Rye joint boss departs

Anthony Storey has stepped down as joint manager of Rye United to take up a player/assistant manager role at Crawley Down Gatwick

Storey, 30, said: “If I’m honest, I’ve loved every minute of it. The boys make it good fun and there’s good banter about the place.”

The ballplaying midfielder was full of praise for Marc Gall, who now takes sole charge having been joint manager with Storey, and Rye chairman Clive Taylor.

“If I was to step back down to County League football, I said to Marc and the chairman as well, I will be knocking on their door,” continued Storey. “They’ve looked after me something wrotten the last 18 months.

Storey began his career at Championship club Middlesbrough and later joined Scottish outfit Dunfermline before injury denied him hopes of a professional career.

After moving south, he had spells at Lewes, Eastbourne Borough, Tonbridge Angels, Hastings United, Horsham and Crawley Down before moving to Rye in August 2012.

Eastbourne-based Storey and Gall became joint managers when Scott Price resigned at the end of February, and led the team to a very creditable fourth place finish in Sussex County Football League Division One having reached the FA Vase last 32 earlier in the season.

Storey departs The Salts with Rye lying 14th at Christmas. He was sent-off in his final game, the 2-0 win at home to second-placed Littlehampton Town on Saturday December 14.

See Friday’s Rye Observer for the full article.