Today saw the release of our league fixtures and once again we start the campaign with an away match, this time at Hanwell Town, at least that is a lot more local than the past two seasons! Our first home game will be the following weekend, 12th August, when we welcome Hungerford Town to The Meadow, Hungerford were relegated from Conference South last season and will provide tough opposition. We complete our opening run against the H teams with a midweek trip to play Hayes & Yeading the following Tuesday – some tough fixtures there, but we are excited to jump straight in at the deep end and challenge ourselves from the beginning.

It is disappointing to be away on Boxing Day (at Beaconsfield), but we are at home on News Years Day (Harrow Borough) and August Bank Holiday Monday, against Beaconsfield. If we can match last season and challenge at the top end of the table, the finale to the season looks mouth-watering with away trips to Tiverton and Gosport Borough bookending a home tie with Bracknell Town, who of course beat us in the play-off semi-finals last season. I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets excited by the release of the fixtures, full details can be found on the website at Fixtures & Results

We are now two games into the pre-season period, and the early signs have been encouraging as we followed up last weekend’s 3-0 win at Stotfold with a 0-0 draw at newly promoted Berkhamsted on Tuesday night. Games continue tomorrow (Saturday) with a trip to Welwyn Garden City and then on to Leighton Buzzard to play Leighton Town next Tuesday. These games are still being used to trial players and establish the squad, signings, re-signings and departures will be announced from the official club social media accounts – be sure to keep following to stay abreast of the updates as they happen.

A busy footballing week continues Thursday (20th July) when we will be hosting a joint Ladies and Men’s training session, before they split off to do their own individual training. We will also be inviting the youth section to join us on the evening for one large photo shoot to get an all-inclusive One Chesham team shot, as well as individual team photos. This date coincides with the funeral of Ian Ellis, who dedicated himself to the improvement and expansion of our youth programme, with the family having accepted our invitation to host the wake at The Chess Suite, I am sure Ian would approve of the progress being made in unifying the clubs’ different section, it will be a special day to reflect, celebrate Ian’s life and begin to build on his legacy.

Elsewhere I am delighted to say that on Monday we will start despatching the early orders of replica shirts to the UK, with international orders going out on Thursday. Thank you to everyone who has bought this season’s Chesham Utd kit. Please use Twitter and tweet us a picture of you wearing it in your hometown and on holiday (or wherever – the stranger and more exotic the better) and you might appear in one of our excellent matchday programmes as we introduce a new feature – Around the World with Chesham United! Please use the hashtag #CUFCTaskmaster and see who else is wearing their shirt and where. Let’s see how far and wide we can spread our club colours. If you are not on Twitter, email your pictures to press@cheshamunited.co.uk

We are now also in position to announce details of our next event – We are holding a very special evening on Thursday 14th September 2023, hosted by our very own comedian and Taskmaster host, Alex Horne, with guest speaker the legendary Ian Holloway. The evening will include a fish and chip supper plus 2 free drinks for every guest. Full bar facilities will also be available. The format will consist of tables of eight and the ticket price is £60 +VAT (per head). We are currently in conversation with our commercial business partners about booking tables, but any individuals interested in reserving a place, please contact commercial@cheshamunited.co.uk and I will pass your details on for you to be contacted.

Ian Holloway has a reputation amongst football fans for his Bristol accent, off-the-wall interviews, and amusing answers to questions from the media. Ian is seen by many as the perfect after dinner guest speaker, best known from his time as a manager of clubs including Queens Park Rangers, Plymouth Argyle, Leicester City, Blackpool, and Crystal Palace. As he did with Blackpool three years earlier, Holloway managed Crystal Palace to promotion to the Premier League in May 2013, but after the club had won only one of their opening eight games he left, by mutual consent, on 23 October 2013 after less than a year in charge. It promises to be a fantastic night.

The news keeps coming this week. A big thank you to new director Andy Westlake who has negotiated for all our season ticket holders to receive a free 1-year Lifestyle Card membership. The Lifestyle Card is a multi-award-winning loyalty card, with over 5,000 discounts covering all aspects of your lifestyle. Save money on shopping, days out and experiences, up to 50% off over 400+ cinemas throughout the UK, trades, sustainable products, up to 15% off theme parks & attractions, pet services, spas, professional services, gyms, eating out, health & wellbeing, golf, hair & beauty, luxury brands for less, airport hotel/parking, 50% off second cruise guest and much more. As a club that’s focussed on our local community it’s great to be able to give something back to those Chesham United fans that have committed their support to our club.

Don’t forget that season tickets are now available for purchase. New tickets are currently being produced and will be ready for pick up in time for our only home pre-season friendly against Luton Town on Tuesday 25th July.

Thank you for your continued support,

Peter Brown, Chairman