Today, we welcome Slough Town FC to the Mangata Pay UK stadium. May I wish their Directors, Manager, players, and supporters an enjoyable stay with us and a safe journey home.
Well, with it being the first day of a New Year, and if I’m honest on both a football and health front, I was not unhappy to see the back of 2024. The club, my bank balance and perhaps even my health suffered during a hugely damaging relegation battle and our relegation also meant we lost important members of staff to pastures new.
It was also incredibly sad that during the year we lost our Founding Father, Club President Bill O’Neill, at the grand old age of 96 and also my good friend and one of our main sponsors and benefactors, Mr Alan Swan, of ‘Wood Army’ shirt sponsor fame.
That said, we have not for one moment stood still or felt too sorry for ourselves. In fact, I’ve ensured we got our heads down, worked hard and we have now improved the playing budget, the overall facility, our squad strength and even supplemented our academy staffing levels.
I’ve attacked relegation and our problems head-on by being brutally honest with myself, my family, my staff, and through honest and realistic messaging explained our wants, needs and ambitions to you supporters, our sponsors and to my partners. As such, I can now say with a lot more conviction, that we believe we can achieve a promotion back to the National League at the very first attempt, and if we fail, that’s okay, but it will not be for the want of trying.
At our last home game on the 21st of December against Tonbridge Angels, we also celebrated our annual Ladies Day. I’d like to thank Jodie, her bar staff and all those ladies who attended not only the game, but also the Karaoke in the Glass House after the game.
Despite the slightly disappointing 1-1 draw and team performance on the day, I think the Christmas Karaoke showed a club togetherness and for me the evening was a huge success. Certainly, belting out a tune was great fun, the night was full of laughter and your humour and company were simply first-class.
Today though is not so much about laughs, as we will meet a very good Slough Town team, and we know the problems they will cause. Their player manager Scott Davies is a very confident guy, and he has done a great job since taking over the reins there and no doubt with his very good squad has aspirations of reaching the end-of-season play-offs.
As we now enter the second half of our season, it’s fair to say after today, we’ve now played everyone in the division save for Hemel Hempstead and as the league table shows, it’s not only close at the top, it’s close at the bottom and the play-offs places, so this division is still too close to call, with every team capable of nicking a win.
Almost every week there are shocks, and at present relegation places, play-off places and who the title winners might be are still impossible to call – that said, in our case, we are most definitely back in the title and play-off conversation and I’m proud of Luke, Charlie and the players who’ve worked so hard in November and December to put ourselves back into a position to challenge.
Having written my programme notes before getting a final injury update after the Enfield Town game, I believe it’s only Junior Dixon who might be unavailable today. If my information is accurate it still means the squad is incredibly strong for this afternoon’s game and Luke will have 18 very good players to choose from.
The start of 2025 though does promise to be a pressure period if we let it consume us both on and off the pitch. That said, if you want sustained success whether in business, life, or in football, then pressure is your oxygen, your yardstick and something you must embrace.
All successful people use pressure to fuel them, as pressure especially in football means you’re either doing something very badly like we did last season, or much better as we are doing this season.
Pressure at the bottom of any league in my experience, is something that can at times dominate you, consume your mind, eat you up and make you bitter and if you allow it, it can spread fear and create doubt regarding almost every footballing scenario or outcome.
Pressure at the top of a league, however, is a very different feeling and for me, it isn’t pressure that dominates you. In truth I see it meaning as an owner that I’m doing my job, as it means our club, my staff and our squad are focused, driven and strong. It also means our squad is fit, it means we are once again winning the mind games and thus winning football matches.
Overall if pressure moments can be overcome, if pressure can be embraced, it is more likely to help you achieve your ultimate ambitions – but you must stay focused, must stay together, be hard-working, humble and remain driven.
Before the season started a lot was said on social media about who were this division’s title favourites, as some clubs like ourselves were to remain or go full time. I think I even saw a stat that said this division now has around 17.5% to 20% of clubs either completely full-time or operating a hybrid full-time model.
Of those clubs Torquay United, Maidstone United, Dorking Wanderers, Truro City, Eastbourne Borough and us are all in and around the play-offs or in the title conversation and if I was pushed, I would expect the Champions to possibly come from one of those full-time clubs.
Whether we push on or fall away this season, it’s my job to pay the bills and wages, to build this club from the bottom up and to spend wisely in all areas to create a bright future. In my position as the club chairman and owner, I must always try and fulfil your ambitions, while progressing our community football club both on and off the park. With our new plans for the South End of the ground now being drawn up, which includes the new South Stand and a close to 6,000 capacity, we are on course to do just that.
On the pitch, though, experience tells me we are about to enter the first big high and low period of the season where people tend to overreact to results. As such, we must all be both measured in our reactions and our responses.
After today we then get a well-earned two- week break from league action, as we go to Weymouth in the FA Trophy and if we can beat them, then our Saturday game at Truro in February will move to a midweek game which travel-wise is more problematic…that though is why I have invested in such a good squad and its why our increased squad size is needed if we are to succeed on two fronts.
In terms of player recruitment as I’ve said many times, if Charlie and Luke say there is an opportunity to sign further players of quality, and they’re also the type of characters who possess the right attitude, discipline and desire, then I’m ready to facilitate that within reason.
I hope my continued financial backing can give our supporters, our club, our town and our community something to cheer about come April/May, but trust me, to be in the title conversation, further financial backing regarding tweaks to our squad is a must, as quality will be vital.
That said, you supporters must now play your part where possible, you must also bang the proverbial support drum, you must somehow help drive up our home support and help us get our crowd averages up as we need home support advantage. I say that, as I know your vocal support will get us decisions and that is going to be so, so important over the coming weeks and months.
Anyway, back to today, let’s enjoy the raised expectations at the club, let’s embrace the pressure of being around the top of the table and let’s look forward to today’s game, where two good teams will go head-to-head in search of the three points.
Finally, whoever you support let’s hope for an open, attacking game and may the best team win.
A Happy and Healthy New Year to one and all,
Danny.
