The new season is rapidly approaching – where did July go? Where is summer? – and we are very much having to spend our time paying attention to some of the important details – players registrations, league requirements, fixture and travel arrangements, commercial agreements and very importantly, our forthcoming ground-grading inspection.
The regulations and implementation of ground-grading rules have moved on a lot from the early 1990’s and we are certainly prepared, but many of us have been around long enough to remember when our club missed out on promotion to the National Conference in 1993 because of ground-grading compliance. Although there is more consideration on the timing nowadays, it is imperative that we do not fall short of the requirements needed and I urge anyone that has any spare time this coming Monday to pop along to the club and offer your help with some of the small finer details as we prepare for the inspection next week. So many people have put in many hours around the ground, whatever skills you have, we would love to see you at The Meadow on Monday, anytime during the day that suits you, there will be someone around to greet you.
On the pitch we had a win away at a very good Chertsey Town side on Tuesday night, winning the match 2-0 with the new players starting to look very settled in a Chesham shirt and I am very pleased with how we have strengthened the squad this season. In fact I have seen some of the odds coming out at bookmakers and it is quite surprising what odds are being given for us to win the league, as low as 14/1 in some instances, which is an indication of how the footballing world is viewing our progress and transfer business over the summer. For a newly promoted side, that has never played in the National League before, to be given such low odds is very unusual.
I think one of the reasons things are coming together well is the fact that we got a lot of our business done early in the summer, started training with a fairly settled squad and went into the pre-season games with a stable squad. I can’t wait to see what they can achieve in the new season ahead and I would very much like us to start the season with the entire squad sponsored in the matchday programme. The cost is just £60 per player which I hope makes it affordable for everyone, you will have your name mentioned alongside the player inside every home programme and you will have the opportunity to meet and have your photo taken with your chosen player. The entire management team have already been sponsored, but we do still have plenty of availability, please contact Michele Brookes at commercial@cheshamunited.co.uk.
Also for this forthcoming season we want to more pro-actively seek match sponsors for all of our home games. £250 for 4 people or £350 for 6 people this is a great way to enjoy the matchday experience from behind the scenes, enjoying boardroom hospitality and watching the game from the Directors Box in the main stand – an excellent way to treat work colleagues, customers or to impress potential business customers. For more information, once again please contact Michele.
Sale of programme adverts and pitch perimeters have been going extremely well, I really feel as though we are getting the support of the local business community and I hope they see the value of advertising at the club as we look to build partnerships for going forward. There is definitely a sense that we have stepped up a level this season, not just on the pitch, and I really appreciate that everyone around the club has acknowledged the changes and it all just feels that bit more professional around the place. Thank you to everyone for that.
Preparations for the new season continue tomorrow with a friendly away at Hungerford Town, and then we are back at The Meadow on Tuesday night for a friendly against a Watford XI, both of which will be great preparation as we count down towards the first game of the season on August 10th, when we travel to play full-time Eastbourne Borough. Tickets for all home matches, including the friendlies, are available to purchase online from our website now. If you are not a season ticket holder, buying in advance is highly recommended to help you beat the queues and guarantee your place on the terraces for kick-off – especially on the August Bank Holiday Monday when we welcome Torquay United and are expecting 500+ visiting fans for the game. Full details are on the website.
Before all of that we are once again hosting a One Chesham United joint training session at The Meadow on Tuesday 6th August with our Men and Women’s teams running some joint training sessions before splitting off to do their own more detailed sessions. The Chess Suite will be open from 6.00pm with season tickets available to collect, with our hundreds of youth players also able to come down and collect their free season tickets. After the training sessions our management team will be in the clubhouse for a Q&A session with supporters. I hope to see many of you at this event, it is a great example of how we have united as a club over the past two to three years.
Claret Club members and supporters that have purchased season tickets can also collect their tickets at the Watford game next Tuesday or the home match v Brackley Town the following Saturday, I hope to see many of you at both of those games.
Thank you for your support,
Peter Brown
Chairman
