Hampton and
Richmond Borough
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Images courtesy of Ben Harrison-Hyde
Hampton and
Richmond Borough
FOOTBALL CLUB
Hampton and Richmond Borough FC narrowly missed out on
promotion last season and has seen plenty of changes over the
summer as they build for a successful campaign this time around.
Football Focus Magazine recently caught up with their Secretary
Richard Parsons to find out more.
Involvement
He told us, “I have been involved
since the late 1970s, having followed
the fortunes of the club as sports editor
of the local paper, the Surrey Comet.
I was subsequently encouraged to fill
the vacant role of chairman and spent
two years in that position, later serving
as treasurer, press officer, reserve team
secretary and Tannoy announcer.
Work and family commitments then
intervened, but I returned as a season
ticket holder in recent times. I was
invited on to the board as operations
director by the new chairman, Graham
Wood, in the summer of 2017 and took
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on the additional duties of club secretary
in January of this year. It’s a job you
can’t put down, even for a day. There’s
always something that needs your
attention, but I have become used to a
24/7 environment during my career.”
Atmosphere
“The atmosphere here is extremely
upbeat. It was all change in the summer
after we lost the promotion final on
penalties and our manager, coaching
staff and most of the players departed
within days, the majority of them to
league rivals Woking.
However, we acted promptly and
appointed the Hendon manager Gary
McCann, who came highly recommended
by his peers. He has brought his staff
and a considerable number of players
with him from Hendon and so far has
maintained the high standards we came
to expect last season.”
Present
“It should not be a surprise that we
began modestly, losing two of our first
three league games, but since then –
as the team has started to blend – we
have been as high as joint second. Our
first priority is to gain promotion to the