MANAGEMENT UPDATE

By Deal Town

It has been a while since we have been able to update you but we are pleased that preparations for the new season are starting to gather pace. It is safe to say that this has been the strangest preparation for a new season that any of us have experienced and there are still many unanswered questions about the season ahead. Hopefully the answers to these questions will become clearer for us all over the coming weeks.  

It was obviously a disappointment that last season was cut short but having seen the massive impact that Covid-19 has had on us all it was certainly the correct decision at the time. We hope that all of our supporters have managed to stay safe during this period and are beginning to get back to some sort of normality; the players and management are certainly looking forward to seeing you all. 

We are pleased to let you know that the boys have been back in training as a whole squad for the last couple of weeks. During June the players were doing extra sessions in small groups and now we are back together as a whole squad the extra work the players have put in during the time is paying dividends as the fitness levels are already very good. At this stage we have retained all of last season’s squad other than Josh Maughan. Josh will not be with the club this year due to personal commitments but we would all like to thank him for his service over the last two seasons. We are delighted that all of the squad are still with us and it gives us a good base to build on our successes of last season. We have always looked to build a strong squad of committed local players and that is certainly what we have at the moment. 

Our pre-season schedule has now been confirmed and at this stage all games will be behind closed doors so unfortunately supporters will not be able to attend. The club have ben working hard to prepare the ground for supporters to allow for your return safely and once we get the green light from the FA and Government, we will make sure you are the first to know. The schedule is as follows and we will ensure there is an update provided after each game so you are all aware of what is happening. 

The pre-season schedule is: 

Saturday 8th August – Hawkinge (a) 

Tuesday 11th August – Folkestone Invicta (h) 

Thursday 13th August – New Romney (h) 

Tuesday 18th August – Whitstable (h) 

Saturday 22nd August – Kennington (h) 

Tuesday 25th August – Hythe (a) 

Saturday 29th August – Lydd (a) 

We should start our season on Tuesday 1st September in the FA Cup and we should know our opponents on Monday 3rd August. Hopefully there may the possibility of supporters being able to attend games in September, however that is far from certain currently. 

We will continue to update you all regularly over the coming weeks and look forward to seeing you all at the Charles Ground when it is safe for us to open. It is a difficult period for all clubs at our level with clubs not being able to generate any money for a number of months so your support is going to be needed more than ever when we are playing with crowds. Work at the ground has not stopped and Dave Chmura and his team have been working hard to make further improvements to the ground which we are looking forward to you all seeing. Please look out for the ticket offers coming out soon and encourage your friends and family to come along and support your local team. 

Come on you Hoops! 

Del and Kingy 

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