ALLENBURYS FC WITHDRAW FROM LEAGUE

Last Ditch Effort to find Players Ends in Defeat

Allenbury's have given notice they have withdrawn from the league. Their results to date will be expunged and Senior Division I will continue with 16 teams in competition.

Allenburys FC were widely recognised in Hertfordshire county football as having probably the best pitch, training and social facilities; all backed up by strong financial resources. It is a great shame that those advantages were insufficient to keep them going and they have now been lost to the league along with one of our most well-regarded clubs; a double blow. The club's demise is a powerful endorsement of the message from the chair at the AGM that neither the league nor our member clubs can afford to stand still, resting on our laurels. 

We either grow stronger or we fall back. There is no middle way and the league encourages all our teams to be on the look out constantly for new blood, both to boost playing strength and to bring new ideas and energy to your club's management. One man band committees and small squads where everyone is certain to get a game every week are always just one crucial resignation or a couple of no-shows away from collapse.

Community ties are crucial to gaining new volunteers, keeping committee strength up. Nourishing connections with local schools and colleges and encouraging players to bring friends along is essential if playing numbers are not to dwindle away. If your club has a training night make sure it's advertised locally and always make "grown-ups" welcome; they might be a future secretary, chairman or team manager. A cup of tea and a friendly welcome to regulars on a Saturday afternoon can work wonders. As you sow so shall you reap.

EVERGREEN WITHDRAWAL LEAVES PREMIER HOLE

Premier Club Ends 40 Year County League Record

Evergreen FC have withdrawn both sides from the League and the Premier Division will operate with 15 clubs as it is now too late to re-assign a club from Senior Division One. Fixtures Secretary Dave Smith is confident he can find games for all our senior teams on most Saturdays and has decided to make the Reserve Section's Chairman's Cup a home and away competition to give our reserve sides a full calendar of football.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE VACANCIES

Your league Needs You

The treasurer's role requires some book keeping skills and experience as well as familiarity with PC bits and pieces like spreadsheets, using the internet, etc. The Results Secretary post requires someone who has access to a PC and the internet on match day evenings as the main part of the job is to liaise with the press regarding results.

Both job holders are full members of the league's management committee and will need to be free to attend the regular monthly meetings (September through June). All costs and expenses are paid and, where necessary, equipment (laptop, printer, etc) and services (phone line, broadband etc) can be provided.

The committee prides itself on the fellowship it offers to its members and we warmly invite applications from supporters of the league who would like to make an additional contribution to its management and development.

For more details and to apply please contact the league's chairman, Brian Smith, on 07770 914429 or by email.

WORMLEY ROVERS LOOKING TO STRENGTHEN THEIR BACKROOM STAFF

Premier Division Club Looking For New Committee Blood

Wormley Rovers is a leading club in the Herts Senior County League and one of the most ambitious, setting higher standards both on and off the pitch with each passing season.

For 2010-11 the club is seeking to appoint a General Secretary and a Fixtures Secretary.

These are unpaid posts but offer a major opportunity for someone to get involved in the day to day running of this go-ahead club.

If you are interested please contact Peter Dent on 01992 412134 (home), 07941 161487 (mobile), 01992 447410 (business) or by e-mail to p.dent4@ntlworld.com.

www.hsc.leaguemanager.biz/mobile

Getting Results on the Move

As I go around our grounds on match days I am always intrigued by the amount of interest shown in my mobile when I get the results up on it. There's no magic to it. I don't have any inside info or a special phone. Anyone who has a mobile phone can take advantage of the free, instant results and tables service provided by the makers of our website - leaguemanager.biz.

You can use your mobile to access the latest results and up-to-the-minute league tableswhen you're not at your PC simply, quickly and for no additional cost. Regardless of the make of phone ornetwork you use, if you have internet access on your mob - sometimes called 3G - you're in.

It's free (other than what your network provider charges you for internet access) to get details of fixtures, results, league tables; even the address and contact details of the club you're playing and telephone numbers for the match referee and assistants. Very handy on a Saturday when you don't know where you're going or you've got a possible no-show. Click here for more details.

A tip. If you can, set your font size to the smallest your phone allows. You will then see all the information on one screen without having to scroll from side to side.

PUT THAT FAG OUT

Council Premises Are Smoke Free Zones

Regardless of what you smoke, cigarettes, pipe - or anything else - you cannot light up anywhere on council sports premises or any other premises which are "communal" or where paid employees work. We have been advised that councils and other letting organisations will refuse to rent their pitches to clubs which don't abide by this legal requirement and may cancel already agreed hiring arrangements where there are reports, or evidence, of non-compliance.

You willl need to be matchless in the changing rooms saving your glowing performances and any other fiery moments for when you're on the pitch.

YOUR PASSWORD

Ask and You Will Receive?

Like lots of websites you use, the league asks for a password and access to some of the faciltities on our website is not possible unless you provide one. But what should your password be?

The second rule is another slightly saddening one; when it comes to keeping your important data safe you are at most risk from family and friends. So; don't share passwords and don't reveal important ones - to anyone.

Third rule? Don't try and do it yourself. There are lots of password checkers that will help. A good one can be found here. Give it a try; make up a phrase you can remember - footymad11? - and try it in the checker. When you get a good one - 4th rule: don't trust internet password checkers - change it round slightly and then log on and change your password for your details here.

Finally, I repeat, please remember not to use a password that protects really important personal information on websites that don't need that amount of protection. (The more often you use a password the more times it exists "out there" in the interweb and the more likely it is to be discovered). You need at least two passwords.

While logged on please remember to check your details; particularly date of birth, post code and email address. If they are wrong or missing please fill-in the correct information as this is a great help to us when we need to match players and referees etc with data from other bodies like the FA and so on.

Tremendous Excitement, Clubhouse Goes Mad, Beer Stocks Exhausted

This Could be your Clubhouse as League Results Come In

You can just picture the excitement amongst your players as they watch the County league tables change before their eyes as Audrey and the wonder of the web do their stuff.

If you have a TV in your clubhouse, connecting it to the internet via a cheap PC and a dial-up telephone connection is easy, costs pennies and is immensely interesting (that bit's not true, possibly). The introduction of very inexpensive Netbook computers - costing less than 200 in many cases - and the availability of "dongles" providing 3G+ access (as fast as many household internet connections) makes setting up a TV to show County league results very straightforward and relatively easily affordable for most clubs.

Showing the results and tables as they come in and are updated will increase the number of people using your bar making investment in the small amount of equipment required self financing.

Watch your teams' fortunes ebb and flow on the telly - for more details get in touch with Brian Smith.

Club Secretaries - Check your Details?

Everybody in the league relies on the details provided by clubs and recorded on the website. Whether it is a league officer sending out information, a home club wishing to confirm a match or referees and players looking for venue details, everybody turns to the website.

Is Your Email Address Correct?

Every club must have a monitored email address

It is a league requirement for clubs to use the website to enter their match result cards and to record goal scorers. Please make sure that your club is equipped and organised to do this.

Ideally the club secretary would be the club officer with access to the internet and email. Other club members can be designated as your contact point but they must appreciate that the league will expect them to provide a consistent and reliable link to the club in the secretary's place.

If you would like additional usernames and passwords for anyone in your club (who may be operating as your internet and email "officer" for example) please let me know and I will set them up and email them their logging-on details.

Is Your Ground Up To Standards?

Lawrence Workman, the league development officer, will be visiting all our grounds throughout the beginning of the season to ensure that they meet our standards requirements. Match officials also provide regular feedback to the league via their match reports.

Appendix 'A'

The criteria we measure our grounds against are contained in Appendix 'A' to our rules. This is printed in our annual Directory and Rule Book and on the Noticeboard and all clubs are encouraged to check that they continue to meet the requirements therein.

Action was taken against clubs last year and where restrictions or additional requirements were imposed then these remain in force until the underlying reason for them has been remedied or otherwise attended to.

Of particular concern are those clubs which previously conformed to standards but have since experienced weather or other damage which they have not rectified and the small number of clubs given dispensation regarding temporary accommodation or other facilities but which have stopped meeting their end of the agreement.

The league will take action against clubs letting their standards slip and this could, in exceptional cases, include a requirement to play at another location, demotion or expulsion from the league.

Club Announcements

We warmly encourage clubs to send in announcements about their activities etc which we will be pleased to publish here.

If you are looking for new playing personnel, a sponsor, a manager, whatever, and feel that publicity on this site might help then get in touch.