Chester City Programme, 29th December 2007
Due to the Festive Season print deadlines I’m writing this letter prior to our game with MK Dons. So I hope this letter finds you having had a great Christmas and the first team having built on an excellent performance and result at Wrexham.
I have to say that on the football front I will be glad to see the back of 2007. The year has been an absolute shocker! On 5 May the curtain come down on a season that saw the worst league record in the Club’s proud history. This season started well but then our results started to match those of the previous season. Our 2007 record (up until the Wrexham game) of 11 wins from 45 games is well below what all those involved with the Club expect.
Off the pitch things were a little brighter in 2007 with a roof being put onto Ealing Road, a deal struck with Chelsea for their reserves to play at Griffin Park, continued marvellous financial support from Matthew Benham and of course the fantastic news that we finally have made some significant progress with a possible move to a new ground at Lionel Road.
Certainly a stadium at Lionel Road presents the opportunity for a sustainable future for the Club however we do have to keep it alive in the meantime. The financial situation remains difficult at the Club; we continue to be largely dependent on gate receipts to survive and with crowds becoming smaller the Club is really struggling financially.
The Club Board is working hard on the financial situation, but we recognise that the key aspect to get right is results on the pitch. We see the selection of the right First Team Manager as absolutely critical in this and some careful consideration is being taken to appoint the right candidate.
It may surprise you that the board do feel the pain and disappointment you also feel with our bad run of results in 2007. We all do actually support the Club but we have a moral and legal responsibility to balance our ambition to succeed on the pitch with the income the Club can generate. There simply is not a queue of people who want to give this Club money with no strings attached, so we have to carry on looking for ways to improve the situation.
The Board do give a lot of their own time to work on improving things at the Club and with the departure of the CEO there is a lot of additional effort currently going in from them. I am very pleased that non-executive director David Heath has agreed to put all his other interests on hold and to work at the Club as CEO, without a salary, until the end of the season. As a die-hard Brentford supporter I know David will give his all to get things right at the Club he loves. I am certain that he will do a first class job following the unexpected sudden departure of Keith Dickens, whom I wish the very best in his new role.
David is an example of someone who is volunteering to help the Club but he is not unique in this respect. There have been many individuals both past and present who have put considerable effort in not only keeping our Club financially viable but also contributing to that special Brentford Spirit. At the heart of that Spirit is one thing: giving as much as you can, whether that is by volunteering, donating/spending money, following the team up and down the country or simply shouting your encouragement from the stand. Whatever you do for the positive you will always be part of the Brentford Spirit. On the pitch at Wrexham the players showed that Spirit, despite things going against then in the first half they carried on fighting, giving their all and getting the result they deserved, as did the supporters who made the trip.
I have to say that this Spirit has taken a real knock over the last 12 months both on and off the pitch but it is still there. We all need to play a part in reviving it. So today please consider how you can help to revive the Brentford Spirit and as a minimum give the lads 100% backing on the pitch until the final whistle.
Here’s to a better 2008 for the Club and a Happy and Healthy New Year to you all.
Let's work together!
Jon Gosling
Comments can either be sent to me on or directly via comments page.
30th December 2007