A mixed week on the pitch at The Meadow with a 0-1 defeat at home to Bath City last Saturday proving particularly frustrating as we failed to reach the levels we know that we can, and once the visitors got their goal they did an excellent job of shutting up shop. The crowd was once again magnificent, over 1,000 people watched the match, and I am sure it is only a matter of time until our home results pick up in the league. We have not lost by more than one goal, we know we can compete at this level, but there are fine margins that we need to adjust to. That said, if you had offered to me at the beginning of August that ten games in we will be sitting comfortably mid-table, I would have bitten your hand off for that!
On Tuesday night we secured our place in tomorrow’s FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round with a thoroughly professional 4-0 win over Bishops Cleeve in our delayed replay. Another good crowd for a midweek match in the rain, and ever since the final whistle we have been preparing for a huge match against Yeovil Town. I must thank everyone for their hard work in making this game, there are so many behind the scenes logistics that we need to get in place to ensure everything run safely and smoothly – not helped by a call at 7.00am telling me that a huge tree had fallen and was blocking the driveway up to the ground! Please keep an eye on social media for important match information and updates, as things will be slightly different tomorrow.
Currently the game is all-ticket, available to buy online from the website here. Parking will be very limited, with cars charged £5, cash only on the day. We also have a special FA Cup programme available, priced at £4. We think we have one of the best programmes to read, there is plenty of content to read with excellent articles from a wide spectrum of contributors giving it the feeling of a matchday programme combined with the much-loved fanzines of the 1990s. However, the truth is, like everything, costs of production are shooting up. We want to keep producing a printed programme (many clubs do not now), but really need to sell more copies to make it viable. If we can sell more copies, our unit cost will come down and we can look at reducing the selling price so please do buy your copy at each game, or if you read somebody else’s, why not treat yourself to your own copy this week?! It seems a small thing, but it all adds up to help the club continue to maintain the status we have reached.
In the clubhouse we will be replacing our current soft plastic glasses with new branded recyclable pint glasses – much better for the environment and reducing the plastic waste we send off to landfill. These will be charged at an extra £1.50, which is refundable when returned to the bar, or can be kept as a keepsake. The refundable £1.50 is for the purchaser of the pints and not to be used as a means for gathering extra pocket money! Anyone that has been to Twickenham may have seen kids climbing in the bins to gather huge stacks of cups to take back for a refund – any cups put into bins or thrown on the ground, we can collect ourselves, so please do not abuse the system and only return as many cups as you yourself used in your round. It is new for us and our staff, it is something we will be keeping with for future games, so the bar team and I appreciate your cooperation.
Talking of cooperation. Unfortunately, I must again re-iterate the ground rules we have at The Meadow which forbid foul and abusive language. I have mentioned this several times in my notes, politely asking to consider the language in some of the songs sang behind the goal, but it seems the message is not being heard, or potentially more disappointing, being ignored. The level of complaints I am now receiving is quite frankly embarrassing, so please, I make one final request to stick with the supportive, often witty, chants that our fans are admired and respected for, and leave the abusive ones at home. This will be the last time I’ll mention it, if it continues we will be left with no option other than to take action to remove people from the ground, and that is something I really do not want to have to instigate when we are having such a positive season.
Additionally, we love a big cup match atmosphere, but I would like to remind all supporters that being in possession of a pyrotechnic device at a football match or attempting to bring a pyrotechnic device into a football stadium, is a criminal offence. We will have professional stewards conducting searches, so please allow additional time to get into the ground. Or in other words for tomorrow – let’s all just be sensible, respectful to each other and have another wonderful FA Cup day here in Chesham.
That’s my moan over with, on to more positive things. We are continuing with our food parcel collection for the less fortunate families of Chesham this Christmas. Our aim is to provide Christmas food packages, including turkeys and Christmas puddings, for up to 50 families and we want you, our supporters, to get behind this initiative by bringing along some extra food items that we can include in the parcels – I am thinking those little extra treats that a family on a budget would not normally have: crips, chocolates, crackers, sweets, cheeses…you know the sort of thing that you have at Christmas, but not necessarily throughout the year. Please get behind this, add a little extra to your shopping list and bring it down to The Meadow to show out local community that their football club care about them.
On the subject of caring. We have exhausted, plus some, our player benevolent fund, set up to help players that have been injured whilst at the club. Over and above the insurance policies we and they have in place, there is often the need for extra funds to help the players get back on their feet. This may be extra scans, additional physiotherapy or help for them and their family through times when they are unable to work. This can also benefit the club; no better example is the recent operation we paid for Zak Joseph to have which has massively accelerated his diagnosis and expected return to action. Please visit www.gofundme.com/f/cufc-players-injury-rehabilitation-fund to find out more and make a donation if you can, it would be hugely appreciated by all.
Elsewhere around the club, Chesham’s women had a very narrow 1-0 defeat to QPR FC Women last weekend in a game that they probably deserved at least a point from, but they dust themselves off and go again. This weekend, like the mens team, they have an Adobe Women’s FA Cup tie on Sunday against Montpelier Villa WFC. With good prize money on offer and a place in the First round to the winner it’s another big game at The Meadow to top off a big FA Cup weekend!
Tickets are also now on sale for our Fireworks event on Friday 1st November – click here to book your place. We will once again be putting on a spectacular display with terracing all round to ensure everyone gets a superb view of all that is going on, and we also offer vast covered areas making it a safe bet to book your tickets early knowing that you will not get wet if the weather did decide to be unkind!
Thank you as always for your support, I feel this week I have had to draw on some negatives and hand out rules and guidelines in my notes, but it is all a part of this most amazing journey we are still on, and I am loving every minute (apart from the call about the tree this morning) – It is another big day for the club tomorrow, so much work has gone into making it happen, let’s get behind the team and make it another special day in our club’s FA Cup history.
Peter Brown