With football you always experience ups and downs but ultimately we must judge 2022/23 to have been a success for Horsham Football Club. Our aim was to consolidate the club as a competitive member of the Premier Division of the Isthmian League and, while we just missed out on the playoffs, I think that that target has well and truly been met.
You may have noticed that we don’t chop and change our managers here at Horsham. Dom Di Paola joined the club eight years ago and we have seen an improvement in each campaign thanks to the sterling efforts of him, his backroom team and the players. He took over when we had been relegated, winning the championship of the Southern Combination League in his first full season in charge and on to promotion to the premier division where we are now firmly established.
I am delighted to say that Dom has committed himself to the club for next season as have a number of our current players. We will be confirming the full list shortly – Watch this Space! Others will also still be here come August and there will doubtless be a few newcomers as we seek further progress. Some of the team will move on to pursue their careers elsewhere and we wish them all the best for the future and thank them for their service to Horsham Football Club. I hope they remember their time at Horsham with fondness.
It has been so exciting to see our crowds grow, with four-figure attendances the norm over the last few months of the season. It is a delight to see so many families, sometimes three or four generations, at our matches on a regular basis. We have a thriving youth section and are seeking to make Horsham the go-to club for youngsters to improve their talents through top-class coaching. We are conscious that we do not yet offer the opportunity of women’s football, particularly in the context of the success of the Lionesses, and this is an issue that we will need to address in the future.
Our successes have been achieved in no small part thanks to the invaluable support of the volunteers who work so hard behind the scenes. Our matchday stewards and gatemen, the Wednesday maintenance gang, youth team coaches, club committee and board of directors are all unpaid volunteers. That is key to what we do. Everybody involved has Horsham Football Club in their hearts.
We can take the club further but that will depend on attracting more volunteers – more of YOU – to help and support us. Three key people, our Director of Operations Paul Osborn, who has been instrumental in setting up and running the facilities and people that make this stadium so welcoming, our Treasurer Mark Butler, who found himself back in the role when Sean Bravery was taken ill and who led the ground improvements project of the last few months, and Shaun Scott, who has chaired the youth section and dealt with its administration, have decided to step down although I am delighted that they will continue to be very much part of the club. Our heartfelt thanks go to them.
I hope you like the new facilities at the stadium. We were conscious of the fact that, in attracting bigger crowds, we needed to add more covered accommodation for your comfort, particularly in wet weather, and for next season there will be additional turnstiles to reduce queuing when you arrive at the ground. I must mention our gratitude to the Football Foundation funded by the Premier League for providing a generous grant towards the cost of the improvements.
We do recognise that further work is needed to improve the matchday experience for everyone and we will be making further plans to address this.
Horsham Football Club is thriving and has a bright future. We are on the cusp of progressing to the next level whether that may be next season or a little later. But there is potentially an obstacle to fully achieving our aims. The volunteers are stretched and we really do need your help. We are restructuring the whole club and it is a worry that the board of the operating company will comprise just four directors. That may not be enough to drive Horsham Football Club towards its ultimate capability. It’s not just the board. We desperately need more volunteers to support the other roles within the club.
So I call upon you all now. If you can offer time and effort to support Horsham Football Club, regardless of the skills you do or do not have, please, please PLEASE speak to any club official and we will be delighted to discuss with you the difference that could make and how you can be a key part of the Hornets family. Contact details are listed below.
If we do not get and retain the volunteers our progress WILL stall.
Horsham Football Club is my club. It’s your club. It’s OUR club.
Enjoy the summer break and we look forward to welcoming you back for pre-season in July.
Jeff Barrett
Director & Club Secretary
If you can help us achieve our full potential, don’t be shy in coming forward. Contact Ian Burlinson ([email protected], 07811 851405) or Jeff Barrett ([email protected], 07712 888980) for an informal chat, without commitment, about what you can offer and where you can fit in as a Hornets’ volunteer.