The Chairman chats once more

Here is his column from the last home match

This was published our official programme last week when we took on Leatherhead. To make sure you find out what he has to say first make sure you buy a copy at home games, only £2 for the matchday magazine...and every one sold helps raise money that helps our Club!

Here's what Liam Hickey had to say to our fans:

Good afternoon everybody and welcome back to Champion Hill for today’s vital clash with Leatherhead. Our visitors have clearly strengthened during the close season and I expect them to be challenging for promotion.

That said, I am still very confident that we will be close to the top at the end of the season. To date, we seem to have lost vital players and are certainly not getting the rub of the green.

Since my last programme notes, we have lost at home to Hendon in the league and at Slough Town in the FA Cup. However, they are games that we really should have won. Against Hendon, we played all the football, created all the chances and then fell to the only shot the visitors had on target in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Much as last season, we are going to have to get used to sides turning up at Champion Hill and just defending rather than looking to display any ambition.

At Slough Town, we were on the end of a very harsh sending off for Sanchez Ming for dangerous play. There was no malice in the challenge and I believe if raised feet was not such a hot topic he may not have seen any more than a yellow card. Having said that, we twice took the lead but couldn’t hold out for the win, or at least the draw our performance deserved as a minimum.

However, having considered the video evidence and the current thoughts on high challenges, we have decided that we will accept the decision and not appeal. This was decided with the full input from our Manager, Gavin Rose and was a decision made after much deliberation.

After two rather unfortunate defeats, it was good to get back to winning ways, albeit on penalties, at Staines Town on Tuesday. It wasn’t the prettiest game but the goal from Ashley Carew was an absolute stunner. Make sure you catch it on Dulwich Hamlet TV
Last Sunday, it was great to be part of a fantastic fundraiser for the victims of the Sierra Leone Mudslide and once again our players and management did the club proud. Less than 24 hours after playing an important game they were back doing their bit for charity. That’s what makes this club so special. We will have a special initiative to help the Ibrahim Kargbo Foundation so watch the website for details.

However, a little of the gloss has been taken off the occasion by a letting that took place on the astroturf at the same time. Any events that result in our neighbours being unnecessarily inconvenienced undo the good work that the club does in the community. I would like to state that we, as a Football Committee, have no control over use of the stadium or any other sites owned by the club. Those decisions are taken by our owners without any consultation with the football side. Let’s hope they’ve learned from their mistake.

On a brighter note, I was delighted to be able to attend the Grand Opening of the new branch of The Real Greek in Dulwich Village last week. I would like to thank them for a great night, with great food and company. They are a valued advertiser with us and I believe that we can develop a long term relationship with them. I hope as many fans as possible will support them.

I would also like to apologise to our club main sponsors, Picfair. Due to an error when packing the kit for Slough only Preston Edwards was wearing a kit with this year’s sponsor on it. They have accepted our apology for the error and I hope that we will be able to quickly repair any damage done. Benji and the team have been great to work with so far and I would hate a genuine mistake to damage our relationship.

Finally, I would like to welcome every one of the local authority workers that has taken advantage of our special offer today. I hope that you enjoy the football and the atmosphere. I also hope that many of you will be back again another day.
Enjoy the game

Liam