'Best player in the Channel Islands' prepares for landmark game

"I think he's only 25... he looks about 32," jokes Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance about one of his star men.

Jokes aside, Charlton Gauvain is set to make his 200th appearance for the Channel Island club.

The creative midfielder made his debut just after his 16th birthday and in the 199 games he has played has chipped in with 37 goals as well as establishing himself as one of the Green Lions' star men

"He's an incredible player," Vance tells BBC Radio Guernsey.

"He's suffered some tough injuries, but he's a warrior. He keeps going.

"Sometimes that's part of his own problem - he should have a little rest here and there when he gets injuries - but when he gets going he's unplayable.

"I don't think anyone can argue, even the Jersey guys, that he's not the best player in the Channel Islands."

Gauvain's talent was seen from a young age - he trained with Bristol City's academy until he was 15, following a well-trodden path walked by the likes of Alex Scott, Ben Acey, Jack Griffin and Tim Ap Sion.

But injuries hampered his progress meaning he came back to the island and has shone for Guernsey FC since.

Playing in the Isthmian League with Guernsey FC until last season, Gauvian has caught the eye of clubs higher up the pyramid, but so far the right offer has not quite come his way.

"He has had options to be honest, obviously not fully professional but virtually," says Vance.

"Maybe it wasn't enough to relocate, but he's good enough there's no doubt about it - he should have been a professional footballer, he unfortunately got some injuries when he was getting a chance to go to Bristol City for a second time.

"If that's what he wants to try and achieve then fantastic, we'll do everything we can to help him.

"But I think sometimes you get to a point, he's 25, where he's doing okay here and got a good job and he enjoys being part of the lads.

"Maybe his opportunity has gone but you never know in football."

Gauvain's most serious injury came in the summer of 2022 when he was hurt in a pre-season friendly and needed ankle surgery.

He missed almost all of that season, but has since become the bedrock of Vance's team - as well as scoring for Guernsey's representative side as they beat Jersey 3-1 in May to win the Muratti Vase for the first time in eight years.

"Nine years ago I started down here. I'm 25 now, so it's come on quite a bit," says Gauvain

"To get 200 appearances, it'll be a bit special."

Barring any last-minute problems Gauvain will move onto a double-century of appearances in Saturday's trip to Crawley Down Gatwick in the Southern Combination Premier Division.

It will be the first time the two sides have faced one another since Guernsey recorded their club-record victory - an 11-0 thrashing of the Sussex side in January 2014.

"My ambitions are just to stay fit really," adds Gauvain.

"I don't want any more injuries that would step me back.

"I'm getting on now, so I don't know if there there'll be another opportunity (to play for another club) away, but if it comes, certainly I'll take it."