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New Chairman and Secretary

The BFCSA Committee wish to announce that they have elected Peter Williamson into the position of Chairman to fill the role left following Keith Doe's resignation last month. His position of Secretary has been filled By Sam Norris.

Peter's first public duty will be to Chair the upcoming Supporters Association AGM on Thursday 3rd July, at 7:30 pm. This will be followed by a Q&A session. The BFCSA will confirm who will be attending the Q&A in the coming days.

Peter has penned his first words below.

"Firstly I wish to thank all those who assisted in distributing the Leaflets promoting the Club's Season Ticket Offer. Hopefully it encouraged a further increase in sales, and even if not, it continued the advertising of Barnet FC to the people of the Borough, hopefully dragging those lapsed fans or new fans, out of the pubs and armchairs in front of Soccer Saturday, and into Underhill.

"Secondly I wish to thank the other committee members for their hard work over the last year, something I am sure Keith would have done. There is now a broad range of ages with contrasting views on many of the key issues surrounding Barnet FC and Football in general. I challenge anyone not to find someone on the Committee who represents their views. The only thing I see missing on the committee at present is the voice of the Female fan, so if anyone wishes to fill that void we are always looking for additional members.

"The committee is full of ideas and we now need to put words into action, and hopefully over the coming season more of the ideas will come to fruition and you, the supporter, will see the strength and positive impact of the Supporters Association.

"There is often discussion within the committee as to what the views of our members are. One of the things we will be doing over the coming months is surveying our members, and then the wider fan base, to gain an full understanding of what you, the fan, think.

"My aim, if you'll excuse the cheesy tag line, is to make the Supporters Association, 'Barnet's Biggest Fan'. We have the position, by having a large membership to assist the Club and also where necessary challenge the Club. Hopefully you the fans seen the resurgence of the Supporters Association over the last few years and have benefited from the social events, subtle changes around the Club in which we have assisted along with us speaking in support of the Ground developments to meet the minimum requirements allowing us to remain at Underhill for the present time. The more members we have, the more we can do, both through the added funds we will have and the weight behind an argument that we can bring to a debate, what ever it may be. So please join us for the 2008/9 season and become a member of your Supporters Association. (Adults £10 / Concession £5- Click Here to Join)

"In my opinion, the Club has taken huge strides in the past few years since returning to the League. On the pitch, not only working our way progressively up the League, but also experienced the heights of the 4th round of the FA Cup, something even the longest supporting Barnet Fans had ever experienced, hopefully this year will be no different and fingers crossed we can do it again. We have also again been lucky enough to watch some excellent players who I am sure will rise up through the Leagues throughout their Careers.

"Off the pitch, the Ground is close to meeting minimum league requirements once the floodlights are installed, but still we must accept that the Club need to continue to search for a permanent home that is required for a 21st Century Professional Football Team. Only this week I was made jealous of the new plans for the town of Leigh and their football team. Not wishing to continually look back at the past but when you think of what, not only the Football Club, but the Community of Barnet could have had at Copthall, it is incredibly frustrating. The news recently of developments of the new training facilities in Cannons Park can only assist the Club going forward and shows the vision of the Club. Whilst it's not a problem having a training ground out of the Borough, many Clubs including our neighbours Arsenal do, when you see the Quinta Club still sitting derelict it is just a shame that the Council hasn't been as supportive over the years as others up and down the Country. Why you might ask do I bring this up, the reason being that whilst Underhill is now meeting the minimum requirements I urge fans not to think that we are now settled and that all is rosy. Long term we cannot get left behind, whilst Underhill has the charm and the memories for us all, long term we still need to support and push the Club's Chairman and Board to find us a new home.

"Advertising and promotion has seen a dramatic increase, the Club have reinstated their Community Work, the Pitch continues to look great and as Fans we have been lucky enough to be offered excellent ticketing offers this season. But I urge the Club to continue all their hard work and keep developing the Club on and off the pitch.

"I want to know our members thoughts, and am always available to listen to peoples ideas, views and suggestions, so feel free to contact me via our usual communication links or have a word with me around the ground on Matchdays."

As a further note:

Within the ground last season a group of fans worked hard to enhance the atmosphere with flags, more fans expressed an interest to help, if you would like to get involved please email info@bfcsa.co.uk and a committee member will get back to you.

Next Season's Social Events are already being planned, and now the Fixtures have been announced we will be finalising these over the coming weeks. We hope again to raise money throughout the season for Local Charities and the Club. The amount raised at Last Seasons Centenary Dinner Money will be announced and presented to the Club at the AGM on Thursday 3rd July 2008.

BFCSA Committee.