Unofficial Halesowen Town FC Forum

As the season approaches rather quickly I'd like to thank every single person who has been involved in this summers working parties. Since the season finished a hardy bunch of Yeltz folk have given every single Saturday morning (and into the afternoons) almost every Tuesday evening and numerous other times to complete a massive amount of work. It has been an enormous effort - all made possible by the funds from those in the FOTG monthly draw.
I'll be doing a full write up for the match programme in time but work completed is as follows;

Harry Rudge Stand
(Inside)
- New cooker installed in the kitchen. (Not purchased by FOTG)
- Kitchen fully decorated
- Toilets - both male and female toilets have been decorated to give a more modern look as well as the entrance to them.
- Board Room - Fully decorated throughout.
- DoorS repaired.

(Behind)

Removal of netting (To be recycled) and wooden frame that was showing signs of rotting.

Stand

Removal of all broken chairs
Removal of the first row of seats as per league directive
Board members seating area - seats replaced and floor painted.

Behind the Shed End

New drainage and concrete flooring including numerous soakaways and drainage.
Replacement of all of the steel cladding
New steel guttering units installed including downpipes and downpipe covers.
New doors for the changing rooms
New windows for the changing rooms
Roof for the area between the changing rooms and Shed
New lighting
Painting of doors
New steps installed for the changing rooms
Astro turf installed for the tunnel area
Painting of the wall on the changing rooms (ongoing)
New boot wash facilities installed.
Cut back overgrown area behind the Shed end

The Shed (inside)

Protective shield of steel installed to protect the cladding on the other side.

Changing rooms

New lagging installed for the pipes in the ceiling
Deep clean of all ceiling tiles and replaced as necessary
Showers and changing rooms painted.

Programme/Memorabilia Shed

Built and completed, including all interior work.
All memorabilia catologued

SHOP WILL BE OPEN FOR THE FIRST HOME GAME.

Other work

Painted the Yeltz Cafe (inside)
Built a fence to cover the overgrown area at the Stourbr*dge end using the panels from the old Shed end.
Jetwashing of the managers office/toilets block
Cut back overgrown area behind the Shed end
Repairs to doors, turnstiles and fencing.

I'm sure there are other things that I've forgotten, those who have been feel free to add stuff on we've done!

Anyone wanting to come and see the work then please let me know. There are still a few other things we'd like to do before the season (or bad weather arrives) including a new TV tower for Yeltz TV and a shelter for any wheelchair supporting fans.

I'm hoping fans who aren't in the draw will see it's benefit and be prepared to contribute to it.

Once again, thanks to those who do contribute and more importantly those who've given their time to make OUR club better. I won't name people for fear of missing anyone out but they know who they are.

- Please note the JULY draw will take place on Tuesday versus Bromsgrove Sporting and the AUGUST draw versus Gresley. Entry forms will be available for those wanting to join.

It was my first time helping out at working parties this year and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Felt nice to lend a hand behind the scenes and give something back to those who do the hard work on matchdays (whether players, staff, or otherwise).

Rob's post outlines the incredible efforts that have been made in close season and I guess the only downside is that more of the work isn't clearly visible on matchdays but, believe me, there are certain parts of the ground that have been transformed over the past few weeks.

I've also now signed up to FOTG as I've seen first hand the huge contribution it makes. I'd really encourage people to try and get involved next season, if they can. This is all incremental, it's all beneficial, it all helps.

I went to The Grove on Saturday morning to look at the work that has been done by the volunteers.
It is truly amazing what has been done since the end of last season.
However, walking on the pitch I was appalled at the state that it is in. I, along with many others I suspect, am openly saying that it is an absolute disgrace.
It is full of weeds, dangerous holes and the grass(?) is in sparse quantities.
How any side can play the football that we see is a bloody miracle. The apparent lack of control and skill is a direct result of that awful pitch.
Friends of The Grove will not contribute cash to pitch and floodlight maintenance - and rightly so.
It is down to others within the club structure to deal with those items.
I personally don't think that that will happen and the pitch and lights will continue to get worse.
Someone (any suggestions welcome) needs to take a leaf from the book that the volunteers read from.
A damned disgrace!

I can only echo the above comments. The work done by FOTG has been fantastic.

I would urge any fan who hasn't already done so, to speak to Rob and ask him to show you the work being done, especially the area behind the shed and the players changing rooms.

The thing I love of what the FOTG are doing is when they commit to something and promise to work on something, it gets done. No excuses etc. It's done.

RaidenYeltz wrote:I can only echo the above comments. The work done by FOTG has been fantastic.

I would urge any fan who hasn't already done so, to speak to Rob and ask him to show you the work being done, especially the area behind the shed and the players changing rooms.

The thing I love of what the FOTG are doing is when they commit to something and promise to work on something, it gets done. No excuses etc. It's done.

Thanks for the comments. The FOTG has not only managed to build up a pot of money to do this work, but also managed to acquire numerous committed volunteers who buy into what we're about and tap into their skill set. Having people with the practical skills to do this work has been the key and we've been fortunate people have given their time freely. We've also made links with people external to the club who have been keen to help based purely on the fact that as a group of people we're prepared to get up off our arses and help ourselves as a club.

FOTG will soon be reaching it's TWO year anniversary, I think we've certainly proved our worth in that very short time and those who may have been unsure of our intentions can see clearly what we're about. 100 people in the monthly draw for 12 months gives us £6,000 to spend on the ground, come and take a look at what we've done in two years and imagine what we could do with £6,000 this time next year. £10 a month, the cost of 3 pints per month...

Could anyone confirm the FOTG draw results for October please? I didn’t make the match where they were announced and the results are not on the FOTG website.

Apologies - Winners have been notified, I'm having problems with sending out mass emails - I'll be changing email provider in due course

When I get half an hour I'll be bringing the website up to date.

1st Andrew Bird £160
2nd Mick Hanson £85
3rd Robert Guest £60
4th Tammy Lynch £40
5th Emma Broughton £25

Thanks Rob. My rather lengthy losing streak continues then! I’ve won diddly-squat since the draw was launched…..it’s a worthwhile cause though!

Does anyone know what the FOTG monthly draw results were for November and December please?

They've been on display at the Programme Shed ;-)

November

1st - John Hitchman - 160.00
2nd - Kim Holmes (Thompson) - 85.00
3rd - Paul Essom 60.00
4th - Eurwyn Roberts 40.00
5th John Stokes 25.00

December

1st Colin Brookes 160.00 - Colin kindly donated 30.00 back to FOTG
2nd John Slater 85.00
3rd Mick Serge 60.00
4th John Hitchman 40.00
5th Matt Hawley 25.00

Alll winners have been paid up.