WFCSA Newsletter January 2021

Terras Times The newsletter of Weymouth FC Supporters Association.

January 2021

2018/2019 Southern League Champions 2019/2020 National League South play off winners.

Welcome to 2021 Terras fans.

I hope you had a safe and peaceful Christmas and New Year and are keen to put a terrible year for the planet behind us.

At the time of writing so much uncertainty surrounds the country let alone football and the National League. It’s bonkers and isn’t letting up.

These are crazy times and as I keep telling my children, this is a defining period of your life. Be positive and make the best of it. But that’s not easy on any level.

On the field there is no getting away from how disappointing our results are. But with no cast iron guarantees over whether the funding received to date is a grant or a loan, what happens on the pitch is being overshadowed by our battles off it.

That’s tough for all of us to comprehend, I get that.

But for all the desire I have for us to go out and take on full time players to make a fist of staying up, each game we play could well be the last of the season so why sign players you might not see?

This needs clarity from the FA and the league. This isn’t something Weymouth FC has created or can solve. Apologies if that doesn’t fit the narrative of some internet observers and critics of the club. I accept your differing point of view, but for me it’s the reality.

When the Dartford penalties sailed out of the BLS last summer we all hoped and dreamed that we would make a good fist of the National League. It hasn’t gone to plan, that’s not up for debate. But we still need to galvanise and get behind the club. Whether we are happy with the situation or not. Success will be a lot harder to achieve without it.

James

https://www.wfcsa.weymouthfootballclub.co.uk/

Terras Times The newsletter of Weymouth FC Supporters Association.

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2021! It is no exaggeration to say that 2020 was a very challenging year for all of us. Events away from football dominated our lives for much of it and presented challenges that were unprecedented in our lifetime. Sadly, little has changed in terms of the restrictions we face on how we live our everyday lives as we start this new year. We have to all hope and believe the roll out of the vaccine means there really is some light at the end of what has been a really dark tunnel, and at last we can return to a more recognisable normal!

The past twelve months or so have seen an incredible growth in 'The Terras Supporters Club' membership. The initial steady increase was due to the £2,500 donation made to WFC Travel Club and the subsequent travel discount afforded to members. Then, at the start of the 2020-2021 season, the requirement for online ticketing and a ticketing preference system, due to the limits imposed on crowd attendance, saw numbers joining grow at a rate never witnessed before! Details of current numbers are elsewhere in this newsletter, courtesy of our membership secretary.

I think it timely to remind all those new members about some of the things we do on your behalf. In normal times, we arrange the End of Season Presentation evening, the Christmas raffle and also take a key roles in putting on the Hall of Fame evenings. We can't wait to get started on all those again! We also administer the Claret and Blue lottery and run the club shop, both the online and the physical one. Our members have also been heavily involved in creating and setting in motion the football clubs new online ticketing system. The work we do is varied and constant, much of it goes on unseen, but we are there, in the background, constantly working on your behalf. Last year we made a charity donation on your behalf to the Veterans Hub and also at Christmas we donated four hampers for them to distribute to families in need. We also look at ways to improve stadium facilities for supporters, most recently completing the installation of two handrails on the terracing at either end of the stadium, to help our less mobile supporters make their way around the ground more easily.

This list is not exhaustive and we are always looking at ways we can improve and increase what we do in support of the football club and it's supporters. It must be stressed, everything we do is possible because of you, our membership, you make it all possible with your generosity and support. We could not do what we do without your backing and whilst we accept that when life does return to normal, some may feel there is no longer a need to renew membership, we hope that you will stop and give serious consideration to continuing your involvement in 'The Terras Supporters Club', because together we are stronger.

Currently, our ladies football teams season has been suspended until further notice. This is a great shame as the ladies were going very well in their league at the time it was called to a halt, winning four of their opening five games in all competitions. We all hope they get the deserved opportunity to finish what they started. In the meantime, the ladies are keeping busy with a charity challenge and could really do with you help and support. In aid of the charity Refuge, the ladies aim to complete a lap of the UK coastline! Staying close to home due to travel restrictions, team members are going to walk, run or cycle the equivalent of a lap of the 7,723 miles that makes up a UK coastline. You can contribute via the link below and follow their progress at twitter.com/TerrasWFC Good luck to you all. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/weymouth-f-c-women Until next time, stay safe and look out for those around you who may need some help and support in these difficult times.

Best wishes to you all.

Pete Nash Chairman, ‘The Terras Supporters Club’ (WFCSA)

https://www.wfcsa.weymouthfootballclub.co.uk/

Terras Times The newsletter of Weymouth FC Supporters Association.

We move into 2021 and into another lockdown leaving us not being able to watch the Terras in live action again. A massive thank you has to go to the media team in providing the excellent live streaming as a substitute to actually being at the BLS. I do wonder whether the worsening Covid crisis could mean that the league season is temporarily postponed or even cancelled completely, as looks certain in the lower tiers of non league football. The number one priority at the end of the day has to be the health of the population with the vaccine hopefully not too far away for most.

On the Supporters Club membership front we have 370 members including those on family cards.

There are a number of members whose renewal of the supporters club is due this month or early February and you can now pay online via the Terras website by BACS or via the club shop using Paypal or credit card. If your membership is paid annually by standing order please ignore this. If you are not sure or wish to notify me of any changes please e-mail me at membership@wfcsa.co.uk JANUARY DRAW WINNERS Congratulations to: Aaron Ryan Matt Pearson Ian Coles Prizes are on their way to you Ken Willis Membership Secretary What is is about Weymouth FC and FA competitions?

I am sure our stats man will be able to add some detail to my thoughts, but if feels like ages since we have had a decent run in FA Competitions.

I grew up loving the FA cup and for a time it was almost expected that I would see the Terras on Match of the Day either beating, or at least giving a bloody nose to football league opposition.

This season feels like another that has just passed us by with home defeats to lower league opposition in both the Cup and Trophy to stew on.

I really believe that the big one is coming, a new day to rival Forest for our cup moment of the millennium to date. Nothing galvanises a club and its fans like a big day out away from home at a big club. Fingers crossed I am right about this and we get there soon.

https://www.wfcsa.weymouthfootballclub.co.uk/

Terras Times The newsletter of Weymouth FC Supporters Association.

2020 in review… Part 1 Well… where to start with that eh?

JANUARY 2020 started with a narrow 0-1 home defeat to Havant & Waterlooville before a mixed month where the main highlight was the 2-1 win over Dorking Wanderers and an away day success at Hemel Hempstead.

FEBRUARY This was when the feeling that we might not get through all of our fixtures started to rear its head but a positive league position meant that we could make the playoffs. We lost the reverse fixture to Havant away from home but built our form over the month from a dodgy home draw with Eastbourne to a thumping win over Maidstone United.

MARCH There was a feeling of impending doom surrounding the league getting to the end of its regular fixtures, but our team under Mark Molesley was doing its bit to make sure that if there were to be play offs and they were to be based on point per game that we would be in the mix.

A gritty point away at Bath was followed up by a big win over Slough Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

And then everything stopped.

APRIL/MAY/JUNE These were difficult months for so many reasons and none of them to do with football. The country was dealing with the horrific Covid 19 pandemic and our time was spent supporting loved ones and clapping for carers who were working to keep us safe. These were days that I remember painfully having been made redundant. The news that the play offs would be happening and we were in them was diluted by my having no clue whether I could justify paying the streaming fee to watch them.

My family and friends kept me sane and in the end the matches were a welcome distraction.

The club released a weekly podcast that was a fantastic aid in keeping supporters in touch with the club and some sense of normality.

JULY I will never forget the moment that Dorking equalised in this match. It was the first time I’d seen my kids visibly affected by football. They were deflated. But these were crazy days and Yemi Odubade did what he did best and scored a goal that helped us on our way to promotion.

There was still so much to do at this time, we were only halfway through the play off run. But there was a sense of community, momentum and belief building that we were on to something here...

https://www.wfcsa.weymouthfootballclub.co.uk/