With just days until the start of the Surrey Intermediate League Western season we caught up with Chairman, Leon Turner to discuss the Senior section.
Following a difficult 22/23 campaign for the first team especially but also for the Development team in the 2nd half of the season it was clear the clubs Senior section needed a fresh outlook. The decision has been made to withdraw the Development team from the league, here is what the Chairman had to say. "It was clear that last year we had a number of players who's commitment to the club was questionable, be it giving up their time each week or purely just attitude. This club has always been about playing proudly to represent the badge and the opportunity given by the club, the players for this level at least want for nothing at training or matches. It's sad that a number of players had the attitude that they were bigger and better than the club or the league they were playing in and ultimately that results in a lack of effort, lethargy, arrogance, however you want to see it really. The management made a decision that poor attitude would not be tolerated this year and a number of players were identified to be challenged to improve or move on. As it turns out many of these players have chosen to move on themselves and with a few others having had their heads turned and a few others having decided to stop playing all together a natural clear out has happened rather than one lead solely by the management team. In some respects it's better this happens organically as for the most part relations remain strong with many of the players that have stopped playing or have moved on and we wish them all the very best for their seasons unless of course when they are facing us! The number of players moving on meant that we were left with a much smaller squad and with a group of players who have regular work commitments which mean they are not available every week we had to make a call regarding the Development team. Simply the group of players left at the club even with new additions meant to complete a 26 league game 1st team season and a 24 league game development team season would be virtually impossible. The decision is a difficult one because ultimately some players will now miss out on a game each week with there being only one squad but the senior management and the committee felt it to much of a financial risk to continue meaning paying a fee for the pitch at the cricket club and of course the referees fees and all the other expenses that go with running a team. As a club we also didn't want to start the season and then withdraw because it makes a mess of the league and creates additional work for league officers this isn't fair. In the short term we are certain reducing to just a 1st team is absolutely the right thing to do and the plan is to have a complete focus on rebuilding the 'Lemon' spirit we seemed to have lost over the past few years."
The 1st team start their season on Saturday 2nd September at Coopers Hill, kick off 2pm.