As the final whistle blew against Billericay Town in the Play-off Final, I probably felt gutted for a few seconds only because on looking up at our hundreds and hundreds of Brentwood Loyal fans clapping the players off with a standing ovation, I reflected on how far the Club of Brentwood Town FC has evolved and grown over the past 3 or 4 years.
Our journey continues both on and off the pitch, and I feel the vision and smart objectives for the Club are clearer than ever and we have the personnel now to deliver.
- We achieve promotion to the National South (ideally by automatic promotion).
- We build a Stadium and infrastructure of National League South status.
- We increase our Fan Base still further and enhance our Fans Matchday Experience.
- We build on our Academy and Youth Teams to create the Clubs Pathway, including girls’ teams to our Women’s First team.
- We build a Brentwood Football Hub that offers facilities and enjoyment for everyone in the Brentwood Community
Our Team on the Pitch
We came extremely close last year with a fantastic first third of the season, ie 3 months and whilst we couldn’t continue with that consistency, we still crept into the play-offs and went very close to obtaining promotion.
All teams at Step 3 lose players in Pre-season and we are no exception. Whilst disappointing it’s just what happens and the key is not to panic and re-recruit wisely. That’s exactly what the Management Team have done and whilst we will probably have a different shape and vibe because of just a different set of personnel, we have recruited in my opinion, a new squad of players that believe they are good enough to win the league and have the desire, grit and hunger to make it happen.
Stadium Enhancements
We are looking to develop the Stadium this year. A new 1000-seater Stand is our key objective but will require support from a mixture of the Council, plus private investment. We need these areas to genuinely buy into the vision of the Club and I hope that will be realised this season. A Fan Zone has been a plan of mine for a while now. I have seen some good examples of this at other grounds, and we need to work together to make this a reality to improve our Fans Matchday experience.
Our Partners
Matchroom, ERB and indeed all our Sponsors big and small are not sponsors in my eyes, they are Partners. They are committing their support to our journey and are therefore Partners in our success. Matchroom and ERB Insurance are our two Platinum Partners and have both recently committed long term to the Brentwood Town FC Journey and Vision. More news will be released about this in the coming weeks. Although we have 2 Platinum Partners, we obviously are continually looking for new Partners who share the Club’s ambition and vision. Therefore, if anyone reading this feels there is a potential new Partner for the Club, please feel free to let me know directly.
Our Fans
Our fans last year were unbelievable. We have gone from an average of 100 fans per game when I took over the Club to nearly 700 fans on average per game. We are now looking for an average of 1,000 per game for next season and need to find ways to get Brentwood people even more behind their Town’s Football Club. Our support away from home is I believe the best in the league and is truly exceptional. We need to build on this and build a Fortress at home with the same level of noise and passion at Home Games which we sometimes don’t quite achieve compared to away games. We need more drums, more singing, more noise and more everything to make life uncomfortable for teams visiting us. Trust me, I will be there as always!
Club Pathway
I took over the Football Club some 7 years ago after helping to manage my son’s Brentwood Town Team from under 13’s to under 17’s for 5 years. A key reason I took over some 7 years ago was because the Club had no Pathway for its Youth. This has been transformed now with over 250 boys and girls representing our Centre of Excellence Academy (ages 6-12). They now know their teams will progress directly into our EJA system with our Under 13’s up to Under 23’s and then into our First Team Men’s and First Team Women’s.
We do hope and need all parents of their boys and girls to recognise this and support the Club as a whole as its One Club not loads of individual teams making up the Club.
I genuinely believe this is a pivotal year. I sense a real change in the Mindset of everyone at the Club. They believe that we have something special and in truth we do. Nothing I believe in life just happens. Everyone needs a slice of luck but overall, you make your own luck. If you have a clear vision, get a loyal and dedicated team of people around you and are all pulling the same direction you will be amazed what can be achieved. We need to continue to influence positive change to evolve and catapult us up the ladder and that’s why we are creating something special at Brentwood Town FC. I am really looking forward to the season ahead and I hope anyone reading this who feel they can add support in some way comes forward to add their support.
As the title says, “Success is a journey not a destination” I hope some of you reading this increase your involvement at the Club and join our journey up the ladder of success!
