This week we released our pre-season friendly plans to date, I hope that started to whet your appetite for the season ahead. We are delighted to be welcoming National League side Wealdstone to The Meadow, and also Brackley Town who just missed out on promotion to the National League, losing the National League North play-off final to Boston United. These will be two excellent fixtures that will give us a real taste of the standards we need to be aspiring to.
Also visiting The Meadow will be National League side Barnet, managed by former Chesham United player Dean Brennan, Barnet featured in the play-offs for promotion to the Football League last season, losing out to Solihull Moors – another great game in prospect. As will be our home friendly against a Watford XI, the Championship side will be visiting us on Tuesday 30th July. Other confirmed games are away trips to Uxbridge, Chertsey Town and Hungerford Town. This all starts on July 9th, so we have a while to wait yet, but keep an eye on social media for further announcements.
Announced this week too were three new signings that have been on our target list since promotion was confirmed, and I am delighted that we have been able to strengthen the squad with some much needed National League South experience. Mitchell Weiss is a class, proven striker at this level with St Albans City and will deliver the firepower we need up front. He will be supplied by Samson Esan, an exciting winger signed from Royston Town. Samson has also played National League for Maidenhead United and National League South with Chelmsford City. Our third signing of the week barely needs an introduction, the returning Ben Goode. I know many of us were concerned when goalkeeper Zaki Oualah moved on at the end of the season, but I hope you agree that Ben’s return more than makes up for that. Ben spent last season as captain of Wingate & Finchley, a side that missed out on promotion to the National League South from the Isthmian League, losing to Enfield Town in the play-offs.
One other player who will not be re-signing for us next season is Kieran Murphy, who is taking a well-deserved retirement from the game. Kieran’s return to the club was a huge turning point for the club and he will be long remembered as a club legend, we wish Kieran all the very best for the future, and hope to see you back watching games at some point next season.
We had another trialist at The Meadow this week that caused a lot of publicity after word had got out that he might be available from July and was well-versed in being the underdog! Yes, that’s right, we had a visit from the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who was filmed kicking the ball around on the pitch. That is not something that happens every day and highlights the higher profile the club is now receiving. One of the reasons for the visit is that Rishi wanted to see the largest football trophy in the world – the Southern League Shield! As it not only has our name on it, but also Southampton, the team he is a passionate supporter of. Whilst here he congratulated us on our wonderful season and we would of course welcome any senior MP’s or leaders from any of the political parties to visit and congratulate us on our amazing season.
I appreciate that some people took this as mixing politics with football, but in fact it was nothing more than a very rare opportunity, once in a lifetime even, for some of our youth and volunteers to meet a current Prime Minister. Some of the vitriol that appeared in comments on social media is extremely disappointing and if this has genuinely led to any supporters opting to not purchase a season ticket as some declared, then I am sorry to hear that. As always, if anyone has any concerns, or would like to discuss anything in person, my door is always open, you can contact me at chairman@cheshamunited.co.uk.
Elsewhere, Chesham’s women’s team have also been busy, turning their focus towards the 2024/25 season with the first of two senior team trials this week. On Tuesday night we welcomed more than a dozen new trialists to Chiltern Hills Academy who, alongside members of the current 1st team, were put through their paces. We’re looking forward to hosting the second of two trials next Thursday at St Clement Danes. We’re excited to see what new talent emerges as we build towards the 2024/25 season in the FA Women’s National League.
I make no apology for the fact that over the summer my weekly notes will contain pleas for more volunteers. They are what make the club tick and the more we have, the better we can make the club. Last week I talked about Monday morning work parties and help serving food to boardroom guests – if you would like to get involved, but do not fancy, or cannot commit to, either of those roles, please do get in touch with me, I’d love to hear from you and I am sure there are things we can discuss that you can get involved in. The response to the call for work parties on a Monday morning got a great response and they are already making a significant difference around the ground with their work, painting the terraces starts very soon, the more the merrier for getting these jobs done, so please do get in touch – it is a great social get together as well.
Our commercial team are once again busy talking to local businesses about potential partnership opportunities. It won’t surprise you to know that this is a key area in our financial planning. Last season we topped our initial planned for budget in this area, but have even greater ambition for the season ahead with more potential exposure for our sponsors ahead; more home games and the continued high profile publicity we receive from our Taskmaster association.
I would like to give a huge thank you and welcome to Sidhu and Simon who have added the first team shirt sleeves to their package around the club. Sidhu & Simon is a full-service sports marketing and partnerships agency, specialising in premier sports, eco-mobility and technology sectors and bringing fame and fortune to companies of all sizes. A special mention too for AP Green & Sons who are always helping us with jobs around the ground, they have taken over part of the Popular Stand as main sponsors. Please support these companies with what they offer as they as supporting our club so generously.
We are looking at producing a commercial corporate brochure to add further professionalism to our conversations. If you run a local business and would like to find out more about partnership options available, I strongly urge you to talk to Michele Brooks, contactable at commercial@cheshamunited.co.uk – there is a package suitable for all budgets to maximise your exposure.
Thank you as always for your support, there will be plenty more news to come over the summer (when that finally arrives) as we build-up to those first pre-season friendlies and the announcement of the eagerly anticipated fixture list for the new season.
Peter Brown, Chairman
