This evening, we welcome Carlisle United to the Mangata Developments Stadium. May I wish their Directors, Manager, players and supporters an enjoyable stay with us and a safe journey home.
Firstly, can I say to every attending Carlisle United fan, your commitment and resolve to get yourselves down here on the last Sunday before Christmas with 600 of you making a 600-mile round trip is absolutely outstanding and if any team and any group of fans deserve to get themselves back into the EFL it’s you guys, and after tonight I wish you all nothing but success.
For me, I accepted a long time ago that we are a much smaller community-based club than many who now reside within this league. I accepted as a lowly populated town at this level, that we would have our limitations if we focused only on attendances. However, maybe foolishly I never saw that as a sole reason to forego my aspirations, my ambitions or stop me dreaming the impossible dream for my club.
In truth like my father before me, who managed our club with such distinction in the sixties and seventies, I still love the fact that sixty years later, we are still finding ways, whether through our staffs’ work ethic, our academy or with our improved scouting system, to improve the club off the park, while recruiting good young players on it, who might then get the chance to compete at the top of this league and who might well then go on beyond.
As such, it’s not as mad as most people seem to think that a small well-run club with a good catchment area for players, can be playing a club of Carlisle United’s size as an equal in this league and not only in the FA Cup. I say that as I well remember watching on the terraces from the Shed end at Chelsea way back in 1974 when Carlisle United won that day 2-0 to go top of Division 1 – and just to put that into perspective, Division 1 is nowadays known as the Premier League.
Though Carlisle United led the league that day after three or four games, they still got relegated that year and that was possibly the best it has ever been for them? And nowadays, with the type of money available and on offer in the Premier League, that was maybe the best it will ever be, who knows?
Only the current ‘Blues’ diehards will know exactly how they’ve managed to get themselves down into the National League with their incredible support. From the outside there has obviously been huge historical Boardroom, manager and player changes that perhaps in hindsight would be questioned by the fanbase, but only the clubs diehards will truly know how they are playing Boreham Wood FC as equals this evening?
For me, I’m now in my 27th season in the Chair here and our story under me was firstly one of survival at the start, followed by a bit of yo-yo success, that then got replaced with more long term ambition and it’s now a story of patience, which yet again might be slow, but my aim is to provide a long lasting period of over achievement that will one day land ourselves in the EFL. Is it likely? No, not really but Leicester City did win the Premier League and in truth most of our past achievements were also unlikely, yet we somehow found a way, so here’s hoping and praying.
Whatever the reasons for us ending up in the same league as tonight’s visitors, along with some of the other big ex-Football League clubs in this division, it is a very big deal for me. As a way of explanation, I go back to my earliest football upbringing long before becoming a fairly successful local businessman. In the seventies and eighties, I was a street supporter who followed Chelsea and England up and down the country and over land and sea. I was a big Chelsea fan mostly in the Ken Bates era at Stamford Bridge and so I know the ups and downs of supporting a mad yo-yo club. That said I loved every minute of it and to this day I’m still following England around the world and loving every second of being a die-hard England fan.
So, for me as a local owner, it’s a real privilege for our small club, when trying to compete with the Carlisle, Southend, York, Rochdale and Scunthorpe’s of this world on a level playing field. I of course accept with a Town population being in or around 35k and with us presently averaging around 900 home fans on a regular basis that things are difficult.
That said, our fanbase is quietly growing, as is our sponsorship, as are our partnerships and in truth so are our relationships with both our Borough Council and Town Council which have never been stronger. For me that is the recipe for our community football club’s future success and why we’ve seen sustained progress over the last two decades. In that time, we’ve dealt with the setbacks, we’ve shown resilience, shown patience to achieve a bit of longevity, and that longevity means at National League we are making memories and a bit of history along the way.
The Annual Mencap and Day Centre Christmas lunch held at the club each year, was a resounding success. The lunch itself was great, the staff (servers) were first class, the Mencap, Day Groups and Carers are quite simply amazing people, and our players, manager, staff and local dignitaries made it a community day (once again) to cherish and remember.
No doubt there are photos and videos online somewhere and possibly in this digital programme and I hope they convey the joy, care and love in the room, because without being corny, everyone in our community should feel like they belong and everyone deserves to feel both cared for and loved. In truth this is one of the clubs’ most cherished and anticipated days and once again it did not disappoint.
On to the Clubs’ South end planning application. I’m sorry to say that timelines have slipped planning wise once again and our submission will not be heard until February. In truth the project was not where the planners wanted it to be, nor where I was feeling happy and I’ve let my feelings and frustration be known to my architect and inner circle. As such, after certain decisions were made beyond my control, the project has been tweaked once again to incorporate further community provision that includes two new changing rooms, that will be under our control but will also be made available for the park and its pitch users.
For clarity, if everything goes well in February then the start date will remain May 2026 but if it slips any further, then I’ll need to rethink things, re-budget and plan accordingly.
Anyway, back to tonight and the visit of the 1974 Division 1 leaders in Carlisle United, plus the first league visit of their incredible supporters. Their Manager is none other than the legendary Mark ‘Sparky’ Hughes. It’s fair to say that back in the day, I would loyally follow both Hughsie and Chelsea up and down the country and on occasion even up Wembley way itself, “what a special player he was”….
That was a lifetime ago and we are now in a very different social and streaming era, an era that tramples on common sense and cares nothing for the attending supporter. As such, I want to repeat myself and give the warmest of welcomes to Carlisle’s amazing travelling supporters. As a long-standing Chairman of a National League club, I can only apologise to Carlisle fans and every away supporter for DAZN and the National League’s recent stupidity, and especially in putting this game on at 4pm on the last Sunday before Christmas. To disregard the away fans, who will be lucky to be home by 2am tonight is dangerous, could be the beginning of the end for the travelling supporter and it’s absolutely scandalous.
Once again the National League Board have refused to meet me to discuss things, surprise surprise which is frustrating, but I’ll keep trying to meet them on the little man’s behalf, and I’ll try to ask them for a more common sense approach toward both supporters and clubs and try to find some common ground on how we best implement a streaming deal that can work better for all parties.
However, that’s for another day, and as we are the last game of DAZN’s “Nightmare of Christmas” I hope that both teams give the attending fans exactly what we want, that being a brilliant, exciting and attacking game, and no matter who you support this evening, may I genuinely wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas and more importantly a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Take care and God Bless,
Danny.
