I think we've made virtually £10,000 on Stuart King inside a matter of months, says Neil Cugley

FOLKESTONE INVICTA have sold prolific goalscorer Stuart King back to his home-town club Herne Bay.

Herne Bay boss Sam Denly, desperately wanted King, 25, back at Winch’s Field.

In a statement, published on www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk, Folkestone manager Neil Cugley admitted: “They came in about a month or so ago and made an offer for him, which we turned down, but they upped the offer and, after talking to Stuart last week, we have decided it’s best to let him go.

“He spoke to me about going to Herne Bay last week, and didn’t really want to leave. His biggest problem is that he’s now working in Medway most of the time and getting here for training was becoming very difficult for him.

“He’s also having to work Saturday mornings, which could have proved a major a problem when we’re travelling away.”

Cugley added: “I want to stress very strongly that the money is not a factor here, and to be fair to Stuart, he’s not a money-grabbing lad at all - he wasn’t one of our highest paid players, though that might surprise some people.

“I don’t like saying anything about players going and coming before the paperwork has all gone through, which is why I’ve not spoken about it up till now.

“Kingy’s goalscoring record is quite incredible, but when you look at it, our results have been better without him than when we’ve had him in the side.”

It is true that Folkestone surprised probably even the manager himself when they kicked on superbly from January to finish fifth last season, making the play-offs for the second successive year.

That after selling King to eventually promoted Maidstone United for a fee of £6,000 which helped offset an outstanding VAT demand from the Taxman.

King returned to Cheriton Road during the summer after failing to land a new contract with the Stones, and though it is believed that a small fee changed hands then, that is believed to have been met by a well-wisher and didn’t come out of club funds.

Invicta are not divulging how much they will get this time but an unconfirmed source suggests that it is in excess of £3000, says the club website.

The manager refused to be drawn on these points, but admitted: “If you’re really pushing me, we have made money on the deal.

“It’s increasingly rare that fees are paid between clubs at our level these days but when you think about it we’ve made virtually £10,000 for Kingy inside a matter of months.

“But it’s important to stress again that money wasn’t the issue here. We don’t need to sell any of our players and we’re in a far healthier position than we were.

“I’ve enjoyed managing Stuart since he came to us but if his head’s not right you learn to move on. I think his sending off last weekend underlined that things have not been quite right.

“It’s taken a lot longer than I’d hoped, but I really do believe we’re getting close to having  a really good squad here now - and a really great spirit in the side, as we showed on Saturday.

“We’ve got a really good goalkeeper in Tim Roberts now and a good attacking midfielder in Michael Yianni, with others like Luch (Dane Luchford), (Jake) Beecroft and (Phil) Stevenson all playing well.”

There appears some really good news on the fitness front, too with outstanding young striker Johan Ter Horst said to be “only a couple of weeks away from a return.”

The manager said: “Johan’s a terrific young player and it will be a huge boost for us to get him back.
“He’s very important to the way we want to play.”

Cugley admits he would still, ideally, like to bring another striker to the club, but has missed out recently on Maidstone forward Ian Draycott who opted to join Leatherhead, another striker who decided that travelling down to the coast twice a week would be too much, and former Invicta player of the year Leigh Bremner, who was snapped up from Cray Wanderers by Ryman Premier League side AFC Hornchurch last week.

Michael Yianni and Dane Luchford, who scored three of Folkestone’s goals in the 4-2 victory over Walton & Hersham on Saturday, look the likeliest front two for tonight’s home game against Eastbourne Town, currently bottom of the table, but - in the past - often a difficult side to beat.

Matt Newman returns after missing the Walton & Hersham win through a long-standing family commitment

Herne Bay boss Denly, meanwhile, told his club website that he is delighted to bring the King back to the club.

He said: "It has been no secret that I have wanted to add an experienced striker to the quality squad I already have and I am delighted that we have managed to re-sign Stuart who will, I know be very successful for us in this new spell with the club".

He added: "We are currently working on all of the paperwork so hopefully Stuart can be included in tonight's squad against Hastings.

"I would also like to thank the Chairman and committee for making this signing happen and all of the effort they have put in and the faith they have showed in me as manager".

Visit Folkestone Invicta’s website: www.folkestoneinvictafc.co.uk  

Visit Herne Bay’s website:  www.pitchero.com/clubs/hernebay