In the week that the country celebrates VE Day, perhaps we can refer to this current period in the management of the ongoing battle against the coronavirus as the ‘phony war’ as far as the football club is concerned, with little happening to affect us in the last seven days .

You may already have read on our website that Jamie Butler and Aaron Jarvis are not having their contracts renewed following the conclusion of the 2019/20 season. We would like to wish both the best of luck with their careers and thank them for their efforts with Sutton United, in particular Jamie who produced many inspired moments between the sticks for us and was long ago forgiven for the goal he scored against us for Hemel Hempstead that briefly threatened to derail our championship-winning season in 2016.

In addition, as per the terms of their loans, goalkeeper Nik Tzanev and striker Isaac Olaofe have returned to AFC Wimbledon and Millwall respectively. Again, thanks to both for their 100% effort with us, especially Nik who was with us since the win at Torquay and played a big part in our rise up the table.

In terms of how the 2019/20 season will play out, there has not been any movement for us to report on at this time. However unlikely it may seem, the option to stage the end-of-season play-off games is still pending and it seems probable that the approach adopted by the Premier League will shape the decisions made by the EFL and the National League.

Almost everything else has centred around trying to improve our financial position.  After a lot of work by a number of directors, we have so far identified five potential sources of additional income. Two of these would be one-off cash injections and we are relatively confident that these might come to fruition. The other three opportunities would be new revenue streams and we are still exploring the benefits and implications of these.

What we are pleased to announce, however, is that we will shortly be hosting a new mobile fish and chip service in our car-park on Friday evenings. We were approached recently by the Frying Squad, a national franchise operation, about having a mobile unit on site during the coronavirus lockdown. With the “chippie” next to The Plough having been closed now for several years we thought that this service might appeal to our neighbours and initial discussions have suggested that it would be well received. The service will be available between 16:00 and 21:00 every Friday and, if it proves successful, may even become a permanent weekly feature.

Season ticket sales continue to come in and the total number of tickets sold for next season has now passed 210. Once again, we cannot stress how appreciative we are of the tremendous support our fans are giving to the club at this very difficult time for all areas of society. How much we all look forward to that day when we can open the doors again and welcome you back into the Borough Sports Ground.

Thanks also once again for the excellent work being done by SUFCtv to keep us all entertained and informed during lockdown. We hope you have enjoyed this week’s interviews so far – keep an eye out for the forthcoming schedule which promises to provide us all with a great listen.

We like to end with a good news story if we can, so in case anyone has not already seen it we would like to point you to the feature on our website (link) regarding the money raised by our women’s and girls’ teams in support of the NHS at St Helier Hospital.  What a tremendous effort by all involved for our dedicated frontline workers.  One other story that might bring a smile to our faces is the continuing efforts of everyone’s favourite giraffe to remain upbeat and help raise the mood of us all. Keep it going, Jenny !  – link –

We hope that all of our supporters and families are keeping well. Don’t forget to check whether your friends and neighbours need any support and that the pastoral support service offered by our club chaplain, Leonard, is available for you all to use and is totally confidential.

Stay Safe and please follow the Government’s rules and guidelines on social distancing

#inittogether 

Dave Farebrother

Chairman, Board of Directors