Chairman's Weekly Blog Navigating Challenges and Embracing Opportunities

Another eventful week has unfolded in the world of our beloved club. It's been a journey filled with both highs and lows, as we continue to work tirelessly to achieve our goals.

On the pitch, we experienced a disappointing 2-1 away loss to Bottesford Town F.C in the FA Varse and we are still unable to get a winning run going after an impressive 0-2 win away at Golcar FC in midweek. While such defeats can be disheartening, they also serve as learning experiences, motivating us to strive for improvement. Our Development side, however, provided a silver lining with an exhilarating 3-2 victory at home against Woodhouse Colts JFC in the cup. Our over 35s fought valiantly and secured a 2-2 draw at home on the station pitch. Meanwhile, our U18 girls exhibited their prowess with a remarkable 10-0 win away, reaffirming the strength of our girl’s youth team.

Sunday also saw our ladies first team in action away at Penistone Church and while it was good performance, we failed to take our chances in front of goal and the game ended 0-0 which I felt on balance was a fair result after some lack of discipline and several poor referring decisions.

Off the pitch, I had the privilege of catching up with some of our dedicated club volunteers on Monday. Our discussions ranged from various club-related topics to reviewing essential maintenance tasks with our ground staff.

Tuesday presented its own set of challenges, as I embarked on a journey to Golcar to watch the first team in action. Navigating through unexpectedly heavy traffic, a planned one-hour journey turned into a two-hour ordeal. Nevertheless, I managed to arrive 45 minutes before kick-off.

Midweek, I engaged in a productive meeting with our club secretary to ensure all club officials had been contacted ahead of the weekend games. I also confirmed that stock orders for the upcoming weekend had been properly placed and processed.

Thursday, I dropped in on our club physio to settle her wages, It was also the day when we bid farewell to our goalkeeper, who departed for Brigg Town FC on amicable terms. While a new player transfer deal remains pending until the end of the month, we decided to support Lewis in exploring new opportunities, and we'll always remember his contributions to our promotion last season.

Friday provided an opportunity to catch up with our first team manager. We discussed potential player transfers and assessed the overall squad. Both of us are optimistic that, once all players are back and new additions are integrated, we can make significant strides and may even surprise many.

Saturday marked game day, and as usual, I arrived early at the ground to support the setup for our development team's home game before heading over to Bottesford for the first teams match. On Sunday, I attended our ladies game.

In the coming week, we'll resume progress on our new catering facilities, which had experienced a temporary pause due to illness among the volunteers involved in the project. We're also diligently managing our cash flow, ensuring a balanced approach to our initiatives.

I look forward to attending the first team's away game at Peniston Church on Wednesday hoping we can bounce back to wining ways, as well as inspecting the new media tower, set for installation. While work commitments prevent me from being present during installation, it's another significant step in enhancing our club's infrastructure.

Lastly, I'll take time to review our club accounts and connect with all our club officials, ensuring that we continue to move forward with clarity and purpose.

Finally your unwavering support and dedication to our club are deeply appreciated. Together, we'll overcome challenges and seize opportunities as we march ahead on this exciting journey.

As always, please remember to like, share, and comment if you enjoy reading my weekly update.