Monday, 22nd February 2010

Newsletter Feb 2010

Wesley Football Club Newsletter Feb 2010 www.wesleyfc.co.uk Apologies gents for the delay in getting this newsletter out, unfortunately I have been very busy with other things and sometimes I find that I have to take a work break and do something for BT in return for the paltry salary they feel obliged to pay me! Anyway enough of the side talk, you will all no doubt be aware of some very important changes within the club over the last three weeks and I hope that I can communicate these to you without rewriting War & Peace... Wesley FC now have a new management team running the 1st eleven, but before I officially welcome them to the club on your behalf, the club wishes to acknowledge the work put in by our former 1st team management duo of Jonathan Sinclair and his assistant Brendan Lenzi during their tenure over the early part of this season. Jonathan put in a lot of work when in charge and attracted some good players to join Wesley FC. Unfortunately due to pressures on Jonathan, outside of football, it was recognised by the committee and by Jonathan, that a change was needed to move the club forward and so maintain our status in Div 2B of the Amateur League. Thus, some three weeks ago the committee met with Tom Neill and Robbie Walker to offer them the job 1st team management. The club are delighted that they accepted and they have now been in charge for the last three games, starting with a solid 3-1 home win over Holywood Rec. I wish them all the best in their new posts and Jonathan Sinclair has also asked me to pass on his good wishes to the duo as they take Wesley FC on the next stage of what promises to be an interesting era. Tom comes with a solid track record; a Manchester City man, he has managed successfully at a higher level than Wesley, Crumlin Utd and Lower Maze (Mid Ulster) spring to mind, whilst for Robbie it is something of a homecoming – having played for Wesley in the old Lisburn league and won many league titles and cups. Both men are highly respected throughout the local game and have that “pulling power” to attract better players to the club. Not only that , Robbie is also a scout for Tottenham Hotspur(some team from London or somewhere) and, seriously, can give those younger players who are good enough a great opportunity to progress in the world of football. All in all it promises to be an exciting time ahead, so I hope that you will all embrace the new setup and feel motivated to do a lot better than what has gone before, both in performance on the field on a Saturday, and in training on a Wednesday night. More run of the mill club news now... Training – will continue at Laurelhill Sports Zone on a Wednesday night only. As you know the numbers were nowhere near enough to run the second night on a Monday at the Grove. Manager Tom Neill has said that he would prefer all club members to attend for the one session on a Wednesday rather than two smaller groups split over 2 nights, and would remind everyone that it is an hour on the astro turf followed by an hour on the grass/gravel so make sure you come properly equipped with the correct footwear. Training runs from 7.00pm to 9.00pm. Christmas Ballot – the club made a profit of over £500 this year and whilst this is not bad, (considering we paid a lot of hard cash out in prizes) it could have been much better if everyone had sold their ballots. Our Chairman has a list of seven names of people who didn’t put in any returns, and we haven’t received either unsold ballots or cash for those that were sold. This puts the club in an awkward position, never mind losing out on £140, these ballots are sold to people on trust, people expect to be entered into a fair draw at Christmas and this only casts a doubt over the integrity of the club. Of the seven named I am informed one has since paid £20 in lieu of ballots and one has left the club. That leaves five club members - Paul Connelly, Alan Cousins, Glen Ferguson, Paul Prentice and Brendan Lenzi – who have to address this issue and, as they say, the ball is in your court gents. Club Tour – Anthony McLoughlin has not had sufficient response to repeated requests for names plus deposits for an end of season tour and this has now officially been cancelled. Anthony is still willing to organise an away day or an overnight providing the interest is there – once again lads it’s up to you if you wish to go. There has been talk of an overnight in Dublin and I might just be able to arrange a friendly match for the Saturday afternoon, numbers permitting. End of Season Dinner – might seem early to be talking about it but it doesn’t be long in coming round. When Stephen approached the racquets club for a date the only available near our normal time was the 28th May which has been booked on your behalf. Sponsorship – as I have said before is crucial to the running of the club and Tom Neill has already brought in sponsorship of £30 for the home cup game with Mossley YM - well done Tom – but we need more sponsors for next season coming. There are new kits to be bought and the new manager has already stated that he wants Wesley FC back in club tracksuits next season. The more sponsors we get the easier this will be to achieve and believe me we will achieve it. With a severe lack of football in December and January our player of the month award has been on hold but it will return again at the end of February with Tom and Robbie nominating their first player of the month in charge. That’s it for now gents, as usual if you have any item for the newsletter just let me know and I’ll get it included – simple as that. Yours in sport, Robbie Cowan.

Submission by MR Robbie Cowan

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