BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Printed in the programme v Northwood Saturday 17^th August 2013 Southern League Division One Central. We lost 1-0 in front of 331.

My whistle has been well and truly whetted and after spending too much time working on opening a co-op pub and not enough time being in one, I’m ready to toast the new season.

Not that the Slough Town closed season hasn’t been lively.

New managers, new players, MyFC, free schools and apparently that stuffy old railway relic Station Jim signing on, have kept the club in the news.

I had a lot of time for Steve Bateman who was always ready to chat after a game, but I felt the club was ready for change. I’ll admit I didn’t warm too many of his players. Of course there were some like Alex Brown who will be missed as he gave everything for the club; but the constant moaning at refs, the bad mouthing other clubs on twitter by some players, needed to be sorted.

But that’s all in the past.

Our two new managers have been a breath of fresh air promising attacking football with an emphasis on youth with younger players being loaned out to smaller clubs to get senior football experience. A fans forum has already been done and dusted and the managers are happy to engage supporters on twitter and the forum which will be interesting when we lose and they have to debate with some of the moaning gits. But really it makes so much sense, being transparent and open and embracing social media rather than just ignoring it and letting things fester and nutters spout crap!

MyFootballClub getting involved with the club has caused some heated debate which is fair enough as they didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory during their time at Ebbsfleet. They now admit they are 'not capable of running any football club remotely in an online environment.' Apparently the Rebels were chosen ahead of nine other clubs because we are financially stable, has realistic ambitions and MyFC felt it could contribute toward our growth and sustainability. So that’s 10k in the pot for a two year sponsorship and with 1,000 paying members, hopefully a few extra fans through the gates.

There’s also nothing stopping us all becoming MyFC members to keep in the loop what’s going on. And in a way what they are trying to do isn’t that dissimilar to Supporters Trusts (which reminds me, have you renewed your membership with the Slough Town Supporters Trust). A greater say in how our clubs are run, which is such a no brainer even the government has told clubs they must embrace Trusts more fully.

So just like most Slough fans I don’t want much. Promotion and our new ground in Arbour Vale will get us Rebel believers into a frothing frenzy of enlightenment. And unlike a religious free school, will bring the diverse communities of the town together praying as one for success. And that’s what football is all about. One big happy family. Until we lose of course.

Now where’s the bar?