HARRIS FURY AS SILLS BAILS OUT

Kingstonian's leading scorer Tim Sills has reneged on his promise to stay with the club and completed a free transfer to Conference League new boys Aldershot Town.

The 28-goal striker pledged his future to Ks in the Comet after winning player of the year, goal of the year and supporters' player of the year awards at the end of a troubled season for the club.

But, on Wednesday, the England semi-professional player agreed a move to the Shots and left Ks manager Kim Harris fuming.

Harris is furious at losing his prize asset for nothing and is disgusted with the behaviour of Sills and Aldershot.

"Tim agreed to a new contract, but we told him we would not submit it to the Football Association until things were sorted out. We left it as a gentleman's agreement" he said.

"Tim has now reneged on the deal and I did not think he was the sort of person to do that - especially after all the things he has been saying to the Trust members.

"He did not inform me he was going and, the worst thing is, we have lost him for a free because we didn't put the contract in.

"The way Aldershot have conducted themselves is also beyond belief. Their manager Terry Brown told me he did not get in contact because he knew I'd submit the contract.

"I need to talk to our chairman because I warned him something like this could happen. Players won't wait around for contracts."

Ks player makes history by Mike Simmonds

Kingstonian defender Scott Smith made history on Tuesday night when he came on as a subsitute in New Zealand's friendly against Scotland at Tynecastle.


The 28-year-old's appearance for the Kiwis saw him become Ks' first full international since Jock Whitehead was capped for Scotland in the 1930s.


Smith, who arrived at Kingsmeadow from Woking in March, came off the bench after 70 minutes and was delighted to win his 31st cap in the 1-1 draw.


"It was great to get on," he said. "I was a bit nervous, but I just had to treat it like any other game.


"It was a massive step up from the level I have been playing recently, but I was happy with my showing and didn't feel out of place."


Smith made his debut for New Zealand against Chile in 1998 and has scored two goals for his country.


The former Rotherham and Kettering player will soon be jetting off to America, where the Kiwis will play the USA, before travelling to France in June for the FIFA Confederations Cup.


The All Whites have been drawn against Japan, Colombia and France in that tournament and all the games will be played at the Stade de France.


Smith can't wait for the Cup to begin and said: "I played in it last year and really enjoyed the experience, so am already looking forward to the opening match.


"The whole squad is excited about the tournament and we are viewing it as an excellent chance to get back onto the world stage again."


It is still unclear where Smith will be playing at the start of next season, although he has been offered the chance to stay at Ks, for whom he made eight starts towards the end of last season.


However, the defender could not confirm he will be at Kingsmeadow in August and said: "I've been offered terms, but Kim knows I want to play at the highest level possible to further my international chances, so I don't know what will happen.


"Playing in more internationals might get my name noticed, but, if nothing happens, I would be more than happy to start the season as a Kingstonian player."

Week 21 - Drawn 23/05/03

2000 Jackpot AN0465 L Jerome

500 R.4296 Mrs Audin

200 Y.3551 R Smith

200 AA0235 L Driver

100 X.0378 Blackpool Paint

100 X.0718 G Smith

100 R.0615 G Nightingale

100 PP2453 Mr Fillingham

100 H.0189 T Watson

100 YY4103 C Stamper

100 P.5767 Mrs Coakley

50 E.3268 J Hulstrom

50 YY5842 Mr Spence

50 P.1096 L Leese

50 Q.2208 Mrs Forbes

50 L.5449 N Barton

50 AN2130 Mr Venner

50 A.4212 T Curtis

Plus over 400 other prizes each week, see full result sheet for details.

Promoter G. Warburton. Reg with the Gaming Board

Labour fight for K's

The Labour Group, who are ward councillors for the Kingsmeadow Stadium, have insisted that a full investigation is made into the statements and accusations voiced at last week's Kingston Town Neighbourhood Committee meeting by former board members of Kingstonian FC.

Group Leader, Councillor Ed Naylor, who wrote immediately to Chief Executive Bruce McDonald, has subsequently met with senior officers who have undertaken to pursue the issues raised.

Councillor Naylor says: "Our position is very clear. We shall fight for, and support, the newly formed K's Trust to secure the future of a Kingston football club at Kingsmeadow by ensuring the K's get the best possible deal from the transfer of leases to AFC Wimbledon. This is likely to happen, if no further problems arise, in late June.

"Also, we are determined to protect the interests of the residents in the area who have suffered over the past year from uncontrolled parking in their streets."

Kingstonian Football Club: Statement

Kingston Council has issued a statement in response to recent speculation about continuing negotiations over the lease for Kingsmeadow.

Kingston Council is the freeholder of the ground at Kingsmeadow. Kingstonian FC has a long lease on this ground from the Council at a peppercorn rent. Mr Khosla currently holds this lease. Under the terms of this lease the Council cannot unreasonably withhold its consent to the assignment of the lease to another company or organisation.

A second lease exists on some land adjacent to the ground. This lease was granted by the Council to Kingstonian in 2001 to assist them in bringing the ground up to standard to meet ground requirements for higher leagues.

The statement from Kingston Council reads:
"The Council has a clear and consistent view on Kingstonian FC and Kingsmeadow. We see Kingstonian as an important part of the Royal Borough's history and tradition. We want to see the Kingstonians continue to play their football at Kingsmeadow and we will use whatever influence we have to achieve this goal.

"The Council will scrutinise any request to assign this second lease carefully. It would want to be satisfied that so doing would help to secure the future of Kingstonian Football Club, and will pursue this objective in any negotiations with the parties involved."

Week 20 - Drawn 16/05/03

2000 Jackpot A.2958 S Johnson
500 K.6469 Mrs Procter
200 BB2276 I Clarke
200 N.1990 A Hilton
100 AA5959 G Rattray
100 B.1333 C Molodynski
100 P.3339 Mrs Keane
100 EE0377 R Godwin
100 Y.2950 K Henson
100 GG0358 W Dale
100 G.5258 M Townsend
50 W.0340 A Dalli
50 FF2653 P Simpson
50 F.4663 L Hughes
50 AB6308 L Garnett
50 C.0496 B Anandappa
50 M.4212 P Pickering
50 AG1194 Mr McNeff

Plus 35 x 25 Winners and over 350 Consolations of 5, 10 & 20.

Membership costs only 1 per week

Promoter G. Warburton. Reg with the Gaming Board

K'S TRUST ELECTIONS

The newly-formed K's Trust will be holding elections during June to elect a nine-strong board, to be in place for the start of Kingstonian's pre-season programme. After receiving detailed advice from the government backed initiative Supporters Direct, election rules and nomination forms will be issued to members from Tuesday 20th May.

Bees United (The Brentford Supporters' Trust) have kindly agreed to oversee the entire process. Voting will be by individual postal ballot, with the results being announced by the Returning Officer at the inaugural AGM, to be held during the week beginning Monday 7th July.

Nominations will be open from Tuesday 20th May until Monday 2nd June, with the balloting period being Saturday 14th June until Monday 30th June. In order to take part in the process, people must be members of the trust by the close of business on Monday 19th May.

Supporters Direct representative Dave Boyle said: "A crucial aspect of any trust is that it is a democratic body, owned by its members and controlled by them. That is one of their greatest strengths, as they represent the collective opinion of fans at the club. Every member's voice is as valid as much as any other and elections are crucial to maintaining that strength."

To join the trust, or for more information on the elections or the progress so far, please visit www.thekstrust.org.

Week 19 - Drawn 09/05/03

2000 Jackpot HH6515 J Halsall

500 JJ6965 P Taylor

200 G.2980 J Stoddart

200 S.4841 Mrs Rose

100 C.2214 Mrs Coulton

100 G.0668 M Sharples

100 Y.5121 M Austin

100 S.0468 Mr Atherton

100 L.6005 Mrs Standen

100 V.3739 E Slowgrove

100 C.0136 D Essam

50 E.5460 H Speak

50 C.2593 Mrs Royle

50 M.1537 J Haydock

50 AA6806 A Wilson

50 A.5016 R Latham

50 L.0298 V Burnes

50 X.4718 Acc/A Offices

Plus over 400 other prizes each week, see full result sheet for details.

Promoter G. Warburton. Reg with the Gaming Board

Kettering make the switch

A meeting of the Football Associations National League Systems Committee has looked at the placing of clubs in the three senior feeder leagues following the end of season promotions and relegations to and from the Football Conference. The Ryman League Premier Division will be boosted by the inclusion of Kettering Town. It was also announced that the three teams relegated from the regionalised Division Ones will all be placed in Division Two.

Ryman League final top scorers table:

45 Lee Boylan Canvey Island (38 league, 7 league cup)

32 Craig McAllister Basingstoke Town (31 league, 1 league cup)

25 Tim Sills Kingstonian (21 league, 4 league cup)

Kingstonian FC final top scorers table:

28 Tim Sills (all competitions)

18 Phil Wingfield (all competitions)

7 Scott Steele (all competitions)

6 James Pinnock (all competitions)

4 Dave Clarke (all competitions)

4 Grant Payne (all competitions)

K'S TRUST KEEPS MOVING FORWARD

Just three weeks after its launch, The K's Trust has had another hugely productive week. Monday's May Merrie saw two stalls representing the group - one on the Fairfield and one in the market place - raising both awareness and money. Several new members were signed up, lots of merchandise was sold, but perhaps more importantly, a large number of local people found out what the trust is about - and what they can do to help.

Prior to this, Saturday morning saw two important meetings at Kingsmeadow. First of all the members of the trust met three representatives from AFC Wimbledon: Chairman Kris Stewart, Commercial Director Ivor Heller and Finance Officer Erik Samuelson. This productive meeting brought confirmation of a large number of issues, as well as an assurance that AFC Wimbledon want to deal with Kingstonian as a trust rather than as any other sort of organisation.

The rent payable by Kingstonian FC has been confirmed as being 10,000 plus inflation over a ten-year period. This amount should be earned with a pre-season friendly between the two Kingsmeadow teams - the profits of which will go to The K's. Funds can also be boosted throughout the season as Kingstonian will retain all of the profits from the bars at their matches, as well as through perimeter advertising. The details of this are still to be decided, but it looks likely that K's will be able to install and maintain their own advertising boards for their own matchdays.

Following this there was a meeting of the trust working group, along with senior members of the club including Kim Harris and Anup and Rajesh Khosla. There was much discussion of next season's budget, as well as several potential revenue streams. The meeting was entirely positive, and ended with the 100% agreement of those present that the trust can raise enough money, and has the expertise already in place, to run the club once the CVA has been settled.

As the season comes to a close, the trust would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has supported them in their recent endeavours. Everyone involved realises that there is a lot of hard work ahead, but the amount of work that has already been done proves that it is possible for a democratically elected group of people to run a non-league football club.

Week 18 - Drawn 02/05/03

2000 Jackpot KK5286 G.Henderson

500 W.2121 K.Smith

200 GG6271 H Warren

200 G.0864 Mrs J Waite

100 C.2080 J. Dolan

100 M.1478 Mrs Pether

100 R.1331 Mrs Bluck

100 BB5727 I Cussack

100 AC5021 M Weaver

100 ZZ3912 R.Bryant

100 LL2676 Miss Ridley

50 X.0674 Langney Sports

50 A.5793 P Bromley

50 EE2989 J Horne

50 Q.2861 Mrs Owen

50 CC0718 R Cheffings

50 BB2730 P Hill

50 KK1515 L.Smith

Plus over 400 other prizes each week, see full result sheet for details.

Promoter G. Warburton. Reg with the Gaming Board