Games Coming Thick & Fast

It's been a while since I posted, I had forgotten what it was like having two consecutive home games and having to do programme notes, but a quiet night in ahead provides me with an opportunity to catch-up. Beer poured. Stick the Battle of Britain film on the tv. What's been going on?

Well this afternoon I got the first wage bill spreadsheet through, the first few weeks are always a bit higherthan we want, namely because there are a lot of games coming up, the squad is settling down and we want to be as well prepared for the start of the campaign and the imminent cup competitions. If I'm honest, I was a bit worried about what to expect seeing the calibre of player brought in and the quality of football on display, but it was not as bad as I had feared. Only a fool budgets for any sort of cup run income, but it would be equally as foolish if we were not be as prepared as possible for potentially money-spinning games, so I have no issue of the first weeks being higher than anticipated.


I have explained many times how I view the budget, it's a set amount over the season with various additions and deletions made to the pot over the course of the season as pre-agreed; within that restraint there is flexibility from week to week how much is paid out, within reason, but when it's gone, it's gone. That said, we still need to have the cash to pay the wages so there is no point blowing it all too early because that would just kill the club. It is a constant, tireless balancing act, and one that still causes many a sleepless night. I was only speaking to Dave Jeffrey on Thursday night after a very productive meeting with the Editorial Director of The Bucks Examiner; sometimes there is so much good going on that being Chairman feels me with unbelievable pride, another day I get hit by a mad feeling of "What the hell am I doing? Why am I putting myself through this?!"

With the level of expectation around two defeats in the first four games carries a hint of being disappointing, but there is a long long way to go still and performances have been encouraging; none-less-so than in the 3-2 defeat at Brackley Town where our attitude and performance was faultless in a game where unfortunatley the same could not really be said about the officials. I'm not going to go all Arsene Wenger, but there were some big decisions that went against us in that match and not only contributed to us losing the game, but the decision to send Steve Wales off has also lost us one of our contract players for three games. As you are probably aware, after a match the club's have to score the referee, below a certain score you end up having to write a report. In hindisght, we probably made a mistake in scoring the minimum we could without having to submit a report, but the reality is that we wanted to move on and put that game behind us as soon as possible.

On Tuesday night just gone we bounced back from two successive defeats with an excellent win over much-fancied Cambridge City. How fitting that Danny Talbot scored a trademark free-kick to win the match in a game that marked his 200th appearance. We are lucky and honoured to have such a professional, consistent and well-mannered club captain and there is a danger that his importance at the club in recent years gets overlooked, but Tuesday night was a stark reminder of what a brilliant player he is, deservedly picking up the Man of the Match award. In typical fashion, I was involved in presenting Danny with an award for his 200 appearances on a night when I had avoided the shirt and tie, something I don't do very oftern, but had chosen to on this occasion as I was out having a few beers with the match sponsors for the night. (The last photographed presentation I was in was when I had only got off of my cruise a few hours before arriving at the ground, I was knackered and scruffy... completely forgetting that the Chesham British Legion were presenting us with a Community Award at the game - people must think I am a perminent scruff!).

The Man of the Match was presented by the sponsors of the match, Acorn Press of Swindon. I had planned to meet our sponsors for a bit of a pre-match drink at The Fishery in Boxmoor (they were staying at The Bobsleigh in Bovingdon) at 5.30pm. I suggested they ring me when they ar on the M25 so I can time the rendez-vous perfectly, coming around from the M4, it shouldn't take long for them to get around to junction 20...it's a long story that I won't bore you with, but they obviously got a bit carried away chatting and ended up missing out on some pre-match drinking time as a result - when they next called they were at the M11, junction 27!! All was not a disaster, we still had time for a couple of pints before the game and several after.

On the whole the feeling around the club is fantastic at the moment, there are so many individual success stories that need to be pulled together to make it more of a communal success. Sometimes it is still all a little too fragmented for my liking, but we are certainly getting there. The Reserves have settled very well in their new league and indeed the quality of their football is being admired by many, in particular those fans that have taken advantage of there still being live football at The Meadow on a Saturday afternoon when the First XI are away. To a degree, there is going to be a challenge to keep all the players happy, particularly those looking good enough to progress, but that is a nice problem to have and sets a fantastic example to all the young kids in the mini-league and youth section... Brad Wadkins' excellent substitute display at Chippenham being a superb advert for what we are trying to achieve.

As much as possible we try to make things look seamless, but there will always be issues. We had a few heated disputes over training facilities with the heavy rain last week and I'm constantly facing financial questions that may not have been anticipated, be it related to expenses, wages or outstanding sponsorship. However, the positives undoubtedly outweigh the negatives and there is definitely a feeling that we are on the cuff of something special. In recent weeks I have had some very positive meetings with the cricket club and The Bucks Examiner, both of which have filled me with optimism for a birght, and ambitious, future.

Much of what else I have to say is coverd in programme notes, but I promise to start blogging more regularly, and I even have an Ap for my iphone now that will enable me to post on the move. Two big games coming up this wekend against Swindon Supermarine and Cirencester. On paper they are both winnable, and if we do, then suddenly we are right back where we want to be.