Danny Kedwell moves into management at Cray Wanderers

By Jon Couch

FORMER Football League ace Danny Kedwell has been given his first shot at management – at Cray Wanderers.

The 37-year-old former Gillingham, AFC Wimbledon, Ebbsfleet and Havant & Waterlooville striker has been unveiled as the new Wands boss, replacing Tony Russell, who quit last month after six years in charge.

Kedwell enjoyed a glittering 20-year playing career, yielding over 250 goals, while achieving a UEFA A Level coaching badge along the way.

Kedwell, who will also register as a player at Cray, is a well-known figure in Kent football, turning out for a plethora of of clubs in the county before earning to a move to AFC Wimbledon in 2008.

BOSS: Danny Kedwell

In three seasons, he scored 67 goals and helped take the Dons into the Conference and, in 2011, scored the winning penalty in the Conference play-off final against Luton Town to earn the Dons promotion to the Football League.

This alerted his home town club Gillingham to sign him before the start of the 2011-12 season and spent four seasons with the Gills scoring 40 goals in 119 appearances.

Under Russell, the Wands – regarded as London’s oldest football club – enjoyed a superb first season back at Step 3 in 2019-20 with a second-place finish in the null-and-void Isthmian Premier Division.

They then won five out of their seven matches in 2020-21 when this season was curtailed.