Commemorative Programme 2019-20
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This issue/booklet is produced to provide a record for all age groups and the Club History, and to acknowledge the support of the Programme and Team Sponsors we had for 2019-20. The Corona Virus/Covid-19 pandemic has impacted all our lives. Holmer are not letting the lockdown stop their preparations for next season. Team Manager Matt Stowell has committed himself to the Club for 2020-21. Having come through a tortuous initiation to the Hellenic Premier he now knows who in the squad he wants for next season and has identified those positions he still needs to strengthen. He has been busy on the ‘phone speaking to players and is confident that whenever the season starts we will have a squad capable of competing with the best in the League. It looks unlikely that we will run a Development Team in The Suburban League next season, but there are other options being taken up. Ian Lancaster will continue to oversee the Allied team but knows that with renewed competition getting good players to join the Club is going to need all his experience. There is another major initiative that Holmer are in the process of finalising and this should help to strengthen his squad. Off the pitch we do have plans to improve the changing rooms ready for the new season. Of course, with the longer close season the pitch will be very well prepared and ready for the restart whenever that is allowed. Confidence remains high that the Club will be able to bounce back next season, well supported by a committed group of volunteers. Come on you Greens! Rob Shed Club Chairman SPONSOR - A - MATCH Support HGFC and Sponsor a Home Match Only £30 UHLSPORT HELLENIC LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION MATCH Date SPONSORED BY Royal Wootton Bassett 03-Aug Steve Powell Shrivenham (FA Cup) 13-Aug Bill Scholes Raunds Town 31-Aug Pinpoint Marketing Virginia Water 03-Sep Paul Jarrott Decorating Longlevens 21-Sep Ripley Developments Ltd Newport Pagnell 08-Oct The Carrot & Coriander Flackwell Heath 29-Oct George and Jim Bishops Cleeve 02-Nov S Ellis Consulting Ltd Tuffley Rovers 16-Nov Adams Garden Services Lydney Town 07-Dec Holmer Green Double Glazing Binfield 28-Dec Chris Allen Brackley Town Saints 11-Jan Halls of Hazlemere Burnham 08-Feb Sygnus Office Partnership Easington Sports 03-Mar John Anderson Windsor Harry & Kathy Reading City LBS Electrical Ardley United J Walsh Newsagents Shrivenham Brimscombe & Thrupp Derek and Martin Fairford Town Malcolm & Alistair Westfields Contact Rob Shed 07539 267 948 or John Anderson [email protected] Match Sponsorship entitles you to 2 free tickets to your sponsored match, an advertisment in the Match Day programme, acknowledgement of your sponsorship in every programme, and hospitality at half time. Ironically as the season was suddenly “ended”, Holmer Green’s Hellenic season had picked up. With 5 points gleaned in February, as many as in the previous 6 months! The Match Reports of our two league wins are reproduced in this issue. There was also the possibility of no relegation anyway? As the season had been played with only 19 clubs in the division instead of 20, and Brackley Town Saints had already indicated that they would not be carrying on into the next season. Our Development team had a strange first season in the Suburban League. They had just played their first away game of the season when the halt was called. An expected tough season had, however, included the bonus of beating the runaway league leaders in the League Cup. Since all football was stopped in mid-March, we have been waiting for top level football to start again even if it is behind closed doors. Age-group football and lower non-league leagues were abandoned early on, and gradually all but the top national leagues in big footballing countries stopped. The English Football League Division Two was ended fairly early on. On Tuesday June 8th League One, which contains our local side Wycombe Wanderers, followed suit. A decision has now been made to decide final positions on a points-per-game played basis. Wanderers will play Fleetwood in the play-offs to enter The Championship; at Step Two of the English game for the first time in their history. By the end of June Northampton Town had beaten Exeter City to clinch the third promotion place into Division One. Wycombe start their play-off journey on the first weekend in July (about the time of intended publication of this issue, to coincide with the partial re-opening of the HGSA). England’s Premiership restarted on Jun 17th. Promotion and relegation throughout the top four tiers of English football will take place. Barrow will be promoted from the National League to Division Two. Almost 50 years after failing to be re- elected to the then Football League in favour of Hereford United, who had famously defeated Newcastle in The FA Cup. Continued German Bundesliga games were first to resume on the weekend 16th/17th May, with some good matches. Inevitably at least two goals were chalked off due to VAR, despite no actual protests from the defences involved! Fixtures were completed by the end of June. Bayern won again, and will be joined in The Champions’ League by Dortmund, Leipzig, and Hoffenheim. Paderborn and Dusseldorf are relegated. Bremen and Heidenheim will play off for the final Bundesliga place. The French, Belgian, and Dutch leagues had already been terminated fairly early, with Scotland following suit on May 18th. The French had decided that PSG were Champions anyway. Toulouse and Amiens had gained a Court Order to prevent their relegation. Lyons have likewise won a Court case to prevent their possible exclusion from Champions League participation. The French League were ordered to think again. However on 23/6 The French League made the same decision again, although citing new reasons! However, the 20 current top tier clubs have since voted with a majority to keep the division at 20 clubs and not increase it. The French FA have “confirmed the relegation” of the two objecting clubs. It is not known if they will appeal further, perhaps eventually to the Court of Arbitration for Sport which has had the final say on problematic situations in the past. On July 1st the Lyons President, Jean-Michel Aulas, publicly slated the French league for “a massive error” which showed “a lack of leadership”. Clubs like his, along with PSG and Marseilles will forfeit enormous sums of ticket and television money. Lyons are in their twenty-third consecutive season of European competition, and hold a 1-0 First Leg lead over Juventus in the still to be completed last sixteen this season. Not participating next season could mean a £63m pound reduction in income. Continued The Dutch declared the season null and void, the Government there having banned football “until September”. Cambuur Leeuwarden claiming it was “shameful” to deny them promotion to the Eredivisie. Eventually a compensation scheme was reluctantly imposed. Including Utrecht, Cup Finalists, getting £0.5m (no European place), & Leeuwarden, Second Division Leaders, (denied Promotion) £340,000. In Belgium FC Brugge (Bruges) were confirmed as Champions Waas-Beveren, bottom of the top tier, have gained a Court Injunction to prevent their relegation. The Belgian League has been ordered to “think again”. In Scotland a very early decision to curtail all football was made, like France, Belgium, and Holland. This has been very controversial and damaging. Hearts have started legal action to prevent their demotion from The Premier Division. Partick Thistle likewise on their demotion from The Championship. Also the two clubs are claiming £8m, and £2m, respectively, in compensation from The SPFL. Stranraer, demoted to Division Two, decided that they could not afford to embark on legal procedure. Non-League contenders Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts have been denied the chance of Promotion to Division Two, replacing Brechin City. An initial hearing is being held in the Scottish Court of Session on Wednesday 1st July. In Northern Ireland the League only officially terminated in mid- June. A decision on Champions, and relegation/promotion between first and second tiers was announced (27/6) on current league positions. Londonderry based Institute FC have appealed their subsequent demotion. Due to be replaced by second tier winners Portadown, Institute want an increase to a 14 team top division (“based on the Danish Model”), which would reprieve them. Continued Italy, and Spain, seem to have restarted OK at the top level. EUFA Champions’ League and Europa League games have been out on hold, but a plan is in place to complete the two competitions later in the summer. As well as beginning the 2020-21 versions with a revised date and match schedule. Holmer Green FC will still count results, appearances, and goal- scorers in their Club Records and History; but from the FA’s and Hellenic/Suburban/Allied Counties Leagues’ etc., point of view our season never happened. What repercussions this unique situation has on each of our teams in fairly unpredictable? We may not run a development team. Although the Academy which will be based at Watchet Lane next season have expressed an interest in taking on the fixtures. Possibly in the regionalised Hellenic league Division Two, outside of the national pyramid. Chris Allen is restarting an Old Boys team, probably in The Aylesbury League. Will our younger players have decided that they did not miss their football anyway, and will some of the younger age-groups have to “buddy-up” to continue? Will the need to catch up on missed schooling result in less time being available for our age-group teams to train or play football? Similarly will our First Team, with no Club Sponsor for several years, be able to compete on a more even playing field? Because other previously well-sponsored clubs may not have recourse to thriving local sponsors, in the wake of the inevitable downturn in the economy.