Kentish Football 
Soccer Shorts: The prospects are looking good, says Ashford Town boss Tony Reynolds
Friday 17th December 2010
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"THE prospects are looking good" - that's the view of excited new Ashford Town boss Tony Reynolds.
The new Ashford Town may not have yet kicked a ball, but it hasn't stopped Reynolds working furiously behind the scenes to ensure that when they do, they will be more than well-prepared.
Reynolds was put in charge of the first team last month by new chairman Ernie Warren and has immediately been busy laying down the foundations for next year.
He immediately enlisted the help of old team-mate Paul Chambers and has been made up with the support he has been receiving from elsewhere.
"So many people feel so passionately about our football club - it's only in times like this that you realise that," Reynolds told www.ashfordtownfc.co.uk.
"There are lots of ex-Ashford people that have been in contact. People like Paul Giles, who I played at Essella Road with, want a part of it. He's a really good coach, enthusiastic and very hot on fitness. He ticks all the right boxes and any input he has will be positive. He's keen to come on board and I want him.
"People like Jeff Ross want to have an input and get us back to where we should be too. Even people outside football, people like golfer Benn Barham, who is a personal friend of mine, want to do what they can.
"Things are looking so positive for the football club."
The club still don't know at what level they will compete next year and Reynolds has admitted he is as frustrated as many Town fans are.
"We don't know where we are going to play next season but I'm leaving it down to Ernie - there's nothing I can do about that. What I can guarantee is that whatever league we're playing in, we'll be able to
compete," he said.
"Things are all in position and we're looking at players all the time. In the new year we'll be holding trials and even as we speak, we're looking at local players.
"There is so much local talent out there we can tap into. No-one has been interested in them in the past as they felt they weren't good enough but I know they are. I have identified some and will no doubt
identify others.
"People are keen to come over and want to be a part of it. I can't wait for it to get going."
BECKENHAM TOWN will hold a pitch inspection at 08:30am but their long-awaited FA Carlsberg Vase tie against King’s Lynn is likely to be frozen off for the third time.
“Snow has been falling in the Beckenham area today and the pitch at present has a covering of snow,” said a club statement on www.beckenhamtownfc.co.uk.
BROMLEY manager Mark Goldberg has called his side “spineless” after the Lillywhites were humiliated 7-0 by Weston-super-Mare last Saturday.
The result was Bromley’s worst defeat in more than quarter of a century and Goldberg apologised to the club’s supporters.
He told News Shopper: “We were spineless on Saturday but there was a much deeper rooted issue behind the result which I am going to sort out quickly.
“I apologise to the fans but I would appreciate it if they didn’t jump to any conclusions on the basis of one result.
“There are some huge games coming up over Christmas and it is my job as the manager to make sure the players respond."
CHATHAM TOWN are offering supporters free admission to tomorrow’s home clash against Chipstead - if it goes ahead.
“Many of our supporters had been collecting 3 vouchers from the November home game programmes to enable Free Entry to the Chipstead Match tomorrow,“ said a club statement, published on www.chathamtownfc.net.
“Voucher No.1 and No. 2 will now suffice for Free entry.
“The single gate entry price without vouchers for this match is £2. Members and Season Ticket holders will get in free of charge as normal. Season Ticket holders will receive a free pint of beer at the bar.
“Lets hope we don't have to postpone the Chipstead match!”
GREENWICH BOROUGH’S Kent Senior Trophy tie against Erith Town is subject to an 11:30am pitch inspection tomorrow morning.
Manager/Secretary Steve Firkins told www.kentishfootball.co.uk : “Our match referee intends to hold a pitch inspection between 11:30 and 12 noon.
“We of course want this fixture to go ahead as we haven’t played since our 2-2 draw against VCD in the Kent League Cup.
“It’s been very frustrating and the players have been bitterly disappointed that we haven’t been able to play.
“It’s been hard keeping them occupied but we have managed to keep ticking over in training and we have only had a couple of the lads missing from these sessions.
“If the game is on tomorrow this should be a decent game to watch for the supporters with both teams in and around the top six and Erith have put together a decent run of results lately so will be confident to do well.
“We have still got a couple of players missing for selection due to suspensions having to be carried over but i have our two recent signings Danny Tipple and Jamie Turner available now but will have to wait for Danny Hunts return due to injury.”
MAIDSTONE UNITED co-owner Oliver Ash has given supporters an update on the club’s proposed 3G pitch at their new stadium at James Whatman Way.
The Frenchman told www.maidstoneunited.co.uk: “Well it’s great to have something that seems to be provoking such a sensible and constructive debate.
“There is no easy answer; we will be obliged to compromise. Rest assured the final decision will be based on creating a solid football-business model, to make sure the club becomes as attractive as possible to players, supporters and, of course, investors and sponsors. We aim to build a stable, thriving club without the constant fear of bankruptcy.
“Speaking of which, please don’t imagine that just because we’ve now got the ground ‘debt-free’ all our troubles are over...alas it is not so.
“As we have already stated we have significant old debts to deal with. If that were not enough we have the additional concerns of losing money every week because until now we have had no commercial revenue to speak of and match postponements reduce the modest gate money still further.
“It’s a Catch 22 situation that cannot be allowed to go on for too long. That’s why we’re in a hurry to see how much the new ground will cost.
“We will be launching some new commercial initiatives in the New Year to help reduce the deficit so please keep an eye out for these. Any help you can give us would be much appreciated.
“It’s funny: whether it’s football over here or rugby in my other favourite country, some people are always convinced that we’re in it for the money: “They’re sensible businessmen, they must know what they’re doing”, or “They don’t care about our club the way we do”.
“The truth is that people invest in football or rugby for loads of different emotional reasons, and often simply because by doing so they can make a difference to something they believe is important.
“In life the only certainty is death and taxes; in football club ownership it's losing money and becoming unpopular.”
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