Players can't command high wages anymore, says Cray chairman Hillman

Sunday 23rd May 2010

CRAY WANDERERS chairman Gary Hillman says clubs have the upper hand over players when it comes to offering contracts nowadays, writes Stephen McCartney.

Mr Hillman has been with the club since 1995 and three years later manufactured a groundshare deal with Bromley to retain the Wands’ Kent League status.

Their time at Hayes Lane has been successful indeed, winning the Kent League title twice; reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Carlsberg Vase; and spending the last six seasons playing Ryman League football.

Last season, manager Ian Jenkins, who has served the club as player and manager for seventeen years, guided the club to fifteenth place in the Ryman Premier League - the club’s highest ever league position.

It would be fair to say that Mr Hillman and his vice-chairman John Woolf put in the funds, especially with average gates of 212, to continue the Cray Wanderers’ success story, and Mr Hillman spoke to www.kentishfootball.co.uk about running the sixth poorest supported club in the division.

“Over the moon, eighth from bottom - or fifteenth from top, shall we say,” he said.

“When you look at it, not too many points off the play-off’s, but to stay up in the league when you look at the standard of the league, teams below us like Margate, Maidstone, Carshalton, big teams, even in the league below, so I’m absolutely over the moon.”

Mr Hillman paid tribute to Jenkins, who is managing at the highest level of football.

“Jenko’s a bit like a marriage really,” he said. “His heart and soul’s Cray Wanderers, isn’t it?

“We had a bit of a sticky start at the beginning of the season but we changed the system but as I’ve always said he was always going to be manager all year.

“You can’t replace, you can’t buy that enthusiasm, heart and soul, 120% blah, blah, blah, by getting another manager in.

“His been there seventeen years. With Jenko he’s building u more contacts, his managing at the highest level so every year we stay at that level he’s getting bigger contacts. He’s got a relationship with Charlton, bringing players in, a relationship with Leyton Orient, that’s because we’ve created that relationship because where we’re playing.”

The relationship with League One outfit Leyton Orient was forged because of striker George Porter.

The seventeen-year-old came through the club’s Academy, reserve team into the first team and has just recently earned a two-year contract with the east London club, who play the Wands at Hayes Lane on Wednesday 14 July.

“Because of the Academy, we’ve got a nice gradual step now,” explained Mr Hillman. “We’ve got the youth teams going into the Academy, into the first team and to a pro-team, so it works well now.

“We’ve lost a lot from the youth teams from fifteen, sixteen, seventeen and have moved onto other teams and have gone pro and even I don’t know they’ve played for our youth teams and now we’ve got the Academy that is sort of a step. You can’t - no disrespect to the youth teams - but under 16s, under 18s in the Kent Youth League, they can’t step straight into the Ryman Premier League, it’s too big a step, but with the Academy it’s a gradual step.

“George’s played two or three games in the reserves, bang, in the first team and it’s regular, next thing it’s Leyton Orient.”

The club confirmed that hard-working forward, Leigh Bremner, and solid central defender, Mark Willy, have re-signed for the club’s second Ryman Premier League campaign.

The chairman was delighted with the news.

“Mark Willy, his heart and soul is Cray Wanderers, good news, 100%,” he said.

“Leigh Bremner, same again. Leigh is 120% man all the time.

“He had a bit of a sticky period a few years ago but now I think he’s settled down a little bit.

“He’s just had a kid etc, so he’s come down, settled down, puts his heart and soul into the club.”

When asked if there was any more news on players, Mr Hillman replied, “I don’t get involved with players. People ask me about players all the time and literally it’s 100% Jenko. It’s down to him. People tell me we’ve signed people because they’ve spoken to Jenko before me. But I’m happy with that. Jenko’s the manager - I don’t get involved - and I’m the chairman.”

Speaking about the financial situation, the chairman continued, “It is tough but I think the last few years it’s being more realistic. When it’s all booming you get everyone come in with loads of money, now it’s all settled down and now we’re playing in the Ryman Premier League, the last two or three years the players we’re in control and blackmailing us for money etc and now if anything it’s turned around.

“It’s working all the way down. The pro teams are releasing players, they go into the Conference South etc, Conference South players looking to go into us (the Ryman Premier) so now the teams are more in control because there’s a glut of players for the amount of football.

“Clubs are more in control on the money side than two or three years ago when there was too much money around.

“All the way up from the Premier and the Championship, they were signing people left, right and centre, dragging them out of non-league or Academy teams, which was nicking our source. It’s a supply and demand situation. There just weren’t enough players around and they were just commanding big dough and a few big players in non-league were earning X, Y and Z.”

Mr Hillman wasn’t going to disclose the type of budget at Jenkins’ disposal next season.

“You won’t get that out of me as it’s private, but it’s all about right,” he said.

“We’re one of the lowest paid in the league so everyone knows that. Sometimes you hear players earning half of our budget.”

Dartford, who attracted average crowds of 1,193 to Princes Park last season, clinched the Ryman Premier League title comfortably last season, and are preparing for their first ever season at Conference South level.

Manager Tony Burman released six of his title winning squad - defender Adam Flanagan has already found a new club after signing for Ryman League Division One South side Ashford Town this weekend - and Burman has snapped up two players from new league rivals Braintree Town.

Central defender, Paul Goodacre, 25, was the Darts first summer signing, and Burman has now added Tom Champion, 23, who can play in central defence or in midfield.

“Although Tom is quite young in age, he can offer us vast experience obtained playing at the level of the Conference South league,” Burman told www.dartfordfconline.com.

Visit Cray Wanderers’ website: www.craywands.co.uk