After reading the Chairman’s report recently, I have the following comments (all my own thoughts).
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On the pitch - yes we’re having a hard time. Covid has affected us badly, worse than many wealthier clubs in our league. Carl & Gary have not been able to build the squad - we even had to return two loan players recently (I liked both of them) because their parent clubs were short on numbers. They can’t recruit new players either by transfers or loans, for the same reason - every club needs players now and won’t release. The actual buying power is little above zero unless you have a sugar-daddy running the show, and I’ve never liked that idea at our level. We need to survive this season and then build for next year assuming we are free of Covid by then.
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Financially we are in the black, after turning round a six figure deficit into a profit in little over a year. As in the report, commercially we have exceeded all previous records, with advertising, stadium boards, deals with Barrow FC, BBC, ITV, and new stadium sponsors U LOCK IT. The state of our stadium both inside and out is better than ever, and until Covid and lockdowns hit, the Social Club was achieving unbelievable income.
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We are very lucky with the quality and quantity of volunteers we have at Witton. Most clubs would be envious to have such dedicated and efficient people working their socks off most of the time.
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We are building for the future by encouraging youth through Witton Juniors, other Youth football teams, and involvement with schools. We currently have 525 Junior Members signed up to our scheme, and between 60-100 of whom you see on match day. We are supplying Ballboys (and ballgirls) practically every Saturday home game, who are given a stadium tour meeting John Salmon, Carl & Gary, then the players, and are given a tour, with a free meal at the end of the match. The feedback is tremendous from all involved. These are the future of our club, and unfortunately, we have missed a generation of new supporters, and need to progress this as much as possible.
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Now for the bad news - I’ve mentioned the volunteers, without whom the club would not exist in the first place. However, most are in their 60’s, 70’s and even older, and do fantastic work in all areas. However, due to the ages, how long will we all be able to continue is the first question? As the Chairman pointed out, we have unfortunately lost several key workers in the past 2/3 years either through passing away or serious illness, and they have not been replaced. Being realistic, in say 10 years, how many will still be able to contribute?
The Club has asked several times for new blood to help out, and as far as I’m aware, little or nothing has been the response. There are desperate times ahead without new volunteers to help out. Don’t forget, there are many different tasks to volunteering - it’s not ALL on match days, some of it can be done from home in your own time. All you need to do is inform the club of any relevant skills you have, and discuss how and when you can contribute. Everything seems to be left to the same people all the time, and because of their dedication to our club, they reluctantly take on extra tasks, otherwise it wouldn’t get done.
Unfortunately, there are some who criticise everything, from the players, management team, chairman, and so on. Would you consider putting that energy into positives which would enhance the efficiency of Witton, and give the club a chance to improve on and off the field?
Those who know me well understand I’ve never been a “brown-noser”, and will be controversial when needed, and that is NOW!
Had it not been for John Salmon, (and a few voluntary donations) the club would not have survived the financial crisis we were in, and we would no doubt be playing in the North West Counties League for the foreseeable future. 99% of the turnround has been directly linked to John, and the commercial deals he has done have kept us afloat. How ludicrous is it that the Chairman has to prepare tea and coffee for visiting directors and officials, and then serve alcoholic drinks after the match? He’s supposed to be discussing important issues affecting the league and football in general. Obviously this has only happened since we lost “our Pauline” who is sorely missed in many respects.
All I seem to hear are complaints, where we need to improve, get rid of him, change this, that, and the other. Please support this club, be positive, and offer to help where you can. Complaints do nothing for morale, and just make the hard working people wonder they they bother in the first place. Help out, you’ve all got qualities which can be utilised.
To be frank, if I was John Salmon, I’d walk away, then the club would be in a mess, and I’d love to know where we’d find a replacement who was at least as good. Please don’t let that happen - help out practically, not just negative verbals from the terraces. We need a successful Witton firing on all cylinders, and it CAN BE DONE!!!