The new Board has been in place for three weeks now and as you will recognise it is a very busy time planning for next season and we are prioritising building the structure to enable us to function effectively, resolving short term tasks that need to be undertaken and setting a budget for the financial year which starts on 1 June. Both on and off the pitch the 2022-23 season will of course present new challenges and a huge step up from previous years.

We are awaiting official confirmation of the allocation of the North and South Leagues of the National League. The league season starts on Saturday 6 August.

We know supporters will be anxious about player news and please rest assured Andy is in discussion with last year’s squad about re-signing for 2022-23 although note that Max Hercules has decided to leave the club.

The Board have made the decision not to run a development or reserve team in 2022-23. This is a difficult decision but reflects the challenges to the club in terms of the increased demands of participating in the National League and also the success of our Academy programme run in conjunction with Banbury & Bicester College. Rory Shadbolt, who managed the Development team last year, supports this decision and he will have more involvement with Andy Whing’s management team as well as coaching the Academy team. We are delighted that Rory remains with us and thank him for his continued contribution to the club.

There are some changes to Andy’s backroom staff with Sports Therapists Taya Buehler and Millie Armstrong leaving along with Vinny McGibbon, Data Analyst and Harry Samaras, Nutritionist. We thank them for all their support with the squad last season and their contribution to the team’s success. We wish them well for the future.

At the General Meeting I expressed my aim of increasing membership and we are looking at ways to achieve this including online purchasing via our ticketing platform. When we confirm details let’s give it a real go, persuade family and friends to join the Puritans and become owners as we march forward to a new era for Banbury United FC!

We know our website needs an overhaul and we are in discussion with a developer to design a new website for the club.

We have met representatives from Thames Valley Police and Oxfordshire County Council regarding the ground and operating at National League level on matchdays. It is of course important that the ground is in good shape and we are very grateful to the people who volunteered last Saturday to undertake repair work on the terraces.

We will be looking for volunteers to help with a number of roles to help the club thrive and grow. When the call comes please try and offer your help if you can.

We are planning pre-season friendlies in July and our first one has been announced for 02 July when we will play Easington Sports at home and our last one on 30 July sees a trip to fellow fan-owned club FC United of Manchester, who provided brilliant opposition and helped create a carnival atmosphere at our game last year. We will have details of further friendlies soon.

Thank you for your support.

We are United!

Ronnie Johnson
Chairman