Good afternoon. Today we welcome our good friends from Tamworth to Meadow Park. May I wish their Directors, Manager, players and supporters an enjoyable afternoon with us and a safe journey home.
We have had a very positive pre-season programme, recording five wins and a draw from six varied games. That included an excellent week of fitness work and team bonding in Barnstaple. All in all, I’m excited and quietly optimistic about the season ahead.
For a club of our size to enter a new season with this level of ambition and expectation, both internally and among our supporters, says a great deal about our planning, our focus and the people driving this football club forward. Luke, my staff, our sponsors, partners, manager, players and supporters have all played their part.
To have turned the disappointment of relegation two seasons ago into the position we now find ourselves in is remarkable. I am incredibly proud to be leading this wonderful community football club as I begin my 28th season as Chairman.
I know this season will be challenging. There will be obstacles to overcome, but I also know we will be competitive. We know where we want to go, we know our ambitions, and from the very first day we will be pushing for the play-offs. As I have promised, I will also continue working towards delivering a four-sided EFL-graded stadium over the next 14 months.
To those season ticket holders and sponsors who attended Thursday’s Q&A in the Glass House, thank you. We covered everything from players and transfers to agents, ambitions and the future direction of the club.
What I want to say here is simply this: your humour, kindness, knowledge and love for this football club genuinely energise me. As many of you see on social media, I’m constantly trying to do what’s right for our community, our town, our club, our staff, our dressing room and our talented squad. It isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it.
As an owner, you’ll never please everyone all of the time. My approach has always been to trust my experience. After all these years, I believe my knowledge of running this football club will continue to guide me. As transfer speculation intensifies, I won’t be distracted by the noise or rushed into making the wrong decision.
What I do understand is how to harness collective ambition and how to deal with individual behaviour when it becomes misguided. There has to be balance. Young players can sometimes receive poor advice, including being encouraged not to train or to down tools. At our level of football, however, predictable bullying tactics from people who aren’t even contracted to a club cannot be allowed to succeed when so much of the posturing is unnecessary.
Before football, I built my career in the British film industry, property and sports education. Working on major film productions alongside some of the industry’s finest directors, producers, designers and actors taught me how to manage pressure, process, ambition, negotiation and, occasionally, large egos. Compared to that, handling a difficult transfer doesn’t intimidate me.
Equally, I understand that young players have emotions. I try to take both their talent and their circumstances into account, even when faced with selfishness, disruption, poor behaviour or simple immaturity.
Football is full of strong personalities, and I include myself in that. Right now, people I care about are being poorly advised. Downing tools to force through a transfer will not make a deal happen in this case. Nobody likes hearing the word “no”, but sometimes we all need to step back and understand what a good outcome looks like for everyone involved.
I’ll continue to remain patient, listen to people’s concerns and make sensible decisions while standing up to those who seek to bully smaller clubs. At 64, I understand the value of hard work and the value of a pound. I’ve never taken a wage from this football club, but I do understand what genuine talent is worth.
I remember exactly where I came from. I grew up in a broken home, left school at 15 without taking an exam and, by the age of 28, had bought my first house, become the father of five and was managing multi-million-pound film productions as a Prop Master for Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, Miramax and many independent productions.
Growing up with very little taught me values, humility and the importance of hard work. Working on independent films with limited budgets taught me financial discipline, while later managing major productions taught me how to protect valuable assets. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my career and throughout my time at this football club.
I know what exceptional talent looks like at this level. I won’t be rushed into selling the family silver because of outside noise. I know the value of the player involved, and I understand the situation well enough to make the right decision when the time comes.
My upbringing also taught me how bullies operate. After 28 years as Chairman, I know exactly how football people react when they hear the word “no”. I ask our supporters to trust my judgement because I have a long track record of building businesses, growing investments and helping this football club move forward.
Above all else, I know how to look after our supporters, our town, our community, our staff and this ambitious football club. Even after 28 seasons, I still believe we can overachieve. I still believe we can upset bigger clubs, develop outstanding people and players, and create an environment where everyone can flourish if they commit themselves fully.
At times, football’s wages and demands bear little resemblance to reality, and some people struggle to accept that smaller clubs have every right to say “no”. As I often remind myself: “Stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,” and “God loves a trier.” Agents, intermediaries and even players won’t always agree with my decisions, but my responsibility is clear: to do what is best for our staff, supporters, players, our community and this football club. Any decision we make must be right for all parties.
Anyway, that’s enough about the transfer window.
This afternoon we face a talented and much-changed Tamworth side that completed the league double over us last season. We also have the opportunity to welcome several excellent new signings, who may make their competitive debuts today: Luca Gunter, Oli Bainbridge, Tyler Golden, Tarryn Allarakhia and Danny Cashman.
Finally, whoever you support, let’s hope for an open, entertaining game and may the best team win.
Take care,
Danny.
