It has been another good footballing week here at Chesham United. At half-time last Saturday, who could honestly have foreseen the second half that saw us win the crucial match against Welling United 4-1, especially after a first half which saw very few attempts on goal for either side.
Meanwhile, our Under 18s team had a superb 4-2 win over Leighton Town on Thursday evening, a result that puts them top of the league and two wins away from being crowned league champions. First though, they have another massive game on Monday night, at The Meadow, when they take on Harpenden Town in the league cup semi-final, kick-off is 7.45pm, please do come along and give them your support.
Unfortunately, our Women’s team had no game on Sunday and have another week off this coming weekend. They have two games to go in the FAWNL as they travel to Chatham Town on Sunday 13th and then welcome London Bees to The Meadow on Sunday 27th April. Do come down and cheer them on at home if you’re able to, I know they would appreciate your support.
The win over Welling last weekend does all but secure a second season in National League South and as a Board we have been busy planning and budgeting for next season. Last year’s club accounts are now with HMRC and Companies House, and I am delighted to say that yet again the club has been financially self-sufficient, making a small profit, with any accompanying tax bill already paid up. This puts us in a very good position to plan for next season, using our very efficient and accurate management accounts that have been in place for a number of years now, I give massive thanks to Neil Calder for his wonderful efforts in this significant job behind the scenes.
One thing we cannot hide from is the ongoing cost of maintaining The Meadow and we are having to budget for an additional £28,000 of pitch repair and restorations this summer. This does mean that we have had to take the decision to bring our admission prices more in line with much of the rest of the league and increase matchday tickets by £1 next season. Although this alone will not cover the cost of pitch repairs, it will help to keep the club in a financially healthy position and enable us to slightly increase our playing budget to pursue our ambitions of competing higher up the league next season. Season tickets go on sale after Easter weekend.
Also getting an overhaul over the summer is the Popular Stand Tea Bar, Dan and the Tea Bar Ladies have done an excellent job of running this over recent seasons, making great food and drinks as well welcomed significant contributions towards club funds – we will be adding additional electrical power, and larger work surfaces to the Tea Bar alongside new equipment over the summer to make life easier in their preparation & serving.
Thanks to the generosity of a club sponsor, we have installed a new filming gantry over the Popular Stand, moving the entrance behind the stand and leading to a larger gantry platform. The new gantry only has two supports inside the ground, which minimises the space it takes up on the terraces at present. We also have plans in place to replace the damaged advertising boards on the front of the Rivans Electrical stand ahead of the Alex Horne Comedy Football Trophy on Saturday 10th May, thanks again to the same sponsor for the scaffolding for this.
There is so much work going on behind the scenes to make the Alex Horne Comedy Football Trophy a great days entertainment again, and over the coming days and weeks we will be starting to announce the names of some of the players taking part, I know you will be impressed and will not want to miss this unique match – so please secure yours now via our new ticketing platform available at cheshamunited.co.uk/tickets.
Also, available through ticketing platform is 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. I am pleased to say that this year Treorchy will be joined in the performance by the Chesham based Chess Valley Male Choir – another great reason not to be missed event.
Reminder, the 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 event for both our Men and Women’s first team, with both sets of players sticking around for the evening, so make your plans are to stick around for the night. Also make sure you have got your vote in for your Supporters Trust Supporters’ Player of the Season AT cheshamunited.co.uk/vote
In the club shop, shirt sales have been going very well with the offer of a signed photo and message from Alex Horne proving very popular. We only have a few 2024/25 home shirts remaining, but plenty of away shirts still for you to purchase. Our new home and away shirts for next season will be launched later this month and I look forward to hearing your views on them. We will have also have a new Official Club Tie, as well as new club scarves available in the coming weeks/months.
Tomorrow, we make the long trip to Torquay for what will be a fantastic occasion, to be playing at grounds like this in a league match is a sign of how far we have come, and I know we have a tremendous following making the journey for the game, and an extended weekend away. Please note that tickets for this match are available online from the Torquay website, and we strongly recommend you purchase online now rather than have to make the long walk to the ticket office and back from the away end – you will not be able to just pay at the turnstiles.
Finally, we all at the club remember our last Chairman Brian McCarthy with great happiness who celebrated his 80th birthday this week. A very Happy Birthday Brian, from us all at Chesham United.
Thank you for your support.
Peter Brown
