Tring Athletic 1-1 Chesham United
How times have changed from the old days of travels; I used to scribble notes and get my mum to type them up, today I am tapping this out on my Iphone whilst my eldest son is having a scuba diving class in front of me at Hemel leisure centre.
I used to enjoy reading back over my Chesham United Travels in the early 1990's and I hoped others did too. The discovery of the blog means I have no excuses for not doing it again...The only difference is, as time has evolved, my weekend sport watching and passion is being shared with rugby, and in particular Saracens. Alan Calder
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Thursday, 29 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
A Triumph Over Thurrock...And the M25
You know it is still early into pre-season when you wake up excited about a friendly at Thurrock - or Purfleet as most of us will remember them as back in the old Ryman League days.
The game had been arranged quite late, initially Thurrock were due to play Southend on this day and we were playing Oxford City Nomads at Bisham Abbey, but a sequence of events including management changes led to this game being hastily arranged only a week or so ago; understandable under the circumstances that not too many Chesham folk chose to risk the wrath of the M25 on the first Saturday of the school holidays.
The game had been arranged quite late, initially Thurrock were due to play Southend on this day and we were playing Oxford City Nomads at Bisham Abbey, but a sequence of events including management changes led to this game being hastily arranged only a week or so ago; understandable under the circumstances that not too many Chesham folk chose to risk the wrath of the M25 on the first Saturday of the school holidays.
Friday, 16 July 2010
Way Down West
All the talk since promotion has been about the away trip to Truro in Cornwall. For regionalised football it is a mammoth journey - some 286 miles each way - and one that is costly to get to (it's so easy to forget these things when you are not actually having to deal with it). Of course, you know it is coming so you allow for it in the budget planning and there is no ideal time to have to make the journey. Avoiding midweek is first priority. Avoiding winter is also another desire, the last thing you want to do is get all the way down there and find the game is called off.
So when the fixtures came out on Wednesday morning the first game we all looked for was Truro City away. We didn't have to look far. First game of the season...can you believe it?
For anyone that has ever had a summer holiday in the West Country (or even went to Taunton for the first game of the season a few years back) you will be well aware of what a nightmare the traffic can be on a Saturday in the school summer holidays.
One kind supporter had done some research into getting all the players down there and back by train on the same day. Probably the most cost-effective, and one we certainly looked into, but you are also taking a gamble on the reliability of the train times and, heaven forbid, the players being able to get to Reading train station for 7.30am on a Saturday morning. What do you do if the train arrives and a couple of your star players have not arrived?
Brian McCarthy spent all day Wednesday searching for hotels that are reasonably priced and could accommodate the number of rooms needed (remember, we're talking mid summer holidays). I made some enquiries about flying down to Newquay - it was great for me on my own a couple of years ago, but totally out of our price range for transporting a whole team down!!
By Thursday morning Brian had secured an excellent coach price to take us down on Friday, stop off overnight at Exeter, before completing the journey to the game Saturday morning; returning all the way home after the game. The train would have remained the cheaper option, but in recent years we have tried to install a level of professionalism in the way we run the club. This is a new era for Chesham United and the last thing anyone wants (I hope) is for the new era to start with arriving late at a game or having players missing because of travel arrangements.
I know that Andy and the players really appreciate the gesture made in providing the overnight stop, and have been decent enough to pass on that appreciation. An indication of the type of mentality that has evolved through some consistency on the field, something we should all be proud of.
On a personal note, Weymouth away on Easter weekend could not be more perfect!
So when the fixtures came out on Wednesday morning the first game we all looked for was Truro City away. We didn't have to look far. First game of the season...can you believe it?
For anyone that has ever had a summer holiday in the West Country (or even went to Taunton for the first game of the season a few years back) you will be well aware of what a nightmare the traffic can be on a Saturday in the school summer holidays.
One kind supporter had done some research into getting all the players down there and back by train on the same day. Probably the most cost-effective, and one we certainly looked into, but you are also taking a gamble on the reliability of the train times and, heaven forbid, the players being able to get to Reading train station for 7.30am on a Saturday morning. What do you do if the train arrives and a couple of your star players have not arrived?
Brian McCarthy spent all day Wednesday searching for hotels that are reasonably priced and could accommodate the number of rooms needed (remember, we're talking mid summer holidays). I made some enquiries about flying down to Newquay - it was great for me on my own a couple of years ago, but totally out of our price range for transporting a whole team down!!
By Thursday morning Brian had secured an excellent coach price to take us down on Friday, stop off overnight at Exeter, before completing the journey to the game Saturday morning; returning all the way home after the game. The train would have remained the cheaper option, but in recent years we have tried to install a level of professionalism in the way we run the club. This is a new era for Chesham United and the last thing anyone wants (I hope) is for the new era to start with arriving late at a game or having players missing because of travel arrangements.
I know that Andy and the players really appreciate the gesture made in providing the overnight stop, and have been decent enough to pass on that appreciation. An indication of the type of mentality that has evolved through some consistency on the field, something we should all be proud of.
On a personal note, Weymouth away on Easter weekend could not be more perfect!
Not Too Many First Game Blues
Chesham United 0-3 Wycombe Wanderers
Well, I can now say that Chesham United has had its first game since I became Chairman; I guess that was when the realisation of what has been taken on struck home...I was genuinely delighted with the number of well-wishers that came forward to congratulate me, though the night did not go without a few flaws that I think we managed to cover over pretty well!
A gate of 544 was good and will certainly help the finances early season, but equally important was the way the club presented itself. Sometimes as a supporter this is the bit you don't see from the terraces, it's easy to think that people are not doing much and just sipping tea in the Boardroom, but I can assure you that is not always the case! If we take last Tuesday as an example, here's a couple of tales from behind the scenes...
Upon arrival I received a letter of complaint from a supporter, and helper of the club, that, let's say, did not mince it's words with the language and terminology regarding some of what they see to be going on. This obviously puts you in a good mood for the night.
We were then faced with a disgruntled turnstile operator who didn't like the new size of season tickets (record season ticket sales thus far though - thanks to everyone for that) and went around with a face like thunder all night, quite frankly being rude to anyone who approached.
Fortunately we had previously resolved the issue of having no tannoy announcer for the evening... that was until an hour before kick-off. Just after he had been trained on how the whole PA System worked, I saw him dashing across the car park because the referee was now ill and he will instead be running the line! An hour to find a tannoy announcer!
The answer proved to be my Dad - lots of people do loads around the club, but my Dad has become a genuine all round hero. He's down at the club most mornings helping with football secretarial work and the daily running of the club, that morning he had quite literally been cleaning the toilets and now he was to our rescue on the tannoy.
Before he started to announce the teams to the growing crowd I just need to prepare the silver salva that we were going to have presented to the team prior to the match by the President of the Southern League, Keith Allen. So there I am, 7.00pm, standing in the Boardroom by the trophy cabinet looking for the award that I had collected on the club's behalf at the League AGM in Torquay last month. "Dad, have you got the silver salva?"
"The what?" comes the reply.
"The trophy we got for winning the play-offs?"
"I haven't seen that"
"What do you mean? The trophy I gave you when I got back from Torquay?"
"Torquay?" If I hadn't known better I would have thought he was winding me-up, it was like a Monty Python sketch. Twenty minutes to presentation time...
"Torquay, the League AGM, I gave you the silver slava when I got home, you were at my house looking after the kids, I'm sure you had even confirmed it was in the Boardroom... the one we are presenting in 15 minutes..."
After some manic dashing around the box containing the award was located and 10 minutes later seamlessly presented on the pitch to captain Danny Talbot.
The game itself was lost 3-0, some silly goals given away, but for much of the game we played good football and held our own. For us it was still very early into the pre-season preparations and ordinarily we wouldn't have played a match at this stage; for that I appreciate the effort put in by Andy and the players to accommodate the fixture, and also a huge thank you to Wycombe Wanderers for coming along to give us a good run out and the chance to get a good crowd along for a friendly.
Gary Waddock (Wycombe Manager) was very complimentary about the state of the pitch and the performance of our team. I hope they enjoyed their visit to Chesham better than the last time when by all accounts the pitch and the hospitality fell below the standards expected.
Well, I can now say that Chesham United has had its first game since I became Chairman; I guess that was when the realisation of what has been taken on struck home...I was genuinely delighted with the number of well-wishers that came forward to congratulate me, though the night did not go without a few flaws that I think we managed to cover over pretty well!
A gate of 544 was good and will certainly help the finances early season, but equally important was the way the club presented itself. Sometimes as a supporter this is the bit you don't see from the terraces, it's easy to think that people are not doing much and just sipping tea in the Boardroom, but I can assure you that is not always the case! If we take last Tuesday as an example, here's a couple of tales from behind the scenes...
Upon arrival I received a letter of complaint from a supporter, and helper of the club, that, let's say, did not mince it's words with the language and terminology regarding some of what they see to be going on. This obviously puts you in a good mood for the night.
We were then faced with a disgruntled turnstile operator who didn't like the new size of season tickets (record season ticket sales thus far though - thanks to everyone for that) and went around with a face like thunder all night, quite frankly being rude to anyone who approached.
Fortunately we had previously resolved the issue of having no tannoy announcer for the evening... that was until an hour before kick-off. Just after he had been trained on how the whole PA System worked, I saw him dashing across the car park because the referee was now ill and he will instead be running the line! An hour to find a tannoy announcer!
The answer proved to be my Dad - lots of people do loads around the club, but my Dad has become a genuine all round hero. He's down at the club most mornings helping with football secretarial work and the daily running of the club, that morning he had quite literally been cleaning the toilets and now he was to our rescue on the tannoy.
Before he started to announce the teams to the growing crowd I just need to prepare the silver salva that we were going to have presented to the team prior to the match by the President of the Southern League, Keith Allen. So there I am, 7.00pm, standing in the Boardroom by the trophy cabinet looking for the award that I had collected on the club's behalf at the League AGM in Torquay last month. "Dad, have you got the silver salva?"
"The what?" comes the reply.
"The trophy we got for winning the play-offs?"
"I haven't seen that"
"What do you mean? The trophy I gave you when I got back from Torquay?"
"Torquay?" If I hadn't known better I would have thought he was winding me-up, it was like a Monty Python sketch. Twenty minutes to presentation time...
"Torquay, the League AGM, I gave you the silver slava when I got home, you were at my house looking after the kids, I'm sure you had even confirmed it was in the Boardroom... the one we are presenting in 15 minutes..."
After some manic dashing around the box containing the award was located and 10 minutes later seamlessly presented on the pitch to captain Danny Talbot.
The game itself was lost 3-0, some silly goals given away, but for much of the game we played good football and held our own. For us it was still very early into the pre-season preparations and ordinarily we wouldn't have played a match at this stage; for that I appreciate the effort put in by Andy and the players to accommodate the fixture, and also a huge thank you to Wycombe Wanderers for coming along to give us a good run out and the chance to get a good crowd along for a friendly.
Gary Waddock (Wycombe Manager) was very complimentary about the state of the pitch and the performance of our team. I hope they enjoyed their visit to Chesham better than the last time when by all accounts the pitch and the hospitality fell below the standards expected.