Southern Football League Champions 2018/2019
TERRAS TIMES The newsletter of the Weymouth FC Supporters Association
ISSUE 14 April 2019
From the Editors Chair Welcome to the Supporters Association newsletter of the Southern Football League Champions, Weymouth FC. How does that feel eh? To be honest I was beginning to wonder if the long-speculated curse of Weymouth FC was about to descend on us once again. Since the last newsletter and the Managers appearance on the Non League Show podcast we started to stutter. I felt the draw at Poole was a good point, but the Taunton comeback that same day made me feel that they were favourites based on current form. Maybe that took some of the pressure off as I started to sleep before matches and not just sleep walk through a pot of coffee per morning to get to work. Maybe it helped take some of the pressure off our players too. The whole experience (despite being remote in the North) was something I didn’t enjoy until it was over, but by 5pm that night I was into the cider and moving from type 2 to type 1 fun. This is a fantastic achievement by a club that many people thought would never get up off its knees ever again. Take that in for a moment, there were people that thought the Bush/Curtis/Rolls years had finished us as a factor in senior non-league football. However, we are back, but this must be the start of a sustained period in the Conference as opposed to the pinnacle. We’ve taken a decade to prove people wrong, but every Player, Manager, Volunteer and Fan has done it.
Summer 2019 is a time for great pride and to savour being champions before we need to go again and work even harder to keep hold of what we have just earned.
James
Fond Farewells The end of the season has seen a number of key personalities leave the club ahead of our return to Conference South in August. Harry Baker and Josh Carmichael have both left for Poole Town, and despite our rivalry with that club I am sure you would like to wish them both well in their future careers. I always referred to Harry as the new Jamie Vardy and I just hope he doesn’t come back to bite us in the years to come. Josh has told the Dorset Echo recently that it was a tough second season at the Terras, but we don’t hold that against him and thank both for their efforts in claret and blue. Physio Tori Coltart has also left the Bob Lucas Stadium with an increase in commitments in her private practice cited. Again we wish Tori well and thank her for her work.
Chairman’s Chatter What a marvellous season that was! That maybe a bit of an understatement given the scenes at the end of our final home game! It was wonderful to see a packed out Bob Lucas Stadium rocking with delight. It was the culmination of much hard work by a great number of people but out in front of them all we have to say a huge thank you to Mark Molesley for delivering the success we enjoyed. It has been a memorable two seasons for sure and it was by no means plain sailing in either. But right at the outset, at his unveiling as our new manager, Mark promised nothing other than hard work and dedication to garnering around him a hard working and professional group of players and staff. What that hard work and professionalism has delivered was there for all to see on 27th April 2019! It was said to me several times after that final game, if the result and promotion could have been guaranteed prior to the game, then fans would have wished for it to end that way, such was the euphoria enjoyed and the drama of it all! As enjoyable as it was though, we must remember, it was the culmination of results right throughout the season which saw us prevail in the end. There were plenty of hard fought points and victories along the way and although a number of teams challenged us and pushed us all the way to the final day, we came out on top in the end because we deserved to at the coming of that final whistle! It is the time of year to express our thanks of course, but without a doubt we owe a great deal of thanks to our Club Chairman Ian White, and his board of Weymouth FC Directors, for giving Mark the stable platform on which he was able to operate and bring us the success we have craved for such a long time now. A lot has been said about the fact we have done this in a sustainable way and we are living within our means, but we must not underestimate this important factor in how we have got to where we are today. It has been you, the supporters of Weymouth FC that have ultimately played the major role in our financial stability. Through your match attendance, patronage of the bars, club shop, cafÊ, sponsorship, half time draws, meat draws, bingo, quizzes, Claret & Blue Lottery and of course Wessex Fantasy Football, it is you who have ultimately made the difference. In order to build on the success we have enjoyed this season, we will need to try to increase our income and we will need you to maybe dig a little deeper, or even better still, convince that floating fan you know to come along and give us a try! With over 2,600 at the Farnborough game, we can all see the potential we can tap into, in order to help us drive on to further success. There will be a great deal of work going on behind the scenes already in preparation for next season. Some player movement has been announced already. I would just like to put on record, our heartfelt thanks to all the players and staff who have played a part in two very memorable seasons and ultimately our promotion. They have all earned a place in the illustrious history of Weymouth FC and a final day this season that will live long in the memory of supporters of all ages for years to come. Our thanks to you and good luck and good fortune to you all, no matter where your future takes you. On behalf of all WFCSA Board members, we thank you for your continued support and we wish all of you a restful and enjoyable closed season and we look forward to welcoming you back to a rejuvenated Bob Lucas Stadium, either during pre-season if works allow, or at the start of our adventures in National League South, a season which starts on Saturday 5th August 2019! Best wishes, Pete Nash Chairman Weymouth Football Club Supporters Association
Stadium work update The Bob Lucas Stadium will undergo refurbishment during this closed season. At the recent AGM, the Chairman announced The Bob Lucas Stadium will undergo refurbishment during this closed season. The roof of the main stand is being replaced as are the seats. Improvements are also needed to the floodlights as their general condition, due to age. are having an impact on their reliability.
These improvements are needed in order to ensure we can play football here next season, the repairs being required in order to maintain our ground safety certificate. Watch out for update photos on social media as works progress.
Fund raising to continue
Manager commits to the Terras
As we attempt to establish a foothold in the National League South next season, we will need to do all we can to increase the income for the club. The finances are being handled on a sound business model which means that not every single penny raised goes to the playing budget, but money is also set aside for the day to day running of the club, ensuring our bills are paid in a timely manner and we do not fall into debt or are become reliant on being bankrolled by a generous benefactor!
I suppose its only fair that the final piece of this celebratory edition of ‘Terras Times’ is reserved for Mark Molesley, a man who has seen us fans go from daring to dream to living a promotion.
To that end, in order to help boost the playing budget for Mark Molesley, we will be re-launching the clubs very own lottery, The Claret & Blue Lottery. This will be aimed at those who don't generally participate in Wessex Fantasy Football but who would like to contribute to player budget fundraising and also be in with a chance of winning some cash into the bargain! We still have some work to do on new application forms and updating the terms and conditions, but the plan is to re-launch before the new season gets under way. It costs from just £5 a month and there are three cash prizes up for grabs each month. The value of prizes are determined by the number of players which currently sits at 59! 50% of all money goes to prizes, 50% to the playing budget. So if we increase our player to 100 paying £5 per month, we could add £250 a month towards Mark Molesleys playing budget! So the more that play, the bigger the prize and the bigger the contribution we can make. Watch out for further details in future newsletters and across social media.
That Molesley has agreed to stay at the helm of the club is a brilliant piece of news at the end of the great season. Its fair to say that opinion on his appointment was mixed but what an impact he has made over the last two seasons. The level of professionalism and the introduction of things such as data analysis is ahead of its time in non-league and I just hope that his journey up through the leagues in management comes with our club, as it seems inevitable he will manage higher up. It wont be easy next season, but let’s be as passionate about it as Mark himself is. Whilst others panicked in the run in he was cool and calm and his players and he delivered. Now who’s first to the internet forum to ask when the fixtures are out? !!