Football Manor Farm manager eager to sharpen attack ahead of renewed bid for promotion
LEE Lashenko wants Kyle Tooze to reinforce his Bristol Manor Farm ranks in time for their eagerlyawaited Southern League One South return.
The Creek boss has placed the Hungerford Town hot-shot top of his latest wishlist and issued the National League South outfit with a seven-day transfer notice accordingly.
Tooze has performed for a string of clubs in and around the levels including locallybased Yate Town, Mangotsfield United and Paulton Rovers. The 29-year-old also turned out for Bitton in the Toolstation Premier Division.
Lashenko noted too: “Kyle was top scorer last season at Thatcham Town, who may well have gone on to win our league had Covid not happened.
“He was that highly thought of a that Truro City paid money (rumoured to be about £5,000 in December 2009) for him when he was at Mangotsfield and he’s certainly someone I have been keen to sign for a while.
“He’s an outstanding and tenacious forward with physicality about him I feel we could well do with.
“Kyle’s workrate is first class and, of course, he’s a goalscorer, all of which puts him in the same bracket as fantastic forwards like Darren Hawkins, Dean Stamp and Owen Howe who were all main men under me down the years.”
The Manor Farm supremo lost the services of talented fledgling duo Tyler Ashmead, a defender, and striker Lucas Vowles to Yate Town and Weston-super-Mare, respectively, in recent weeks.
He has, however, snapped up 19-yearold midfielder Jayden Nielsen from Tool
station Prem side Brislington and promising 18-year-old goalkeeper Harry Thomas-Barker following stints with Barry Town and, more recently, Toolstation First Division Hengrove Athletic, having also had spells at Cadbury Heath and Frome Town.
Lashenko said: “Harry was previously a Bristol Rovers scholar and Jamie Hillman’s judgement as manager with Hengrove was spot-on when he took him there this season.
“Of course, Ben John is my outstanding first-choice ‘keeper here at Manor Farm but still has one game to serve of his ban.
“Harry has much time on his side and he now has the chance to put himself on someone’s radar while he is with us.
“Jayden is a tenacious central midfielder with a good engine. He’s a bit green still but he can become a really energetic box-tobox player with the help of experienced players around him.
“We have him on dual-registration from Brislington and I won’t stop him playing there or anywhere else if he’s not playing regularly here.
“But I want him in and around us and once he becomes more established at this level I’m sure he’ll make the more permanent move with Brislington’s blessing.
“We know all about giving talented lads opportunities and helping them on their way to higher levels, as we’ve seen lately with Lucas and Tyler moving up the ladder having benefited from their times herewith us. ”
Manor Farm are pencilled in for a home date with third-placed Basingstoke Town when the Southern League One South action returns on Saturday, December 5.
Farm loiter with intent 11th on the ladder yet only four points adrift of the top five potential promotion spots with games in hand to enhance chances. A bullish Lashenko emphasised: “I 100 per cent believe we can get into the promotion reckoning.
“We had a great FA Cup run again to the third qualifying round and now we’re out of that we can fully concentrate on our league affairs.”
Meanwhile, Lashenko’s former Manor Farm coach, Andy Mathias, believes The Creek supremo has the capacity to manage at even higher levels and backs him to hoist Farm out of Southern League One in the near future.
One-time Tytherington Rocks, Backwell United and Winterbourne United boss Mathias, 61, said: “I enjoyed five good years with Lee at Manor Farm including our promotion success from the Western League and run to the FA Vase quarter-finals.
“His man-management is second to none and he has that knack of getting supporters behind him to help with the important fundraising side of things and work off the pitch.
“He’s very professional and methodical in the way he goes about running his clubs and he has a lot of passion for what he does.
“I’d put him on a par with the likes of Jerry Gill and Adie Britton, who both started out at lower levels with my old club Backwell United and went on to manage Bath City. I for one feel he’s too good to stop where he is as a manager in the Southern League.
“Lee also has it in him to make tough decisions; he’s not afraid to shake things up if he feels things aren’t working.
“He has it in him to do as Jerry and Adie did and manage at Conference level at least, and I’m sure he’ll take Manor Farm up by hook or by crook as he has that determination and will to succeed.”