Whitstable Town FC

Picture: Marc Seager: After the signings of Sam Denly and Danny Tipple I am very pleased to announce that I have added the signings of experienced Southern league players Clint Gooding and Jon Neal from Sittingbourne, who both put pen to paper after another good session at Chatham tonight.

"Both players who have a lot of experience at Ryman level will be great additions to the squad and are players that I tried to sign during last season.  Clint Gooding is a quality midfielder who I actually tried to sign 3 times last season, so now I am so pleased that after a long time I have actually got his name on paper and he is now a Whitstable player. Clint has spent most of his career playing Southern league football and was part of the Gravesend & Northflleet side that played Aston Villa at Villa Park in the 3^rd round of the F.A.Cup a few years back and I know that his experience and quality will be a massive boost for my young squad as they enter their new adventure.

Picture: Marc Seager:

Jon Neal will probably be best remembered by Whitstable supporters for lobbing Kevin Fewell during our pre season friendly against Sittingbourne last season and although a few supporters faulted Fewelly at the time I have no doubt that it was just a quality goal scored by a quality player who will be another great addition to the squad and I look forward to seeing Jon scoring goals in the Ryman league for Whitstable Town. Not only is Jon a goalscorer but he’s also a hard worker who always gives everything for the cause.

 I am also hoping to sign centre half Steven Lloyd form Herne Bay and full back Theo Kennedy from Ebbsfleet United by the end of this coming Saturday’s session and after that I don’t foresee too many more signings taking place. If I can add the latter two to the four already signed and by adding all of those to an already strong squad than from a manager’s point of view it will make competition for places very strong, which is exactly want you want as a manager and very healthy for the players.

 As I’ve already said before, last seasons success was fantastic but is now the past and for the memory banks. Now we look forward to new adventures and new challenges, not only as a club but for all the players too because although many of them have championship medals, and rightly so, they now have to prove themselves all over again. Come August 18^th when we start our Ryman campaign at home to Eastbourne Town I will pick what I believe to be my strongest 16 on the day and I think I proved last summer and throughout the season that I’m not afraid to make big decisions, so it’s up to the players and a case of who wants their shirt most."