I noticed Tonbridge Angels have published their pre-season matches, www.tonbridgeangels.co.uk/first-team-news/pre-season-schedule-confirmed/4435 and it is a really well balanced set of games, roughly half against higher teams, half against lower teams, and their idea of an annual pre-season weekend friendly against a seaside team is a nice idea for the fans. Interesting to see they play Gillingham, as that would actually be quite a good pre-season fixture for us to add to the Charlton regular pre-season fixture and could be good to build a relationship with them for future loans. This coming pre-season looks better balanced for us this year.
I saw that Gillingham are the only Kent team in the top 4 divisions, and Welling is virtually Kent, so in a roundabout way are one of our local teams.
As they are in the higher leagues I assume they have a decent fan base, so I assume they have travelling fans who would come to watch us play them at our ground, so it could be more of a money maker for us to host them than a team who doesn't bring many fans to our ground, or us playing an away game where I assume we don't make much money. Maidstone brought a lot to us, and Gillingham are bigger than Maidstone.
There aren't that many higher comparatively local teams than us that could give us a really useful pre-season work out, and Gillingham are one of them. But of course, we could keep playing nice comfortable pre-season friendlies against Beckenham Town, as unlike taking on a big challenge like Gillingham that will really prepare us for the challenges of the season ahead, and really test the trialists and show before we potentially sign them what they are like in difficult situations, and against really tough opposition, won't it.
We have had pre-season friendlies with Gillingham in the past and they sent their U23s and a handful of supporters. When Maidstone came, it was a competitive league game, they had just won the league, it was a Bank Holiday, and it was party time for their supporters. It's completely different.
I saw that Gillingham are the only Kent team in the top 4 divisions, and Welling is virtually Kent, so in a roundabout way are one of our local teams.
As they are in the higher leagues I assume they have a decent fan base, so I assume they have travelling fans who would come to watch us play them at our ground, so it could be more of a money maker for us to host them than a team who doesn't bring many fans to our ground, or us playing an away game where I assume we don't make much money. Maidstone brought a lot to us, and Gillingham are bigger than Maidstone.
There aren't that many higher comparatively local teams than us that could give us a really useful pre-season work out, and Gillingham are one of them. But of course, we could keep playing nice comfortable pre-season friendlies against Beckenham Town, as unlike taking on a big challenge like Gillingham that will really prepare us for the challenges of the season ahead, and really test the trialists and show before we potentially sign them what they are like in difficult situations, and against really tough opposition, won't it.
Will Cray Wanderers have moved to new ground , I saw one report they were hoping 23/24 season
Cant see it myself unless they have a team of 100 builders working 24 hours a day. Passed the new ground yesterday and nothing seems to be happening. At last years psf chatting to their fans who said delay was down to not getting steel thanks to Ukraine war.
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Thanks Mark for giving the background to previous pre-season friendlies with Gillingham. A good balanced pre-season will has games against lower sides for (hopefully!) some confidence giving wins, and some against more challenging games against the same level or higher to prepare for and find out what we are like in tough situations, so pleased we seem to be avoiding last season's mistake of friendlies only against lower teams, so only being really tested, and any weaknesses exposed for the first time, once the season starts. But if Gillingham sent a U23 side, instead of a more challenging first team, I can see how that helped the Gillingham U23 team, but it didn't really help us! It would be good to have fan input into what friendly fixtures take place. One each season against Dartford would be good, as it would be well attended and be a good money maker for both clubs.
That precise knowledge of previous pre-season friendly activity with Gillingham shows again just how much knowledge there is beyond the owners and manager, that I wish they were more open to taking on board. I know Matt gets stick, about being so much part of the club structure for self preservation he doesn't represent fans thinking, some of which I agree with. But I had a really interesting talk with him once about a group in the past who expressed interest in buying us, and who had unclear, suspicious motives, so were not followed through.
And that fans' long term precise knowledge, like Mark's and others here on the fans forum, able to spot a dodgy operator is so important to have in a club where we have new inexperienced owners who, to me at least, seem to have very little idea of how to run a club sensibly, like keeping a manager and his side kyke Jayke, both driving fans and players away. If 40 season tickets fans stop coming, that is £15k lost to the club, that the board then have to cover. The board don't get these realities.
Ex Chelsea, Jody Morris mate and of course ex- Welling Hanlon I am assuming. From memory he did alright for us, Rutherford era if I recall right ?
If you are on about Richie Hanon, he was captain of the Chelsea youth team that included Jody Morris and Paul Hughes (who also got into the Chelsea first team before going to Derby). I thought that he was excellent for Welling in his two spells.
Ex Chelsea, Jody Morris mate and of course ex- Welling Hanlon I am assuming. From memory he did alright for us, Rutherford era if I recall right ?
2 spells in the late 90s, he went off to either Peterbrough or Rushden and diamonds then came back on loan. Was my favourite player at the time he played for us,
From Kentish Football site away to Holmsdale next Saturday 24th at 2pm. This must be under 23 team as at Charles Darwin School.
I think that the U23s are playing at Holmesdale next season, so it makes sense that they are meeting in a friendly.
Yes I got told that the other day. Seems our Academy is so successful (well done them) they are having to use more sites. Shame as I got to chat to a few of them when out with the boss in Kidbrooke.
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Another fixture shown on Kentish Football Site is 11th July 7.45 Rusthall v Welling United. Any ideas on this one. Im thinking under 23s. Nice to be wrong never been there.
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According to Footballwebpages we are away to Brentwood Town on 22nd July. Brentwood are also showing us as being their visitors that day. I am guessing this must be an under 23 fixture as Woking are still showing their visit to us that Saturday.
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PSF - Dulwich Hamlet at home on 18/7/23. £15 entry seems a bit steep, for non season ticket holders, considering our actual home league games are also priced at £15. Generally speaking, our pre-season friendlies are usually cheaper than our league fixtures.
That's the spirit! Now £10 entry for the Dulwich friendly. Hopefully, we will have more fans attending the game (both Welling & Dulwich) with similar revenue generated.
I so look forward to Dulwich. The 2 previous pre season games had roughly 50% of our teams triallists, and teams on both sides totally changed at half time, as really those games were about fitness, and testing triallists for us.
But Dulwich will be much more the real deal, the first real chance to see what our team for the forthcoming season looks like, with our players playing the whole match, presumably mostly signed up players.
In my book we start this season off with the disadvantage that we are a newly built side against more settled teams, so the first half is us catching up, and I just hope we have not fallen too far behind to catch up, avoiding how Cheshunt fell behind early on last season, and never fully recovered. Then the second half is us in game on mode, with a more settled experienced team.
But I am so impressed with Danny, although I have written off the first half, he has been training the core squad hard, there were lots of fitness positives in the 2 friendlies so far. From our 2 games so far I can't yet see where our goals are coming from, as our three top scorers last season Ade, Taylor and Stefan have all gone, but that creates opportunities for new guys to make their mark.
That's the spirit! Now £10 entry for the Dulwich friendly. Hopefully, we will have more fans attending the game (both Welling & Dulwich) with similar revenue generated.
Interestingly I saw on the DHFC twitter they are hosting our squatters on Saturday charging £12.
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