Eldridge is new Common boss

The 28-year-old replaces Mark Linch, who resigned last Wednesday after more than five years in charge of the Sussex County League Division Two outfit.

Eldridge - the grandson of Common chairman Ken Cherry - will also continue to run the club’s under-18 team, which he has led since they were under-10s. A number of those players have featured in the front side this season.

A cultured midfielder possessing the proverbial sweet left foot, Eldridge made 245 appearances (24 as a substitute) for Hastings United across several spells, scoring 29 goals.

He has also played for the now defunct St Leonards, Sidley United, Horsham YMCA, Burgess Hill Town and Horsham, who he captained in a 5-0 loss against Hastings on Saturday.

Eldridge represented Sussex at all youth levels, and was on the books of Brighton & Hove Albion, Watford and Gillingham. He has made a few appearances for Common in recent seasons on a dual-registration basis.

He takes over a Common side propping up the Division Two table following Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Wick. Eldridge’s first game will be a trip to fourth-placed Dorking Wanderers on Saturday.

The full article will appear in Friday’s Bexhill Observer.