It has been a busy few months behind the scenes but we are raring to go for the start of our pre-season fixtures on Saturday. We have been back training for a couple of weeks and we have been delighted with the application and attitude of the players so far. We have a very tough start to pre-season with games against both Margate and Dover Athletic but everybody is looking forward to welcoming both clubs and thank them for coming to the Charles Ground as part of their pre-season programme.
We are pleased to announce that we have retained the vast majority of the squad that finished last season strongly. Jack Paxman’s dual registration has ended so he has returned to Ramsgate but all of the other players who were part of the squad at the end of the season have agreed to stay for this season. Dean Hill will be staying on as club captain and all of the young players who did well last season will again be continuing their development with us.
The following players have agreed terms and signed forms for the following season:
Dean Hill
James Tonkin
Luke Bigginton
Lee Scott
Steve O’Brien
Liam Hark
Charlie Walsh
Connor Coyne
Andy Miller
Joe Anderson
Dan Adams
Ryan Phillpott
Danny Smith
Kristin Gregory
All of the other players who were with us have agreed terms but have yet to sign forms as they have been away on holiday since the forms were released. We will announce these when the formalities have been completed.
We have also welcomed a number of talented trialists and you will see a number of these during the pre-season games. Once any of these players have signed for the season we will keep everyone updated. We have been talking to a number of players with experience of player at a higher level and will be looking to add players to the squad that will improve us as a group. We always make sure however that they are the right sort of character and will not rush out and sign the first player that becomes available.
We finished last season strongly and although the league will be very strong again this year we will be looking to improve by being consistent in terms of our results. All of the boys are excited about the FA Cup and FA Vase draws on Friday and we will be aiming to have a good run in both competitions.
We hope as many people as possible will be at the Charles Ground on both Saturday and Tuesday to watch two very exciting games for the club.
Come on you Hoops!
Del and Kingy
