THE FOOTBALL FOUNDATION COMMUNITY CLUB OF THE YEAR
AS SEASONS go, supporters of Maidstone United have certainly sat through worse ones.
Not only did the Stones roll back into town after 24 years in exile, they did so in front of around 2,000 people every other Saturday as crowds flocked to the Gallagher Stadium to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.
And to top it all off came promotion via the Ryman South play-offs. On Wednesday at Craven Cottage they added another achievement: the National Game Awards in association with Budweiser Club Futures Football Foundation Community Club of the Year accolade.
The on-the-up Kent club's ever-growing list of things to celebrate just got a little bit bigger.
John Harvey, the club's Head of Community munity and stadium manager is a proud Yorkshireman thriving in his second home.
He collected the NGA in the company of the club's hard-working secretary Ian Tucker and joked: “Not everyone is on a high – the landlords of the local pubs complaining that they've had to find extra staff to pull pints on Saturday afternoons!
“But in all seriousness, it sums up our first year back home. We're back and we're already in the hearts of the town, you can't get away from us!
“We've worked hard to engage the community – and it's a lot to do with our fantastic new pitch.”
Harvey is a fierce supporter of the 3G synthetic surface, a subject that still divides the grass-roots game, despite the Stones losing just one match last term, because they were “under-prepared” for the four days of snow that hit this winter.
Harvey is desperate to avoid a repeat.“It won't happen again” he vowed, hoping the all-weather pitch will live up to its billing next season in the Ryman Premier.
“People must buy into 3G. It's the future. It's been the making of our club,” he added. “It's a no-brainer – the people that worked tirelessly to bring Maidstone United back to Maidstone deserve everyone's thanks.”
It's not just the first team enjoying the plastic. As a club that produced Manchester United and England defender Chris Smalling won't forget, creating their own is high on the list of priorities.
Armies of youngsters grace the same pitch as their black-and-amber heroes, and the Development Centre for school years 1-7 provides top level coaching.
