Sutton United

The rapidly approaching opening day of the league season hasn't meant a slow down backstage, in fact very much the reverse. A bit of a slow-burner was recruiting Micky Joyce onto the board. It's something we had been looking at for a while but it wasn't an option whilst Mick had some ongoing commitments . Our other new director this summer, Pat Carr, has hit the ground running and I am sure it won't be long before we all get to see her fingerprints all over our on-line presence. A lot of work is going on on the re-design of our website, with quite a few of us involved to help make sure we get it right. Rob Oakes has been confirmed as our new Treasurer, with assistance from Jenny Graham, and has been working with Bruce to finalise last year's accounts. I don't expect we will hit the figure in the coming season but it will be interesting to see how close we get to the magic one million pounds turnover. I met up with the police this week, it has taken all summer to set up, and agreed our match-management procedures. Some matches will be segregated but it will be our decision, taken after discussions with the police and visiting club. It was interesting to learn how the approach to policing football matches has changed over the years and now it is quite rare to have a presence inside a stadium, even for games at Wembley. We have changed our third-party stewarding company and will be using the firm that is responsible for Wembley. We have also taken on a new car park manager, through G4S, so - if you have one - please remember to display your pass in your windscreen. One thing that we do want to try to put a stop to is people kicking and banging the back walls of our terraces. It annoys our neighbours and it causes damage that can be expensive to repair. We have identified an acoustic treatment that will hopefully deaden the noise and we will also clamp down on people who ignore requests not to do it. At times it has seemed as though our summer has revolved around toilets, but it was all work that needed doing and we hope that it makes a difference. There's a brand new accessible wc off the main foyer, something we have needed for a while, and that work also gave us an opportunity to re-jig the 1st Aid room. There are also brand new toilets on the far side, at the “home” end for segregated matches and, as you have probably seen by now, the toilets to the Times Square Lounge have been given a comprehensive makeover. Even the old Collingwood Road toilets have had a bit of a tarting-up. We also have new doors being fitted in the next few days on the main entrance to the club. A new shelter is on order for spectators in wheelchairs, but that probably won't be ready for another three weeks or so. It will go in front of the main stand, towards the Collingwood end, where the pitch-fence is set back. We have changed the main double-gates at the Gander Green Lane end and hope to bring all four of the turnstiles there back into use. The segregation gate for the far side is also on order and we have a new stadium perimeter fence going up at the very back of the ground, between us and Collingwood Rec. There will be quite a lot going on this Saturday, too. Before the match against Ebbsfleet we have a stewards' training session arranged and will also be showing a DVD of the 1966 World Cup (1.30 VPs' Lounge - all welcome) and then afterwards (5.00 VPs' Lounge) we are putting on another Meet The Manager Q&A session. The finishing touches are being put to our championship season commemorative book and SUFCtv have also been busy, preparing the eagerly-waited DVD of last season. Even Bruce has got in on the act with a limited edition championship pennant.