We bring the curtain down on our home league campaign today. 2025/26 has certainly been a ride, shooting out of the blocks faster than we could have ever dreamed possible, grinding to a halt and then picking up the pace again.

That leaves us pretty much where we were trying to get to in the first place, with a top ten finish firmly within our grasp and a Cup Final to look forward to.

With an at times, similarly erratic schedule thanks to the fixture computer, I would like to thank you all for sticking with us through the mid-season re-arranged dates mayhem. It's been great to see everyone back in good numbers and in such good spirits during these last final few weeks of the season.

Be assured that, as a club, we'll be pushing hard for a fairer and more consistent distribution of league fixtures with the Isthmian League ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season. But before we turn our attention to planning next season we have the London Senior Cup Final to look forward to.

As of last Tuesday night, we now know that we will face QPR and I for one, cannot recall our Men’s team facing these opponents before. I'm sure our History Group may be able to find a precedent. That match will be played at Champion Hill on Tuesday 28th April with a 7.45pm kick off and whilst it will be here, at our home ground, this is a London FA fixture and we will technically be the ‘Away’ team on the night.

This is the opportunity for silverware that manager Mark Dacey spoke about at the start of this season. It is also an opportunity for us to pack the Hill and create an atmosphere unlike any these particular opponents will have played in front of previously. Please spread the word, bring your friends and look out for further ticketing information on the London FA's website and socials.

If the stirring semi-final triumph over League One Leyton Orient's Academy side taught us anything, it is that 'the Rabble' do indeed make a difference. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank all of our staff and volunteers for putting on another season of games – at times, this has been in very trying circumstances.

I'd also offer a big 'Thanks' to the players and management team for instilling their new approach and delivering on the belief we all had in them. This season has been the most enjoyable for some time with everyone involved understanding what it means to represent the 'Pink'N'Blue' and how important that is to the fans.

That connection is key. We see it in the crowd reaction at home games and in the numbers who travel to away matches. I have been through periods where that connection has been somewhat lacking and during such times, let me assure you that Champion Hill becomes a very different place in which to operate.

I believe football clubs should earn and then work hard to keep the support of their fans and so my final thank you goes to you, for making this a wonderful place to work and for being committed to helping us improve our Club and fighting for what it should stand for.

Even before the action stops on the pitch at the end of each season, plans are already in motion behind the scenes as the club turns its attention from running match days to making improvements for the following season. The Annual Review changes a little each year but is always spearheaded by our General Manager, Mel Hughes. The goals always remain simple and consistent.

To continue doing what went well and make changes to the things that could have gone better seeking to improve them. Our immediate priority from the Annual Review is to keep fans engaged with the Club during the close season. We need better communications during the build-up to our summer friendlies and the kick-off to the new league season.

It often takes a while for the fan community to return to Champion Hill each summer. This is a shame as it means they miss out on a run of games in good, often sunny, weather. As many of you will hopefully experience today, that makes our terrace experience all the more enjoyable and is something much loved by all during the final, all too fleeting, final weeks of each season.

That feeling of the good times being over before they have begun will be more keenly felt next season as the expansion of the Isthmian Premier Division play-offs from four to six teams necessitates an even earlier end of the 'regular season' and the loss of another weekend fixture.

So, our highest priority in our annual review of ‘areas to improve’ is the league fixture schedule. With only two-thirds of our 2025/26 home league games being played at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon – far fewer than was originally scheduled.

There cannot that connection has been somewhat lacking and during such times, let me assure you that Champion Hill becomes a very different place in which to operate. I believe football clubs should earn and then work hard to keep the support of their fans and so my final thank you goes to you, for making this a wonderful place to work and for being committed to helping us improve our Club and fighting for what it should stand for.

There cannot be a repeat of that if the football authorities want to see sustainable clubs compete with those funded by the deep pockets of wealthy benefactors and whose finances are unaffected by the levels of support they get from match-going fans. We must make that case to the authorities and fiercely protect what should be a key pillar of the non-league game – matches with Saturday 3pm kick-offs.

Our Annual Review’s footballing priority is to build on the positives of this season. I have spent a long time studying what went wrong two years ago, after a season in which we got within touching distance of the play-offs was followed by one that saw us finish one place above the last relegation spot.

There are some clear lessons to be learned from how we planned our second season at this level. Whilst it is up to the manager to take the decisions on the squad, I feel that as a Club, we are now, from a position of experience better placed than ever before to advise him.

The Annual Review is critical in finding ways to move forward in a fast-moving non-league environment. The relegations of Chippenham Town, Bath City and Eastbourne Borough from the National League South (the division above our) is shocking, but sadly predictable. These three clubs were all Step Two stalwarts during our five years playing at that level.

The simple fact is that clubs like ours who have dropped from Step Two to Step Three in the past few years are more likely to find themselves dropping again to Step Four than bouncing back up. The top tiers of the non-league game are a vastly different financial beast now compared to just ten years ago.

Our decisions last summer were taken with that in mind and we must take the same care again this offseason if we are going to be competitive in this new environment. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for the Cup Final and to then sharing next season with you all. When we all get there... enjoy your summers.

Up the Hamlet!

Ben