I regret moving to Dartford, admits Carley

Wednesday 20th May 2009

CRAIG CARLEY admits he made a mistake to leave his comfort zone of turning out for Metropolitan Police to sign for Kent giants Dartford.

Carley quit Metropolitan Police to sign for the Ryman Premier League giants in February, but admits in an interview with www.hounslowguardian.co.uk that he should have stayed at Imber Court.

Carley suffered a frustrating time at Princes Park, failing to score a single goal, but jumped at the chance of returning to play for Jimmy Cooper's side once Darts boss Tony Burman showed him the door.

"With hindsight I should never have left," he said.

"There was an awful lot of travelling involved - training could sometimes take two hours to get to.

"Dartford also wanted me to play in midfield, which I haven't done for years.

"I enjoyed playing in front of big crowds, and Dartford have a very nice stadium, but they were looking to cut my money and it just wasn't worth the effort.

When it became clear that his time in Kent had come to an end, Carley made it known he was likely to be on the move.

And the Roehampton-based striker reveals he attracted plenty of interest, adding, "I got quite a few phone calls, and I had a very good chat with Alan Dowson about going to Kingstonian.

"But at the end of the day my loyalty is with the Met - they were good enough to let me go to Dartford so I owe them one."

Metropolitan Police's promotion hopes were dashed by Kent side Cray Wanderers when Simon Osborn's stunning 78th minute free-kick gave Ian Jenkins' side promotion alongwith champions Kingstonian.

And Carley added, "They were really unlucky not to go up this year, and I think the squad will be even stronger next year. Hopefully I can make a difference and help them get promotion."

Quotes courtesy of www.hounslowguardian.co.uk & www.nonleaguedaily.com