I think we've made the right move, says Aylesford Paper Mills chairman Brian Reynolds

AYLESFORD PAPER MILLS chairman Brian Reynolds says the club must leave their Cobdown ground after 93 years if they are to progress into the Kent Invicta League within their three-year timescale.



The club have played at their traditional ground at the Cobdown Sports & Social Club at Station Road, Ditton, even since their formation back in 1919.

But Mr Reynolds says he has shaken hands on an initial one-year deal to play at Bearsted’s ground, eight miles away at Honey Lane in Otham.

The 67-year-old has set manager Kris Browning a three-year timescale to join the Bears in the Kent Invicta League.

“It’s a bit of a wrench in a way, I suppose for myself,” said Mr Reynolds.

“But unfortunately the facilities that are required to move on can’t be achieved down at Cobdown so therefore we have to look at alternatives.

“It’s just one of those difficult decisions.  At the end of the day you have to be a little bit sensible.  If you want to move on, which we do, we don’t want to just stay here (the Kent County League).

Mr Reynolds says he must thrash out a deal with the land owner Albert McNaughton to give his club security of tenure at Bearsted’s ground.

“At the moment it’s obviously for this year coming up,” he revealed.

“I will sit down with Albert, who owns the place and get some sort of security of tenure because that’s important, not only for us because it’s a requirement of the Kent County League as well. 

“Although we can have security of tenure for 12 months, which is fine by the league, but we do need to get some sort of security of tenure as heaven forbid if anything would happen to Albert a handshake is one thing, maybe those following him may not be interested.

“One has to be a little bit of a realist and realise they might not have the same things that Albert’s quite happy to have.”

The club finished their Haart of Kent County League Premier campaign in sixth-place and Mr Reynolds explained the costs involved in running a club at that level.

He said:  “It does cost us quite a lot of money to play where we are.  Last year’s costings for training, washing the kit, having sandwiches, which is a criteria, apart from your normal referees and hiring the pitch etc, you’re talking for two sides £6,500, which is a lot of money to have to bring back because you can’t keep charging players extortionate amounts.

“You get to a certain level where they can’t afford to play almost.  We can’t afford to pay them or them not to pay. There is a limit, I believe, to how far you can go.”

Mr Reynolds explained why the club are now called APM Contrast.

“Contrast sponsor us,” he said.   “They said they’ll do it for four years and they pay good money to have their name there. 

“For a club like ours, £1,750 each year, is a lot of money!”

Mr Reynolds says playing Kent Invicta League football is their next step.

“I think that’s the next step and that’s where we need to look to push on without a doubt,” he said.

“I think if you don’t have a path that you can achieve I think it knocks everyone back. If you want to get other players’ you need to say that’s our ambition and we can achieve that because we’ve got X, Y and Z in place.”

Like many venues, the problems erecting floodlighting proves to be the stumbling block to progress further up the football pyramid.

Mr Reynolds said: “There’s not many grounds than Cobdown where we are at the moment, but unfortunately we change quite a way from the ground as such, about 80 yards, which is too far, but we can alter that. 

“We can change underneath the stand because the facilities as regards electricity, water, drainage etc is there so that wouldn’t be a hardship, but floodlights is 99% a no, so to move on we need to have that facility in the future.”

Mr Reynolds has many happy memories at the club’s ground, but admits it’s time to move on.

He added: “It’s sad. It’s absolutely awful. I’ve got loads and loads of memories being down there as to what the club is now to the old days of the green hut as they used to call it.

“I think we’ve made the right move.  Only time will tell.”

Manager Browning, 37, meanwhile, is relishing the opportunity of leading the club into the Kent Invicta League at the earliest opportunity.

He said: “The chairman has sorted out a groundshare with Bearsted, who are in the Kent Invicta League.  He’s going to give us a three-year plan really to try and get us sorted and get ourselves up into the Kent Invicta League and hopefully go further.

“There are plans in place at the club now but unfortunately the situation at Cobdown is we cannot go any further.  The facilities there are superb but the chairman, myself and Paul Atkins, my assistant, want to move the club as much forward as we can and everything else and improve the squad and everything else and now we have the perfect opportunity.

“We’re not in the comfort zone next year or the year after. We really need to get it sown up.

“The chairman kind of says don’t put too much pressure on yourselves because we want to build the youth sides up and things like that but obviously he’s got the move.   We need to deliver.”