How do you solve a problem like Chesham?

After the FA Cup disappointment and a couple of surprisingly poor league results, it has been good to get a couple of wins under our belt with a Trophy triumph at Bishops Cleeve and then a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup victory at Abingdon United - featuring a hat-trick from Michael Chennells, which is sure to give him a huge confidence boost. These results will have lifted some of the pressure being felt on the field, but how do you go about curing the everyday behind the scene issues?
A few weeks ago I met up with some old student friends for the first time in fifteen years, it was a brilliant evening. One of the guys (yes you Gareth!) pointed out that he read the blog, and what he really enjoyed was the nitty-gritty behind the scenes stuff, the bit you don't see, the bit that's not on the pitch, the bit that's not in the papers...and you know what, I think he's right...

Before panic kicks in, there is no crisis at the club at the moment, but a large number of the issues faced when I was Chairman are still there - not enough has changed...in my opinion.

The biggest, and most important, change is the fact that we now have a safety net for the finances. It's not ideal having to turn to one individual for help with shortfalls, far from it, but it is better than having nobody to turn to. Whether people listened to myself and Mike Warrick or not, getting Chesham United self-sufficient was always going to be a three-year plan - for which we are only one year in. The club needs investment, and the club needs financial support (different to investment). Fact.

In my opinion, for the next 12-24 months we are still going to need financial contributions towards the running of the club from a benefactor such as Roger Payne. A good windfall, from something like the FA Cup could ease that reliance, or accelerate the route to being self-sufficient, but the cup is not going to do that; not this year at least.

So we have the safety net. That is important, incredibly so. My concern now is, not a lot else has really changed? In fact, what has happened in the last six months is that we have lost a lot of that behind the scenes support on some things that used to just happen, roles people fulfilled because they were helping the club out, and they knew what they were doing. The whole idea of the organisation structure we had did work to a degree, the responsibility element did not always come to fruition, but it helped to get things done. often unrecognised, regularly unappreciated. I think there has been an assumption that this will just continue, but it hasn't... for various reasons.

Everyday these little issues crop up where something is not running as smoothly as it should, and I kid you not, over the past 4-6 weeks the amount of messages I have picked up from different people that have quit because of something someone said, did or didn't do...it is truly unbelievable, it really is. Fortunately in most (all even) instances they have been followed by a change of heart. It gives me no satisfaction, but it does give me a sense of feeling that there was much that was right during my reign as Chairman.

At times, I don't really see what it is that I contribute to things, but I still have people coming to me when there is an issue, and looking to me to get things resolved. It's a compliment in a way, but it is also hugely frustrating that things are not running like clockwork as they should. Only this week I got another email from Andy Leese starting out with: "Thanks again for doing your Kofi Annan impression..." Yep, you wouldn't believe the mountain that can be made out of the little mole hill that was supposed to be the provision of breakfast before the players travelled to Bishops Cleeve last weekend! Needless to say, a touch of commonsense and communication, and everything seems to be back on track for this Saturday with everyone knowing what is expected and hoped for. Hopefully!

Anyway, the idea of the blog is to rant, not make myself out as the only person capable of getting anything done from around the club, far from it, we have a lot of good people...but not enough. It is wrong for me to be over critical when I still hold a seat on the Board, but there is a need to communicate..and by that I mean communicate - not gossip. There is a huge difference.

Board meetings frustrate the hell out of me, I won't lie. Being part of the decision making process at the club is a huge honour and privilege, but it also needs to be earned. The people that sit around that table at board meetings should be the ones that arrive at SOLUTIONS. We can all identify problems, they are everywhere. The board needs to find SOLUTIONS. Here's the problem, let's find a solution...

...It might be me, but, too often, I'm missing that part of late. From month to month I sit in a meeting listening to the same things spoken about as the month before, because actions have not been taken or followed up. It sounds ridiculous, and I am generalising (certainly not finger pointing), but I really could pull my bleeding hair out at times, I really could.

Take an example - At the start of the summer, when the Football Foundation announced that there will be more grants available for a more varied range of products, I raised at a Board Meeting that we ought to give some serious consideration to looking at this. The Southern League have a sponsor in the Frank Whittle Partnership who specialise in developments, advising about grants and utilising the space clubs have available. With a new owner on board, a benefactor with more contacts and access to possible investment if we need to match an amount raised via a grant, it seemed a good time to get Frank Whittle along to offer some advise. I offered to arrange the meeting, and be a part of the meeting, but it is not something that I can head up because I have no experience of that, I don't move in those sort of financial circles and I simply would not have the time to be the driving force...

...We had the meeting, I arranged it, it was fairly positive in many ways. Exciting almost (although I have seen enough drawings and heard enough stories of development over the years to dampen any signs of excitement my mind may start to imagine).  The Ladies Section were involved and looking to help out, after all, I have had many conversations with them in the past about a training area, and they had even made applications for a grant, that would have benefitted us all. Now is different though, there is more money in the Football Foundation and we might be in a better position to be able to find the investment to support the grant. Putting an application in, and getting it right, takes time. It takes effort. It needs a bit of responsibility taking, and leadership applying.

Each month the follow-up has been on the agenda. Typically with no further news. Then this week, amidst the general chit chat, I hear the words "Are there any grants out there, or should we be looking into grants for developments?"... I couldn't believe my ears!! Up until then I had almost switched off, not listening to the constant moans, groans and problem identifying going on without a sniff of a SOLUTION...Please, help me, I know a lot of good people do a lot of good, but something is lacking...isn't it?

And then I get annoyed (you would never have guessed would you?) because I don't feel enough has changed. We have a new Bar Manager after Colin resigned in the summer, and Neville is doing an excellent job. You know what, I might be wrong here, but I'm not sure what would have happened if I, with the help of George Adams, had not proactively done something about bringing Neville in to run the bar...I really don't, I think we might have sat around waiting for the magic fairies to deliver us a new bar manager when Colin left, who would resolve all the problems everyone had identified (without actually arriving at a SOLUTION).

 I am still hopeful that we will somehow see our way clear to spending a few quid around The Chess Suite to smarten it up further until such a time as we get around to some serious re-devlopment (see note above about grant applications). We should do because after one board meeting we agreed that I'd get a Chippy down, walk him around, identify a few jobs that need doing, and present it to the Board as something that we can agree on... I did this back in July...A long report, with photos... in the hope that we could get the work done whilst the place was shut for a couple of weeks in between Colin leaving and Neville starting. Seemed to make sense. I think everyone even agreed, "We need a Project Manager" said I. After all, my DIY skills are worse than atrocious.

I identified the perfect candidate. Called them, set them up to meet Roger at the club one Saturday to discuss the order of priorities for getting things done. "Good work Alan" I thought to myself, even stretching to give myself a pat on the back. Next thing I know, my Project Manager has been hijacked to do other jobs around the club ahead of the Arsenal game!! What the...? How the...? Who the...?

...Perhaps the other jobs were a priority, but what was the point of spending so long discussing it in the board meeting, me taking a couple of hours out of my evening, another half day writing up the report, for everyone to then act as thought it did not exist?

And then, a couple of months later we are sitting around the boardroom table, and we start discussing what might need doing in The Chess Suite?!!! Is it just me? Am I still resentful because my time came to a relatively premature end, or am I justfified in tugging at my rapidly greying hair?

(I suppose I should point out here, please don't panic about the state of your club, this is a personal insight that can probably be repeated by any other Director at any other club across the land, including ours - I just want you to get more of an understanding of what goes on, of why when you sometimes see officials from the club they are not always as chirpy as you might expect - or if they are, they are probably the ones that don't pay attention or read the reports!!).

I have no doubt that others can moan as much about me as well, I'm not immune to criticism, far from it; however, although I do not spend as much time as most at the club, I do think I get things done, I offer SOLUTIONS, I even deliver solutions and make things happen. I'm not alone in that, far from it, but we do need more responsibility takers and solution finders. On top of that, I think we have lost a lot of what we had as a Trust run club in the sense of goodwill and volunteers taking on responsibilities. People had a role, and they made things happened. When you have a benefactor people take them for granted, that is very dangerous. As much as I have had some ding-dongs with Roger Payne, I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for what he is doing, and I have no intention of sitting back and assuming his wallet is the solution...and I suggest more of us do the same.

So today I look at it, and it worries me. It worries me that we are going to keep turning to Roger Payne and asking for money. I don't want that, Roger will not want that, and you should not want that. we need more change to what we had than this.

I sent Brian McCarthy a note yesterday that we are going to discuss next week, offering up some thoughts and off the wall suggestions (had to throw that in, just incase it does come off! A bit like the national papers that make wild predictions just incase it happens then they can drag out the old story and announce - We Told You first!) that may be completely bonkers, but might just be the kind of thinking we need to instigate the changes needed.

I'm lucky, I get to know what goes on... If I did not have access to the inside, I think I would be causing a mini riot on the terraces asking questions of what is happening?

Where are the changes we were told about?  Back in March there was a programme article from "the new majority shareholder" announcing that "Brian and myself will soon be announcing the new Board of Directors for Chesham United FC; a mixture of new and familiar faces"... (new?)... "which will be leading the energetic and dynamic efforts required to achieve our goals."... (have I missed something?)... "Our prime objective is to develop at Chesham a renewed emphasis on defining clear goals and a culture of accountability for delivering those goals"... (I'm really sorry, but, why is nobody banging on the boardroom door asking us where all this is?)...

As it happens that article, which was clearly ghost-written, was one of the biggest loads of flim-flam I have ever come across. None of the Directors knew anything of it before it went to print, including the announcement of the "new Board of Directors", and then it went on to talk of "re-launching our image and internal resources", "articulating with clarity via contemporary communications methods the various activities we offer" and "marketing of Chesham United FC as a brand, which can grow and consolidate revenue". All together now, after three (and I don't normally swear in my blog) - What a complete load of old bollocks!

Now as it happens I know much of what was behind this, and why there has been no follow-up, but not everyone does... So why as a Board are we not being questionned more on our "renewed emphasis", "structure", "culture of accountability" and "clear goals"? That in itself worries me, where's that angry fan that was Alan Calder twenty years ago who is concerned about what is happening to their club? Surely we are not all sitting back thinking "oh it's alright, we have a money man again?" We need you.

I hope I am not talking out of order with this blog, there are things that I strongly feel need saying, and they are all things that I have said in Board Meetings and I have said to the Chairman. To be honest, there are much more sensitive things that - I think wrongly - make their way into the public domain, so my little rant should be taken as what it is, a massive desire to get the very best for Chesham United, and annoyance that I have not yet won the lottery so I can get involved a lot more on a daily basis!!

I was fortunate enough to have a bash at being Chairman, and I am certainly not trying to cause any trouble for the current regime, quite the opposite. Yes I often resent things that are said, but I am totally supportive and I just hope - without swallowing a copy of Marketing Cliches for Dummies - that we can get back on track, heading towards what I think that programme article back in March was intended to achieve.

Until the next time... Enjoy!