Good evening, and welcome to you all. Assuming we have a pitch to play on, our home fixtures start here. I trust you all enjoyed the summer break and return well refreshed and full of anticipation for the new season.
The summer months have been a time of many changes for FCHT. Assuming these are well covered elsewhere in this publication, we would simply wish new Manager Pete Wild all the best for the duration of his tenure here at the Shay. Rest assured, we have already requested that Pete attends a Supporters Club meeting as “Open to Question” guest in the very near future.
I hear that the Club’s Board of Directors would like to meet fans in a similar scenario, but which one we should run first, or whether we combine the two has yet to be decided. Believe it or not, some individuals take holidays during the football season, and this must be considered along with other questions concerning availability, such as our new Manager needing to quickly bolster his squad somewhat.
One disappointing aspect of the closed season was the news that (due to financial matters), Gateshead have lost their place in the National League Premier, Aldershot getting a reprieve in their place. There is an overwhelming geographic imbalance in this League, with most teams based around London and the south east. Losing Gateshead worsens the situation further, and Clubs like ourselves (and more so today’s visitors Hartlepool) get hit in the pocket with additional travelling costs.
At the time of writing, there are still serious question marks concerning the financial matters of both Bolton and Bury. My understanding is that the FA have teams of auditors who regularly visit all Clubs precisely to prevent situations such as these arising, so I fail to understand why these teams find themselves at breaking point, so to speak. I feel for the fans of both Clubs, and sincerely hope they dig themselves out of their respective messes.
So, there’s the lowdown on what’s transpired since we last met. More in Saturday’s programme concerning the Supporters Club’s plans for the next twelve months. In the meantime, we would like to congratulate long-standing Supporters Club member Keith Barraclough, who recently celebrated his golden wedding anniversary. Like many of us, he’s probably been “married” to the Shaymen for far longer!
See you soon, Kit.
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