Apologies, I confess to having not got around to doing any programme notes for Saturday's programme against Bashley (we have clearly missed a trick this year, every other club in the league seems to be charging £2 for the matchday programme, whatever the standard, and with paper prices constantly on the rise, we should have followed suit). What with a Board Meeting to prepare for on Wednesday, and a game on Tuesday night, time just escaped me....Wow, April already, and we've just gone on our worst run since October - two defeats on the trot.
Thursday was transfer deadline day for club's at this level and, in true Liverpool/Chelsea style, we were doing some manic running around to tie down a couple of targets we have had our eye on for a while. In fact it was just after 10.00pm on Wednesday, I had just left the club at the end of the Board Meeting / Reserves match when I got the text from Andy: "Alan, we will sign Aaron Couch tomorrow after all. Think Brian is away. Can your Dad deal with it?" Cue a day of manic back and forthing to get the deal done before the deadline. Before that, it had looked like we were going to miss out on Aaron having already put in the 7-day approach and had subsequent discussions.
I mentioned previously that we have experienced two defeats on the trot, the second of which was a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup defeat against Wycombe Wanderers at Burnham. We lost the game 4-1 to a very strong Wycombe side that was full of flair, skill and speed. It was an entertaining game despite the defeat, perhaps more enjoyable without the stress of going for promotion! The game was killed by two goals immediately after the break that made the score 3-1, but for much of the game we stood up well against full-time opposition.
The game was played at Burnham, home of Wycombe Wanderer's Reserves, and the matchday programme would have disappointed any groundhopper that likes to collect a programme and a teamsheet, they were one and the same - it all seemed a far cry from some of the great B&B finals of the past, most memorably victory over Aylesbury at Buckingham Road in front of crowds in excess of 1,000 (you had to read some of the original Chesham United Travels to really get a feel for what it meant back then). I would have thought that for a semi-final the B&B would have hoped for more than just a team sheet at the turnstiles, with our team even handwritten.
Burnham's The Gore ground was also the venue of our great play-off semi-final win last season and the facilities behind the main stand are an example of what I want us to consider when I talked previously about the need to set up a sub-committee looking at the future developments of the infrastructure at the club. Whereas an exact replica of Burnham would not be my choice, there is no doubt that the facilities they have behind the scenes, particularly upstairs for anyone who went there, are something that a lot of clubs will be jealous of.
The previous Saturday was disappointing as we went down 1-0 at Chippenham. The whole day reminded me of the defeat at Didcot, a dry, bobbly and balding pitch (even as Chairman, you have to allow me the right to wear my rose-tinted glasses) in which we lost 1-0 to a goal from a free-kick, unable to create the killer chances to get us back in the game. It was good however to see Dave Fotheringham back in a Chesham shirt after a long lay off from injury, making his 300th appearance and captain for the day.
Talking of captain's, we were also delighted to be able to announce that Danny Talbot has committed to the club for next season. Danny has been an excellent captain and loyal to the club. What you will not always see behind the scenes is the games of silly beggars that goes on with club's trying to entice your players away, making promises they probably can't keep and trying to prove that the grass might be greener elsewhere. It is important that we let these clubs know that we are not a club to be poached from, and we have done that with the recent contracts signed, and our league position. Indeed, the pendulum has now swung the other way, players are contacting us wanting to join.
Off the field you have probably heard all sorts of mutterings, stories and rumours on the ground grading front. well I can confirm that we have now received the necessary ground grading to stay in the Premier Division for next season, thanks go out to Len Vockins for helping us to achieve this. Despite a lot of panicked Directors in the build-up to the work being completed, all was finished with almost 12 hours to spare - no panic! The work in question involved an extra urinal in the toilets over by the pop side and a wash basin in the physio room, some extra emergency exit signs and repairs to the dug outs. You probably won't be surprised to learn that these works are costly and can cause resentment; at away games we have all become wannabe ground-graders as we go around counting urinals and looking out for running man signs!
It's a relief to have the work done, and we are very lucky to have people around the club who can arrange the work, and someone like Brian McCarthy who works for the FA on the ground grading side (I'm sure there is a proper title he has, but you get the gist); I think Brian was worrying more than the rest of us, I guess it wouldn't look good if he had to wear his other hat to inform us that we are being relegated because our ground did not come up to scratch!
We had another Board Meeting on Wednesday night, only three weeks after the previous one, partly because it is so important that we all stay abreast of our financial situation and partly because I go on holiday Tuesday so won't be around for a couple of weeks! Once again all Directors had been supplied with various reports 48 hours before the meeting which gave everyone time to review activities and have a look at the management accounts, saving time at the meetings for the meaty discussions. I won't tell you again about the importance of getting more income, that record is wearing thin, but remains on the turntable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The previous meeting had seen a discussion about the management of stewarding and matchdays. The outcome was a new matchday briefing document that gets circulated before the game highlighting important information such as expected crowd, any coaches arriving, sponsors, officials and any other concerns or issues that we should be aware of. This document is now used in conjunction with a matchday activity worksheet for the stewards and has been deemed successful thus far. It means everyone is much more informed, and we operate far more professionally.
Unfortunately we had an incident at a Reserves game the other week where the away dressing room was damaged, parking aside the sheer disrespect shown by the opposition, this did spark a discussion about roles and responsibilities and the importance of communicating and acting in a way that resembles our fortunate position of managing the club. This covers a whole breadth of areas, even down to the basic annoyance of retrieving balls that go out of the ground. Every ball costs us money, who gets them back? As with so many tasks, we don't have volunteers (I'd happily pay any youngsters a £1 per ball if they wanted to fetch them for us) which means that we all have to muck in and do our bit. Through all the grief I put up with throughout a week (you wouldn't believe), I don't really have any desire to be the one going out to get the balls on a matchday, but I guess we all have to do our bit.
There are a couple of social events to look out for in the coming months. I'm still hopeful that we will be able to pull a Sportsman's Dinner out of the bag before the end of May and then also in May - hopefully confirming the date at the game tomorrow - we will be holding a Past & Present Manager Evening at The Chess Suite - fish & chips, some past managers and players, together with the launch (hopefully) of a special "on the night only" 2011/12 season ticket offer. Watch this space...a lot of work still to be done before that comes off.
Talking of season tickets, we are looking at putting together a season ticket that incorporates boardroom hospitality for holders. It has been brought to our attention that a number of people enjoy being invited in as guests and being a part of the behind the scenes matchday activity, this can be expanded out to include a couple of meals throughout the season, reserved seating... we should have a formal proposal to discuss at the next board meeting at the end of April.
Tomorrow we play Bashley, it's important that we look to get back to winning ways for the end of season run-in, our home form has been simply stunning this season and will be remembered for many many years to come, it would be great if that memory could be alongside a promotion. Please come along and support the boys, I still get stunned by the negativity I hear from some areas of the terracing on a matchday. I know we are entitled to our own opinions and standing on the terraces is a great way to let off some hot air, but sometimes I worry how far removed some people's view is from my own, but, hey, that's football.
On Sunday I'm off to Wembley for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final between Carlisle and Brentford. Yes, I've finally abused my position as Chairman and accepted the invite to the game and pre-match hospitality from Supporters Direct! Hopefully the invite is a reflection on what we have achieved as a Supporters' Trust and for that we should all be very proud. Of course, when I accepted the invite, it didn't dawn on me that it would be Mother's Day and the normal expectation would be taking the boys' mum out for the day (I have a golden rule, whatever goes on throughout the week, Sunday is family day, Chesham United free), I think the fact that we are off on a cruise on Tuesday might just keep me out of the doghouse!
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