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Chertsey Town “I watched the team in my early teens, became a referee for a while, lost interest in football for seven or eight years then joined the club’s committee in 1974. I became secretary midway through the 1976/77 season, supposedly as a temporary measure to cover for the then secretary. I was raised in Chertsey so the club was my ‘home’ side. I moved a half hour away after getting married in 1970 as house prices in Chertsey were too high, but retained my connection with the town and community. Although two disciplines of on and off the park go hand in hand, having a well-run club gives me greatest satisfaction so that success on the field can be seen as the icing on the cake and a reward for getting through less vibrant years. After the club’s most successful season, a pause for breath in the immediate end to active football is about to give way to high expectation for the new season. The plan for the remainder of 2019 is to set the club’s organising stance to meet the challenge of the promotion just won to the Bostik League and create a firm base to sustain even further, the progress attained over the past year. The club is situated both physically and mentally in the heart of the community. Chertsey Town Juniors provide a host of sides through the formative years, culminating in two Under 18 sides, one of which competes in the stiff competition of the Bostik League’s Youth Division. Transition to the senior side is a proven fact in that five players from recent Under 18s membership, including this past season, have been on first team duty. The club had similar success as this year in past decades but was unable to expand. Out of that experience, the goal now is to create a firm base from which to sustain the club at higher and more comprehensive levels in a robust manner. This will certainly take up the prime challenge for the next five years. Football is such a volatile environment so who knows what can be achieved beyond the initial task of sustainability at higher levels, but the intention that abounds is to make the name of Chertsey Town FC a respected title in the sporting world.” Chris Gay, Secretary www.footballfocusmag.com 31