Page 3 - Keynsham Town FC v Buckland Athletic 270822

Good afternoon and a warm welcome to all players, staff and supporters of our visitors
Buckland Athletic.

May we also welcome our match officials, referee Bailey Walker and his assistants Stephen
Fearnley and Mark Oswin.

Jules has previously mentioned in his column but I feel the need to say it again, this summer
has been (and continues to be!) a hugely transitional period for the club.
After a very successful time under John Allen and his staff, the club has had to undergo a
massive overhaul on and off the pitch, as our Chairman Ade Cole stepped down and this was
then followed with several committee members leaving.
The decision was made that we had to continue to field sides in both the Toolstation Western
League and the Somerset County Premier Division. This then needed us to bring in a new
coaching team, not to mention a large influx of new players in a matter of weeks!
As a club we decided to go into partnership with Total Pro Soccer, whose aim is to develop
and support talented young players and give them a future in the game.

We saw after the promotion season a few years back what a huge step up from Division One
to the Premier Division was, so this would always be a similar case this season. It's fast, it's
physical and its unforgiving!

Last Tuesday night was a lesson in what can happen when you can come up against a very
strong side at this level when Bridgwater United beat us 1-8 at home. Personally I wasn't
that negative after the match, as Bridgwater are a side that can beat anybody in the League,
proving this again on Friday night when they put seven goals past Street. They will no doubt
be there or thereabouts at the top of the league come May.
Please remember this season is a learning curve for everyone!
There is a lot going on behind the scenes to improve on recent results; the players are
working hard in training and our Club Secretary has been dealing with more registrations
than the DVLA in the past week!
On another note, our Reserves have just kicked off their season and despite a defeat on
Saturday, James, Chris and Brian have assembled a decent-looking side with some
entertainers in there and what to me looks like a formidable bonded team spirit.
Our players have shown that they are up for the fight putting every effort in and leaving
nothing out there.

We as a club need to stay strong, stay together and get behind our players and support
them.
Up the K's

Phil Blundell
Keynsham Town FC Committee Member