Supporters Club

Supporters Club

Chairman	John Pease
Vice Chairman	Steve Monk
Treasurer	Tim Cozens
Secretary	Jane Hale
Committee Members	Alan Bird
	Alex Hickey
	Gary Kirton
	Matt Parker
	Simon Patterson
Contact: Supporters@ashfordtownfc.co.uk

BKVP Sport (Bob Keen) Has been filming games at Homelands for many years. Bob provides an excellent service and professionally recorded DVD's of Town's Home games.

Whether you are a Town Supporter or an away supporter DVD's are available for most games. Your can contact BKVP Sport on the telephone number or email address below.

Tel: 01303 264050 or email: bkvpsport@sky.com

Supporters Club Application form - Download Here

Ashford Town F.C. Supporter's Club

April 2008 Newsletter

by John Pease.

We held a meeting of the Supporter's Club Committee at Homelands on Saturday the 5^th April. This proved to be extremely worthwhile and certain topics are covered below. We then watched our first team beat Leatherhead 1-0 so, for once, a truly enjoyable Saturday afternoon.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD.

Just a quick reminder that although this is sponsored by the Supporters Club we want votes from all followers of Ashford Town be they members of the Club or not. Voting forms will be available at the last three home games. They will be included in the match day programme or can be collected from the club shop or from me. As an alternative I am happy to accept votes via my E-Mail or PM address but, for obvious reasons, will need the full name of the sender and not just their forum I.D. Written forms can either be handed into the club shop or deposited in the ballot box that will be erected in the bar.

This year we anticipate a very close race for this award and with this in mind Gary Kirton and Matt Parker have offered to supervise the count. This will ensure that Robert Mugabe does not claim victory.

THE CHARITY MATCH

This is receiving full coverage elsewhere but I can confirm that the Supporters Club has now only been asked to select the M.O.M. and present the usual champagne. All bribes will be carefully considered.

CURRENT FINANCIAL STATUS

This remains strong despite the sponsorship of club ties for the junior teams and the Barry Cunningham Plaque. However, we would welcome input from all fans as to how future monies could be best spent and further suggestions and ideas for raising awareness of the Club and generating additional income. It is hoped that a suggestion box can be installed in the bar.

Don Crosbie has made it clear that he wishes to organise more functions and music nights at Homelands to generate a genuine social club atmosphere. At these it is planned to run raffles with the proceeds going to the Supporter's Club.

THE 200 CLUB

Despite an enormous amount of hard work by Alan Bird and Jane Hale, membership remains low. This may, in part, be due to the fact that when it was re-launched there was a genuine misunderstanding in the committee about how the funds would be used. I can therefore confirm that with immediate effect it is the intention to use the money raised to the benefit of all of the teams playing under the Ashford Town banner from first eleven to the under 11s and not just to concentrate on the junior teams alone.

Ashford Town F.C. Supporter's Club

March 2008 Newsletter

by John Pease.

Not an awful lot of news this month but I hope the following items will be of interest.

FANS FORUM

This went ahead, as planned, on the 21^st February. The evening kicked off with players from the junior teams being presented with club ties. This was sponsored by the Supporter's Club and was well received. It was good to note one young man proudly wearing his tie at the next first team home game. The evening then proceeded with Don Crosbie unveiling plans for the future development at Homelands, both on and off the field, ably assisted by Steve Lovell who answered all questions fired at him from the audience. The development plans have been well covered by the local press but I would like to thank Alex Hickey for posting a summary of events on our web site the next day.

THE BARRY CUNNINGHAM TROPHY

I am due to collect this from Timpsons of Ashford tomorrow (the 17^th March) and arrange the engraving. I am hoping it will then be possible to put it on display at Homelands. It is further hoped that a member of Barry's family will agree to make the presentation at the awards ceremony evening.

SUPPORTER'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Although this award is sponsored by the Supporter's Club we do invite votes from all supporters and fans of Ashford Town F.C. be they members of the Supporter's Club or not.

I will try to arrange for voting forms to be available at the last three home games of the season. To lapse into cliché, last years award was a one horse race with Simon Glover polling some 95% of the total votes. I think this year will be more evenly contested as I can think of at least three strong candidates.

PRESENTATION EVENING

This end of season awards bash will take place at Homelands on Saturday the 3^rd May. Presentations are due to start at 8.00pm. Further details will be announced in due course.

At time of writing we have some nine games left, being six at home and three away. With Dover, Dulwich Hamlet and Worthing in waiting it will not be an easy run-in but it would be an enormous boost to see the team get some good results and give us our highest finish for many years.

Ashford Town F.C. Supporter's Club

February 2008 Newsletter

by John Pease.

First I must apologise for not producing a newsletter last month. There was little or no news to report and, to make matters worse, only one match day programme was launched thanks to the less than friendly weather. There are a few topics this month which deserve to be highlighted.

THE BARRY CUNNINGHAM TROPHY

Having obtained the approval of Barry's family, the Supporter's Club will be purchasing a high quality shield. This is some 17 inches high and, within the basic framework, are over 20 smaller shields. Also, there are three different plaques within the design which will enable us to fully inscribe all relevant information. This shield will be presented to the Reserve Team Player of the Year but be retained in the trophy cabinet at Homelands. The player will, however, be presented with a separate inscribed tankard, or something similar, to keep as a permanent memento.

THE FAN'S FORUM

As most of you will already know, this will take place on Thursday the 21^st February at Homelands starting at 7.00 pm. Don Crosbie has promised to ensure that the event gets maximum publicity. We can all help by telling fans that we know who do not have access to the Internet.

It is planned that, during the evening, the Supporter's Club present a new club tie to each of the junior team members. It is also hoped that the evening will allow us all to put forward ideas on how we can best help the club to progress and gain a higher profile in the area. Many great ideas were voiced on the old web site and it would be nice if they could be presented in person.

SPECIAL OFFER TO JUNIOR MEMBERS

In an effort to boost the junior membership we are offering the following. Join the Supporter's Club now for a fee of £3.00. and get membership until the 30^th June 2009.

Currently, our junior membership stands at only 25 but if we can increase this to over 40 we would be able to run some special events. Application forms can be obtained from the club shop or downloaded from the website.

AND FINALLY

This has all the makings of a most exciting year. The first team has been re-vitalised by Steve Lovell and is playing with a pride and passion not seen for some time. Results have started to go our way and fans are returning to watch us play. This was borne out by the bigger than usual turn out for the away game at Corinthian Casuals. In addition, Don and Tony are formulating extensive plans for the future of Homelands, some of which will be un-veiled on or before the forum evening.

The Supporters Club has now taken over the administration and running of the 200 Club. The aims of the 200 club are as follows:

To promote ATFC in the local community
To raise funds for the ATFC Youth Teams
To sponsor coach travel to certain ATFC away games
To provide a link with the ATFC Supporters’ Club
To raise funds for other items that may be required to the benefit of the football club.

The cost is £2 per week, payable in advance by standing order, four weekly.

Each member of the ‘200’ club is entered into a weekly draw for cash prizes (as long as your subscriptions are up to date). Currently, we anticipate that each week the prize money will be between £40 and £100 but hope to raise this amount through increased membership. It is also intended to hold ‘bumper’ Prize draws when the membership exceeds 100, 200 etc and perhaps at Christmas time and at the end of the season. We shall keep you notified of developments

50% of monthly payments are distributed each week as prize money and the remaining 50% is used for the benefit of the ATFC Youth Teams and may go to occasional subsidised away match travel.

The draws will take place at half time, on the first Saturday home fixture of each month for the preceding 4 weeks and the results will be published in the matchday programme, on the ATFC website, in the Kent Messenger and they will also be announced on KMFM Radio.

If you wish to join, may I kindly ask that complete the attached standing order form and send it to the address marked below, or hand into the club shop on match days. Download the form HERE.

Also, if you know any friends or family who would like to join, then please feel free to photocopy the Standing Order Mandate accordingly. Application forms are also available at the club shop.

Should you have any questions, please contact me, Alan Bird, alanbird@birds.fsnet.co.uk,

It has been agreed that we should hold another Fan's Forum. This will enable us to meet Steve Lovell and ask him relevant questions. Rest assured, unlike the new England manager, Steve speaks very good English and will not need an interpreter as I don't think he will lapse into the Welsh language. Aside from meeting and quizzing Steve we will have the chance to consider some of the ideas put forward recently about improving the profile of the club. I use the word “some” on purpose as there were those that seemed a little bit tongue in cheek but the one about match posters was a winner and, thanks to Alan Bird, produced an immediate positive response. I am sure this went some way to producing an increase in the attendance for the game against Chatham. Don Crosbie has suggested we look at a mid January date for the Forum and I will publish the date when known.

The Supporter's Club have been asked to sponsor the purchase of a club tie for every junior team member. As all members of the committee were present at the Chatham game it did not take long to get a unanimous agreement. Don has been informed and has suggested that the ties could be presented to the players of the Fan's Forum.

I had a quick word with Steve Lovell during the interval at the Chatham game. He is still a bit miffed at the abandonment of our match at Sittingbourne in September last year, when he was their manager, due to floodlight failure. They were leading 2-0 and looked to be on the way to a comfortable victory. We earned a point in the 0-0 result of the replayed fixture in January 2007. Funny old game.

Finally, on behalf of the Supporter's Club, I would like to wish everyone connected with Ashford Town Football Club namely the players, supporter's and officials a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

There is no much news at present so I will combine the months of November and December in this letter. If anything significant occurs in the next few weeks I will issue a supplementary note.

Membership is somewhat static on 126 despite the fact that I have written to every past member and Alan Bird hands out application forms to every customer at the club shop. We will keep plugging away and will, I am sure, be aided if the team win a few games on the bounce.

As most of you will know, the 200 Club is being run by the Supporter's Club. It is now firing on all cylinders thanks to the hard work of Alan Bird with the support of Jane Hale, Simon Paterson, Tim Cozens and Elaine Orsborne. A true team effort. Recent winners were drawn from the tub at the Burgess Hill Game and announced over the P.A. As someone remarked, it is great to actually see the prize draw. A sort of mini Lottery.

I am writing this letter on the 20^th November having just heard the disappointing news that tonight's game has been postponed. Probably not surprising as it has been tonking down all day but still a bit of a choker as there seems to be a new air of confidence both off and on the field and this seeps through to the fans. Our new manager, Steve Lovell, is already having a very positive effect. I am given to understand that he would like another Fan's Forum to be arranged. I will have a word with Don Crosbie and let everyone know the outcome. I also need to verify that Don intends to run coaches to the games at Eastbourne and Worthing next March and April and Supporter's Club members will be entitled to a discount. (subtle or what?)

As most of you will know, Joby Thorogood has left the club and signed for Cray Wanderers. There have been a lot of positive postings on our web site and I am sure I speak for all fans when I say he has been a great asset to this club with his enthusiasm, energy and total commitment at all times not to mention more than a few handy goals. Best wishes for the future, Joby.

The AGM of the Supporter's Club was held at Homelands on Friday the 5^th October. This did not start until 9.45pm after a long but worthwhile Fan's Forum. In view of this late hour both Steve and I gave very brief overviews of the past 12 months all of which have been covered in previous Newsletters. We then proceeded to elect the committee for the next twelve months as follows :-

As you may know, Don Crosbie has asked the Supporter's Club to take over the running of the 200 Club and to distribute the 50% of the prize fund as we see fit. It was therefore necessary to appoint a separate team to administer this scheme. Alan Bird agreed to oversee this project assisted by Simon Paterson and Tim Cozens. Alan has sought extra help and has formulated some exciting plans for the future. I will leave it to him to announce them when ready. We have already agreed to assist the junior teams this year and have made a start by agreeing to sponsor a “Junior Player of the Month” award. In addition, we have agreed to purchase a new first aid kit for the Reserve Team. These two particular items have been financed from current funds. Further projects are being considered for this extra revenue as Alan, quite rightly, wants to make it clear where the money will be allocated.

The current membership figure stands at 125 and should top 130 in the near future. It is disappointing that many of last years members have not renewed. Maybe if we were top of the league things would be different. Initial response from the junior teams has been slow but steps are being taken to get more members. We are happy to support them so they should be happy to support us.

Sorry to be a bore but once again I would ask all members to use the paper and bottle banks at Homelands as this a good source of income.

First of all I must apologise for the lateness of this letter but certain matters needed to be clarified to enable me to report back to you fully.

As you are all aware, our aim to to support ALL teams playing under the Ashford Town FC banner. From a financial point of view our main thrust has, in the past, been towards the first team. However, now that we are under new and more purposeful ownership our senior sides are well funded so it is only right that we look at the junior teams. With this in mind, I attended the AGM of the junior teams at Homelands on Friday the 14^th September. Don Crosbie was also in attendance and we soon became aware of the financial burden carried by the parents of our young players. These players are the future of Ashford Town FC and must be encouraged to feel an important part of the club. Don has pledged to help these teams and agreed that the Supporter's Club should do the same. I am sure that no one will object to this change of priorities.

Current membership has topped the 100 mark and I am hoping for a positive response from the players and supporters of the junior teams following my presentation at their AGM. Perhaps they will follow the example of the four members of the Embery family who joined the same evening. Attracting new members is not proving too difficult. My problem is persuading last seasons members to renew their subscriptions. I have sent out some 40 letters but response has been slow. I am aware that, for various personal and in some cases mis-guided reasons, renewal will not be taken up but I would like to think that the majority of those who supported us last season will do so again.

Associate Director Gary Kirton and his wife Marilyn have been members for a couple of seasons. This has helped me to persuade Don Crosbie, Tony Betteridge and their accountant, Simon Paterson to join. I would like to add Ian Wright to the list but I understand he has had to postpone a planned visit to Homelands due to pressure of work.

I know that I am not alone in being delighted to see the club shop once more under the safe and professional control of Alan Bird. I must also thank Alan for the positive steps he is taking to increase membership.

Finally, may I once more ask everyone to use the paper and bottle banks at Homelands as this provides a very welcome stream of income for both the Football and Supporters club and will go a long way to helping our junior sides.

Currently membership is Adults: £5 per year Juniors and Concessions £2.50 per year. (effective June 30th 2004)

Members benefits: 10% off goods purchased in the Club shop. Priority booking for away coach travel. The knowledge that you are helping your local Football Club.

Through membership subscriptions, by running a match day raffle and collecting waste paper & Holding Functions such as Casino Nights, Cabarets etc.

The Supporters Club has so far this season (2002/03) provided funding for 200 tons of sand for the pitch, We have also provided money for the complete replacement of the blinds and curtains in the Northgate Peugeot function suite. We are currently looking at providing funds for a new dishwasher and ice making machine for the bar area of the Carroll Carpets Function Suite. This suite is a major source of income for the Club. The Supporters Club subsidises the away luxury coach travel for the players helping to ensure they arrive at the away tie in the best condition.

In the past we have bought a ride on tractor mower for the upkeep of the pitch. We continue to pay for the servicing, repairs and insurance for the ride tractor mower. We have provided floodlight lamps and many other things the Club needs to continue.

The Supporters Club is acknowledged and supported by the Football Club and has members sitting on the day to day management committee of the Football Club.

We are still looking for another person to come and join the committee so if you are interested please contact me on supporters@ashfordtownfc.co.uk

If you wish to become a member, download an application form here, fill in in and post it off ! Right click on the form you want, choose "save as" or "Save target as" and save it to your hard drive, print it off, fill it in and post it !.