I'm expecting that we're going to be a comfortable midtable side, says Martin Ford

ERITH & BELVEDERE co-manager Martin Ford says their inaugural Ryman League game is a massive one for the club.


The Deres clinched the Kent League double under former boss Micky Collins last season and only two players, goalkeeper Jack Bradshaw and defender George Benner remain at the club, following a mass exodus after Collins, his entire management team and squad quit the club.

Co-managers Ford and Chris Cosgrove have brought in a new squad, but they put in a poor performance during yesterday’s Southern Counties East Football League Challenge Shield when they lost to Corinthian 2-0 at Gay Dawn Farm.

Corinthian were the side The Deres beat 4-1 to win the Macron Kent League Cup last season, but Matt Longhurst’s side won their first senior honour thanks to goals from Peter Afolayan and substitute Jack Pallen.

Erith & Belvedere play one more pre-season friendly and travel to The Skrill South (Conference South) club Ebbsfleet United on Tuesday night (7:45pm), before welcoming Redbridge to Park View Road for their opening Ryman League Division One North game of the season.

“Massive, massive. I’m looking forward to it now,” said former Fisher co-boss Ford.

“I’m sitting here now a little bit despondent that we’ve lost 2-0 (to Corinthian), but I’ll take it on the chin.  I’ve been in football a long time so you’re going to enjoy your wins and when you get defeated you’ve got to take it.

“Redbridge is a game, if we get our act together, we’re at home and they’re up and down pre-season like we’ve been, so it’s a game I’m confident if the lads’ are up for it, we can get some points on the board.”

Ford said he is looking forward to the competitive nature that you cannot replicate during pre-season.

“That’s the thing I’m looking forward to,” he said.  “I’m not worried about using players that are on the bench, keep players happy trying to get them involved.

“When it comes down to Saturday it’s pure business. Our squad is going to be very important this year. We’ve got a 20-man squad.  The phones ringing all the time with players who want to come in and strengthen us even further because I’m quite happy with the squad that I’ve got at the moment.

“It didn’t show yesterday, we didn’t compete and we got totally outplayed and deservedly got beat 2-0, that’s my personal opinion.”

When asked what his aspirations are for the season ahead, Ford replied: “I’m expecting that we’re going to be a comfortable midtable side, I really am.  Only time will tell.

“It’s new for me as well in the Ryman. I think it’s a question of until we see the standard of the football and we learn from it and we try and find out what players are playing well and what systems they’re playing.

“If we can adapt to the Ryman League because most Ryman League clubs will have strong centre halves, good centre forwards with plenty of movement, good players in midfield and if we don’t compete then we’re going to get beat.

“I’ve got a feeling these boys will be ok.”

Ford expressed his disappointment that last season’s double winning squad decided to quit the club en-mass.

“There’s reasons for that,” he said.  “I don’t want to make the reasons public. A lot of the players were personally good friends with Micky and when I came to sit down with the players, there’s more money that we basically couldn’t afford this year.

“They wanted to be rewarded going up into the Ryman League and I don’t blame them for that but unfortunately we’re not in that league this year to pay them what they want for Ryman League football.

“We’ve had to go out and get young lads that are hungry but hopefully we’ll come into the club and make their own names.

“When it comes down to money if you can’t afford them, you just have got to shake them by the hand and wish them all the best.

“There’s a few players who were there last year who haven’t conducted themselves very well this year but that’s all gone now.  They’ve won the league and want to do what they wanted to do.

“I spoke to every single player that was at the club last year and asked them if they wanted to stay and get first crack of the whip.  A few of them stayed for pre-season and then for other reasons they’ve all gone in all different directions.

“When you look at most of them they have gone on to better standards of football. The other four or five of them just can’t play midweek.  If they can’t play midweek games there’s no point in having them in our club.

“Half of the team went on to better things and half the team couldn’t commit so they’ve left and we have to move on. They were all offered to stay, unfortunately for a lot of personal circumstances they couldn’t stay. If you can’t commit to playing twice a week I can’t go chopping and changing players every other game.”

Erith & Belvedere will play 46 league games this season because all three divisions of the Ryman League have 24 clubs.
 
Ford said: “The players that I’ve got at the club, they have to buy into that.  I’ve got no players at the club now who can’t commit to that.

“I’ve got no players that can’t make the Tuesday night games now. It’s a very important thing when you sign players as well, they can show you the commitment of a Tuesday night and they can be there. I don’t want three or four lads ringing me up on a Tuesday afternoon saying they can’t make it.

“These boys all know what we expect from them and they’re available every week.  We’ve got a good 20 man squad now.”

Visit Erith & Belvedere’s website: www.erithbelvederefc.co.uk

Erith & Belvedere  v  Redbridge
Ryman League Division One North
Saturday 10^th August 2013
Kick Off 3:00pm
At Park View Road, Welling, Kent DA16 1SY