Page 4 - Yate Town v Bristol Manor Farm FA Cup 220920

WA warm welcome back to you all for the first home
competitive match of the new season. It was back on Friday
13 March that the FA and Southern League took the tough
th
decision to suspend all football due to the COVID19
outbreak. We were due to travel to Weston-Super-Mare on
the Saturday, one of our few local games. Despite a number
of reviews by the Government, FA and National League the
risks against re-starting the various league competitions
were too high and the rest, as they say, is history. Over the summer a lot
of work has been completed by our governing bodies and against the
challenges and risks controls have been put in place to allow the safe return
of the beautiful game.
You will notice a few changes at Lodge Road since last season, the obvious
ones are the COVID19 control measures that are in place; it I important
that you read ?? for more information. Once inside the stadium you will see
the new stand that has increased our seated capacity by 50 to comply with
the ground grading (C) required for clubs in the Premier Division. With an
extended period between the playing seasons Roger Hawkins and his team
have done a fantastic job on the pitch and the aerial photos and video
footage taken during our pre-season match v Cribbs show it in all its glory.
Behind the scenes there has been a complete change in backroom staff and
with it new, and returning, names and faces on the team sheet. More on
that from our recently appointed Director of Football Richard Thompson
(see page 6).
There have also been a few additions to the club committee. Seb Parker has
taken charge of our media channels and hopefully you have noticed an
increase in activity and the flow of information to you our supporters has
improved. Mark Thorne has come in as Commercial Manager and page 12
is well worth a read on what the club has to offer in this area.
An electronic version of the matchday programme will also be produced.
This will be available prior to each home game and the link will be shared
via our social media channels. For those that prefer a more traditional
printed copy we will continue to make these available, but for the hard copy
there will be a charge to cover the printing costs.
This introduction would not be complete without recognising the fantastic
effort and generosity of our supporters. The reaction to our Bluebells appeal
was incredible raising over £3,000 to help the club recover from the
unplanned loss of income following the early end to last season. A huge
thank you to everyone that donated and more to follow on how we use the
money to improve the match day experience for everyone.
We welcome your feedback on anything about the club and you are
encouraged to let us know your thoughts, opinions (good or bad) and any
ideas to improve the matchday experience. We have a growing matchday