Hemel Hempstead Town Board Programme Notes

Welcome to our second home game in five days.  Those of you who were part the 896 crowd that witnessed a thrilling finale to our match with Weymouth on Tuesday night will have experienced the full range of emotions of being a Whites fan! This was the second game on the trot where a late revival meant that we came away with points from games that might well have been losses.

Our Football Manager, Darrell Clarke, has been quick to express his frustration at the team’s performance in passages of recent games.  This is something that he and Mikey Harris will be working on with the squad in the preparation for future games.  The fitness of the team and their determination to play the game to the final whistle is clear to see.  The return of Bradley Gray to our squad was a welcome bonus and his arrival on the pitch with two crucial goals was a credit to all of those involved in his rehabilitation from injury.  We must all remember that this is still a side in formation, we have a number of fresh faces and it will take a while for them to fully gel.

As highlighted in our last programme notes we are grateful for the support of our fans.  A review of the Zamaretto Premier League attendance figures for the opening weeks of the season show that our gates are significantly higher than elsewhere in the league.  We are also seeing large numbers travel to away games.  This support has a positive impact on the players and obviously benefits the Club financially

Unfortunately there have been isolated incidents in our last two games where the behaviour of individual fans has reflected badly on the Club.  As a Board we are determined to have such incidents investigated and appropriate action will be taken.   We draw your attention to the Safety and Ground Regulations at the back of the programme.   We are not seeking to restrict anyone’s enjoyment of the game, indeed the exact opposite is the case, we want everyone to leave the ground looking forward to returning for the next match.

Our new website (salisburycity-fc.co.uk) continues to attract a high level of traffic.  Your feedback to date has been very positive and our Chief Executive, Paul Fredericks, will be working with his team to continue it’s development.  Paul is planning to add a number of new features to the site including developing an on-line shopping facility and the ability to watch video highlights from our home games.  Your patience whilst we develop these areas is appreciated.

We have had requests from a number of supporters to extend the range of items available in the Club shop.  We are taking this forward, with plans to increase the size of the shop.  Lynn and Martin Robinson do a fantastic job serving so many fans in such a cramped space.  We need to improve these facilities for all concerned.

These notes have been written before the Directors have held their open forum with SCFC supporters.   In the next home programme we will give an update from that evening.

Finally, it is good to welcome the Directors, Management, Players and Supporters of Hemel Hempstead Town FC.  Like us they have had a solid start to the season and we look forward to an entertaining encounter this afternoon.

William Harrison-Allan, Chris Brammall, Jeff Hooper, Paul Fredericks