Chairmans Report
Nick Nunn (Club Chairman 2006 - Current)
From the chair “– end of season report 2007/2008 - Nick Nunn (Club Chairman 2006-current)
As another season comes to a close, I can safely say that with four trophies already in the cabinet with the possibility of two more on the way, it can be deemed a successful one.
I would like to start by thanking the committee, for whom without, would see the club not function half as well as it is currently doing so.
Paul “Cheeko” Kennedy, our Honourable Secretary has kept the paperwork at bay and Rob Fielder, whilst pretty much travelling the world, has managed to keep the debt collectors from the door with his fantastic financial organisation. All of you would have hopefully seen the club website by now, and would agree that Anthony Mann has produced an extremely great site, however from next year we hope to see more frequent match reports so the elder generation, such as myself, can keep up to date with the entire goings on of you boys. On top of this, he has supported the treasurer in managing our finances.
Chris Mann has done a fabulous job this year in raising the club some much needed funds. Throughout the year he has helped raise nearly £1000 through club events such as the quiz night, fantasy football and the upcoming golf day. Next year we will be organising a few more events in which we would certainly like you all you to come to and enjoy. On top of this, everyone should thank him for sorting out the tonight’s club dinner. A lot of hard work goes on with organising events such as this and I think (and hope), he’s done a good job.
The final member of the committee who deserves a special mention is Graeme Wilson. This year has been an extremely difficult one in terms of fixture planning and organisation due to both weather conditions and club success, however once again Graeme has once again prevailed without “too many” tantrums. Graeme’s reward for all his hard work over the past few years was an invitation to join the SAL Managers Committee, an honour no Old Owenian has ever held. So please congratulate him and buy him a drink at the dinner, because seriously boys, if he wasn’t doing the job he’s doing now, none of you would be playing on a Saturday.
Now onto the football. It’s been a season of transition, with no less than five out of the six teams changing captaincy. It was a case of out with the old, (Breeze, Perkins, Mann, Hodge and Griffin), and in with the new, (Lloyd, Christofides, Williams, Shepperd and Cardall)
On a team by team basis, credit must firstly go to our legendary club captain Mark Lloyd, ably assisted by John Sullivan in guiding the 1st XI to victories in the AFA Middlesex/Essex Senior Cup and the Old Boys Cup. There is also the possibility of capturing the treble with the league title still up for grabs. This will mark a fantastic season for the flagship side. Special mentions must also go to Anthony Mann, Shaun Banham and Jamie Bird who have represented the AFA/SAL sides on a number of occasions this season.
The 2nd XI, under the guidance of Louis, have also added silverware to the cabinet in the form of the Old Boys Cup. In an absolutely shocking game of no skill, (mainly due to the surface of the EBOGS pitch), the boys secured a 2-0 win over Finchleians.
The 3rd XI, or “Alco XI” as it is now known, appointed a man mountain whose drinking capabilities more than matched his predecessors, and like them, formed a great bunch of lads who performed well both on and off the pitch. Only time will tell if Captain America and his brigade are successful in their hunt for silverware, but win or lose they will be on the booze I have no doubt !
Steve Shepperd had the unenviable task of taking over one of the most successful managers in recent times, (won’t mention any names – but where’s your sister?). At the start it didn’t look too promising and with talk of the Spanish archer coming from the board, Shep soon turned the teams fortune around and went on a brilliant unbeaten run lasting, well, forever. This led to another club victory in the Old Boys Cup and as word spread, even TV stars wanted in on the act !
The 5th XI once again promised so much but failed to deliver. At one point there was no stopping Hally and the Italian goal machine Rodia, but as injury hit their star man, (apparently that’s the Wasp, his own words), both league and cup dreams were shattered for another season. Still they did manage to gain a few mementos along the way this season, picking up half an EBOGS kit and also Russell Haldin’s mums knickers, so all in all not a bad effort boys.
The 6th XI have had a torrid time this season and as I write this, could still be relegated. This would be totally undeserved, as Luke has put together a good bunch of lads that not only socialise with the rest of the club, but also have managed to be the most profitable team in the club by paying their subs in full every week.
Anyway that’s it; I hope you enjoyed the season as much as I did. Have a great summer and I hope to see you all back at the Lane in time for the big kick off next season.
Thanks
Nunny
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“ From the chair “– end of season report 2006/2007 - Nick Nunn (Club Chairman 2006-current)
With plenty of important games left to play until the end of the season, it feels slightly premature to be writing this piece.However, having taking over as chairman from such a successful, popular and likeable bloke as Champers who carried the old Owens mantle so well, I am pleased with how things have gone over the last 8 months, and I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed being involved in running such a great football club.As well as Champers, it is also important to mention the contribution made by previous chairman Red Hartley, and of course in less recent times the main man, Les Williamson, who, along with many others deserve so much credit for the club being as strong as it is today.I would like to take this opportunity to talk about some important people who have given up their time to help the club down the years, prestigious characters such as Barry Cotton, Derek Webb and of course our hosts Colin & Debbie Baxter.Firstly Derek Webb – Derek played football for Owens since leaving Owens school over 40 years ago, and was part of the club when times were definitely not as comfortable as they are today. Such was Derek’s commitment to the club that he would regularly travel from Manchester to turn out for the Vets on a Sunday morning. As well as organising numerous tournaments for Old Owens Vets he has personally contributed funds to the football club as well as the association down the years to assist with maintaining our excellent facilities - such is his love for the club. We certainly owe a great deal of thanks to Derek. For many of you old gits, you will know Barry Cotton very well as our fixture secretary for an unbelievable 16 seasons. Yes that’s right it was Barry’s directions that kept you aimlessly driving around South London all those years ago (now you know where Wils gets his bad habits from.) But in all seriousness Barry has been a fantastic ambassador for the club for such a long period of time and certainly deserves his place in the Owens hall of fame.Finally I would like to mention the people that go out of their way to look after us and our opposition every Saturday. Colin and Debbie have played an intergral role in the Old Owens revival from both a supportive and financial point of view. The club owe these two a great deal and we are delighted to have them enjoy the end of season dinner with us.
I would also like to thanks to the guys who run the football club, the team captains and the committee.
On a personal note, I am grateful to all the guys who have shared their experience and shown me the ropes in my first year as chairman. I can honestly say that the following individuals give up a lot of their own time to make it all happen behind the scenes so that you all can enjoy your football on a Saturday.
Club Secretary – Cheeko, Fixture secretary – Graeme Wilson, Treasurer – Robert Fielder, Club captain – Mark Lloyd, Social secretary – Chris Mann, Discipline & Web Site Manager – Anthony Mann
Guys, you efforts are greatly appreciated, thank you…….
With only a couple of weeks to go until we put our feet up and pile on the pounds over the summer months, I am pleased to report that we have had another excellent season with four trophies in the bag already and the fantastic opportunity that the 3rd X1 have to win the league trophy for the first time since 2001. As I write this report, if they win their last three games the title is theirs.….go on lads….
I would also like this opportunity to single out one other player who took on the role as treasurer for 5 years, and is playing in his 19th season for the club! Down the years he has embraced the true sprit of the club by playing in all six elevens.On Saturday last week he (allegedly) played his last game for the club when he represented the 6th X1 in their Old boy’s cup final against Parmetarians and fittingly the lads won a fantastic game 6-4. Many thanks and good luck with the golf JT!I have been privileged to watch all the sides this year and when availability is good, we have 6 fantastically strong teams to rival any in the SAL.Looking to next season and the future however, what I believe is more of a concern is the fact that over the last couple of seasons, there have been very few schoolboys coming through to join the old boys. I strongly feel that we need to address this issue before next season and I would ask that those of you who have some influence over this to do everything you can to encourage these lads to play for us as they have in the past.Another important aspect of the clubs future is finance, and on a positive note I am pleased to be able to tell you that thanks to the hard work of the captains and the committee, Rob Fielder tells me that at the end of March we had collected more in match day subs that we did for the whole season last year.So the short term future of the club looks good. However as my teachers constantly used to say to me at school, there is always room for improvement! We have calculated that this season alone, if every single match day sub had been collected we would be better off by over £2000.Although collecting all subs is probably not realistic, it just shows how much more money we could have collected with your help.So lads, I would ask you all to help your club and your captain and make it easy for him by not waiting to be asked for your subs, and if you know that you owe the club money this campaign, please pay it before the season ends.Finally, it appears as though Ian Breeze, Tim Perkins and Chris Mann (?) will be stepping down as manager and captains respectively at the end of the season. I would like to thank them all for there commitment to the club over recent years. As a result of these guys stepping down, we are looking for a couple of you lads to step up and support your club by taking on the responsibility of running a side next year, and I hope that some of you are ready to do so…I hope you all have a great break during the summer, don’t pile on too many pounds (especially you Manny as you wont fit through the door), and lets come back stronger than ever next season.
Nick Nunn
Chairman
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“ From the chair “– end of season report 2005/2006 - Gary Anstey (Club Chairman 2004-06)
As the curtain slowly comes down on the 2005/2006 season, I sit here and write my end of season Chairman’s report with a great deal of satisfaction. Our football club has once again made some great strides forward this season both on and off the pitch and it has been a privilege to be a part of our success. What I do know is that we are now an FA Charter Standard Club run by a committee who have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for Old Owens FC and all that the football club and the SAL stands for and entails.
This is even more pleasing when one considers the youth and drive which remains at the heart of the running of our club and is such a cornerstone of our success. To turn up and play on a Saturday is one thing but to do it and have the balls and the enthusiasm to help run our football club at the same time deserves special credit. Graeme Wilson and Gareth Dace have again done tremendous jobs as Fixtures Secretary and Club Secretary respectively and have been the key drivers behind keeping this club on such a sound organisational footing. So many people simply don’t realise that games wouldn’t get played without all their help behind the scenes. This should also be said of all the Captains who give up so much of their free time and effort to ensure that you all get your football. Thanks again fellas !!!
We have never been in better shape financially and this is all down to the hard work of our new Club Treasurer Rob Fielder who has tightened the purse strings and ensured we continue to keep the wolf from the door. Rob has done a brilliant job in balancing the profit and loss of OOFC. Lloydy has again be the rock which is our Club Captain and Anthony Mann has further developed the website to be one of the best in the SAL. His valuable help in collecting fines should also not go unmentioned. I look forward to the launch of the new website in the next few weeks including a new picture gallery, club history section and Hall Of Fame section! Brother Chris Mann also deserves a special mention as our Social Secretary, organizing a great World Cup event on Easter Monday and the forthcoming Annual Owens FC Golf Day. Both events have generated valuable funds for the club and been very entertaining. Thanks again to Sully for his club merchandise this season which raises money for the club and confirms our image and stature as the best dressed in the SAL.
On the playing front, we began and ended the season with all six top sides residing in their respective top divisions. Although this has the potential to be our best ever season in the SAL, one aspect (discipline) has let us down and disappoints the committee greatly. Never before have we gone through stage 2 of the AFA disciplinary code and never again can we allow it to take place. A new disciplinary code will be put in place next year to address this and will be available for you all to view on the website for next season.
As I write, our first eleven are a team in transition with the recently departed manager Jon Mac being replaced until the end of the season by Ian Breeze who is, time permitting, without doubt the best man for the job. The 1’s have had an outstanding year and this was greatly down to the effort and hard work of Jon Mac who we wish well for the future. Qualifying for the AFA Senior Cup final for the first time in our history (since 1891) was an amazing achievement and really put our club back on the map, although we lost out in a very close encounter 1-0 to our fierce rivals Winchmore Hill. The league title is still on for our first team, aswell as a 3rd consecutive success in the Old Boys Cup, and I wish them all the best of luck for the league run in which could go right down to the wire at you know where ?!!?. The two’s, led by the ever laid back Tim Perkins, have arguably been our team of the season, winning the 2nd XI Old Boys Cup 2006 and everything crossed the league title at EBOG’s this Saturday. A mixture of older “galacticos” and excellent youngsters has seen the Perks’ machine stay at the top of the league almost from the first weekend of the season. Best of luck in what is a massive game for our 2’s this Saturday ! The 3’s, under the irrepressible Manny , have had a sound season, losing narrowly in the Old Boys Cup final and getting to the quarter finals of the AFA cup.
Owens 4’s, or should I say “ The people”, under the guidance of Greg Hodge, have this year established themselves as real force to be reckoned with. Taking over after a handful of games from Shane Good, Hodgey has revolutionized what was a constantly fluctuating eleven into one of the best 4th elevens in the SAL. “The people” won the 4th eleven Old Boys Cup on a famous day at Old Finchleians beating them in their own backyard. They also went so close in the club’s first ever League Cup final, losing agonizingly 7-6 on penalties to Kew in one of the closest finals I have seen. The image of Matt Parrot literally falling backwards with exhaustion after slotting his penalty will live long in the memory. If they get a point in either of their two games at Acton this Saturday then second place will be secured in what is an excellent season for Owens 4’s. Horse’s 5’s have had a solid year, consolidating their position as a top 5th eleven side and progressing well in the AFA cup. The 6’s have proved their enormous potential. Darren Griffin’s side experienced the heartache of two semi final defeats in both the SAL and AFA cups but more than made up for it with a brilliant league campaign in which they have lost only once and became our first league champions since 2001/2. Well done fellas !!
What a season it has been for Old Owens FC and if all goes well for the run in then 2 further Division One titles and another Old Boy’s Cup are still not out of the question. As I tuck in the chair at the end of another football season, I’d like to finally wish the club further success in 2006 /2007 and look forward to sharing a celebratory drink or two with you at the club dinner this Saturday.
Have a relaxing Summer and see you back for real sport again in September.
Champers
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“ From the chair “– end of season report 2005/2006 - Gary Anstey (Club Chairman 2004-06)
As the curtain comes down on the 2004/2005 Old Owens season, I sit here and write my first end of season Chairman’s report with a glint in my eye and a jack and coke nearby. The good ship Old Owens has once again consolidated itself as a force to be reckoned with, revelling in an atmosphere conducive to hard but fair competition within the excellent confines of the SAL. As the sound of ball hitting willow becomes alarmingly closer, I thought I would briefly reflect on another season gone by.“ a superbly run sports club based in idyllic surroundings with a strong sense of hospitality competition and fair play.” M. Bowen. Winchmore Hill.Kind comments from an equally well run sports club in North London but comments that reflect the standing with which our club is now held in.
This is even more pleasing when one considers the youth that is now at the heart of the running of our club. Legends such as Barry Cotton, Nick Hartley and John Thorlby have taken a well deserved back seat this season and young thoroughbreds like Graeme Wilson and Gareth Dace have taken the bull by the horns and done tremendous jobs as Fixtures Secretary and Club Secretary respectively. To take over positions of this magnitude from Owens legends such as Bazza Cotton and do the roles seamlessly and without fuss has been the key driver behind keeping this club on such a sound financial and organizational footing. We have never been in better shape financially and this is all down to the hard work of the captains and a committee that care about the club and our future at Coopers Lane.The legend that is Lloydy needs no introduction as Club Captain whilst Anthony Mann has constructed a website which is one of the best and most hit in the SAL.
John Sullivan has been instrumental in organizing a number of events for the club which have generated valuable funds and been very entertaining. Thanks to Sully for his club merchandise again this season which not only raises money for the club but confirms our image and stature as the best dressed in the SAL. Our day out at the Anglo Japanese Cup will live long in the memory and confirmed Old Owens as a truly international outfit. Like Beckham “ Lloydy and Sully are now definitely big in Japan ! “On the playing front, we began and ended the season with all six top sides residing in their respective top divisions.
All top four sides qualified for the quarter finals of the AFA cup, a feat never achieved by the club before and one that shows our strength in depth. As I scribe, our flagship eleven led by the irrepressible Sully are shaping up for a top three finish and have another final appearance in the Old Boys Cup to look forward to this weekend. With the return of major players from injury and university next term, we will again be a major force next year in the top division of the SAL.
The two’s, led by the ever laid back Tim Perkins, have had an excellent season, getting to the semi final of the AFA cup and looking at a top three finish in the league. A mixture of older “galacticos” and younger legs has got them to yet another Old Boys Cup final.
My first love, the 3’s, under the guidance of Chris “pie boy” Mann have been a breath of fresh air this season, most definitely in the bar. A top five finish looks likely for Mann’s boys who also got to the quarter finals of the AFA cup. If the Chairman had not taken a slight detour to Threshers on the way to Suttonians in the Old Boys Cup then another appearance in the final would surely have been on the cards.
The 4’s, under the guidance of Shane Good, have consolidated well in the top division and got to the quarter final of the AFA cup. Shane has done a great job in his first season in charge managing a constantly fluctuating eleven.
Horse’s 5’s have had a superb year, qualifying for both the semi finals of the Old Boys Cup and the SAL cup and hopefully soon to secure promotion as Division 3 North champions. Another young manager following the success of his beloved Barnet in leading a team to glory.
The 6’s have proved their enormous potential both on and off the pitch. We have witnessed some tremendous performances both at the bar and on the hallowed turf. Darren “gripper” Griffin’s “invincibles” experienced the heartache of a narrow defeat in extra time in the SAL cup final but proved their worth in getting to yet another Old Boys Cup final in one week’s time. They too look like finishing in the top three of their division.
Finally, the Vets have been on the rampage again this season under the guidance of Vinnie Sartori. It is great to see former Old Owens starlets like Eddie Pritchard, Stevie Ranzetta and even the Ebog Chris Boyce dusting off the boots and “making sure the ball does the work ! “. Don’t worry chaps that will be the last time I ever go in goal for you !! That summarizes all aspects of the 2004/2005 season as seen from “the chair” . Here’s to further success for the club in 2005/2006. I Look forward to sharing a shandy or two with you all at the club dinner.
Champers
FA Charter Standard Club
Since 1891
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