7th July 2004

Annual General Meeting

Carshalton Football Club's AGM was held on Wednesday 7th July at the Clubhouse.  Here are the official minutes of the meeting.

Apologies received from Andy Cook and Joe Cox.

Minutes of the previous AGM were published on the web site immediately after the AGM, and were taken as agreed.

Chairman's Report
Welcome once again to the Club’s AGM.

We will soon be gearing up in preparation for another season and I am sure familiar issues will once more come to dominate the thinking of your Committee.

The past season again threw at us a number of challenges and it is no secret that I was unable to dedicate the necessary time to assist my fellow committee members in dealing with these matters.  I would therefore like to begin by thanking them for the way in which they steered the Club through the winter months and for only subjecting me to mild ribbing over my infrequent attendance at Committee Meetings.  

As we look forward to the 2004/05 season, the Club is faced with questions over playing strength, selection policy and how to manage a set of finances which have been squeezed over recent months.  No doubt some of these topics will receive a full airing this evening and I am sure the Committee would welcome new blood to assist them in tackling them.  

This, of course, is the last occasion that I address you in a formal capacity as I will be stepping down as Chairman and aim to melt into the general background of the Club.  I first donned a Carshalton shirt back in 1986 (it stank but was well holed for ventilation!!) and have many fond memories of time spent here.  I have met great characters (Stoker, Wigham, Geddes, Mailings and Thoroughgood to name but a few), smiled at the banter and wit which peppers so many gatherings (Stokers explanation at one AGM in response to the question “what is a 9th team?” was an absolute gem!), been impressed by its history and come to hold dear its many traditions. I feel sure that the future Committee will work tirelessly to maintain such traditions.  It will of course be hard work but ultimately rewarding.

I would therefore like to conclude this short address by wishing the Club every success in the future and to thank its members (both past and present) for the enjoyment you have provided me.

Good luck

Adrian Turner

Following his report, Adrian Turner stepped down as Chairman.  The Committee thanked him for his many years of service on the Committee in various guises.  

John Thoroughgood spoke in his capacity as Club Secretary and informed the Club that we had reached Stage 1 of the AFA Discipline Code.  this was a considerable improvement on previous years and the Committee thanked the playing membership for their considerable efforts in achieving this.  Addressing the Club's disciplinary record was last season's Committee's no.1 priority.  It is pleasing to note the success.

The Committee took the decision during the season to reduce the number of league sides to 7.  This was disappointing, but at the time was the correct decision due to the drop in playing strength of the Club.  John noted that it was particularly encouraging to see the number of younger players being introduced to the 1st XI squad at the latter part of the season and it was hoped that this would bode well for the coming season.

The trip to Montreuil Bellay and the reciprocal visit of our French counterparts had proved a costly exercise, but ultimately in the 25th anniversary of our association had proved worthwhile.

It was disappointing that after consecutive awards of the AFA Referees' Hospitality Award, we finished runners up this year, but this was still a notable achievement.

The decision by the AFA to award us with our third cup final in a row was an indication of how highly the Club is rated by the AFA and we should be proud of this fact.

Treasurer's Report

Graham Radford distributed the Club's annual statement of accounts.  Of particular note is that, though the bar profit remains at a very respectable 40+% (many thanks passed on to Rod and Dennis), bar takings are down considerably on last season.  This is due to the lack of teams drinking on a Saturday and the lack of Club and non Club functions.  Many discussions took place to consider how to improve the turnover (employ paid bar staff, improve facilities, organise more Club functions) and this will be the Committee's primary focus next season.

Buzz queried the number of as yet unpaid match fees and Graham Radford reported that this was less than 6, though these will be pursued.

Dick Stoker queried the Sundries - particularly the TV, admin charge, French Trip and SAL fines.  The TV costs relate to Sky.  The admin charge is passed on by Beddington CC for payment of bills, VAT, tax etc.  The French trip is a considerable expense and Dick queried the value to the membership as a whole of this expenditure.  The Committee agreed that this had to be reviewed for future trips.  The SAL fines relate to a number of admin errors which have been addressed for next season, and late kick offs, etc which next season will be levied against the teams concerned.

The Match Fees from next season will be a fixed cost per team and will be irrespective of the number of juniors / concession players in the side.

Each team will be assigned a member of the Committee to mentor the side with regards to annual subs, match fees, fines, etc.

A long discussion took place regarding the proposals for annual subscription and match fee charges for the season.  An initial proposal of £80 annual subs (£40 concession) with a £40 initial payment and the balance by 15 November; together with keeping the match fee as per last season (£55) was debated by the floor.  After much discussion, centring round the need to reduce the annual subscription to attract new players, it was decided that The Committee would meet to decide the new structure, taking into account the mood of the meeting.

Election of Officers

During the Election of Officers, the Chairman thanked the previous officers for their hard work and dedication to the Club.

 

Position	Officer	Proposed by	Seconded by
President	Dennis Philpott	Andy Walter	Martin Vinsent
Chairman	John Thoroughgood	Adrian Turner	Rod Woolvin
Secretary (Senior Section)	Trevor Boughton	Tony Knott	Bill Backers
Secretary (Youth Section)	Buzz Geddes	Simon Clare	Dick Stoker
Treasurer	Graham Radford	Ian Wigham	Matt Wigham
Match Secretary	Jez Carter	Buzz Geddes	Andy Walter
Team Secretary	Ian Lewis	Neil Edwards	Trevor Boughton
Trustees	Dick Stoker & Ian Wigham	Buzz Geddes	Neil Edwards
Club Captain	Andy Cook	Dennis Philpott	Ian Wigham
Bar Manager	Rod Woolvin	Simon Clare	Alan Waight
Web Site Manager	Buzz Geddes	Martin Vinsent	Andy Walter
Committee Members	Matt Wigham, Dave Jenvey, Andy Cook, Andy Walter	Neil Edwards	Adrian Turner
Auditor	Howard Watson	Graham Radford	Dick Stoker

Any Other Business

The new version of the Club Rules was distributed and discussed.  These conform to the FA's Guidelines whilst encompassing the Club's existing rules and incorporating the Youth Section.  It was felt that, given the lack of notice of these rule changes, the best way to have these adopted was to publish on the web site and allow 28 days for any objections.  If none are received from Club members in this time period, the rules will be formally adopted.  

The FA Charter was discussed.  Buzz Geddes will be presenting the portfolio to the AFA on Thursday 8 July with a view to gaining the FA Charter award before the start of the season.  A sheet was distributed to the meeting outlining the criteria for gaining the award and indicating the benefits to the Club.  All agreed it was the way forward.  The Club will be looking to leverage funding opportunities together with Beddington CC to provide the sort of facilities that Clubs like ours, with youth sections, deserves and needs to develop. 

Rod Woolvin requested clarification of the Youth Section setup for the season.  We will be running sides at U10, U13 and U16 age groups.  All coaches have the FA's Level 1 coaching certificate as a minimum requirement.

Training commences at 7.30pm, Tuesday 13 July 2004 and will be conducted by John Thoroughgood.

A detailed discussion was held about the proposed squad system which will be trialed at the start of next season.  It will be reviewed in the early part of the season to ensure this is working and beneficial to the Club.  It was agreed that no matter what, the 1st XI is the flagship of the Club and must be given the power to choose any player within the Club.

We wish all Club Officials the very best for this season and it is up to the Club members to support those who put their own time into the running of the Club

Buzz