Arle be off for a new start

By Mark Roach

HEADING HOME: Former Reading striker Dave Kitson has quit as Arlesey Town chairman

PICTURE: Alamy

FORMER Premier League striker Dave Kitson has stepped down as chairman of Arlesey Town – but he is looking for a similar role closer to home.

Kitson, 44, played Non-League football for hometown club Hitchin Town and then Arlesey before making his move into the Football League with Cambridge United.

He joined Reading for a £150,000 fee in 2003 and went to play in the Premier League for the Royals before being snapped up by Stoke City.

Spells at Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Oxford United followed before Kitson moved back to Arlesey and finished his playing career with the Step 5 club in 2015.

He finished as Arlesey’s top scorer in 2000 and 2001 and went on to become chairman of the club in 2021.

Mindset

At the same time, however, Kitson – as a resident in the Berkshire town and still the all-time leading goalscorer at the Select Car Leasing Stadium – remained in close touch with the Royals, particularly after setting up his new football academy, The Dave Kitson Academy, in the Reading area.

Kitson also coaches at the Reading Blue Coat School football team – and has led them to the most successful season in the school’s history – while also visiting schools to give talks on mental health, resilience and mindset.

Now, however, Kitson has conceded defeat in a bid to juggle his multi roles and last week made the decision to step down as chairman of the Spartan South Midlands League Blues to focus on his academy work.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my resignation as chairman of Arlesey Town Football Club,” said Kitson. “In the two years since I took on the role, the committee and I have achieved some incredible things together.

“When I became chairman in 2021 the club had no youth teams. Today, Arlesey has a fully-fledged youth operation with more than 15 girls and boys EJA teams playing across Beds and Herts, with our players regularly signed by professional clubs.

Affiliation

“The clubhouse, which was 20 years tired and in desperate need of modernisation, has been brought up to modern standards and is now the envy of every other club far beyond the Step 5 level at which we play. Loanees have been repaid and the club is now in a cash positive position.

“The club is also well down the track to installing new floodlights and a brand new £1m 4G pitch that will provide a self-perpetuating revenue base for the club.

“Unfortunately, Arlesey has become a journey too far in recent months given my affiliation to Reading and that my life has been, and will remain, in Berkshire for the foreseeable future.

“It goes without saying that I wish the club where I started my career every success for the future, and I will always be here to offer any help and guidance.

“Moving forward I will be looking for more local opportunities as either chairman, director of football or board member for a semi-professional club in the Berkshire area.”