Newsletter

Hi All,

Now that all the Cup Final excitement has died down I thought I would just put together a newsletter to summarise the season and close out my direct involvement with the current U14 team.

On the Pitch
Well it has been a great season both on and off the pitch. The lads have played fantastically well this year to earn 3rd place in the league and to reach their first ever cup final. During the season they only lost 5 games out of 21 played and two of those were against teams from the top division. It is also worth noting that in one-third of the matches they also managed to prevent the opposition from scoring a goal. I am sure those who were present will remember for a long time the thrilling games against Leybourne (including the penalty shoot-out in the cup match and the last-minute winner in the league game) and of course the brilliant cup semi final win against MPE. I sincerely hope that the team goes from strength to strength and is able to collect a trophy next season.

New Boys
The two new players in the squad this season, Aseem Rana and George Wood, proved to be tremendous additions. Aseem finished with 21 goals in his first ever season of football and George added some much-needed tough tackling in midfield (just a shame he supports Charlton). Congratulations to both on a fine season and I hope they have enjoyed being part of this great squad.

100 Club
Daniel Elliott had his best goal-scoring season ever and also became the 5th player in the squad to reach the 100 appearances milestone (Marcus, Ryan, Sam and Luke being the others). Matt King and Nick Louth are not too far behind and hopefully both will reach their 100's next season.

Farewell
It is always sad when players leave the squad and it is with regret that we say goodbye to Ryan Brunton as he leaves to pursue a career along the same track as Lewis Hamilton! Ryan has been with the team since he was 6 and we wish him well with his karting adventures!

Presentation
The rest of the squad have been brilliant too and obviously some of them will be lucky enough to collect awards at the presentation night at Mote Park Leisure Centre on Saturday 21st June. Hope to see you all there for what should be a very special night. Please step forward if you are able to help Tina Collins (TC) with the organisation of this huge event.

Off the Pitch
Off the pitch has seen us merge with Maidstone United and whilst in these early days it may be a little difficult to see the benefits I am confident that over the next few seasons we will see the club develop into the best football and community club in the county. You may be interested to know that we have it on good authority that our youth set up is now bigger than that of West Bromwich Albion who will of course be playing in the Premier League next season. Please continue to give your support to the club and get involved in all the activities associated with bringing Maidstone United home to Maidstone. The new ground is going to be a great facility and as members of the club it is something that we can all look forward to sharing in.

And it's goodbye from me…
You will all be aware by now that after 6 years I have decided to step down as manager of the team and the recent cup final was effectively my last game in charge. It seems like yesterday that Ron Tapp bullied me into taking over as manager of the then U9's and I will be eternally grateful to him for doing so as it has been a tremendous experience…..the two trips to the Camber tournament and obviously this season's cup run are without doubt the highlights. Thanks also to Mike Littleboy and John Harvey for their support and encouragement when we were always bottom of the league in the first few years.

New Manager
John Hubbard has already taken up the position of manager to allow him to mould the squad in his own way and to prepare for what I sincerely hope will be a very successful 2008-9 season. Please continue to support and assist John in any way you can just as you have done with me in the past. I would like to take this opportunity to thank John for all his help as my assistant over the last few years and to thank everyone who has helped me in some way. I won't attempt to name everyone for fear of missing someone out...you all know who you are…many, many thanks to all of you.

New Role
Of course you won't be getting rid of me completely! I will still be at matches to support the team and Marcus of course. I will also be involved in occasional training sessions to relay information from coaching workshops that I attend and my new role as Head of Youth Football will require me to make sure that John gets all the assistance he needs to continue the success of the team.

Mini-kickers!
Some of you may also be aware that I am currently involved with the U7 development squads and we are hoping to have an all-girls team playing at U8 in the Invicta League next season. The youngsters always need a lot of supervision so if any of the lads want to come along on Saturday mornings (9 til 10) to give me a hand then they are more than welcome. This will be particularly useful for any lads who may be taking PE at GCSE and for any who may want to take their FA coaching badge when they are 16 years old.

Big Boys Football
Don't forget we have a Veterans (over 35) team entered in the Blue Eagles tournament on Saturday 7th June (2pm). I am still responsible for organising this one so please get in touch if you fancy a game!

And finally…
I think that covers most things……and it just leaves me to wish the boys good luck in the summer tournaments…just get out there and enjoy the football!

Have a great summer everyone and see you at the presentation if not before.

Best Wishes

Paul Edwards