Our win at home to Canvey Island last week may have secured our status in the Isthmian Premier League, but it did nothing to paper over the cracks that would be brutally exposed again just 48 hours later at Carshalton.

When we changed the manager in January, my forecast suggested 46 points was a realistic outcome if we could arrest the slide and we find ourselves three points short going into our final game. But we have to remember how far those expectations have dropped since August. It is not a cause for celebration.

It’s been a poor season on the pitch and once again we are club widely admired in all areas except the results and performances of our men’s team. I believe that stems from one simple fact: we have not run the footballing side in the same way we run everything else and whilst we have discussed that inconsistency before we have always found a reason not to hit the reset button.

Not this time. Everyone I have spoken agrees that a new approach is needed, one that reflects what Dulwich Hamlet FC should stand for and builds on what has made us successful in other areas. We need to start with what is expected of the manager and the structure in which they operate.

To date, our input has been limited to appointing a manager and giving them a budget. All other decisions have been the manager’s: staffing, player recruitment, contracts, fitness, physio, training schedules... everything. This is far from the collaborative approach that works for us elsewhere.

Recent history has taught us that such an approach only functions when things are going well. In tough times, the current structure too often becomes a source of conflict and division. Time and time again this has resulted in a long run of poor results that consecutive managers have been unable to halt.

Our team have been working on a new framework for the past few months that I believe will have everyone pulling in the same direction and working first and foremost for the benefit of the club.

It is also clear that we have failed to communicate to the players what it should mean to play for Dulwich Hamlet and failed to create the right sort of environment to keep them all playing and have the right sort of accountability that motivates performance. This season has seen 20% to 25% of our playing budget unavailable for selection every single week.

That’s an average of four or five first team players being absent. We have also failed to break the on-pitch patterns from the 2023/24 season – conceding late goals, collapsing at the first sign of adversity and seeing most of the goals we concede arising from our individual mistakes, rather than goals being earnt by opponents through their good play.

It’s been incredibly frustrating for fans who both struggle to build connections with players who are in and out of the team or identify with and get behind a team that lets them down with the same mistakes occurring match after match. Fans are desperate to support the team and get behind the players, but it’s a tough ask when people are starting to dread the away days, fear the inevitable outcome after the first mistake and approach the last ten minutes of every game with trepidation.

Our recent situation has meant that we have had to have two plans ready to go for next season and the only positive from last Saturday is that we now know which level we will be playing at in 2025/26 and therefore which plan we will put into motion. We are ready to act quickly and we are committed to taking the decisions I believe are necessary to break from the failures of our recent past.

I would also like to address the news that was circulating after our London Senior Cup semi-final defeat away at Hanwell Town earlier this month. It is correct that Hanwell’s 'Man of the Match' that night - Joe Waight - was in fact ineligible for the game. As soon as this was discovered, it was reported. However, the London FA committee have decided not to expel Hanwell from the competition, so they will still progress to the final.

I spoke with their representatives and they were understandably distraught about both the error and the prospect of losing their place in the final. I can assure you that there was certainly no deliberate attempt to gain an unfair advantage. It’s a no-win situation: this is not the way they would have wanted to progress and we certainly don't want to reach a final by default on a technicality.

On the night, they were excellent hosts and we wish them well in the final, while once again consoling ourselves with 'The Moral Victory'. So, that means today will be the final outing of the season for the men’s team. I know the players are disappointed with how the 2024/25 campaign has finished and I hope they can give you an afternoon deserving of your wonderful support.

On behalf of the club I would like to say thank you for continuing to show up, for backing the team home and away, and for always being respectful when delivering criticism - which has been wholly justified. I hope our upcoming decisions are deserving of your support in future.

Ben