It felt good this week to be back at The Meadow with the First XI playing at home; two draws have not suddenly made us title contenders again, but there is certainly a feeling that the wheels have turned back in the right direction.
On Tuesday night we went our fourth consecutive league game without a goal, though a 0-0 draw against high-flying (and certainly bigger spending than us) Hemel Hempstead Town is no disgrace, even if our style of football had to take on an uglier look. For me it was a rare opportunity to come to a home game without the car and participate in a couple of pints before and after (and during!) the game as I formed part of the match sponsors party, having talked Antalis McNaughton into sponsoring a game after several years of trying to get more sponsorship out of the industry I work in... unfortunately that is pretty tough in the stationery world!
Saturday was Non-League Day and I think people involved in organising Chesham's effort on that front did an absolutely stonkingly good job. We managed to get a crowd that topped 400 and when I arrived at about 12.45pm the clubhouse was full of kids that had thoroughly enjoyed a free training session from the Arsenal Soccer Schools and were now munching on sausage and chips, and playing FIFA 13 on the big screen. As soon as I had got through the gates I met with the main organiser from the Arsenal Soccer School who was extremely complimentary about the facilities, pitch and organisation from Chesham United - and they are keen to do more with us of a similar nature. That is a fantastic thing to hear, and well done to all those involved.
What a massive reminder that was though, as to how we have almost taken our eye off the ball with regards to what the club is all about. In my last post I bemoaned the lack of direction at the club, how foolish of me to miss the signs that are there right in front of our noses?
I'm still a little confused and frustrated at the moment, a simple lottery win and everything will be fine as I am pretty clear in my mind what needs to happen, I have put forward to the Chairman what I believe needs to happen (must happen?), but my words and suggestions alone are not enough to change the club. It needs time, it needs effort and it needs money. We all have our little bits of the club that we are specially interest in, be it the First XI, the kids, the ladies, the clubhouse, the Trust, the pitch, the community, the finances... All these plates are spinning at the moment, and it is the Board's job to keep them spinning.
On Saturday, arriving early and having my eldest fixated with watching FIFA 13 on the big screen, I got the chance to sit and chat with Trust Committee Members and also a coach from the youth and mini-league set-up - it is reinvigorating to be reminded that there are these people around helping to make the club tick, and have very similar thinking to myself...It makes me believe we can achieve our goals, if we can get everyone pulling in the same direction and move away from this fractured structure that, I think, exists at the moment.
Inbetween the Hemel game and Saturday's Non-League Day 2-2 draw with Bedford, Andy Leese, Jon Meakes, Brian McCarthy and myself went out for a meal and an offsite chat (Seattle Steakhouse in Boxmoor - lovely if you like your steaks, one of those places where you cook the meat yourself on a hot rock, and get to choose from more exotic meats such as Bison, Zebra, Ostrich or Crocodile)...whenever you try to have a proper chat at the club there always seems to be distractions and I think it was good for everybody involved to be able sit around a table to air any views, discuss any current issues and agree on where we are heading in every department - and that includes the youth, reserves, training facilities, players, away travel arrangements, finance...everything. It's the sort of meeting that I feel has been long overdue, and the next one certainly will not be far off.
Should this be a meeting that involves the entire Board? In an ideal world, probably, possibly...Though I personally feel these sort of meetings are better with less people, and it is all about the very important relationship between Chairman and Manager...which kind of makes me the gatecrasher at the party! I guess that is where I can get to where my Vice-Chairman hat to justify my invite (and the fact that I was the one that sent out the invitations!).
Anyway, the point of telling you of this meeting is some of the other things that came out that we are probably not all fully aware of that go on, and how we need to build on those things, which takes me back to where I started. You may have seen on the website this week that we have published details about a relationship we have with Queen's School in Watford, working with the kids there as part of their education, whilst some of the boys get to train with the First XI. This is an excellent arrangement that Andy & Jon have come to with these boys, and now our goal must be to expand that relationship into our more immediate local area - but the proof that it can work is a massive boost.
I was also delighted by the unprompted interest from our management team in our mini/youth set-up within the club, and how they have already been involved in conversations about training sessions with coaches from the junior set-up and working with them. I've mentioned before our need to work closer together as an entire club - no grudges, no resentments and no ulterior motives. A club that is truly United. If we can get that bit right, the rest will be so much easier.
My last post was entitled, how do you solve a problem like Chesham? Since then I have given it a hell of a lot of thought, spoken to a lot of people about it, and now feel much clearer in my mind about the sort of decisions the club needs to make, and the direction it needs to point itself in. That's great, I feel better; but the vision is the easy bit, actions are much harder to come by...as is getting others to share the vision. But, if you are going to win a football match, you at least need to know which way you are shooting!
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