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Site - all wrapped up for Christmas

Ground

Well it could not last until Christmas could it? The weather has been considerably wetter this last couple of weeks and whilst we continue to make good progress on the site things have slowed down a little. Running heavy machinery over the ground in wet weather is not good for maintaining the integrity of the soil as each downpour leaves a layer of mud which needs to be removed.

We remain ahead of the expected schedule and the piling work has been started on the main clubhouse building. There are two specialist piling contractors involved in the build. One of which got started before the site shut down for the Christmas break and the other will start once the site reopens in the New Year.



The issue of contamination in the ground under the clubhouse that had been identified has now been addressed and the contaminated material has been removed from site under the direction of the Environment Agency - the problem is about what we had estimated.

Pitches
The preparatory works to the two grass community pitches to the south of the site are now complete ahead of the more comprehensive works in the spring to bring them up to the standard required.

The majority of the works to get the base and level of the stadium ready was completed prior to Christmas. When you see a bulldozer shifting earth around a site you don’t really appreciate the technological back up that ensures a level surface. Theodolites are strategically placed at locations across the site sending signals to 12 satellites orbiting the earth. These satellites in return a signal back to an on-board computer system on the bulldozer which dictates the level & pitch of the bulldozer blade to ensure the above sea level height of the pitch is accurate to a tolerance level of millimeters - Clever tech.



Site works closed for the Christmas break on Friday 20th December and work will recommence on Monday 6th January. 24 hour site security will be maintained throughout the break. If you are passing during the Christmas break why not drop by and say hello? Maybe even take the security guards a turkey butty?





Around the club

Our unbeaten run has now extended to ten games but the game at AFC Fylde saw a serious injury to James Spencer’s left knee. James is a member of the PFA and his insurance with them meant that he was able to see a surgeon this week and had a scan to assess the damage on Friday. He is likely to be out for a number of weeks. Everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery. Andy Pearson has moved on to Nantwich, competition for places is very strong at the moment and every player wants to be involved in a matchday, we wish Andy well and thank him for his time and service with the club. It was sad to see the back of Jon Worsnop who has joined Alfreton Town in the Conference, this is a big step and a great opportunity for Jon, we wish him every success and thank him for all hard work for the club.

Adam Jones’s recovery from injury is progressing, Adam is currently on loan at Nantwich where he has been scoring goals and winning praise for his performances. His initial loan period of a month is now over. In order to continue to improve and regain his match sharpness Adam will remain at Nantwich in the immediate short term but he is now available on a 24 hour recall. Karl Marginson is keeping his progress under review.

Charitable support

In our first year our main club sponsor was Bhopal Medical Appeal. The Appeal was established to provide medical support for the victims of the chemical disaster that hit Bhopal after a poisonous gas leak from the Dow Chemical plant. It is the 29th anniversary of the disaster this month and the people of Bhopal are still fighting for justice.

Details of the campaign and how to make a donation can be found click here www.bhopal.org

KitAid

FC United is an ambassador club for the Kit Aid charity, every year we hold a collection of kit for projects in Africa and a number of other projects across the globe. Our next collection will be later this season. Kit Aid recently contacted us with a photo of these young players looking resplendent in one of our old club kits. The players are from the Moses Chunga Football Academy in Harare, Zimbabwe and the kit was donated at the Kit Aid collection day at Gigg Lane, Bury last April. If you have any old kit or football equipment, boots, cones, balls etc lying around which needs a new home please let the office know or keep it to one side for our next collection towards the end of this season.



Our Big Coat Day is now an important feature not just for FC United but for the charities that we support. Boaz Trust and Mustard Tree know each year that they can rely on the huge generosity of our fans and supporters to bring in tons of warm winter clothing and Saturday’s collection was no exception. A big thank you to Barwell FC too for the collection that they made and donated. A full update will be given on the news section of the website.

Fan Ownership
The Hull City and Cardiff debacles continue to demonstrate why supporters should be at the heart of running a football club. The Premier League and the FA shamefully make it all too easy for ’mega-rich egotists’ to take control of clubs with no thought for history or tradition.

Hull fans have stepped up their campaign against the club name change from ’Hull City’ to ’Hull Tigers’ and Supporters Direct have called upon the Government and the FA to take some action to protect what they call ’the intrinsic identity of a club’

More information can be found on Supporters Direct website click here


- Firstly certain matters regarding the intrinsic identity of a club (colours, name, badge home ground) should only be changed with the agreement of a club’s supporters (through a simple and open democratic process);

- Secondly that this requirement be included within FA rules so that it is mandatory for all clubs.


- See more at: Supporters Direct here


Blackpool Fans
We are often approached by supporters at other clubs across the country for discussions about setting up supporters’ trusts and we recently had a visit from Blackpool FC’s independent supporters association (SISA) at the Worksop home game. FC board members Kate Ramsey and John Nicholson hosted the visit and SISA officers met up with Robin Pye and FC volunteers to discuss how the club is run and gain an insight into our community programme. They had a great time and sent the following message:

’thank you and your fellow members of FCUM for being so helpful and welcoming. FCUM in particular is a source of hope for many of us who would hope to bring their local football clubs closer to the heart of their communities.’

Which is nice!

Former red Steve Coppell is now working at Portsmouth and spoke recently about his experience on being involved in the supporter-owned club:

’I am fascinated by the concept of supporters actually owning the club, i think it’s terrific to see supporters first and foremost caring about the club to save it, and then trying to progress it forward into the future.’

- See more at: click here

Next update will be in the New Year

Best wishes to all FC United supporters and all those fighting for greater supporter representation across football.


First Posted ~ 08:49 Mon 23 Dec 2013
News ID ~ 5271
Last Updated ~ 02:08 Tue 16 Feb 2021