The second and final part of my interview with Tunbridge Wells boss Luke Carpenter as he tells me whats changed at The Wells and the expectations for the coming season:
TK: I spoke to Rich (Styles) and Dan (Morrin) a few weeks ago and went over last season which of course you weren’t a part of and they said in hindsight they underachieved in the league, is there a real emphasis to push on this season?
LC: I hope so! I’m not very good at losing haha, but I can’t comment on what happened last year to be honest but for me I do the same homework if we win, draw or lose a game in an attempt to highlight potential issues and prevent losing or drawing games often.
I’m helped with the staff I’ve got with me and the first two phone calls I made were to Steve Ives and George Loscombe to get them on board. Steve has massive experience in this league and in Sussex with Crowborough almost getting promoted. With George it’s a bit detrimental to title him a physio because he’s highly qualified, knowledgeable and experienced in other areas such as nutrition and strength and conditioning.
We’ve added to them recently with Dan King and Alfie Glazebrook as coach and goalkeeping coach respectively, so my full team has the same similar mannerisms as me and wanting success. We’ll take it down to the finest detail but we will disagree on things, I wouldn’t want that any other way and it’s healthy, that will help us more than having everyone agreeing all the time.
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TK: Do you think the league will be a little more open this year?
LC: There’s still a lot of money going around and a lot of different players coming into the league, Glebe did fantastically well last year and they will again this year, Luke Rooney knows his football and has already brought in some good players.
I think it’s going to be a harder competitive league with the players coming into sides, managers will feel a bit more pressure if they’re not up there performing, the early stages this year are much more difficult to predict I feel.
TK: There are a lot of out of contract players from the top level down to the National League, do you think that has pushed some quality into the SCEFL that you would expect to see at Step 4?
LC: I think there are a number of factors here, a lot of managers have moved around as well and have good relationships with a lot of players so of course they move on, combine that with a bit of money and the high living cost we’re experiencing at the moment.
Also, as players get older they’re getting married, having kids and the travelling doesn’t agree quite so much, definitely a lot more to it now than before. I think not quite so much squeezed down, more of an attraction to move.
TK: The players you’ve attracted so far have been of a good quality as well, I know most through either Kent or Sussex football, is it that much easier to attract players to Tunbridge Wells who have a decent support and potential than those who manage to get around 50-80 through the gate?
LC: Yeah, it’s a lot easier, players want to play in front of a support and as you know having been to the Wells often it’s not just people through the gate they make a noise too and that is a big difference to players.
They do support you, the team, the management and it’s great to feel a part of that, it’s something I’ve mentioned to every player so you would hope it’s helped in their decision making.
TK: I think it’s a much stronger Tunbridge Wells than when you left with an Under 23 side, an Under 18’s and a youth section that is blossoming in size.
LC: I spoke to Jamie (Wolvey) just before I left, I helped get him into the club, he’s very good at recruiting and knows a lot about youth football in the area, he’s always about networking and learning about players.
Already the pathway we’ve got for pre-season for the players is quite clear, we’ve spoken to five players already so they understand what they need to do to get their chance and time they’ll get with us to support them moving upwards.
TK: I think it helps as well that about five players did manage to be around the first team squad last season they can see a way forward.
LC: It helps yes, there are so many youth players in this area I don’t know where they all go! As I said I run my own youth coaching academy (www.purefootballacademy.co) in the area so I have that to help me find those for the pathway.
TK: What is the expectation for Tunbridge Wells this season?
LC: Genuinely last season I could have given you one, I don’t think it’s as easy this year. There are some players who we’ve spoken to that we haven’t taken on because of personality, players like Jack Walder and Trevor McCreadie are hungry winners, you know they’re going to do everything they can to ensure Tunbridge Wells are the winners at the final whistle.
That’s the kind of mindset we’re looking for, the same standards whether it’s a training session or a competitive match. With that in mind we’re quite confident we’ll compete in every game we play, we’re not here just to take part but without doing the homework on each opposition then we’re not doing ourselves justice.
TK: As we mentioned the support at The Wells is very good and loud and has been for a number of years, are you hoping that even more will flock to the Culverden Stadium?
LC: I hope so, we’ll be doing our best to give them something to sing and cheer about. Crowds are what players want to see and play in front of and you know what it can be like for an opposition goalkeeper!
The club have invested on improving the facilities too which goes a long way as an appeal for those visiting. Hopefully it’s the same when we go away to games, I hope attendances keep rising as it’s just as good to play in front of a fair few elsewhere.
TK: What would you say is the biggest highlight in returning to Tunbridge Wells?
LC: Hometown. To make the jump up the pyramid with your hometown club I don’t think it gets any better than that. It is a club that’s had opportunities in the past to get promoted but for whatever reason it’s not happened. Quite a few people you speak to around the league say Tunbridge Wells is a sleeping giant so it’s unlocking that.
We’re not going to do anything that will kill us in the long run, whatever we do has to be sustainable and last long term, we’re planning for the next 3-4 years, not looking for a struggle next year should we get promoted or we’ll end up back where we started.
My thanks to Luke for his time and good luck for the season at The Culverden Stadium.
