Newsdesk
Northwood FC reflect upon those we have lost
As today has been designated National Remembrance Day, here at Northwood FC we take the opportunity to reflect on the memories of those loved ones who have sadly departed us and leave us with nothing but fond and special memories.
Chairman Ian Barry has placed some flowers with the picture in the stadium of Pat Byrne, our Life President, who passed away with Covid-19 in April last year, as a mark of our respect and a tribute to his memory, which will live on here forever.
Along with Pat, we remember all of our family and friends and those who lost their lives, especially those in the last year, when our world has changed so much for the worse.
Pat, along with Carole Lawrence, Pete Reynolds’ brother in law and Danielle’s Nan were amongst the many who were overtaken by this cruel disease who were part of the NFC family and we send our love, thoughts and prayers to their families who we know are devastated by their losses. Others we have lost in this most awful of years include: Micky Russell, Dave Evans and Sarah Wheeler’s Dad.
The NFC family pays tribute to you all today, and every day. May you all rest in peace and we will celebrate your lives when we are able to do so.
23 March 2021
Woods Chairman completes 14 years at the club
Northwood FC Chairman Ian Barry recently completed 14 years at the helm of the Woods, so we thought that we’d have a catch-up with him, and here’s what he has to say about his time in the hot-seat!
“Yes, it is true that I have recently had my 14th anniversary as Chairman of the club and whilst I never knew I’d be here so long initially, I’m sure others had also hoped for the same!
“As I reflect on my time at the club, if I could sum it up in a short phrase it would be something like: “I must be mad, but determined and ultimately proud of what has been achieved in that time”. Even as recently as five to six years ago, I still had doubts as to the club’s existence as for so many years it had literally just been a battle to survive and when you and a few others are in essence working miracles just to be here, in the background I always knew we had some support, but also many critics and doubters and in many ways, that is what gave me the inspiration to continue and ultimately, to have the club we now have today.
“The club is steeped in history and has a very good reputation going many years back, but times had changed and for the worse; we had a significant historic debt hanging around our necks and no real way of paying the ongoing bills, let alone anything from the past. We had to rely on tough negotiating, generous donations, debtors allowing us time to get our house in order and all this, whilst continuously working hard to create income streams we previously never had.
“Many people have come and gone throughout my time, some moved away, some left of their own accord, some we had to ask to leave and sadly, some have passed away; and a lot of what I do is in their memory and out of the belief that they trusted me to get this right, to make it a good club again and to lead us into a new generation. I think this has been done and I’m sure they will all be proud as I am of where we now are.
“The last few seasons, on the pitch, we have struggled. There are many reasons for this and of course, the responsibility lies with me in this regard. The appointment of Managers has been a part of the role that hasn’t been easy and it’s fair to say I’ve got some wrong; maybe we have been overachieving for some years, which I do think is the case, but that should be everyone’s goal in life. Promises have been made and not kept, so whilst it appears that I may have taken the ‘Chelsea’ model, I would like nothing more than to work with someone who stays for a long time and realises the dream with me. We live in hope.
“In recent times, we have had to try and cope with Covid 19; this has been an awful time for me and the club, especially by us losing our President, Pat, last April. This event hit us all very hard and I still believe we haven’t yet come to terms with his loss, as we haven’t been able to celebrate his life as we would wish; we also have lost Micky Russell to a long term illness and more recently, Alan lost his brother, Dave, on Christmas Day and shortly after, Kevin Lawrence lost his Mum, Sarah Wheeler sadly lost her Dad and Danielle her Nan.
“These losses, as I know only too well, are so very sad, but will bring us all closer together as we try and come to terms with what has happened. God Bless them all.
“As to the future, we have some fantastic and long-term sponsors, for which we are very grateful and they have supported us immensely: I thank them for this as it really does make a difference. We also host Bosch, AP Security and the AA in our state of the art clubhouse as well as hosting many functions and social events. When these ‘come back’ I firmly believe we will continue to go from strength to strength.
“Our Youth Section is flourishing and the relationship is now very strong between the main club and them; something we have all been trying to achieve for many years. Long may this continue.
“This club is good - it can be great and we are well on the way to making this happen.
“I genuinely thank everyone for all their support and help during my time here. It’s been tremendous hard work, but my belief of what we can be, is now happening.
“I look forward to seeing all of our football family and friends soon and sincerely hope and pray that the worst times are now behind us and the trivial issues that we all may have felt were important before to us, pale somewhat into insignificance going forward as we all need to pull in the same direction and bring back the good times.”
9 March 2021
FA curtail the league season
The FA’s Alliance and Leagues Committees have now considered the large amount of data and information submitted by clubs across the National League System (NLS) Steps 3-6 as part of a survey to gather views on the continuation or conclusion of the 2020-21 league season, in addition to the information set out in the Government’s roadmap this week.
The results of the survey showed that over 76% of all clubs across Steps 3-6 indicated a preference to curtail the 2020-21 league season if it could not be restarted with limited spectator numbers and hospitality before 1 April 2021.
Taking into account the survey results and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, which continues to adversely affect incomes for clubs due to restrictions on both spectators and hospitality, The FA’s Alliance and Leagues Committees have reached a consensus that subject to the approval of FA Council, the 2020-21 league season for Steps 3-6 of the NLS should be curtailed with immediate effect, with no further league matches taking place this season. The Committees will now present their collective recommendations to The FA Council for ratification.
25 February 2021
