Grays Athletic
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Grays Athletic
FOOTBALL CLUB
Grays Athletic FC is a supporter owned club that has some exciting
plans in place for the future. Football Focus Magazine recently
caught up with Club Representative Rob Seaman to find out more.
FF: How long have you been involved
and what first attracted you to the club?
RS: I have actively been involved with
the club since 2013. I currently run the
clubs official website and social media
sites, and work as a liaison between the
club and the local press outlets. I began
watching Grays in the mid 90’s but it was
only really since 2000 that my interest
grew. Being able to watch the Blues lift
the FA Trophy not only once but twice,
the second time at Upton Park in front
of 8000 Grays Athletic supporters was a
dream come true.
FF: What are the most challenging and
rewarding aspects of your role?
RS: Sometimes news stories can break
with very little notice so trying to get
the news out as quickly as possible can
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be a challenge. When I post an article
on social media it is really rewarding to
see my fellow supporters reactions to
the article and I hope in some way I am
keeping our supporters up to date with
all the latest news from the club.
FF: How’s the general mood down at
the club at the moment?
RS: I would say that the mood and
general feeling at the club is the best
it has been in years. The club is now
owned and run by its supporters and,
although we got relegated last season, I
would say that most supporters would
agree with me that last season was one
of the most enjoyable seasons in recent
memory. There is now a real sense of
togetherness both on and off the pitch
and an excitement about the club’s
future.
FF: How would you say the season has
gone for the club?
RS: It was a difficult season. Jamie Stuart
was installed as manager following
Mark Bentley’s departure. Jamie was
given the very difficult task of putting a
squad together at the last minute in pre-
season. We had a very limited budget
and to be fair Jamie put together a young
squad with some great individual talent.
It was always going to be a tough ask
to compete with teams like Dulwich
and Billericay whose budgets were far
greater than ours. There were some great
moments through the season, beating
big spending Billericay is one that comes
to mind, but I think all supporters knew
that relegation was a distinct possibility.
The young squad gave it their best go
and credit to them for fighting all the
way to final match.