Welcome to another Friday, it is good to know that these updates do get read each week, with a fantastic response coming in to my request for help sourcing a flagpole. Rather than be given access to a second hand one we have had a very generous donation that covers the cost of a brand new flagpole which will soon be on display at the ground along with a brand new flag. Attached to the pole will be a plaque in memory of Walter Wilkins ex Chesham Generals player and a committee member of Chesham United in the 1930s, whose picture you can see in the clubhouse entrance. What a magnificent response to a request put out in these notes, a very kind gesture.
Less joyful this week, I have spent a lot of time this week responding to a number of messages from disgruntled supporters following last Saturday’s draw at bottom of the table Didcot Town. Yes it was a hugely disappointing result, but that is football isn’t it? It never goes just how you want it to and it can be incredibly frustrating, I understand that. And I do appreciate that supporters take the time, effort and money to travel to away games and probably expected a win last weekend. Many cats probably got a kick up the bum that night when supporters got home (figuratively speaking of course, before anyone starts calling the RSPCA!).
The truth is that we are still in a very good position at the top of the league with the best squad of players that we have had for at least the past five years and actually, if you look at their results, Didcot are not getting thumped every week, most of their defeats are narrow and they have also taken points off of our promotion rivals Gosport Borough in recent weeks. Of course we would expect to be able to go to bottom of the league and win, but we cannot afford to lose focus of the bigger picture – we are only just over half way through the season, there is a lot of football still to be played and there will be more draws or defeats along the way in games we would hope to win, but it is important that we all stick together.
My job as Chairman is to remain level-headed and focused on the end goal, avoiding knee jerk reactions, and keeping the ship steady. I have so much belief in what we are doing as a club at the moment and it is really important that we are able to stick together, remain positive and get 100% behind the players and management that represent us on the pitch week in and week out. Your positive vibes and positive support can go a long way to helping us achieve promotion this year, together we will be able to give it our best shot. If we are successful, we can all celebrate together and take the credit. If we miss out, at least we will know we have given it our all and we can go again next season as One Club.
I know it has been a frustrating week, but believe it or not there are many clubs that are envious of what we are achieving, on and off the pitch, and look at us as a club they would like to emulate. That is something we should all be very proud of, but we cannot rest on our laurels. Tomorrow we travel to Hungerford Town, a side in tremendous form and very much in the promotion mix. A big thank you to the Supporters’ Trust who have filled a minibus to help more supporters get to the game, your support will be appreciated in what will be a really tough game, but one I know we will be ready for and I for one cannot wait for the game to kick-off. Being top does put a target on our backs, everyone wants to beat us, but we need to thrive on that rather than worry about it – there are going to be many more games like this if we remain in and around the top of the table for the remainder of the season.
Away from the football, we recently donated the use of our kitchen to the local charity, The Big Community Take Away who do an amazing job helping to feed vulnerable families in and around Chesham. On the night I think enough food was cooked to supply hot meals to at least 40 local families on a Tuesday night free of charge to them. What a wonderful charity that is, please do offer your support when you can.
I am also pleased to say that at a Board Meeting this week it was agreed that we will take some proactive steps to improve some of our communication across social media and digital marketing with the appointment of external marketing support to run alongside the excellent work that is already done by our volunteers. This will give us an opportunity to broaden our communications, reach wider audiences and add even better value to our business partners – watch this space.
On another note tickets are now priced at £25 for the special music night on Friday March 1st when we will have the Horne Experience and Rebecca De Lacey entertaining a limited audience of attendees in The Chess Suite. Tickets for the event will be offered to season ticket holders and our commercial partners first, then to all of the One Chesham active partners before going on sale to the general public. This night is the final night before Alex and his band start their tour of the UK.
Talking of Alex Horne, plans are now well advanced for a repeat of our Charity Football Trophy that was so hugely successful last year. This year there will be special 50/50 scarves on sale as well as bucket hats in the club colours, with the two teams on the pitch also wearing our new yet to be released 2024/25 first team shirts. The participants will be invited to keep the shirt they wear during the match…unless of course they choose to sign them and auction/raffle them off to raise more money for our charity partners. There will be much more information about this event to follow, scheduled to take place in May, with tickets due to go on sale in the coming weeks.
There is so much going on around the club there really is an excellent buzz to the place. Our manager James Duncan is arranging a youth football tournament during May with local schools and teams taking part on our pitch before it goes into lockdown for its summer repair and maintenance. We also have the final of our school’s half-time penalty shootout taking place at our next home game, this will be between Chartridge and Waterside Schools – the winners taking home the new Brian Thackery Trophy, to be presented by his wife Pat and each team member will also receive a medal for their participation in the tournament. This is just the start of us working with local schools with more in the pipeline for next season with more schools and more age groups, as well as our Youth & Ladies set up.
We want our club to be a part of our community, and the youth of today are our future of tomorrow. At some stage, us oldies are going to have to pass on the baton to a new generation to keep our club thriving, it is so important that we get them interested now and provide an alternative to sitting playing computer games and watching videos on a telephone.
Together we are stronger. We really have taken massive strides over the past year or so. This week felt like a bit of a blip with so many negative comments following last week’s result, but that cannot be allowed to get in the way of all the positivity that is around. I understand the frustration. I share the frustration, let’s stick together and really get behind the team at Hungerford tomorrow. It’s a massive game.
Thank you for your support.
Peter Brown
