With last weekend’s conclusion of the league campaigns for both of our first teams we can finally stop looking over our shoulder and start to look forward to next season.  

I can confirm that we have informed Brad Quinton that we will be going in a different direction with the management of the men’s team as part of a much larger reset of our football operations and that sadly we will not be appointing him and his team on a permanent basis. 

We would like to thank the management team for their efforts in securing our safety at Step 3 and for staying focussed on the short-term goal of survival after our unexpected drop into the relegation battle back in January. Our position in the Isthmian Premier League was retained with two games to spare and I hope the victory against Canvey Island and the spectacular final day goals will ensure Brad is remembered fondly and positively by fans. It was mission accomplished but the new mission ahead of us is one that the club will need to lead on as we seek to avoid a repeat of our recent failures. 

This, coupled with the news last week that Ryan Dempsey will be stepping down from his own role as the women’s first team manager, means we are embarking on the largest overhaul of the football side in our recent history but I am confident the research and preparatory work of the board and staff will act as a better foundation for our decisions than we have had in the past.  

As Chair I will oversee the process for both teams with Brit Saylor taking the lead on the appointment of a new women’s first team manager while Liam Hickey and Nick Igoe are working on the new men’s team management. All have been involved over the past few months in the development of the new framework for the management of the football teams along with Dumebi Dumaka. Sadly, Dumebi will be stepping down from his director role with immediate effect after almost three years on the board and I would like to thank him for the work he has done in helping us design a future structure for the successful operation of the club, it is the job of any director to try to leave the club in a stronger position than they found it and he has certainly achieved that goal. 

 I am also pleased to let you know that after more than a year of meeting with and evaluating potential partners Liam Hickey has succeeded in bringing youth team football back to our club with the implementation of an under 18s team for the men’s side also in time for the 2025 26 season. In addition to our application for league football I am personally looking forward to the return of the FA Youth Cup competition which has been greatly missed by fans at Champion Hill. 

I would like to thank everyone at the club for their hard work in preparing us for this journey and making sure that we are much better equipped to deal with changes both expected and unexpected and I look forward to a far brighter future on the pitch. 

We will provide more updates on both these and some other areas over the coming weeks and for any enquiries about our men’s and women’s team management roles or the new youth team structure please contact the club via email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

On behalf of the club and the board. 

Ben Clasper, Chairman