⚽ Folkestone Invicta chairman: ‘Things are in place to really push this club forward’
Plus: Update on progress of huge town centre redevelopment, and bicycle shop to close after more than three decades trading in town
Folkestone Invicta Football Club kick off their season this Saturday as they travel away to Chichester City. Ahead of the start of the 2025/26 campaign, the Dispatch sat down with chairman Josh Healey to hear about his first two years at the helm and his ambition to see the club climb the football pyramid…
In the summer of 2023 the financial outlook for Invicta was precarious, with the club in debt and in urgent need of fresh investment. In came a consortium of local businesses, their stated aim “to secure the long-term financial future” of the Cheriton Road club and implement a decade-long strategy to transform the team and its facilities.
“The club was on its knees,” chairman Josh Healey told the Dispatch over coffee at the club’s Dugout bar. “We came in and, I’m not going to say saved the club because it'd always be there, it just would have fallen down the leagues.”
It was quickly identified that the club needed to start generating more consistent revenue, especially on non-matchdays, and a significant sum was invested in redeveloping the old Bar Invicta into a seven-days-a-week sports bar in the form of the Dugout. But on the pitch the team was struggling, and in November 2023 joint managers Micheal Everitt and Roland Edge were relieved of their duties with the team sitting 11th in the Isthmian Premier Division.
Mr Healey freely admits that the early days of the new regime were a swift lesson in the realities of life in non-league football. “I think what we massively learnt in that first year was you just can’t come into any football club and expect to get success,” he said. “It doesn’t work like that. We tried every incentive going with win bonuses, with cup runs, etc, but that didn’t happen.”
After looking at a number of potential replacements for the departing Everitt and Edge, the club eventually opted to promote from within, with player-coach Andy Drury stepping up to take on the role of player-manager. Despite a bottom-half finish at the end of 2023/24, Drury was backed by the board and given the chance to rebuild for the following season.
Mr Healey said: “We thought, ‘give him a go for a season’, and backed him quite heavily, and actually it really just shows that money doesn’t get you what you want on the pitch. Certainly not at this level.
“Players were mainly just coming here just to pick up a pound note and weren’t really interacting with the club, the fans and everything else. I could see things, and I was like, ‘I'm not not sure this is working’, but at the same time it’s one of those where we can’t go sacking a manager again half way through the season and you want to give someone an opportunity.”
Another disappointing season saw the club part ways with Drury in March of this year. Mr Healey knew who he wanted to bring in—Tonbridge Angels manager Jay Saunders—and was determined to act before the end of the season to ensure he got his man. Saunders came in on a four-year deal, a sign of the board’s determination to build for the long term.
“You want to build something for years, you don’t want to keep chopping and changing with players,” Mr Healey said. “I appreciate it’s non-league, so you’re going to get probably three or four that’ll drift off each year, but if you can have a nucleus of like eight for at least two or three years that’s how success will build. I think that’s what Cugs [former manager Neil Cugley] was very good at, he kept a nucleus of players and he knew what he was going to get from them. That’s the one thing I’ve learnt from Jay, you want to be able to trust your players going out on that pitch, you know what you’re going to get.”
The chairman has been impressed with what he has seen from the new manager so far, describing his impact at the club as feeling “like a lot of weight is off our shoulders”. After a positive preseason, which included a win away at local rivals Dover Athletic, there is optimism that Saunders can mould a squad capable of starting to challenge for promotion to the National South.
But it will not be until October that we can expect to see Saunders’ new-look team in action in Folkestone itself. Work to lay a new 3G artificial pitch at the club’s Cheriton Road home will conclude later than hoped, meaning a number of ‘home’ fixtures will be played at Margate’s Hartsdown Park ground.
Mr Healey admits the situation is far from ideal, and says he can understand the frustration of some supporters over the communication from the club during the summer, but he is keen to stress the long-term benefits for both the club and the wider community that will come from the delivery of the improved facility.
“There’s things that have happened outside of our control,” he said, “mainly conversations with the council and then obviously having to programme that work with the contractors. We also have to liaise with the league, so we didn’t want to make statements when we haven’t actually informed the league of what’s going on, because then they might get upset with us.
“There’s so many stakeholders that are part of it that you need to sort of tick a box first before going, ‘here’s what we’re doing’, because you’ll end up making one statement and then two weeks later you’re almost contradicting yourself because it hasn’t happened. So sometimes it’s best left until you’ve actually got everything in line, everything set up, and then we can make the statement.
“I do appreciate that the fans were obviously getting concerned that it was coming towards the end of June and they’re going, ‘hang on, what’s going on’. But obviously it cracked on that first week in July and everything’s all systems go. Is it ideal that we’ve got home games at Margate? No. But the way I look at it is that there’s a bit of short-term pain for a lot of long-term gain. We’re going to be operational all the time now, there’s not going to be any concerns of is it on or is it off because of the weather.”
Mr Healey says that since coming in two years ago the consortium has invested around £2.5 million in the club—upgrading facilities, renovating the Dugout and investing in the new 3G pitch. But he knows more will have to be spent on the ground if the team does succeed in climbing the divisions. The situation is complicated by the fact the ground is owned by the district council, and the chairman says the eventual aim is to purchase the site with a view to further redeveloping the stadium.
He said: “I think in the next three years I’d love to see us establish ourselves in the National South [one division higher than Invicta’s current level]. That would be the ceiling if we cannot redevelop [the ground]. Now, if we can buy the site and redevelop it then I think the National League is achievable. I don’t see why it’s not, but we have to work with the council to do that.
“But I think certainly in the next five years we could be a very comfortable National South club. The final piece of the jigsaw was the 3G, we’ve got the right management team now, I think we’ve got the right things in place to be able to really push this club in the right direction.”
News in brief
🚧 A quarter of the ongoing work to revamp the town centre has now been completed, the district council has said. The extensive project has been funded by almost £20 million in government cash. As part of the changes, it has now been confirmed that Folkestone bus station will close on September 20, with services subsequently running from temporary stops along Middelburg Square. Full details are expected to be released on August 15. Council leader Cllr Jim Martin said: “Folkestone town centre will be transformed by this ambitious project. My thanks to both residents and businesses for their patience whilst our partners carry out these important works.”
🚲 A bicycle shop which has served the town for more than 30 years is to close—with its operations moved to the company’s Ashford store. Activ Cycles, on the junction of Sandgate Road and Shakespeare Terrace, will shut for the final time on September 1. In a statement shared on social media, the firm said: “We wish to thank all our Folkestone customers for their continued support.” The company says it will operate a collection service for bike servicing customers in Folkestone who cannot make it to the shop on Kingfisher Business Park in Ashford.
🍺 The Lifeboat could be set to reopen under new ownership by the end of the year, KentOnline reports. The North Street pub was sold at auction for £150,000 back in 2023. Refurbishment is being carried out, and it is hoped pints will be pulled in time for Christmas.
🔥 Police have appealed for witnesses after a fire at the former Foxwood School site in Seabrook Road. The blaze is believed to have started between 7pm and 10pm last Thursday, July 31. A spokesman for Kent Police said: “The fire was extinguished by Kent Fire and Rescue Service with no reported injuries. The building is reported to be structurally unsafe within the gated private grounds. The incident is being treated as suspicious, and an arson investigation is ongoing.” Anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage which may assist the investigation should call 01843 222289, quoting reference 46/132628/25.
🏠 The site of the former gasworks in Ship Street has been put on the market, with the hope that a developer will take on the land for the building of houses. Folkestone & Hythe District Council purchased the site in 2021, and earlier this year the authority made the decision to sell up. The site was used for gas storage until the 1970s, but in 2001 the last gasholders were torn down and the land has been derelict ever since.
🌊 Folkestone & Hythe District Council has successfully bid for £2.35 million in Environment Agency funding for ongoing beach management between Hythe and Folkestone harbour. The cash means shingle will be recycled and regraded for a further five years, protecting homes and businesses from flooding. Cllr Stephen Scoffham, the council’s cabinet member for climate, environment and biodiversity, said: “The recycling and regrading of shingle offers effective and important protection against coastal flooding to thousands of residents. We’re delighted to have secured this Environment Agency money to ensure the beach management programme remains.”
What’s on this week
🐟 This weekend will see three days of celebrations at the harbour as the town celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Folkestone Trawler Race. It all kicks off on Friday, August 8, with a fish pie competition at the Goods Yard. The trawler race itself is taking place on Saturday, and on Sunday there will be paddle board racing and a raft race with crews competing in fancy dress. There will also be live music on the quayside during the day on both Saturday and Sunday. You can find out more on the Folkestone Trawler Race Facebook page.
🕺 Dig out your dancing shoes for a night of disco, pop and dance classics as Discos For Grown Ups comes to the Leas Cliff Hall on Friday, August 8. The organisers promise a “fab and feel-good night of dancing” to anthems from the 70s, 80s and 90s. The show starts at 8pm and you can get your tickets here.
🎸 Gig-goers can expect a night of alternative rock and metal at The Music Workshop on Saturday, August 9, with live sets from The Calaveras, SuperZero and Delicia. It all starts at 7pm and entry is free—although donations for the bands will be more than welcome!
🖼️ An exhibition of vintage posters chronicling Folkestone’s past is currently showing at the old station at Folkestone Harbour. Curated by Paul Rennie, Folkestone Posters features more than 20 pieces of artwork spanning more than 70 years. Mr Rennie said: “These posters are cultural artefacts that reflect the rich history of Folkestone as a thriving seaside destination and port during the 20th century. These original artworks span 70 years of history, and seeing a collection as extensive and varied as this in one place is incredibly rare and special.” The exhibition is free to enter and is open daily from 11am to 5pm until October 19.
🎞️ Comedy-drama Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging will be showing at the Harbour Arm on Friday, August 8, as part of this year’s free summer cinema programme. The 7pm screening is completely free to attend, you don’t need a ticket, and spaces are available on a first come, first served basis. You can find out more about this and other upcoming events at the Harbour Arm here.
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All the best, Rhys
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In case you missed it…
📷 That Folkestone Artist: Exploring the changing face of our town over time
Folkestone has seen more than its fair share of change over the last century. Ferries, fishing and seafront amusements have given way to a culture-led renaissance that has seen the town become one of the most attractive locations on the Kent coast. It’s a theme Danny Windsor, aka That Folkestone Artist, addresses in his new exhibition, as the
I'd love to know more about the Gasworks site and what happened to the plan they had there. They removed some of the artworks a few weeks ago.
Also is there any protection in place to stop a load of huge flats going in like the harbour? Or another unfinished block of concrete like on the Leas?
Any chance that I could use your photo of Josh at the ground for my FIFC 3G blog www.cheritonroad.co.uk/blog ?
I'm going to put a link to your article (& clearly a photo credit) but a photo always pulls in the punters