Happy New Year to everyone, the year certainly got off to a happy start for us on the pitch last week with a simply superb 2-1 league win over much fancied Hayes & Yeading. The win did lift us above our opponents in the league, but with many games in hand over us they are very likely to be in the mix when it comes to deciding who will be crowned league champions at the end of the season. For us the focus remains very much on taking each game as it comes and hoping that our continued improvement can see us into a play-off spot by the end of April.
This weekend we face another real test of how competitive we are in the league when we travel to table-topping Farnborough. If you are able to make the trip to this match your support would be hugely appreciated in what is going to be a cracking game of football. When the Hampshire side visited Chesham back in August they were by far one of the strongest sides we have faced, winning the game 3-1, we have come a long way since then and it will be intriguing to see how we now match up.
If you are unable to travel to Farnborough on Saturday, you can listen to live commentary of the match on the brilliant CW Sports radio, coverage starts from 3.00pm at www.cwsportradio.com.
Away from the pitch I am also excited at the prospect of strengthening the Board and moving the club forward. I am very happy with the management team we have in place, but at Board level more strategic support is needed to evolve the business side of the club. Before Christmas I announced the arrival of Chris Kay as Commercial Director, over the coming days and weeks his involvement will increase and we will be opening discussions with other shareholders with regards to the ownership structure for the future. I am also at the very early stage of discussions with further potential Directors and am starting the year more optimistic than ever about the stability, security and future of Chesham United.
Our intention very much remains to move to a new ground with facilities that will support the whole community and create financial stability without the reliance on individual contributions, but the timescale for that remains out of our hands at the moment as we continue to wait for feedback on plans for the new location and the development of our existing The Meadow.
With that in mind, we will continue to invest in maintaining and enhancing The Meadow where it seems appropriate, particularly with things like the scoreboard that has received tremendous feedback and enhances the matchday experience. There are some potentially exciting conversations happening about what we could do at The Meadow during this period whilst we await the move, but it is too early to start sharing any details on those thoughts just yet.
We are fortunate here in England that we are still able to have crowds at matches and open our clubhouse on matchdays and for functions. We are often complimented on our facilities at The Meadow, many people commenting that they were not aware that we had a function room capable of hosting events for 100+ people. If you have a party or event coming up, do consider holding it in The Chess Suite, I know that our Bar Manager, Tanya Fisher, will be delighted to discuss your options. Tanya can be contacted at bar.manager@cheshamunited.co.uk.
Thank you as always for your support,
Peter Brown, Chairman
