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

[TheIncognitoKid]

That's a blow about Dawkins. The lad was really coming on and scored a cracker on Tuesday. Centre mid is looking very threadbare right now

[Adrian]

Imagine if Tom Lorraine was named as the next manager, everyone be having a cardiac arrest

The loss of Kartel is big blow but if we do go for an experienced manager I would assume he has already looked at our squad and already has some thoughts on who he's going to be on the phone to.

It's important to remember that even if we get the most experienced manager you could wish for, surviving is not going to be easy.

[Dazzler]

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Firstly, our apologies again to everyone who travelled to Needham Market FC last Saturday. Despite assurances from club officials at Needham Market FC that the pitch was playable, the match referee disagreed and postponed the match upon his arrival as some areas were still frozen and unlikely to thaw. It was a very disappointing and costly trip for everyone. The match has been re-arranged for Tuesday, 14th February with a 19:45 kick-off.

Fortunately, Mark Panter, our groundsman, is very proactive and was busy taking photos and making a short video on Friday morning for the Southern League which enabled us to make an early request to postpone our match against Basford FC today as the pitch was still snow covered. A new date for this match will be advised in due course.

Across the Club, there were only a few matches this week with most having been postponed due to the weather and frozen pitches. This includes NFA County Cup matches for the Academy U21s and Moulton U19 sides. However, there was some good news from Moulton College where several players from our U23 squad were selected to represent the National Football Youth League at national level as part of their All-Star Squad. Congratulations to Luis, Mitch, Ben and Nasha! Fixture details will follow, and we wish them all the very best of luck.

We’ve been advised that gate prices at Bedford Town FC for our Boxing Day fixture have been reduced to £5 for everyone and free for U16s. Additionally, Ilkeston Town FC have advised that entry for our match at The New Manor Ground on 7th January will be FREE. Bumper crowds are expected at both games as a result so, if you are intending to travel, please ensure you arrive in plenty of time, and we hope to see as many of you there as possible.

The Board has now concluded all the interviews in our search for a new first team manager and we will bring you news of the outcome on the official website and our social media channels in the coming days.

The new manager will be working within a challenging and strictly controlled budget so if you haven’t already, why not join the Team Building Lottery? The lottery was set up to supplement the annual playing budget set by the Board and all proceeds are held in a separate Club bank account. To take part, you must be over 18 years of age. Each entry costs just £10 and 50% of all proceeds are given back to Lottery members as cash prizes with 12 monthly and 4 quarterly prizes. Monthly draws are made on the 5th of every month with the most recent winner receiving £473. The most recent quarterly draw winner won £1,455! If you’d like more details, please email lottery@afc-diamonds.com.

The Commercial working group have recently re-launched our sponsorship offering and we were pleased to welcome representatives from Café Bangla to the last home game as match sponsors. The main task for the group now is to find a new playing kit sponsor and, again, we hope to bring you some exciting news soon. The player and management offering has also been updated to reflect the remainder of the season. You can now sponsor a player for just £50 (home or away) or £80 (home and away). Players are being snapped up quickly and we’re very grateful to everyone who has sponsored a player so far. If you’re interested, please contact Alex as soon as you can.

Finally, as the festive season approaches, we wish you, your family and loved ones a very Merry Christmas and thank you all for your continued support and dedication to our Club.
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[Adrian]

The Board has now concluded all the interviews in our search for a new first team manager and we will bring you news of the outcome on the official website and our social media channels in the coming days.

Chris Nunn replied to a tweet about our game being postponed last week.
Some older fans may be familiar with a phrase that dates back to the 1800's: "third time's a charm" could it come true this Christmas?

[Dazzler]

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Another busy week across the Club! The hard work of the new Board with the support of volunteers and the local community is really starting to bear fruit as we head into the New Year.

We were really pleased to appoint Chris Nunn as the new first team manager at the beginning of the week. As you will all know, Chris has plenty of experience and local knowledge. A full report on the recruitment process is available for members to review on the Members’ Area of the website.

Chris has got straight to work with plenty of players on his radar as well as getting to know the existing squad. Due to the rules around 7-day approaches, we will bring you news of any new signings as soon as we can. Chris has also been busy appointing his backroom staff and we’re delighted that he has asked Matt Vernon and Jordan Williams, to remain with him and the first team following their short term as interim management. Chris has also retained the services of our Sports Therapist, Peter Cockings as well as bringing in Mickey and Kyle.

We are also pleased to welcome back Kartell Dawkins who re-joins us on loan from Leicester City FC until 4th January as his trial at Sheffield Wednesday FC has been postponed. Kartell will be available for the match at Bedford Town FC on Boxing Day.

We were also delighted to welcome Rebel Energy to the Club as our new main sponsor this week. The new shirts will be on display over the 2 festive fixtures and don’t forget that, if you have a shirt with the old sponsor’s logo on it Macron will replace the logo for free! Additionally, Rebel Energy will give the Club £50 for every Diamonds supporter who switches their energy supply to them. See here for full details.

Over the festive fixtures, clubs in the Southern League will be supporting Shelter’s #nohomekit campaign. Consequently, we will be playing in our white kit at Bedford Town FC on Boxing Day and then our yellow kit at home v St Ives Town FC on 2nd January. Details on the work Shelter do is here.

We have recently linked up with Encompass, a local cause that aims to help those who are homeless and in poverty by providing food, washing facilities, hot meals and advice with benefits and housing. As a result, from 2nd January, we will have a collection point at each match at Hayden Road for any supporters who wish to make a donation.

Encompass desperately need the following items to give to those in need:

tinned meat, fish and vegetables
custard
jam/spreads
rice pudding
sugar
coffee
UHT milk
soup
washing tablets
toothbrushes and toothpaste
toilet roll
shampoo,
conditioner
body wash
bleach
deodorant
The collection point will be in the area around the turnstiles.

Due to the Christmas and New Year holidays, there will be no update next week so all that remains is to wish every single one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you at Bedford or Hayden Road.
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[Dazzler]

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On behalf of the Board, we wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope that you all enjoyed the festivities.

It was great to see so many of you at Hayden Road on Monday afternoon for our first home game of the New Year and Chris’s first home game as first team manager. 436 is our highest home attendance so far this season and we’d like to thank you all for your incredible support.

Thank you also to everyone for the impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of Stratford Town FC player, Cody Fisher, who was killed on Boxing Day. Cody was a well loved member of the team at Stratford and will be sorely missed. There is a petition online asking for “Cody’s Law” which aims to make metal detectors and bleed kits a requirement at clubs and events. If you would like to support this, you can sign the petition here: change.org – Cody’s Law.

The match itself was one to remember with goals from Jenson Cooper and Miguel Ngwa’s 86th minute winner! If you haven’t already, please do listen back to the very entertaining Radio Diamonds coverage of both Miguel’s and Jenson’s goals. Our grateful thanks go to match sponsors, Coley & Partners and we hope you enjoyed your day with us.

Monday also saw our first food bank collection for Encompass, a local charity helping the homeless in the area. They were amazed at your generosity and have asked us to pass on their thanks to everyone who donated. We will be collecting again at the match v Hednesford Town FC on 18th February when representatives from Encompass will be joining us as part of a new monthly charity support initiative put together by the Community Working Group.

In player news, Morgan Worsfold-Gregg and Jack Connor have now returned to their parent clubs following the expiration of their loan deals. We thank Morgan and Jack for their contributions and with them both the very best of luck for the future. Likewise Kartell Dawkins’ loan from Leicester City has now expired and he has left the Club to begin his trial with Sheffield Wednesday. We will remain in touch with Kartell and wish him well with what is a fantastic opportunity for him. Regarding Northampton Town loanees Miguel Ngwa and Peter Abimbola, we will provide news of extensions as/when we have anything concrete to share. Miguel’s loan has expired whilst Peter’s loan expires following tomorrow’s game at Ilkeston, so he will be available for selection, as will new signings Tali Jallow, George Joyce and John Dean

A reminder that entry at Ilkeston Town FC is free for everyone this Saturday so we hope that as many of you as possible can make the trip to support the team. If you’re not able to make it, please tune in to Radio Diamonds who cover all our matches, home and away, so you can still follow the action. Joseph and the team are passionate about the coverage they provide and welcome any feedback or suggestions for improvements – you can even get involved by texting in your thoughts and questions during the game!

In commercial news, we hope that you have all noticed that Rebel Energy’s logo has now been placed on the first team shirts. Please remember that, if you have this season’s shirt with the old logo on, Macron will cover the logo at no cost; full details are here.

The latest draw in the Lottery was made on 5th January with the winner receiving £513! Full details of the Lottery, which supports the playing budget are here along with details of how to enter. Chris is working within a very tight budget so we’re sure he’ll be very grateful for any additional funds we are able to generate for him. The next draw will be made on 5th February.

This week, we are pleased to offer supporters a season ticket and membership deal to cover the rest of the season at a cost of £75 for the season ticket and £15 for membership. Buying a membership will give you a say in how our Club is run and enable you to stand for and vote in the next election of members to the Board. You will also receive a 10% discount in the Club Shop! You can buy these online now through the Club Shop or, in the club shop at the next home game. Please also remember that player and management sponsorships are still available – please contact Alex for further details: alex.raspin@afc-diamonds.com.

Finally, our Academy U23s and U21s are in NFA County Cup action this weekend and the Moulton College U18s will be playing in the NFA David Joyce Cup on Monday evening. Our Academy teams are also back in action this weekend following their winter break. We wish them all the very best of luck. Look out for the results on the website and on our social media channels.

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

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Unusually, it’s been a relatively quiet week across the Club.

Chris Nunn, though, has been very busy bringing in new players and reported a very good training session on Thursday evening. As you know, Chris is working within a very tight budget, so we thank everyone who takes part in the monthly lottery draw as the funds generated by this help boost the budget. It’s never too late to take part and you could win a monthly cash prize as well! All the details you need are here.

Thank you to our media team of James, Matt, David and Alex who reported on the new signings over the week. If you follow our social media accounts, we’re sure you will have been entertained by the content. Since 1st January, the Club has had over 1 million interactions on Twitter alone with increased views on Facebook and Instagram too. Keep up the good work everyone!

It was disappointing that the weather conspired against us as yesterday’s match was postponed due to a water-logged pitch. Under Southern League rules, the match must be re-arranged to take place within 42 days and we’ll bring you news of the re-arranged date as soon as we can. Half-season tickets and memberships and player sponsorships are still available either in person at the Club Shop on matchday or through the online shop – here.

Several new advertising boards were installed at Hayden Road at the end of the week and we’re very grateful to those companies who have sponsored us for the remainder of the season.

The week ahead will see the first Board meeting of the new year, Chris and his team will have two training sessions with the new-look squad and then, on Saturday, we travel to Bromsgrove Sporting. A full preview of the match will be available on the website in due course and we hope to see you all there.

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

[rushden_jm]

Will the minutes from this weeks board meeting be posted on the members forum? Interested to find out the updates on the new ground and Hayden Road lease.

[BartonRaz]

Will the minutes from this weeks board meeting be posted on the members forum? Interested to find out the updates on the new ground and Hayden Road lease.

The meeting minutes are usually published a month later. Minutes are drafted after the event by Kay who minutes the meetings as they happen, they're then presented for sign-off (which usually happens at the subsequent meeting) and then distributed via the Members forum. However...

- Hayden Road lease wasn't discussed. It was due to be, but we ran out of time at the venue. It's still on the agenda. For those that are interested, I think all of the board meetings I've attended so far have run close to 4 hours due to the amount of work going on behind the scenes and the discussions that arise as a result of that.

- The new home wasn't discussed at the meeting either however it wasn't an agenda item because we had a meeting scheduled 2 days later with David Taylor, who was previously on the board and spearheaded the project from the AFC R&D side. This meeting took place on Thursday with 5 of us involved and there are plans to take this forward. I know this is of particular interest to supporters so I'll work towards getting something put out by way of an update once those that will be responsible for taking this project forward have been confirmed.