On behalf of myself and the committee, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back for the forthcoming 2024/25 Premier League season, a new dawn beckons, with a new manager and coaching staff in place, but without sounding too pessimistic, previous Dutch managers that have coached in the Premier League before haven't been too successful,(Gullit,Van Gaal,Jol,Koeman,De Boer, Hiddink, Advocaat and ten Haag) to name but a few, but let's hope Arne can buck the trend. 🙏 

As you are probably already aware by now, we have had to regrettably increase coach fares for the forthcoming season, the reason being, that for the first time in the current committees 6-year tenure, we made a significant loss on coach fares last season, and the hire costs have again risen for this season, so we have had no other option but to increase fares for adults, whilst child fares remain the same, as do membership fees, whilst we are on the subject of fares, can I remind everyone, that when you make a payment, can you please put the match concerned in the reference section, or the match date, there is no need to add your name, as this comes up automatically, also coach bookings are being made in advance, but coach payments are still being made on the day of the game, this is not helpful to us as we need and want, to only check payments made against the passenger list once, not 2& 3 times as we are having to do now, this thankfully only applies to a handful of people  , and  whilst we are on the subject of coaches, the committee are looking to recruit one more member with 3 seasons previous membership to help out on the coach on matchdays, with a view to taking over making coach bookings, compiling passenger lists etc. In the near future, the reason being, as I approach my 70th year, I want to take a slightly backward step in my current role, and I will be attending fewer matches this season, so anyone interested can approach any current committee member, ( don't all rush at once).and lastly, while we are on the subject of coaches, can I politely remind those who are embarking at our first pick up point, at MK, and occupying a single seat to yourselves, that you might need to relinquish your seat when we arrive at Kislingbury, to enable people travelling together, ie, friends and family etc, to be able to sit together, we are after all a social club and not a National Express coach, (thank you in advance).

Away match tickets have been a topic of conversation for many recently, so I'd like to reiterate the qualification for being entered into the draw, for said tickets,
A) all entered must have been a member for three previous seasons continuously, prior to the current season,
B) must be travelling on the coach at the time of the draw, or if they are not travelling for any reason, the person using their matchday ticket, must be using the coach that day,
it has also been noted that a few negative comments, some in jest, but have become quite tedious overtime, about the way the draw is made, and when it is made, so I would like to remind members that the tickets that have these credits are not held by the club, but 2 other parties, so it is not a given right that the club offer these tickets to members at all, but we thought it would be a good experience for members to visit an away venue on the odd occasion, Niki still has to join a queue online when these tkts go on sale, and pay for them herself, and LFC state that these tkts are not transferable, so we should not be offering them at all, so please remember these tkts form a bonus, and are not a given right and can be withdrawn at any given time, and any member who is successful in the draw and who is unable to attend the match must offer them back, so as the next person drawn out can use them. 

This season marks the 50th anniversary of our supporters' club formed by Dolly Wallinger, back in 1974, the exact date is unknown, but it is thought that Dolly decided to form the club when her favourite Cobblers player Phil Neal joined Liverpool from Northampton Town back in 1974 and Phil made his debut for LFC in November of that year, so the club must have been formed just prior to that, and we the committee are looking to mark the occasion in some way, so if members have any reasonable low budget ideas please share them with the committee. 

And finally, could all members and non-members who wish to contact the club, please use the club e mail address lfcmknorthants@gmail.com, this makes it easier to collate and respond to, rather than use the 3 committee members personal e mail addresses.

Here’s hoping for a successful and enjoyable season, YNWA.

Steve Carter (Chairperson) on behalf of your committee