Tunbridge Wells FC - Supporters
1st August 2025
Hello Royals,
I thought it was well overdue for me to check in with you all and give you an update on where we are currently at as a squad and what we’re hoping to achieve this season.
Most of you will know by now that there have been quite a few key players from last season that have chosen to move on which whilst disappointing, it has provided an opportunity for us to bring in some really good new players and I think and hope you can already see we’re on a good path to having a strong season and possibly as a team, we’re even a little bit stronger than last season.
Pre-season itself has gone really well for us. Behind the scenes we have had a couple of changes – Potsy has stepped away as Goalkeeper Coach and has since joined Faversham and Harps has taken a step back to support his Son on his own football journey. We have welcomed a new Goalkeeper Coach in the form of Paul Cook who joins us with significant experience and is a really good guy and I know Bents, Cam, Stevo and the keepers are really enjoying learning from him. Also, a familiar face has returned to the training ground – Trevor McCreadie, as he continues to rehab from his ACL surgery. He’s been getting involved with some of the running as he gets himself back to full fitness but also helping us out and giving our attackers some invaluable pointers which no doubt they’ll benefit from.
Myself, Wayno and Danny remain as does Rich Withers, our trusted and well-loved Physio. Jamie Good came on board towards the end of last season as Kit-Man and he’s really made that role his own already, making sure the boys have ice, water, sweets, even the famous ‘explodade’ available in the changing room.
I feel like the environment we’ve created is really good, healthy and positive and I think as pre-season unfolded, we saw the evidence of those good building blocks with some encouraging performances on display. Obviously, none of that counts for much when the competitive fixtures start and unfortunately, last Saturday we came away with a 0-2 defeat in the SCEFL curtain raiser against Fisher.
For those of you that attended, I think you’ll agree that we more than played our part in the game and on another day, we could certainly have got something from it. However, football is about moments and we switched off for a couple as we were rearranging the defence after some enforced substitutions and Fisher took their opportunities and ultimately grabbed a 0-2 win.
This weekend we enter the oldest competition in the World – the FA Cup where we welcome Holmesdale to the Den which will be a good benchmark for where we’re at because they’re another side in our division who have improved with their recruitment over the Summer. From our perspective, it’s another game we would dearly love to win as there is a little bit of extra magic attached to the competition and there’s also some much needed prize money on offer so hopefully we can put in a good account of ourselves.
Hopefully you guys turn out in force and we have a great day together at the Culverden. We certainly won’t be taking anything for granted, we fully understand that good things only come through hard-work and we have been training intensely this week in to try and make sure we’re as ready as we possibly can be. We’ve still got a few guys missing for various reasons; Kaz Richards is currently in Jamaica, returning in a couple of weeks. New signing Harry Rowland is struggling with a quad injury, which I know he is frustrated about. Likewise, Ryan Hine is having some problems with his knee so he is being looked after, because he was such a key player for us last season.
Most recently and really disappointing, we’ve just had confirmation that Jacob Feasey has a serious knee ligament injury as a result of a pretty innocuous fall in a pre-season friendly against Seaford and sadly it looks like he’ll require surgery and that could well be the end of his season. He’s a massive character for us and no doubt he’ll still be around the changing room but we all feel really gutted for him because we know how much he was looking forward to pulling on the red shirt this season.
So, a busy month awaits us, there’s plenty of games to win, plenty of points to compete for and I really hope we can continue in the positive vein with attendances like the first game of the season last week where 263 people attended, including mascots from the Youth section, which was fantastic to see and long may that partnership continue and grow.
This season more than ever, the support from you guys in the shape of the 12th man campaign as well as you coming through the gate is really special for us and I think it builds a really deep bond between players, staff and supporters that you don’t get at many clubs.
With all of that said, as always I call on you to turn out tomorrow, bring your friends / family and lets get the Den rocking. We’ve got a new P.A system and there’s lots of good things going on behind the scenes so lets inject a bit of life and vigour back into the club and have a really positive season together.
Loyal and Royal, as always, Ivesy
1st July 2025
Hello All,
Thought it was about time I checked in for a catch up, as we've been back training and working hard for just over 2 weeks already!
We start our friendlies this evening (1st July) with a game against Jarvis Brook on the 3G at Bennett.
It's early days but we have been encouraged by how things have been going so far, the sessions have been well attended, and everyone has worked really hard!
Working with a reduced budget this season, has inevitably meant that some of the boys have accepted offers elsewhere, Harry Hudon, Jack Gallagher & Festos Kamara probably the most notable departures from last season's established group. We have a few new faces in with us, and everyone is gelling well as a group, the 12th man campaign has been vital in helping us stretch our resources, any of you out there in a position to help out please reach out, as every penny raised will go directly towards making the Team as competitive as possible.
In addition to playing squad, we've had a few changes to the Management Team as well. Adam "Pottsy" Porter has left us to take up a position with Faversham Town & Steph "Harps" Harper has took a step back to concentrate on his son Olly's football commitments. Rich Withers, Danny Turner & Wayne Emerson remain alongside me, with Wayno stepping up to become Assistant Manager, joining us are Paul Cooke as Goalkeeper Coach & a familiar face in Trevor McCreadie will be helping out whilst he rehabs from his ACL surgery. The planning & work that goes in at this time of year is immense, and I'm blessed to be surrounded by such good people.
Off of the pitch, I know a dedicated team of volunteers have been working really hard to get The Den ready for the start of the season - a massive thank you from all of the squad for your efforts, I'm sure it's been incredibly hard graft in the recent heat, hopefully we can all lend a hand soon.
We kick off at 7:15pm tonight, for any of you wanting to pop along, it would be great to see some familiar faces and show some of the prospective new players what a special Club we have!
