Launch meeting success

But now the hard work begins

Nearly 200 people attended the club’s launch at the Westgate Hall on March 9 and almost fifty signed up to become members.  Chairman Phil Knight said: “The attendance far exceeded our expectations. We were delighted that so many people immediately pledged their support for the project. We had the opportunity to talk to a whole range of people, many of whom wanted to help or had ideas that we will take on board. We had anticipated some cynicism and even opposition, but there was none.  What was particularly pleasing was that the Canterbury City Council was well represented, including the Leader, Cllr Harry Cragg, who is showing a lot of personal interest.  I think we proved to everyone that we are serious and are being professional in our building of the club,but we are well aware that the hard work starts now”. 

David Ford, Canterbury City Council's Assistant Head of Culture and Communication, Cllr Harry Cragg, Leader of the Council, and Cllr Wes McLachlan.

Ray Leader, of Faversham Town FC, spoke of the experience his club had of collapsing in 2003 and then being revived by a group of local people. “And what carried us through was passion and enthusiasm.  The people I have met at Canterbury City FC have the same.  It’s very important that we re-establish our community clubs.  We are losing a lot of things in the community and football clubs are one of them.  The committee will make decisions, sometimes the wrong ones, but at Faversham we have learnt by our mistakes.  We’re only just down the road.  We’d love to play you one day and have a drink afterwards.  Keep talking; the goal is there – take it”.

In his presentation, chairman Phil Knight  said: “There have been times when there were only two or three of us meeting and we wondered whether we were wasting our time; asking ourselves whether there was any interest.  But over the last twelve months the website has developed and we’ve found there are people interested in what we want to do.

“Why are we trying to restore Canterbury City Football Club?  There are two objectives that we, the committee and managers, are trying to achieve over the next five to ten years. Objective One: to develop a full, inclusive football club that represents the city at senior level. The club has got to be part of the community. Inclusive also means that there will be ladies and girls and we are delighted that, hopefully, Lorna Shilling, will be appointed the Ladies First Team Manager for next season. She will be a great addition to the side.  Disabled people will also be represented, possibly by next season.

“We are the largest Metropolitan area without a senior football club. And I think the reason you are here tonight is because you think that’s wrong. We hope the management can put that right. We are looking to play at the most senior level we can, but we have to be realistic. Above all, we must be inclusive There is no point in being a senior football club going into the Ryman League but losing the sense of community.

Objective Two is to work with our friends from the Council and other key partners to work for a community football centre within the city.  This whole project started with a conversation with the Council.  It was about the fact that we all knew what happened to Kingsmead. But those days have gone and we’ve got to put it right together. That’s why I am glad that Harry Cragg, the Leader of the Council, is here with other councillors because they want to be part of the story.  Our job is to work with them and develop a community football centre.

“Dialogue with the Council commenced in 2004. We talked about how we were going to re-start a senior club and what involvement the council needed to have in terms of working with the community and the development of the club and the facility. That’s taken nearly three years but now we are at the action stage. An inclusive steering committee has been formed. 

“I realised that for the project to work it needed to represent the football community in this city.  I thought that would give us a much stronger voice when we talked to the FA, the County FA and the City Council.  We have assembled round the table: the Canterbury and District Saturday League, the East Kent Youth League, the Herne Bay and Whitstable Sunday League, the East Kent Referees’ Association (we are one of the very few clubs in the country who have referees’ representation on the club) and three of the city’s four youth clubs. 

“In terms of youth football, the clubs involved have been very successful for many years, independently manager and managed well. Leading into the senior set up that includes the adult teams, youth teams, special needs and ladies teams are Canterbury Eagles, Thanington, Canterbury Youth and Tyler Hill. Members of the first three sit on the committee of Canterbury City FC. Tyler Hill have been invited and it is our strong hope that they will join us and the whole thing would be inclusive in terms on youth football. The last thing this club wants to do is take over youth football.  We want to develop from it but not take it over.

“After two and a half years of talking and working with people, at last next season we are going to have people playing football. It’s only a part of the job, but a big start.  Yes the project is going to be relatively expensive.  We’ve got strong support from the Football Foundation but we do need your support.  The £100 Corporate Membership is going well and there is the £10 individual membership with £5 for juniors.  We are also putting in grant and funding applications.

“The Independent on Sunday asked whether this would be the most enlightened football club or the most naïve.  Our challenge is to prove in five years time that we were enlightened and not naïve.

“We are a Community Interest Company which means we have to be fully inclusive which is why we must have a ladies section and a section for special needs.  We have to set out our community objective, which is to provide a fully inclusive football club.  The objectives are monitored every year by a Government regulator who will look at what we have done and whether we have achieved our objectives. If we don’t we end our CIC membership and that would have grave repercussions in terms of funding and our relationship with the Council and beyond. The CIC membership is very import to this club.

“The club will be owned by its membership. You become part of the club. The board will be elected by the members.  As a CIC we have to identify a charitable partner, which will be the Pilgrims Hospice.  As well as making a donation to them each year, we will work with them on awareness and promote them.  While we will not be having a sponsors logo on our shirts, we will have the Pilgrims logo.

Club manager Dave Fairclough said he had not had much time to get to meet the committee but he already felt that they held views in line with his own.  He said: “That is a good base to build from. I can tell you what we hope to achieve and how we hope to do it and the aspirations that are starting to evolve on the short and long term.  I will manage the First Team, Bob Vidler the Reserves, Steve Walsh the Under 16s, Matt Keyte the Under 15s and we will have coaches Mark Dobson and Steve Woolcott.  Already that’s a formidable management team. We will formulate our ideas and that will give us a platform to take the club forward.

“People are already asking what players I’ve got in mind. Am I bringing in players I’ve worked with previously? Am I out looking for players in the community? The answer to those questions is: ‘yes’.  There is already a fantastic infrastructure to build on. In the Under 15s and Under 16s we’ve got players of the highest quality, playing at County level. That suggests to me that they will come through in the future to Canterbury City.  In the short term there will be players who I know can come in and do a job, but we have to give people in the community opportunities.  We are still looking for a bit more support on the coaching side. 

“I want to see Canterbury back on the map at senior level.  I don’t mean just sending a team out every week that goes out there to fly the flag but doesn’t get the results or meet expectations.  It’s not just a question of getting the team back into the Kent League.  We must be successful as a club across all levels.  I want to see players progress from youth to senior football.   Almost all the towns in this part of Kent have players who can come through the youth teams into the senior sides, playing for their own.town at a senior level.  We, a city, haven’t been able to do that until now. Our neighbouring towns are all moving upwards in football. 

“A lot of people are tired of Premier division football, the money, the scandals and taking supporters for granted.  Community football has a big part to play in the future. We want to establish a club that the community take pride in.  And I want every player who pulls on that shirt to take pride in playing for Canterbury City.  I want us to be successful but also entertaining. I want you to come because it’s enjoyable.

“We need clear objectives.  We need targets. Through our workshops we will get our ideas on coaching, training and fitness. Starting from scratch is a great opportunity.  We will have trials.  There will be a code of conduct the players will sign up for.  We need to hit the ground running when the season starts.  We want well-organised teams and extremely fit ones, which is crucial.  There is no barrier to a 16-year-old playing in the first team next season, but we will need experience.  We’re going to be a big scalp. Our opponents will raise their game against us.  Our preparation for matches will be the same through all the teams, but I’m not saying we will all play 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or whatever. You pick a team from the players you’ve got but they will all be prepared the same way, which will come from dialogue between the coaches.

“Our five year plan will be realistic and ambitious and with continuous improvement.  The last season Canterbury played they did not win a match.  I give you a guarantee that if I can’t beat that record I’ll give everyone £100 !  I  would like to be playing on our own ground in the Kent League in five years which will take three promotions in those five years”. 

David Ford, Assistant Head of Culture and Communications, Canterbury City Council, said the size of the meeting indicated the interest in the City which had a broad range of successful sport.  But he pointed out that it was “very difficult” to identify land for the sort of project the club had in mind.  However, he added: “We are working through and there is a lot of partnership work going on”.  He said that in 2003 a study was commissioned and it was found that there was a surplus of sports pitches although there was a question of quality. He explained that there was a Council policy commitment to a community football centre and part of a broader plan to have a home for Canterbury City FC.  The Council was investing £60,000 in two feasibility studies.  “We have on the back of the sale of Kingsmead a not insignificant sum of money in which to invest in junior sport including junior football. “  The study would look at possible sites for a community stadium facility and costs.  It was hoped that construction could start in September 2008 and the facility opened by August 2009.

He concluded with the optimistic comment: “This is a really fantastic project and Council is delighted to be working with the club”.

Dave Phillips spoke about special needs football, which clearly gives much needed enjoyment and helpful stimulus to the lives of many people.  He emphasised the need to surmount current barriers to participation and pointed out that the number of people with a physical disability accessing Social Services had increased by 12 per cent over the last five years.

Lindsay Goode outlined the work of the Pilgrims Hospice, stressing that it should not be thought of simply as a place where people went to die “but a place where they come to live”.  Some residents had been with them for up to ten years.