The Canterbury United Gazette
Market22 Oct 2029
Tommy Lockyer has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Canterbury United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words exchanged at Canterbury United
Noah Bell and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
12 academy players handed senior numbers at Canterbury United
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Market22 Oct 2029
Canterbury United promote Ryan Nelson from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ryan Nelson has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market22 Oct 2029
Canterbury United promote Sam Kirwan from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sam Kirwan has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market22 Oct 2029
James Nelson steps up from the Canterbury United academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. James Nelson has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
A promise the Canterbury United board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Biel Vargas stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Biel Vargas and Canterbury United agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad22 Oct 2029
A row about effort at Canterbury United
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oliver Boxall was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
- Boardroom No investment in the facilities at Canterbury United
- Looking ahead Tommy Lockyer goes back to face WaiBOP United
- The dugout Deklan Lockyer knocks on the manager’s door