NON-LEAGUE NEWS: Both local clubs are onto their fourth managers of the season, which at Mayfield Road has signalled a chance for consolidation, while at Croydon Arena there’s still all to play for in the closing weeks of the season, reports ANDREW SINCLAIR
Manager No3: Keith Millen left Croydon Athletic last week after three wins in 14 games
Croydon FC and Croydon Athletic head into the business-end of the season hoping it’ll be third, or fourth, time lucky with their managers.
Keith Millen became the latest dug-out casualty last week, “the right time for him to step down”, according to a terse statement from Athletic.
Millen, who played more than 600 games as a pro and was Ian Holloway’s assistant manager at Crystal Palace, was announced as manager in a flurry of ambitious announcements from the Mayfield Stadium as recently as November. His appointment followed promotion-winning manager Jermaine McGlashan leaving in mid-September and a couple of months under interim boss Michael Kamara, the former Palace and Wimbledon defender.
“Croydon Athletic announce that manager Keith Millen is stepping down from his role at the club. We would like to put on record our thanks to Keith for his hard work during this short time with the club after a period without a permanent manager,” said the statement from the club co-owned by Stormzy and Wilf Zaha.
“It has been agreed with Keith that now is the right time for him to step down and we wish him every success in the future.”
Under Millen, the Rams managed just three wins in 14 games.
The club’s video’d interview with Millen after a 4-0 defeat away at Sittingbourne at the end of January gives a taste of where things may have been heading:
Athletic are 15th in the Isthmian League South East Division table, with 12 games to go, sitting 14 points clear of the relegation zone, but also the same margin from the promotion play-off spots.
Squad quality doesn’t seem to have been the main issue, as they’ve continually evolved their resources throughout the season. Earlier this month they added 35-year-old James Dunne, a midfielder with more than 300 EFL games under his belt, and left-back Nathan Mavila, whose playing CV includes stints in Jordan, Sweden and the Canadian Premier League. Though as Millen mentions in his post-match interview – the team has lacked consistency.
Mayfield hotseat: Danny Kedwell
Danny Kedwell has been tasked with taking over from Millen and driving the Rams forward through the final weeks of the season.
The 41-year-old former striker at Wimbledon and Gillingham has split his first two games in the Mayfield hotseat, beating Margate in his debut as manager before coming unstuck late on against Burgess Hill Town in midweek.
His next assignment is today’s trip to Littlehampton, the start of a run of games against other mid-table sides. Further games at Herne Bay and Deal Town follow before the end of March, as does a tentatively rescheduled trip to Beckenham Town.
We say “tentatively” because the promotion-chasing Becks haven’t been able play a home game in 2025.
Their match with the Rams on New Year’s Day was abandoned at half-time, since when they have had seven home games postponed because of a waterlogged pitch. Their “games in hand” in the promotion race has become a burdensome fixture backlog – for themselves and for their rivals.
With neither promotion nor relegation on the cards for the Rams, Kedwell will likely have some freedom to try things in the closing stages. One game he’ll want to win for sure is their Surrey Senior Cup last 16 meeting with South Park. Should the Rams get through, a competitive tie with Walton and Hersham awaits in the quarter-finals.
Over at Croydon Arena, Croydon FC’s Managers No3 and No4 of the season seem to have settled in rather well.
Croydon’s flying start to the season under Antonio Gonnella came to a grinding halt when he did a flit in November, taking half the playing squad with him as he took over at a Forest Hill Park side he’d just beaten 5-0.
Promotion chasers: fifth in Southern Counties East Football League first division before today’s matches, Croydon FC are seeking their first promotion since 2009
His assistant, Wayne Bullen, struggled when he took over and lasted little more than a month before the Trams appointed joint managers Alex White and Ryan Watts.
The duo had applied for the vacant Croydon job in the summer, being pipped by Gonnella, before going on to create a very positive impression in a brief spell at Thamesmead.
The pair have only had six games in charge and aside from two cup exits, they’ve started well. More than 10 new players have come through the door, and they’ve taken seven points from their four games at the helm in the Southern Counties East Football League first division.
Thanks to the club’s turbo-charged start to the season, after White and Watts steadied the boat, they currently sit fifth in the table with 11 games to go. However, the chasing pack aren’t far behind and that means the Trams faithful will want more performances like their 4-1 drubbing of Soul Tower Hamlets last time out.
Their forthcoming run looks favourable, with four of their next six games against teams in the bottom half of the table. The other two are against Rochester United and Clapton Community, play-off contenders in their own rights. Promotion would be the promised land for Croydon, who have missed out on playing in the ninth tier since 2019.
Watch out for high-flying Whyteleafe. The Leafe are through to the FA Vase quarter-final next Saturday, and also look good value for back-to-back promotions.
FIXTURES
Croydon Athletic
TODAY: Isthmian SE Div v Littlehampton T (A)
Sat Mar 1: Isthmian SE Div v Ashford Utd (H)
Sat Mar 8: Isthmian SE Div v Herne Bay (A)
Tue Mar 11: Surrey Senior Cup v South Park (A)
Sat Mar 15: Isthmian SE Div v Deal T (A)
Sat Mar 22: Isthmian SE Div v Broadbridge Heath (H)
Tue Mar 25: Isthmian SE Div v Beckenham T (A)
Croydon FC
TODAY: SCEFL Div 1 v Staplehurst Monarchs (H)
Wed Feb 26: Surrey Premier Cup v Reigate Priory (H)
Sat Mar 1: SCEFL Div 1 v Rochester Utd (H)
Sat Mar 8: SCEFL Div 1 v Welling Town (A)
Sat Mar 15: SCEFL Div 1 v Lewisham Boro (H)
Sat Mar 22: SCEFL Div 1 v Clapton Community (A)
Sat Mar 29: SCEFL Div 1 v Meridian (H)
Wed Apr 2: SCEFL Div 1 v Tooting Bec (A)
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Three managerial teams at The Arena if you please, not four – the current pair are working in tandem.
And still no grandstand from which to watch the games, despite the Mayor’s claim that it was open. No sign of action from BW House and one pylon with but a single working lamp as of Thursday evening.
1, Antonio Gonnella
2, Wayne Bullen
3 and 4, Alex White and Ryan Watts
Or are you using what we like to call “Croydon Council accountancy methods” at Croydon Arena?
Thanks for the reminder of another of Mayor Perry’s porkie pies, though, Stephen.
The Mayor visited The Arena this afternoon – what did he think of the grandstand standing forlornly empty and with its myriad of damaged seats?
From memory, there wasn’t the problem with the concrete until the boiler was changed several years ago. The old one was conventionally flued with its terminal high at the back of the stand and away from the concrete. Its replacement appears to have a stubby balanced flue which (obviously coincidentally) terminates immediate where the concrete has eroded.
So is this a coincidence? Would it be better to extend the fluing away from the stand and replace the concrete? When? We have had over a season of inaction over the stand. Schoolchildren are the ones who have damaged the seating, the Trams following are a little too old in the tooth (if they still have them!!) to start kicking and damaging them.
There is a fair number of spectators who are refusing to attend until they can get a decent view of the pitch. The refurbishment from around 1990 appears to have been decided upon by a senior Harrier / Council employee with no consultation with the ageing senior Management of the football club.
And what of the other improvements which have / will have a detrimental effect on the FA’s ground grading requirements for senior leagues? Terracing / number of turnstiles / working floodlights? The pylon immediately to the right of the stand had no working lights last Wednesday. It had one for a while previously.
Does the council and employees actually care about what they are responsible for?
The re-concreting has taken place but the stand has still not been reopened due to broken seats. None of those were damaged by football supporters, the most likely root cause is schoolkids on their annual sports days. Numerous people has commented that they have boycotted Trams home fixtures this campaign due to not being able to get a decent view of proceedings. May we ask when they will be sorted? How about access being denied unless the Harriers and Trams are playing home fixtures by installing gates at either end? O yes, and the floodlight pylom with no working lights!!