This weekend begins with the fantastic prospect of an England v Scotland match in the Euro’s, a long-anticipated game that will no doubt be watched by millions across the UK – Let’s hope it is a great game of football and an excellent advert for the sport. We will be showing the match live on the big screen and already have a number of tables booked for the occasion so if you are planning to watch the match in The Chess Suite, I recommend contacting Tanya, our clubhouse manager, in advance.

We wake up this morning (Friday) with a new local MP for Amersham & Chesham, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate Sarah Green, wish her all the best in her new role and I very much hope we can look forward to welcoming her to The Meadow in the not-too-distant future to see all the fantastic things that are going on with our club around the local community.

I am also delighted to announce the appointment of Petra Stephens as our new Commercial Manager who will be looking after all commercial aspect of the club including advertising, sponsorship and building business relationships within the business community. Petra was born in Chesham and currently lives in Great Missenden and is really looking forward to pro-actively being able to meet with our existing business partners, and potential new partners, face-to-face to discuss the mutual benefits available.

We also have found someone who is very kindly going to produce and manage the catering that we offer players and officials of both teams and match officials on a matchday – A welcome weight off my shoulders and it is nice to share the required jobs with new people that are not necessarily already associated with the club on a regular basis. Interestingly, her brother Mark Baker, played for the club many years ago.

This week saw another of our monthly management meetings including representatives from the Ladies, Youth and Supporters Trust along with representatives responsible for media, the clubhouse, retail and our new community project. Although we are still very much in the early days as a management team, I am delighted with the progress being made and we are reaching a point where everyone present is expressing an interest in what the other parts of the club are up to, and as a group feeling in a position to be able to contribute, express opinions and share ideas about all aspects of the club. This is exactly what I was looking to achieve, not only uniting us as a club, but very much strengthening, and freshening up, the management of the club; something that Roger, Brian, Mike and myself very much appreciate and enjoy the new input. As I say, very early days, but the way everyone is working together is very pleasing up to now.

One thing I remain very passionate about is the new scoreboard project. I have recently had an offer of another £500 donation towards the board and would love to be able receive the remainder of the funding through donations. The electronic scoreboard will hugely enhance the matchday experience and the way we are raising the funds means it is having no impact on our planned budget, plus of course it will be completely transferrable to a new ground in the future. Even if you are not in a financial position to help, or perhaps you do not agree it is a wise investment for the club at the moment (and I respect all opinions, that is not a problem), it would be hugely appreciated if everyone reading this could help by sharing the GoFundMe page on your own social media and/or with your friends and family. The link to the page can be found here: https://gofund.me/b0a8cfe5  – Thank you with your support in this.

As live sport returns to our lives it is important that we keep raising the profile of the club by encouraging more and more people to get involved. I know from the Management Meeting that the Ladies have started advertising for girls of all ages, new or returning players, to join in with sessions on Tuesdays throughout June and July, for more details you can contact Lisa Welling at bucksgirlsfootball@yahoo.com. Thank you also to the Supporters Trust who are helping to raise the profile of our pre-season fixtures by arranging adverts in the forthcoming Your Chesham magazine.

The excitement of Euro 2020 getting underway was stalled this week by the sickening sight of Christian Eriksen collapsing during the Denmark v Finland match. Fortunately, a tragedy was avoided thanks to the incredible actions of the Danish squad, the match officials and the medical team on hand to react so quickly. It was emotional to watch the situation unfold and also warming to see our wonderful game of football unite in support for Christian, once again highlighting how powerful the sport is if all the energy is channelled in the right way.

As with many clubs I am sure, this did spark us to revisit the situation at Chesham United with regards to the location and accessibility of the existing defibrillator at the club, and I am pleased to say that we have re-iterated the importance of ensuring that everyone using the venue is aware of the location and has access should it be needed. One bit of equipment that I hope we never have to use, but so important to have in place.

Last, but most certainly not least, a very big thank you to everyone that has purchased or renewed their season tickets for the forthcoming season. The number of supporters that have donated their entitled refunds from last season is absolutely incredible, way beyond even our most optimistic hopes and this will truly help us in budgeting for the season ahead. I know that the management are busy building and developing the playing squad, and there is some silly money being discussed out there for wages supposedly on offer. As a club we are adamant that the budget we have committed to the playing squad is sustainable, no front-loading and banking on a good FA Cup run, and I believe this will be recognised by the type of player we attract to the club.

I look forward to seeing you all back at the club soon, enjoy the football over the weekend, especially tonight’s game – all I can say is, “Dewch Ymlaen Cymru”, C’mon Wales!