From Co-Chairman Alex Petheram:
Ahead of our final game of the season versus Blyth on Saturday where we welcome the travelling away storm troopers to the TigerTurf stadium, I just wanted to briefly set out the plan for the day:
After the final whistle our players will stay on the pitch (well some might want to go and get a jumper but then they’ll be back out). Once the officials have left the pitch, we’ll announce the following Club award winners:
• Player of the Season
• Players’ Player of the Season
• Young (23 and under) Player of the Season
• YDP (Youth Development Player) of the Season
The players and staff will then do a lap of honour around the pitch, signing programmes, shirts and thanking the fans for their support during the season.
Following the lap of honour, the players and their partners and kids will join myself in the bar for some food, a Michelin star quality burger, pie or hotdog with chips and a beer.
Hopefully this will allow the fans and the player’s families to be part of the last game of the season in a fun, safe and inclusive way. I might even say a couple of words and show our best parts of the season with a video, which will post online after Saturday.
There’s been some real highs and lows this season, our first home game in 13 years with fans winning 4-0, to that Chorley away trip, to coming back and winning at Farsley, to Chester away…but that is sport, that is football, that is what being a supporter is all about. Winning, losing and drawing over a season, the plan is always to win more then you lose, and no one ever sets out to do a bad days work.
I’ve never yet seen a painter that wanted to get paint on the carpet, sometimes things just don’t go your way, or a better team on the day turns up. But we are the most unlucky club in the country, I think that’s even been proven, yet here we are at the end of the season all excited for what lies ahead, what will happen over the summer, which players will stay, which players will move on and who will we bring in.
Congratulations to Gateshead on securing the title, Neil Pinkerton (Chairman) is a good friend of mine and has worked very hard turning around the fortunes since they came into the North, so well-done buddy! As to who will get in the play-offs and go up, that looks very close with some very good teams, so I’m sitting on the fence!
Finally, please. please, please keep off the pitch. I know you all get bored of me moaning, but flat shoes really do damage the surface a lot, so please be respectful and have as much fun as you want on the surround, just please stay off the ‘grass’.
Thanks to Manse, Daf and all the staff, it’s been a long old season, I’ve enjoyed some of it but I look back with some fond memories, new grey hairs and even the odd mouth ulcer!
See you in the Summer …
Ever Forward
AP