Well, the weeks are certainly flying by, now, let me think, do I have any news to report this week? We did some odd jobs around the ground. There were a couple of meetings, and I am sure there was something else I had to say. Ah yes, that is it – WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Where do I begin with what has happened since last week’s notes? As a board, as a club, we have been bottling up our excitement about what we believe we can achieve this season. We didn’t want to be overconfident. We didn’t want to over-build our own expectations. We didn’t want to build the expectations of the supporters too high. All of us carry too many memories of where our hopes and expectations have hit sky high, only to come crashing to the ground with a heart-breaking play-off defeat.

 As a club we set out wanting to build something that the town and supporters would get behind. We wanted to prove to ourselves, and to the local community, that there is a passion for a non-league football club in Chesham. The stress, the anxiety, the hard work, the belief, the passion…it all exploded with joy on Monday afternoon when we were crowned Southern League Premier South CHAMPIONS.

There are no words to describe how I feel right now. Very proud. And very thankful. We have a fantastic management team, we have a fantastic board and we have the most amazing supporters I could ever have hoped for. To everyone of you I say a massive thank you. You have all played your part. This is for you.

For the record, in case you had not heard. Last Friday we beat Hayes & Yeading 1-0 at The Meadow in a tight game. You could sense the tension. We knew we were so close to clinching the title but were also well aware of the banana skins that were still in front of us. A solitary goal was enough to win that match, and results elsewhere meant that we knew a win at Harrow Borough on Easter Monday would seal the title and promotion to National League South. We knew we were on the cusp of something magical. Supporters knew we were on the cusp of something magical. That is why on Easter Monday the trains, buses and roads started to fill with claret & blue as over 500 Chesham United supporters made the short trip to Harrow Borough.

In true fairy tale fashion, the story took a twist when we went 0-1 down. Were the celebrations to be put on ice? No chance. The team turned on the style and went on to smash home four goals to spark the wild scenes of celebration at the final whistle as the 4-1 win clinched the league title with four games left to play. The elation was a combination of excitement and relief. As a club, as a town, we have waited a long time to achieve this promotion. Over the years we have had near misses and play-off defeats, but now we can finally say that our town is part of the National League South, just two divisions below the Football League.

This is going to be a big step up for the club and the cliché would be to say ‘now the hard work begins’. But in truth, that hard work has already begun. Not wanting to tempt fate I had banned the ‘P-word’ around the boardroom, but we were still very focused on preparing for life in the league above. Over recent months we have had many meetings within the club identifying what we need to do and what we need to improve if we were to be promoted (feels good to use that word now!).

We know what we need to do around the stadium to meet additional ground grading requirement. Fortunately it is not a huge amount, but all comes at a cost and requires time and labour – we are talking a few extra seats in the stand, additional press areas, slightly enlarging the away dressing room, additional turnstile access…we have a clear list that we will be working through over the summer – look out for more volunteer requests!

There are other areas we need to develop as well. We have been reviewing our administration capabilities and any additional requirements, our marketing need to step up a gear and we are obliged to film all the matches and provide highlight clips from our home games. We have been going trough all the documentation looking at the different requirements for playing in a higher league. This includes the submission of a club business plan and budget. We do this every season anyway internally and over recent weeks we have been working on this, accounting for different scenarios and building different models depending on which league we might be in, what we might need to do with entrance fees and season tickets in each scenario.

We have also been carrying out reviews of our commercial activity and how we work with local businesses and market our opportunities. We have been looking at the matchday experience – access to the ground, food and drink availability, safety on the terraces – hopefully you will notice that we have already invested in supporter first aiders around the ground on a matchday since attendances have increased. There is a huge amount to do. We know we need to up our professionalism further, but we are really excited at the prospect of doing that.

Then of course we have on the field. Whilst publicly playing down the prospect of promotion, we have been in discussions with our management team about how everything will look for next season for them as a management team, playing budgets, training, realistic expectations and how we can continue this journey we have started. We must heartily thank our very talented James and Michael and the coaching team they put together to produce a team on the pitch that has bestowed on us all a Championship winning team and promotion, we look forward to the next chapter of our story together.

In other words. Rest assured; we have not just been sitting back waiting to see what happened. We have been planning for the possibility of promotion and now that it is confirmed we are incredibly excited to get the wheels in motion. The support of everyone has been quite simply mind-blowing, together we are creating something very special in Chesham of which I am proud to be at the helm of, but the success is down to everyone associated with the club. For that I am eternally grateful, the memories created last weekend will live with us all forever.

Of course the season is not yet over and we still have four games to play against sides that have everything to play for. Our visitors to The Meadow tomorrow, Salisbury, will be looking to complete the double over us and secure second place in the league and home play-off matches. Kick-off is at 3.00pm, let’s have another massive crowd to welcome the Champions onto the pitch.

Finally, while our men’s team are celebrating promotion, the women’s team are still working hard to retain their place in the 4th tier of the English women’s game. With a tough defeat at home on Sunday against AFC Sudbury they still have 4 more games to go, with two matches at The Meadow against QPR FC Women (21st April) and Norwich City Women (28th April). With two to go down Chesham are all but safe with Haywards Heath Town and Cambridge City adrift at the bottom of the table. With games this weekend we’ll know for sure in time for the notes next week.

Thank you for your support. You have been magnificent.

Peter Brown, Chairman