“There are cliches in football, but it is a dream come true… …I used to watch Tonbridge on the terraces when I was six or seven and now I’m going to be leading them out the biggest game in fifty years!”
Tonbridge Angels skipper Sonny Miles is an extremely proud footballer ahead of this weekend’s Emirates FA Cup First Round and he’s been talking to KSN…
With Bradford City heading for the televised tie at Longmead, the Angels skipper told us, “It’s amazing and a bit surreal really because we normally have fallen short as in the past, we’ve had some poor draws or we’ve lost to opposition that we probably shouldn’t have lost too.
“So, by getting into the First Round we’ve got the monkey off our backs if you like – we’ve been there or there abouts and never quite got there. We’ve had quite a few successful years recently, so this is really the icing on the cake and overall, I’m massively pleased for everyone at the football club.
“It’s a club that’s run very well – they don’t spend beyond their means; its mainly run by volunteers – the day is brilliant for them; its not just the players, I’m over the moon for the people at the club who put in such hard work behind the scenes!”
Miles has been at Longmead practically all his career bar from a short spell at Maidstone United, and has nothing but good things to say about the current Angels squad.
“This is probably one of the best squads we’ve had since I’ve come back to the club certainly,” he said. “We’ve had a bit of luck with draws even though they were still relatively tough draws – we had to go to Farnborough for our first competitive game after the COVID break; we had to go to Chichester City on a Tuesday night which is a long journey but we got through that.
“And then the Taunton game I though we dominated – we did our homework and worked a lot on how we could stop them – it finished five nil but ultimately it could have been a lot more!”
The skipper has made over 400 appearances for the club down the years and was in reflective mood for those Tonbridge stalwarts who sadly aren’t still alive to see the Angels historic day.
“It’s sad that some of the people who made the club what it is today aren’t still with us to see Saturday – it’s terribly sad!” the skipper confessed. “I’d like to think that we still gave them some good times down the years… the volunteers do everything off their own back.
“I see the Chairman on match days change out of his ground staff gear into his suit as he’s been on the pitch all morning. The groundsman posts videos on social media at what seems all hours of the day – all these people go un-noticed which is why I’m over the moon for all of them.”
So, come 12.20 on Saturday lunchtime, Miles will be leading the Angels hopefully into the history books. “I am incredibly proud,” he admitted.
“I probably missed the biggest game in a long time when I was sent off in the Play Off Final, I missed the Super Play Off Final against the Met Police which was tough to take. I was captain last year as Tom Parkinson was out injured. Its nice to have Parky back, but the Gaffer said that I was to carry on with the captaincy, and there are cliches in football, but it is a dream come true, it really is.
“I used to watch Tonbridge on the terraces when I was six or seven and now I’m going to be leading them out in one of the, if not the biggest game in fifty years – I really am incredibly proud.”
One final group came in for deserved praise from the Skipper as he said, “there are people who don’t get the credit are our wives, girl-friends, partners, children.
“My wife Sam is incredibly supportive of me when I’m leaving at five o’clock in the morning to go to work and not getting home until eleven because of training on a Tuesday with the same on a Thursday followed by being out all day on a Saturday – these people deserve incredible credit as well as they give you so much support.
“I’m incredibly proud that my wife and my parents and kids will be able to sit and watch Dad live on the telly – it really will be brilliant!”