played eleven games for the club, alongside captain Adam Flanagan and youngster Liam Friend in the heart of the Folkestone backline.

Manager Neil Cugley expressed his thoughts on today’s events, commenting: "As you can see it’s purely financial. We lost on Saturday and so we also lost £2,000 and we haven’t got the money to keep some players.

"We’ve let our top scorer go (Remy) and let Kola leave who I thought was man of the match yesterday, so I’m really disappointed.

"My hands are tied; I’m dictated by finances and I have to build a squad on money available."

Cugley added: "I can’t put how disappointed I am into words really. They were both really young, they were offering a lot to the Football Club and they were starting to settle down with us after moving around a lot and they had the potential to take this Football Club on but that isn’t going to happen now."

But Cugley stated that although he has had to let two players leave, the club must move on straight away.

He said: "I really thought we had turned the corner and I hate to say it but the two players we let go really had helped us do this. But all the team I can do is get on with it and make the best of a faltering season. There’s not a lot more I can say to the fans really, they’re as disappointed as I am."

Cugley is clear that the number of players he has in his squad at present is not enough for what he needs and he stated he is determined to bring in new faces to the Buzzlines Stadium.

"We can’t operate as a team on the amount of players we have so I will try to bring a few players in but the finances aren’t there so they will only be local players who won’t cost as much because we wouldn’t have let Kola or Ellis go otherwise".

Visit Folkestone Invicta's website: www.folkestoneinvicta.co.uk

Folkestone Invicta v Ashford Town
John Ullman Kent Senior Cup First Round
Monday 6th November 2006
Kick Off 7:45pm
at Buzzlines Stadium, Cheriton Road, Folkestone