Dear Friends, It’s almost three months since our last newsletter and a lot has happened in between, not least of which being the start and finish of the World Cup in South Africa. Even though it is ‘JUST A SPORT’, football has the ability to unite, enthuse and disappoint so many people so easily and the performance of the England team epitomised this. The pre-competition hype was incredible; we were tournament favourites and our ‘golden generation’ of stars was expected to end the years of hurt and bring the trophy home. How confident we were............. how it all went pear shaped! Whilst the disappointment was huge, the subsequent embarrassment, especially when talking to my Scottish friends, was even worse. All that build up for nothing and to lose, nay get hammered, by Germany to put us on the flight home, was the final humiliation. We all learnt many years ago that pride comes before a fall and our misplaced confidence in the England team was a great lesson in humility, honesty and reality. This is a lesson we at Fleet Town FC have taken on board as we prepared for the new season. Having lost a lot of players, several of whom have gone to play at a higher level, Steve Mellor has quietly gone about building his backroom team and a new squad. This group of players combines experience with raw youth but it’s no surprise that we aren’t listed as being amongst the promotion favourites this season. We understand we are entering a new era where our focus is on consolidating and stabilising the club after a hectic 2009-10 on and off the pitch. That’s not saying we don’t want to win every game and competition we enter, we do! BUT we are realistic to know that it will take time for the new players to gel into a team and for our plans to take shape. That said, and with no vuvuzelas in sight (or sound) our league programme got underway as promotion favourites Bognor Regis Town came to Calthorpe Park. They are one of three teams we will play for the very first time, Faversham & Whitehawk being the others, and our starting eleven included just three players from the previous season. After a tough first half we were undone by two rasping strikes that gave the visitors a 2-0 win. Three days later we played Corinthian Casuals and showed great spirit and determination to get our first points; turning a half time deficit into a 2-1 victory. We followed this up with a classy 3-1 win over Walton Casuals on Bank Holiday in front of 184 fans -not bad when you consider the gate at the corresponding game last season was just 63!. So after three games we have 6 points and are just one behind league leaders Burgess Hill Town & Faversham Town but, there is a long, long way to go until April. We have begun our quest for glory in the FA Cup too. Ideally we would have preferred to play against a lower level team but the draw paired us with fellow Step 4 side Bedfont Town. No need to worry though, as after a blank first half we went goal crazy in the second period to win 4-0 and ironically now face Faversham Town in the next round. To see the new Blues in action at Calthorpe Park we have four matches this month: Tuesday 7th vs Leatherhead Ryman League Saturday 11th vs Faversham Town FA Cup Saturday 25th vs Ramsgate Ryman League Tuesday 28th vs Walton & Hersham Ryman League
Of our other teams our reserves have played twice, losing at Tring Athletic and AFC Hayes unfortunately. However, under new manager Kevin Arnold, it’s only a matter of time before the team starts to get the results some of their play merits. The FTFC Youth our Ladies teams seasons start in September as do the Colts & Girls. This season the Colts Club will have over 300 players in 22 teams (plus the Saturday morning club for our 4 & 5 year olds). The younger boys will be playing 7 a-side mini soccer and we have nine teams playing 11 a-side. It is good to see that both last year's u16 teams have strengthened their squads and will continue at the U17 level. The Girls are also looking forward to the new season and will run teams from u8 to u18. Almost all our squads can still accept new players so if you know of anyone who is interested please contact the club. Our Club tie up with the local McDonald's provided fourteen of our u10 girls with a day to remember, as they took part in the prestigious McDonald's National Festival. This included playing a match in Wembley Stadium where they experienced walking out through the tunnel, playing on the pitch and then climbing the steps to collect a medal! Finally, we are again running the Footy Flutter and the Sponsor a Goal this season so if you want to help the development of football at the club and even win a few quid for yourself (in the Footy Flutter) then sign up via the website. So the new season is up and running and until next month, what more can we say other than COME ON YOU BLUES! Mike Gardner
Commercial Manager PS Next Quiz Night is Friday 10th September, doors open at 7.30pm | 
