The end of the month sees our chairman Derek Graham provide an update from our board to keep all of our supporters and partners, helping you keep up to date with the clubs progress. Please get in contact if you have any comments or suggestions.
Back to football
"It is brilliant to see football back at Badgers Hill. I know we are all impressed by what we have seen so far. I've got the feeling it is going to take a good side to beat us this season. The preseason has been deliberately tough and some of the scores don't reflect the performances. Against Bath City, we were great and up against some clinical finishing, and against both Weston and Yate we were the better side over 90 minutes and their coaches were hugely complimentary about the way we play. Also the biggest thanks goes out to Bradford Town for stepping in at the last minute when Bristol Rovers U23s pulled out due to Covid cases within their squad. They gave us a really good run for our money, but as in the other games we showed how well we can defend as a team.
Our final friendly is away at Taunton has just been cancelled, so we will be trying to get another before we get down to the serious league business on 14 August.
Saturday 14th August - Back to BA11 day Well...what a game that should be, unless you've been under a rock (or self isolation) you will have heard that we have have offered everyone in the town free admission to the match, courtesy of IMS's generosity and community spirit and our target to beat our modern league attendance. Once again, a big thanks to IMS LTD, who will be the sponsors of this match.
We have spoken with Highworth and they are putting on a coach for their supporters, so it should be a cracking afternoon. If you haven’t already registered that you are coming, please do so. It makes life easier for us in assessing things such as catering needs, although you can of course just turn up on the day.
We have currently had over 200 people claim tickets and who knows we might be able to challenge our 21st century record of 617 for a home league match. Wouldn't that be amazing!
Click register now - to claim your free tickets
Cup draws
I can’t deny that the FA Cup and Trophy draws could have been a lot kinder to us, but the way we are playing I know that we can overcome Paulton Rovers and Didcot Town. Tickets for the Paulton match will go on sale very shortly.
The squad
Danny Greaves put on a great teambuilding day and training session last Saturday, followed by a meal in Bath for the players, coaching staff, media team and Directors. It was a thoroughly enjoyable event, although a good job we did not have a match the next day. During the night, it was great to hear the announcement of Sam Teale and Martin Lenihan as our Captain and Vice Captain for the season ahead. They are both great lads that understand what we are looking to achieve at the club.
On the subject of meals... A big thanks to Donna and her clubhouse team who are doing an excellent job with the match day catering for the players. We also had a very good meeting recently to sort out a few things with the pub management company who have leased the Clubhouse. Going forwards I think things look very positive.
Also on the catering side, Louise Coates has as always stepped up to manage the Director’s and officials hospitality on match days. Many thanks to Louise - who is a star behind the scenes.
Sponsorship update
Sponsorship is looking good and we have had a big increase in companies wanting advertising boards. Too many to mention here, but thanks to everyone that is returning as sponsors as well as those that have continued with us over the years - we will make separate announcements shortly.
Shirt sponsorship is open, as always with first dibs to those who sponsored last year. It’s a great way to support the team, and fingers crossed we finish the season and you can all get your player’s shirt(s). It will open wider from the weekend.
Additional support Whilst we mention support, as always, a very big thanks to the Supporters Club for their financial contribution to the club. Particularly as their revenue streams were wiped out last season. We're working with the Supporters club on how we can expand the opportunity for fans to be more involved in the Club, and there will be an announcement in the next month or so on these developments. It's great to see the additional members joining and those taking up positions across their committee.
Winning a car... we hope so!
As you know we are raffling a brand new car for £5 a ticket. This is an absolute bargain chance, and Peggy Collinson is doing a magnificent job selling tickets on the gate. However, you can still buy tickets on line, which is our preferred option . We do need a big effort on everyone’s part to reach our target figure.
50/50
There have been a couple of hiccoughs on the 50/50 scheme in paying out winners for June. Please remember, we do not hold your bank account details, and if you are a lucky winner we do need to ask you to provide them. Please check your spam folder if you are a winner if you appear not to have had a message from us or reach out to claim the prizes. New signage and painting. For those that have been up to the club, you'll be noticing some differences. We've be overwhelmed by the support, help and contributions to getting these bits up.
BA11 Live
The Fun Day was a great turnout with 100 kids turning up to be part of the day. It was a great step up from previous years and we will be building on this for the end of this season. If you haven't seen it already, it was a joy to see the younger kids taking on the team.
Match sponsors
We are on the look out for matchday sponsors (£200) and matchball sponsors (£80) for the season. Please let us know if you can help and both sponsors get a range of tickets provided, drinks and great exposure across the matches and social media.
Season tickets
We've been delighted at the amount of initial take ups on Season tickets, if you do intend to get a season ticket, can we ask you do this at your earliest opportunity. Be part of the club's journey this season...
And finally…
I cannot say how much I am looking forward to once again being able to walk round the ground and welcome you all back to Badger’s Hill for our first competitive match in a long time."
'Del'
Derek Graham
Chairman
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