Prize money at stake
So, here we are again. FA Vase time this weekend for Wick FC but a right mixture of events since we dispatched Hackney Wick back in mid September have taken some attention away from the biggest game we've had in years.
£825 is on offer to the winners of this tie, with £275 going to the losers. Compared to the FA Cup, it's not even near to making a difference to clubs of our size at this level. But the money would come in handy to pay off a bill for us at the very least and fingers are crossed we can attract a slightly bigger attendance than normal to at least off-set some of the running costs we will incur across the day. The prize money payments have finally caught up with themselves in the bank, just another thing the FA can look at to improve their relations with grassroots football
On the pitch or more beside, we hit a bit of a crossroad over the past few weeks resulting in a change of management for the first team. Sometimes the things you do have to benefit the club, time will tell if the right decision has been made and a new manager begins work after the Vase game. On the pitch we have struggled to field more than 11 players with up to 7 players injured per game, the worst injury crisis I've known in over 10 years of watching and being involved in the club.
Huge credit has to go to Dan Cox for stepping into the breech and taking the team, whilst remaining a player due to such unavailability over the last 10 days. Dan once again takes the team at the weekend, having already recorded a Vase win over Godalming at the beginning of September so the omens are good despite our opponents being a division higher, it's a one off game and we'll be ready.
Off the pitch, the improvements continue to increase our revenue streams. We've added a pool table and a fruit machine, this week a jukebox has been installed. Next week our card machine should be delivered and working behind the bar ready for a busy few weeks of functions that we have coming up. Although all of these come with a fee, it's vital we make the most of everything we can to encourage players and spectators to stay longer and to spend more.
Although massive strides have been made to improve the bank account and income flow, we still have more work to do to ensure we don't fall backwards and keep things moving in the right direction.
Over the past few weeks as well, we've been lucky enough to receive some free publicity courtesy of David Bauckham who visited during our last Vase outing for an article in the football magazine 'When Saturday Comes'. Not only was there a piece written by David for this but also a superbly written extract for his own website, links for both you will find below.
Any publicity for clubs our size is invaluable, ask anyone who manages to get some. You will also find us sending these links out across our social media outlets to gain as much exposure as we can, it hasn't cost us a penny but will reach many throughout the football network.
Saturday is also Non League Day, now in it's 8th year and takes advantage of the October international break. This year teamed up with Prostrate UK, clubs have been encouraged to sign up and collect for something that affects men of any age. We will be part of this, it's a fantastic idea and I hope we get a decent amount in the collection pots, coupled with a place in the next round. If we do, mobile phone refresh and email checking will be going through the roof at 1pm on Monday, best remember that charger lead...………..
Links to the articles as mentioned above:
www.wsc.co.uk - The latest issue, 380, is a Non League special featuring David's trip to watch us play Hackney Wick in the last round of the Vase.
dbauckham.exposure.co - David's own website featuring 'The Wicker Men', a great article and some fantastic pictures, very much worth a read.