Chairman's Column 15.04.2023

As the season draws to a close, one of the fascinating things about running a football club is being able to check where you are now and whether or not you are on track; moving in the right direction.

Here at Biggleswade United we firmly believe that we are and that the best way of ensuring we continue on the right path is to operate by a set of non-negotiable principles that will take us to where we want to be.

Our door is open to everyone, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality or abilities including those who for whatever reason might believe themselves to distanced from the mainstream.

We stand by the notion that football should be fun, something to be enjoyed in equal measure by everyone, be they players, officials, supporters or volunteers. Everyone has a part to play, everyone matters.

And when we play we need to play as hard as we can but also to the style that can help to make it fun. I believed from the moment I became involved with the club that there was always the opportunity to play a different style to that most frequently associated with grassroots football.

A style that looks to keep the ball, attempts to dominate the play, a more pro-active enjoyable inclusive game, controlling the last third as much as we can.

Nothing I have seen in my years here have caused me to waiver from my belief which is why it is also a basic principle and pre-requisite at the club that all our sides from the youngest right up to the first teams should, win lose or draw, display the same handwriting when playing.

A system that has to be learned in training and adapted to take into account the quality of surfaces that we are sometime obliged to play on. It isn’t fool proof but we do win more than we lose playing that way.

And as we grow and thrive we need to work to build and maintain an identity at the club by the way we carry ourselves both on and off the pitch. Anyone who comes to Biggleswade United should know from the outset who we are and what we stand for.

To achieve this we need to create the right values, standards and appreciations about what is acceptable and what isn’t by building a system founded on respect for our opponents, the authorities and, most fundamentally, for ourselves.

We don’t always get it right but we need to strive to make sure that the basic principles are in place to allow us to move forward. People are often telling me that we are on the right path and the essence of what we are trying to achieve is in place even though we know that we can still do things better.

We would love to push forward to play at higher levels of football but only on the basis of a strong foundation and a deeply ingrained ideology. To do otherwise would be to build the house without adequate footings in place.

But everyone has their say in this and if anyone wants to give their opinion as to how they believe we can be better I will always love to hear from them on biggleswadeunited@gmail.com

If we stick to these basic principles then I know we will succeed and titles, trophies and triumphs will follow but not on the basis of any short term, quick fix, win at all costs ethos but rather as the result of a club that has been built, organically, the right way, on a foundation of strong values, integrity and respect.

Onwards and upwards