Sutton United

Whilst the players take a well-earned rest following their magnificent championship win, things have never been busier behind the scenes. In the first of a series of snapshots, chairman of the board Dave Farebrother offers a little insight into some of the activity taking place. "We had a conveniently scheduled board meeting on 28th April, days after clinching the title. OK, the meeting started a little later than usual because of the AGM but it didn't actually finish until the 29th - a sign of things to come! We have fitted in three meetings to plan for the England C game we are hosting on 5th June, the college game and a 4-hour working lunch with the manager. I also met up with Dominic Feltham today to bring him up to speed following a recent business trip and, just for a change, some of us were down the club last night to film some footage in relation to the Chieti final all those years ago. Next week we have a management committee meeting and also a meeting to review our comms strategy. Lyall is busy planning the look and layout for next season's programme, Jenny has licked more envelopes for season tickets than in the last five years combined and Paul has been turning his photos into a range of posters and flyers. We have even sent Kris to West Ham to see what might be worth rescuing from Upton Park. We know we need to recruit more manpower for next season, matchday volunteers for a variety of roles, there's away travel to plan and a book to write about last season ! The normal work goes on though. Bobby and Wayne are still busy with hirings on the pitch, Bruce has the annual accounts to prepare and all of the kit has to be ordered. And the list goes on. And as you might imagine, the email links have been glowing red-hot. Promotion is very exciting but brings some big challenges off the field as well as on it. We have to plan for the possibility of segregation, which means additional facilities will need to be provided as well as a security gate, the toilets to the Times Square are being refurbished and we want to get some covered accommodation back in place for wheelchair users. That's not all of the work we are considering but we have to assess what's achievable and affordable and hopefully I can give more details further down the line." "Oh, and there's the small matter of the league's AGM and annual dinner to attend....as CHAMPIONS."