This week saw us reach the magical 50 points in the Vanarama National South, achieved courtesy of a fantastic point in a 1-1 draw away at high-flying Weston-super-Mare. It was a great performance by the team and we were certainly worthy of our point, we even had chances to win the match. It was just as well that it was a good performance, the journey home, with road closures on the M4, was an absolute nightmare and would have been very miserable had we lost!
Tomorrow we welcome Welling United to The Meadow, now managed by former Chesham United favourite, Brian Statham, who I am sure will receive a warm welcome. Our visitors will be desperate for the points as they currently sit third from bottom, five points behind fifth from bottom Salisbury, with four teams relegated from the league. For us it is a case of very much wanting to build on our recent points haul and look to finish as high up the table as possible.
The pitch will again be a challenge tomorrow, I have spoken about that many times already, but please can we refrain from some of the criticism that has been dished out to our groundsman. Craig has been working tirelessly on the pitch, fighting a losing battle because of the drainage issues and the fact that we had an extremely wet January and February with gallons of water dumped on the pitch. This time last year we were playing on a lush green pitch, having played the same number of matches on it. We are aware that work needs to be done over the summer, and we are aware that will need funding, I will provide more details on that next month.
Tomorrow when attending the game you will notice the installation of new gate posts which on first viewing you might think are too tall, but they are like that to enable us to feed extra power through to the Tea Bar in the Popular Stand, which will be having a refurbishment over the summer. Believe me, there is always a job to be done when it comes to ground maintenance!
In terms of playing, the pitch has meant we have had to adjust our style of football in home games to account for the playing surface which I know is frustrating for supporters, believe me it is incredibly frustrating for the players and management as well and it is not the surface that we as a club want to provide. It will be sorted. Yesterday was Non League’s registration deadline day, and as most clubs do we drafted in some playing cover for the remainder of the season with injuries to Karl Oliyide, T’Sharne Galimore, Matt Lench and Samson Esan potentially ruling them out, this is fairly common at this time of year, where clubs sign players from other clubs on dual-registrations that allow them to play for both clubs in case of injuries after deadline day. Hopefully our cover signings are not needed and everyone returns to full fitness in the coming weeks, but it’s an important backup just in case they are needed.
Planning is already well-advanced for next season and one of the additional positions we are looking to recruit for is a Performance Analyst using the GPS tracking equipment that will be worn by the players. This is another step forward in our professionalism at the club and is a key part of the modern game, looking to make those small gains that can make a big difference on the pitch. There is money in the budget for this position and it will require a commitment to be at every match, but if you know anyone who might be interested in the role, please do get in touch. We are also looking to recruit a new goalkeeper coach for next season, as well as having ongoing conversations with our managers about the squad for the next campaign. Although we are taking nothing for granted, it is great to be able to be having these conversations with several weeks of the season still ahead.
Meanwhile Chesham’s women welcomed top of the table Real Bedford to The Meadow last Sunday. Bedford are unbeaten in the league this season and showed their quality with a 0-4 win but Chesham made it tough on them with a very dogged defensive display. Elsewhere Ashford Town lost 6-0 at Chatham and that loss guarantees Chesham’s place in tier four again next season – congratulations to all involved. Their next game is at Chatham Town on April 13th and they have one more home game against London Bees on Sunday 27th April.
A reminder that we are offering large discounts on this season’s shirts. This year’s kit has been one of the most popular for many years, so get yourself along to the official club shop tomorrow and pick yourself up a bargain. The new home and away kits for next season will be launched at 6.00pm on Monday 14th April, I hope you are going to like them every bit as much.
We can also confirm that our End of Season Awards Night will be in The Chess Suite after our last home game of the season against Farnborough on Saturday 12th April. This will be a joint even for both our Men and Women’s team, with a very special surprise on show during the evening. To vote for your Supporters’ Player of the Season, visit cheshamunited.co.uk/vote/
There is so much work going on behind the scenes to make the Alex Horne Comedy Football Trophy on Saturday 10th May the best one yet, including enhancing the supporters experience with additional food and drink outlets. Tickets are going fast – nearly half of available tickets have already been snapped up – so please secure yours now via our new ticketing platform available at cheshamunited.co.uk/tickets. Also available on the ticketing platform are tickets for the highly anticipated return of the Treorchy Choir at the Broadway Baptist Church in Chesham on Saturday 7th June, raising money for our charity partner, Bucks Mind. This is another event that will sellout, so please do book your tickets early to avoid disappointment.
I look forward to seeing you at The Meadow tomorrow and then next weekend we are making the long trip away to play Torquay United in the league, just in case we needed a reminder of the huge step up we have made this season! By Sunday we will know if we are running a coach to that match, some of the players are staying overnight to make a weekend of the trip and therefore may end up driving, please look out for details of any planned coach travels. We are currently looking at a bill of over £2,000 for this trip. All part of the challenges of playing at this level…and we are loving it!
Thank you for your support.
Peter Brown
