UPDATE! [ CLUB POST EGM UPDATES ] - Weekly Update #14 now out.

[Dazzler]

(I have broken this out from the original EGM thread - as this is the one looking forward).

POST EGM UPDATES #1

TEXT from update #1

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A huge thank you to everyone that attended the EGM on Wednesday evening either in person or via the Zoom link. It was a very constructive and informative evening. We would all like to thank Richard Irving and Andy Walsh from The FSA for their ongoing support during this challenging time for our Club.

Since then, the remaining Board met on Thursday evening and put together a short-term plan of action based on the action points taken away from the meeting. We have continued to work closely with The FSA and all the actions contained within this update have their full approval.

Our key issue right now is the establishment of a quorate Board and so, we will be seeking to elect 5 new Board members at the forthcoming election and the election notices will be published tomorrow. Nomination forms will be available on the website, and from the election officer, from Monday, November 7th. Anyone who wishes to stand, nominate or vote in the election must be an adult or concession member at 5pm on Sunday, November 6th. Full details will be available on the election notices.

Next week, the Board will meet to review the most urgent needs around our Club and as discussed at Wednesday’s meeting, set up working parties to address them. It is anticipated that there will be groups, led by a current Board member, to work on communication, volunteers, football, commercial and finance (this is an area in which the need is one of the most pressing, so any offer of help, short or long term, will be gratefully received). If you feel you would like to work on any of these groups, or have any other suggestions, please do speak to any Board member at the game tomorrow or email support@afcdiamonds.com.

A big thank you to everyone who shops at the Co-op and chose our Club as their local community cause. We were delighted to receive a total of £2,248.74 from the store manager in Higham Ferrers this week as part of their payout event.

Tomorrow, the 1st team play Kings Langley FC at Hayden Road and we are looking forward to seeing everyone there. We would encourage everyone to arrive a few minutes earlier than usual as ahead of kick off, there will be a bucket collection and minute’s applause in memory of U23 Scholarship player, Artur Makula. Artur joined the club via the scholarship programme for this academic year and was about to begin his study as an undergraduate at Moulton College. Artur loved football and, even in his short time with the club, was proud to wear the AFC Rushden & Diamonds badge. He was a huge Charlton Athletic fan who was driven and passionate about the sport he played. Throughout his playing career he influenced many players around him, always encouraging them to want to be better. Sadly, Artur passed away in September, aged 18.

He will be missed by all those who knew him, our thoughts and prayers remain with his family at this time. All funds raised at tomorrow’s game will be gifted to Artur’s close family, to support them financially throughout this period.

Tragedies like this are not far from the hearts of AFC Rushden & Diamonds fans, as we remember the life and legacy of Dale Roberts. Whilst we mourn their sad passing, we celebrate the life they had and the joy they brought to those around them.

Finally, we are sure that you will all join us in saying a very big thank you to Matt Ward as he steps down from the Board. Matt has given over 10 years’ service to our Club and his contribution has been enormous. We wish him, and his family, all the best for the future and look forward to seeing him on the Peter De Banke Terrace soon.
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[Dazzler]

POST EGM UPDATES #2

Text of update posted here - as site seems to be very slow/intermittent currently. Managed to grab this one time.

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Once again, we start our weekly update with a thank you – thank you to everyone who gave so generously to the bucket collection at last week’s match. The collection raised an incredible £280 for Artur’s family; thank you all so very much for your support which is hugely appreciated by the family. We should also say thank you to Tim Dudding and Artur’s team mates from Moulton College for arranging the collection and representing both the Club and College impeccably at the game.

Thank you also to everyone who has volunteered to help our Club move forward. Following our meeting on Wednesday evening, we will be holding an event next Wednesday evening for all our volunteers. The aim of the evening will be to brainstorm the current situation together and then set up the groups. We are anticipating 5 working groups but this may change as the evening progresses. If you are a current volunteer or, have volunteered in recent weeks, you can expect to receive an invite shortly, if you haven’t already. We are aware that not everyone who would like to will be able to attend and so, following the event, details will be posted on the Members’ Area to ensure that everyone has the information and can still join one of the groups if they’d like to. There is still time to volunteer, please email us at support@afcdiamonds.com if you’d like to be involved.

We’re aware of an issue regarding access to the Members’ Forum where some members requesting a password reset are not receiving the reset email. This appears to be affecting mainly Hotmail and gmail email addresses. David Kalicki is working on this and we hope that a fix can be found soon which will ensure that everyone who wants to, can access the forum. Important notices will be posted on the members’ landing page and, of course, on the Club website.

Please don’t forget that nominations for election to the Board will close at 5pm on Sunday. Forms are available to download from the Club website now. If you’d like to find out more about what is involved, please email support@afcdiamonds.com and one of the existing Board will reply. Details of the candidates will be posted on the Club website on Monday, 14th November and, if required, voting will also open on Monday.

Finally, we wish all our teams across the Club good luck for their fixtures this weekend. Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.

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[BartonRaz]

Certainly don't want to sound like I'm criticising for being proactive, but would it not be better to wait until after the election to start forming committees since people may step forward that haven't yet? Or can we not afford to wait that long?

[mattparker]

I would have hoped the working groups would be up and running by now, with any new members joining after the election. Without a working board the club is basically rudderless at the moment and can’t be run on a weekly Wednesday evening meeting

[Dazzler]

POST EGM UPDATES #3

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Welcome to our 3rd weekly update. It’s been another busy and challenging week across the Club.

The volunteers evening on Wednesday was a huge success and we’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who attended and to those of you who weren’t able to attend but sent your thoughts and ideas to us ahead of the meeting. As you will imagine, there were a lot of duplicated ideas, ideas that have been considered before and, more importantly, brand new ideas that we can now action and take forward where we can. We’re in the process of putting together the working groups to start actioning these ideas. Look out for posters on display around the ground detailing which groups have been set up and how you can help – it’s not too late to get involved, please email us at support@afcdiamonds.com or speak to any of us at a game. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

As you will all be aware, we had to pause voting in the election almost as soon as it had started following the withdrawal of one of the candidates. Voting is now open again and will close at midday on Tuesday, 22nd November. We are still experiencing problems with voting confirmation emails failing to those of you who have hotmail or gmail email addresses. Whilst we are confident that your vote has been registered, if you would like confirmation, please email Gemma on election@afc-diamonds.com who will be able to verify that it has been received.

The EGM on Wednesday, 23rd November will take place at Hayden Road from 7:00 pm and the business of the meeting will be to accept the result of the vote as per the notice issued on 5th November 2022.

Please remember that, for our match against Hitchin Town FC on Monday evening, entry is by ticket only and these must be purchased in advance, pay on the gate is not available. Tickets are available here:

https://hitchintownfc.ktckts.com/event/ ... n-diamonds

Please also note in your diaries that the kick-off time for our next home match at Hayden Road v Alvechurch FC has been moved to 12:30 pm in order to avoid a clash with a potential World Cup match kicking off at 3:00 pm involving England or Wales.

The World Cup kicks off tomorrow and we were pleased to announce yesterday that The Hopmaster General and The Hopmaster: The Reserve have agreed to offer all AFC Rushden & Diamonds members a 10% discount on all food and drink orders from 1 hour before until 1 hour after all England games (they’re being shown live at both venues).

Finally, we wish all our teams across the Club good luck for their fixtures this weekend. Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.
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[Dazzler]

POST EGM UPDATES #4

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Another very busy week at AFC Rushden & Diamonds with lots of change!

Voting in the election of members to the Board closed on Tuesday and the results were published on the Members’ Area of the website ahead of the EGM on Wednesday evening. Despite the awful weather, we were pleased to have 26 members attending the EGM in person and another 12 attending online via Zoom. This meant that the meeting was quorate, and the results of the election were unanimously accepted. In case anyone missed it, here are the results:

Brett Abbott 70 votes
James Anker 48 votes
Jason Davis 46 votes
David Kalicki 55 votes
Alex Raspin 82 votes
Robert Usher 69 votes
Lee Sambridge 40 votes
Therefore, the following were elected to the Board:

Alex Raspin and Brett Abbott for a period of 3 years
Robert Usher until July 2025
David Kalicki until July 2024
James Anker until July 2023
As always, we extend our grateful thanks to Gemma Hartop who acted as our Election Officer.

The Board now has 8 members: Brett Abbott, Jim Anker, Dave Bland, Stacey Hawkins, David Kalicki, Roger Paterson, Alex Raspin and Rob Usher.

Following the EGM, the new Board met for the first time in order to discuss the most pressing matters and they will meet again next week in order to elect officials and spend a bit more time planning a way forward. The working groups are starting to come together. Initial meetings have been held of both the matchday and commercial groups. There are some great ideas coming from our fans and we look forward to working together to see them through. Our biggest concern now is the lack of a main sponsor, so if anybody knows of any firm who may like to sponsor the Club, please get in touch with either Alex Raspin or Rob Usher.

On Thursday morning, Richard Maxwell was relieved from his position as first team manager. It’s fair to say that Richard’s appointment proved to be a defining moment in our Club’s history and is one that has united us all. Nevertheless, we are grateful to him and his team for their input over the last few weeks. The search is already underway for a replacement and, having learnt a lot, from previous recruitment experiences, we have asked Tom ‘Shanks’ Lorraine to help us. Via the Members’ Forum, we have asked the Club’s members to let us know what qualifications and experience they would like to see from their manager. We’re aware though, that not everyone has access to the Members’ Forum so if you have any thoughts, please do email them to any one of us (email links above) or, speak to us at a match. Matt Vernon and Dean Snedker are looking after the first team in the meantime, and I’m sure you will all join the Board in thanking them for their support and commitment to our Club.

Please remember that next Saturday’s home fixture against Alvechurch FC will kick off at 12:30 pm and also, please note that our fixture at Needham Market FC on Saturday, 10th December will kick off at 1:00 pm.

Finally, we wish all our teams across the Club good luck for their fixtures this weekend. Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.
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[Adrian]

The 5th weekly update is out https://www.afcdiamonds.com/weekly-update-5/

At the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s been another busy and challenging week at the Club. We are, however, starting to make real progress and beginning to move forwards.

Sadly, Richard Maxwell since has decided to sever all links with the Club following his short term as first team manager. The U23s will continue to be led by Rory Williams for the rest of the season and the U21s will continue to be managed by Howard Willmott. We place on record, once again, our grateful thanks to Richard for all his hard work during his time with the Club.

At the Board meeting on Wednesday evening, the first item on the agenda was the election of officers. Under the terms of the constitution, we are required to have a Chair, Treasurer, and Society Secretary. Following discussion, the following were appointed:

• Chair – Rob Usher
• Vice-Chair – Alex Raspin
• Treasurer – Mario Colabuono (co-opted)
• Society Secretary – Brett Abbott

Rob and Alex will be supported by Stacey Hawkins, who will remain as Club Secretary, until the end of the season when she has decided to step down from the Board. The role of Vice-Chair, whilst not required under the constitution, was felt by all Board members to be an important role and one that our Club needs. The Board can co-opt further members and there was a discussion around this. Once a decision has been made, we will, of course, let everyone know.

The Commercial working group are working hard to follow up on sponsorship leads and have re-written the Club’s commercial offering to reflect the remainder of the season. Following the loss of the main Club sponsor, replacing the lost income is a high priority area, so if anyone has any leads or knows of any company who might like to sponsor the Club, have an advertising board around the pitch, sponsor a match or player please do contact Alex. We are pleased to welcome Café Bangla as our match sponsors at the match against Alvechurch on Saturday and hope they enjoy their day with us.

Volunteer Tim Sams will be back in action on Saturday as our new Supporter Liaison Officer. Tim will be available just inside the turnstiles to guide away supporters to our facilities and he’ll also be happy to chat to you all about any ideas you may have to take our Club forward. He’ll also be happy to talk through any thoughts and concerns you may have. If there is anything he can’t answer at the time, he’ll bring your thoughts to the Board and one of us will come back to you. Welcome back Tim and thank you!

The search for a new manager is on-going. We received 19 applicants which have been reduced to a shortlist of 6. Interviews will take place over the coming days and all available Board members will be involved in them. A scoring system has been drawn up for each member to score the candidates during the interviews in the hope that a vote can be avoided. We will bring you news on the outcome as soon as we can. We are really grateful to Tom Lorraine for his time and advice and also we continue to thank Matt Vernon, Jordan Williams and Dean Snedker for their support in looking after first team affairs.

The FA tribunal to decide on compensation payable by Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC for Will Jones sat a few days ago and awarded the Club £1,000.00 with a further £250.00 and sell on clause payable should Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC ever place Will on a contract. We are grateful to Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC for their prompt payment of this and hope that Will can now move on and enjoy his football again.

Please remember that kick-off on Saturday is at 12:30 pm. Kick-off was moved by the Southern League to avoid a potential clash with England or Wales playing in the World Cup. We then return to Hayden Road on Tuesday evening for the visit of Tamworth FC before traveling to Needham Market FC on Saturday, 10th December. It’s an early 1:00 pm kick off at Bloomfields.

Finally, as always, we wish good luck to all our teams across the Club in their fixtures this weekend and thank you all for your continued support and commitment. If you’d like to get involved in any way or, wish to speak with a Board member, you can email us direct or speak to us on any matchday.

[Adrian]

Well done to the club for doing these updates and sticking with it, it really is a good way of keeping the fans on board and in the loop.

Richard Maxwell has severed all ties, not really a surprise there but the big news is the FA tribunal awarded us £1000 for Will Jones which Bugbrooke have already paid. Perhaps I am missing something but the way I'm seeing it is a step 5 club has paid £1000 for a player and he is not on a contract so any another club could sign him tomorrow for free.

[Dazzler]

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At the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s been another busy and challenging week at the Club. We are, however, starting to make real progress and beginning to move forwards.

Sadly, Richard Maxwell since has decided to sever all links with the Club following his short term as first team manager. The U23s will continue to be led by Rory Williams for the rest of the season and the U21s will continue to be managed by Howard Willmott. We place on record, once again, our grateful thanks to Richard for all his hard work during his time with the Club.

At the Board meeting on Wednesday evening, the first item on the agenda was the election of officers. Under the terms of the constitution, we are required to have a Chair, Treasurer, and Society Secretary. Following discussion, the following were appointed:

Chair – Rob Usher
Vice-Chair – Alex Raspin
Treasurer – Mario Colabuono (co-opted)
Society Secretary – Brett Abbott
Rob and Alex will be supported by Stacey Hawkins, who will remain as Club Secretary, until the end of the season when she has decided to step down from the Board. The role of Vice-Chair, whilst not required under the constitution, was felt by all Board members to be an important role and one that our Club needs. The Board can co-opt further members and there was a discussion around this. Once a decision has been made, we will, of course, let everyone know.

The Commercial working group are working hard to follow up on sponsorship leads and have re-written the Club’s commercial offering to reflect the remainder of the season. Following the loss of the main Club sponsor, replacing the lost income is a high priority area, so if anyone has any leads or knows of any company who might like to sponsor the Club, have an advertising board around the pitch, sponsor a match or player please do contact Alex. We are pleased to welcome Café Bangla as our match sponsors at the match against Alvechurch on Saturday and hope they enjoy their day with us.

Volunteer Tim Sams will be back in action on Saturday as our new Supporter Liaison Officer. Tim will be available just inside the turnstiles to guide away supporters to our facilities and he’ll also be happy to chat to you all about any ideas you may have to take our Club forward. He’ll also be happy to talk through any thoughts and concerns you may have. If there is anything he can’t answer at the time, he’ll bring your thoughts to the Board and one of us will come back to you. Welcome back Tim and thank you!

The search for a new manager is on-going. We received 19 applicants which have been reduced to a shortlist of 6. Interviews will take place over the coming days and all available Board members will be involved in them. A scoring system has been drawn up for each member to score the candidates during the interviews in the hope that a vote can be avoided. We will bring you news on the outcome as soon as we can. We are really grateful to Tom Lorraine for his time and advice and also we continue to thank Matt Vernon, Jordan Williams and Dean Snedker for their support in looking after first team affairs.

The FA tribunal to decide on compensation payable by Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC for Will Jones sat a few days ago and awarded the Club £1,000.00 with a further £250.00 and sell on clause payable should Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC ever place Will on a contract. We are grateful to Bugbrooke St. Michaels FC for their prompt payment of this and hope that Will can now move on and enjoy his football again.

Please remember that kick-off on Saturday is at 12:30 pm. Kick-off was moved by the Southern League to avoid a potential clash with England or Wales playing in the World Cup. We then return to Hayden Road on Tuesday evening for the visit of Tamworth FC before traveling to Needham Market FC on Saturday, 10th December. It’s an early 1:00 pm kick off at Bloomfields.

Finally, as always, we wish good luck to all our teams across the Club in their fixtures this weekend and thank you all for your continued support and commitment. If you’d like to get involved in any way or, wish to speak with a Board member, you can email us direct or speak to us on any matchday.
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[Dazzler]

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This week, the Board have been conducting interviews with the candidates for the First Team Manager’s role. It has been interesting and refreshing to meet the candidates and listen to their thoughts and aspirations. There are two more interviews to go so we hope to make the appointment soon and, of course, we will let you all know once the candidate has accepted the position.

We are very grateful to Tom Lorraine for giving up his time to help in the interview process.

We are aware that there have been many questions surrounding the recent absence from the team of Nathan Hicks. Nathan is unavailable for personal reasons and, therefore, it would not be appropriate for the Board to make any other comment other than to say that we are supporting him. When there is any update, we will let everyone know. In other player news, we are pleased to advise that Peter Abimbola’s loan from Northampton Town FC has been extended for a further 28 days but, unfortunately, Kartell Dawkins has been recalled by Leicester City FC so that he can participate in a trial at Sheffield Wednesday FC. We wish Kartell the best of luck and hope to see him again soon.

The Commercial Team have been working hard to improve and rejuvenate our commercial offering and a new commercial pack will be available shortly. We were pleased to welcome Café Bangla as match sponsors to Hayden Road last Saturday and thank them for their ongoing support. Café Bangla are offering all AFC R&D members a 10% discount when you dine in their restaurant on presentation of your membership card. If you know of anyone or any company that would like to sponsor a match, please contact Alex and the Commercial team will follow it up. Player sponsorships are also now available for the remainder of the season, and we are grateful to everyone who has already sponsored a player. There are plenty still available so if you’re interested, please contact Alex.

Tim Sams, our new Supporter Liaison Officer, handed out vouchers for free tea and coffee at Tuesday’s match v Tamworth. Tim funded this himself and certainly kept the ladies in Dale’s Bar busy! Thank you, Tim, Jane and Eileen, for your hard work and generosity, it was greatly appreciated on a very cold evening.

The anniversary of Dale’s passing is on Wednesday next week, 14th December. It doesn’t seem possible that 12 years have passed since that awful night. As always, our thoughts are with Isobel, George and all of Dale’s family and friends as we remember him. Please remember that it is okay to not be okay, you are not alone, and our chaplaincy team are available for everyone if you need to talk. Contact details are available on the website or you can contact Roger Knight, Club Chaplain, direct at rogerknight41@outlook.com

Elsewhere around the Club, there was an impressive win for the Moulton College U19 team who won 5-1 away at Lichfield City in the National League U19 Alliance on Wednesday afternoon. The team are currently top of the league table and unbeaten so far this season. The Moulton College U23s are also having an impressive season, having lost only once so far and currently sitting 2nd in the National Football Youth League.

Finally, as always, we wish the best of luck to all our teams playing this weekend and hope that as many games as possible escape a postponement due to the freezing temperatures. Please keep an eye on the website and our social media channels for updates from Needham Market FC for the first team game tomorrow. As it stands the game is on, but we’ll bring you any news on a pitch inspection as soon as we can.

Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.
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