Kentish Football 
Leaving Faversham was not an easy decision, says Dale Skelton
Friday 20th January 2012
DALE SKELTON says money wasn’t the motive behind his decision to leave Faversham Town after three years’ to team up with his former boss Justin Luchford at their Ryman League Division One South rivals Whitstable Town.Skelton has today issued a statement saying he enjoyed his time at Salters Lane but felt it was time to move on to join Luchford at The Belmont.
“I would like to firstly say a big thank you to everyone at Faversham Town for the last three seasons,” said Skelton.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and doing the double in my first season was certainly the highlight.
“Unfortunately for me work commitments and tearing my knee ligament have restricted my appearance's from the end of last season to the start of this and when I have been available I have found myself waiting to get back in the team because the lads who had the shirts were in good form.
“I have the utmost respect for Ray (Turner) and Clive (Walker), and I talked to them a lot off the pitch. I believe what they are trying to achieve at Faversham and where they see the clubs future is exciting.
“You only have to look at the players they are signing to have an idea of their ambition. Ray is doing a great job considering this is his first full season as manager he has got bucket loads of enthusiasm and ambition.
“Clive is old school but one of the best managers and coaches I have had the privilege to play for and between them both the club will only continue to stride forward and all that made my decision to leave very difficult and I wish everyone at Faversham all the best for the future.
“Like I have said Leaving Faversham was not an easy decision but I know I have had the right decision for me at this time. Despite what people believe not everyone moves for the money and my decision had absolutely nothing to do with money and at no point did I ask for more money to stay.
“To be honest by the time you take into account expenses to get to Whitstable from where I live I'm breaking even but that's not why I play football anyway. My reasons where purely personal, Lutch (Justin Luchford) played a big part, my family life and work played a huge part in my decision but the main reason is because I want to play regularly and I felt that there was more opportunity for me to do that at Whitstable.
“As for Lutch, he is not everyone's cup of tea I know perhaps it’s because his a spurs fan - seriously though I can’t see why some people have got such a negative attitude for him.
“What he achieved at Faversham should be respected. I know it wasn't always pretty but our aim was to get out of the Kent league which we did, not play like Barca and finish 4th! He has given Faversham Town Ryman football after all!
“Lutch wants to win and sometimes you have to do that playing ugly and digging in but I would not have moved if I felt all we would be doing is playing long ball having spoken to Lutch at some length he wants to get results playing a more attractive style of football however the priority at the moment is getting the points on the board and build towards next season.
“There are some well supported Kent clubs in the Ryman such as Folkestone, Ramsgate, and Hythe. Whitstable is no different and they have been established in the Ryman league for some time.
“There are some excellent players already at Whitstable with the likes of Dan Wisker and Stuart Vahid and the recent signings of Damo, Hamps and Pinnock (Damian Abel, Shane Hamshare and James Pinnock) to name a few.
“In my opinion their league position is a false one, and I think Lutch has bought in players who he can trust and I want to help the lads secure Ryman football for the club and look forward to pushing for promotion to the Ryman Premier next season.”
Visit Whitstable Town’s website: www.whitstabletownfc.co.uk
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