Kent League await Slade Green resignation letter

Tuesday 14th July 2009

ROY VINTER says he is in preliminary discussions with officials of Slade Green regarding the club withdrawing from the Kent League, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Kent League secretary, speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk at 5:30pm this evening, says the Small Glen club have discussed the possibility of pulling out of the League.

But with the Ryman Football League publishing their fixtures at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning, Mr Vinter wants official confirmation about the club’s future before the Kent League publish their fixture list this weekend.

Speculation has been rife about Slade Green’s future this week, and Thamesmead Town confirmed today that their pre-season friendly against Martin Ford’s side, which was scheduled for Tuesday, 28th July, has been cancelled.

Thamesmead manager Keith McMahon is now looking for an away fixture to fill in the void.

“We had a text last night, saying friendly cancelled, Slade Green folded,” said a spokesman from Bayliss Avenue.

But Mr Vinter is concerned that the Kent League will be left with only 15 clubs this season, and one of them is from east London, Sporting Bengal United.

When asked if Slade Green were folding, Mr Vinter replied, “We’ve had preliminary discussions with them on this and this is the school of thought at the moment.

“At the moment they don’t have the back room staff to run the club but there will be further talk with them later this week.”

Mr Vinter added that the club are at present a Kent League club, until he receives official confirmation of their resignation.

“We haven’t got any letter of registration from them so they are a Kent League club, until it’s been decided that they are resigning completely,” he added.

“Bruce Smith is certainly not going to be secretary no matter what happens and they’ve got other people, Keith, I can’t remember his surname, he’s had a bypass operation and he’s still under medical supervision from that.

“There’s a couple of others that have been mentioned. We just have to take it how it comes now.”

Fixture secretary, Matthew Panting will start working on the Kent League fixture list at 10am tomorrow morning, once the Ryman League publish their fixture list for the new campaign.

And Mr Vinter said: “We haven’t set any deadlines, we’ve got to make a quick decision because we want the fixtures to be done.

“The Ryman League publish their’s tomorrow and Matthew will set about doing ours and we hope to have ours done by the weekend”

If Slade Green do quit the Kent League, Mr Vinter will be sorry to see them leave.

“Anybody whose got less than 22 (clubs) can’t afford to lose anybody can they?” he said.

“There are leagues operating with 15 clubs or less, the Essex Senior League is operating with fifteen.”

Meanwhile, www.kentishfootball.co.uk have twice requested a statement from the club and are waiting to receive it.

Visit Slade Green’s website: http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/sladegreenfc/