More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
There’s a new chairman at Lordswood this season and he’s hoping to see lots more new faces at the club.
The club are keen to move on from the Southern Counties East Football League but chairman Glen Parkes, who took over the reins ahead of this season, knows he needs support from the community to achieve it.
Mr Parkes, who runs a successful media business, said: “We want to get people in the local area to come down and see us play.
“If you look at where we are, not far from a big housing estate, we have businesses around us and we want to try and get those businesses to support us and for people to come and watch us.
“This is a hard league to try and get out of, to try and get into the Isthmian League, and there are a lot of incentives to do it. The likes of Sheppey and Chatham and a few others have the facilities and the way their facilities have changed, you can see them competing at the higher level. In a few years to come we hope to be doing the same and growing to the point where we can look to a promotion and getting out of the division and moving on, which would be great.
“This is a nice little club and we want to grow it and get it out there to people who don’t know about us. We want to try and get people to see the football we play.”
The club have introduced a few initiatives this season to get those new faces in, including offering £4 admission for season ticket holders at Gillingham and Maidstone United. Elite football teams are unable to admit fans at present.
Youth players can also watch Lordswood matches for free and bring a member of their family at the discounted price too.
Mr Parkes was previously youth chairman at Sittingbourne Football Club and he knows how important developing their own talent is.
He said: “Most clubs at our level are going to be looking at the youth players when they get to 18. You want to promote them into the first team and reserve team, that’s the lifeblood of the club, you want to produce five or six kids that have played with you all their lives to come to the first team.
“You have to grow the youth to grow a club I think.”
Lordswood advertised back in February the position of chairman and encouraged anyone interested to get in touch.
Mr Parkes, a Brummie and a Birmingham City fan, who described himself on his own website as a vinyl junkie and a music geek, was keen to take on a new challenge having been in Kent for the best part of a decade.
“It’s been the right fit,” he said. “They wanted someone like me and I wanted a club like Lordswood, which I can help as best I can.
“We have a very good manager and have put together a decent side.
“We are just trying to get the club on a stable footing. The atmosphere in the dressing room, the manager, the board, the fans, they have been fantastic, it’s been nice to see.
“Everyone on the board wants the same as me, they want to grow the club and go in the right direction. We are moving forward and watch this space in the next four or five years. We could be up there or thereabouts if all goes well.”
Lordswood visit K Sports on Saturday and Sheppey on Tuesday in the league. Their next home game is against Balham at Martyn Grove on October 24.
