Author: Matt Haswell

Todays Results.

A slightly disappointing and wet start to the season. The 1s and 2s SAL games were called off as Lloyds Warren could not fulfil the fixtures. The 2s had a very good friendly with South Bank which they managed to draw 3-3 after being 3-0 up. Good game though! 3s lost their first league game away at Ally Pally 5-1. Tough oppo. And the 4s lost 4-1 to Old Acts in their first league game The 5s won 4-0 against South Bank with goals from Dwayne Bedford, Andy Bitmead, Delman Babaker and Billy on his debut. The 6s beat Old Wilsonians 2-1 but we scored all the goals with Mark Chappell scoring an o.g. for the oppo! That’s was two in two for him.

And throughout a miserable wet afternoon they completed a cricket match. Bless ’em!!

[Show slideshow]

1 2 ►

Merton FC Events 2016

FIRST SOCIAL DRINKS OF THE SEASON – JOSEPH HOOD BAR,

SATURDAY 10^th SEPTEMBER FROM 5.30PM – 8PM.

ALL TEAMS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MEET IN THE BAR AFTER THE 1^st DAY OF THE SEASON FOR A FEW OF THE TEAMS.

SATURDAY 1^st OCTOBER

JOSEPH HOOD – FROM 6PM – 10PM

TEAM MERTON vs. THE USA – MERTON RYDER CUP NIGHT

Dress: (Optional for those watching) Golf themed

Specific golf club-house challenges & Live Ryder Cup! Night out in golf fancy dress. All teams to dress in golf attire for club house comp.

SATURDAY 8^th OCTOBER

JOSEPH HOOD – FROM 5PM LIVE ITV, ENGLAND V MALTA, GAMES, BETS, FOOD & BEERS IN THE BAR.

PLUS, DON’T MISS MERTON VETS vs OLD WESTMINSTER CITZ VETS at JOSEPH HOOD 1PM K.O (Want to play contact Mark Chappell or Roger

THAT’S THE MERTON QUIZ

Sat 12^th November

7pm PROMPT START – FINISH 10PM (drinks in bar after)

Teams of 6 maximum

£10 per person (includes fish and chips / and or sausage & chips)

All the classic rounds – year that was, music, sport, football, general knowledge, picture round, history etc etc…

SATURDAY 3rd DECEMBER

JOSEPH HOOD – 6.00PM START

CELEBRATE THE START OF THE FESTIVE PERIOD WITH TEAM MATES & ALL THE CLUB. CHRISTMAS JUMPER THEME.

Big Sunday at the Hood with all 5 youth teams playing and Induction day BBQ. Thanks to the organisers and helpers. Steve and McKenzie, Daniel Willard, Dave Laughton and Dan, Darren and Daneilius’s mum for helping on BBQ. U11s beat AFC Walcountians 4-1, U13s lost to Met Police whites 3-1 U15s beat Met police Reds 5-2 for a really great performance. U9s lost to a strong Ewell side but U14s won comfortably. So thanks to all the helpers/organisers and supporters!!!

[Show slideshow]

Today’s Results. A cracking afternoon at the Hood. Our 3s had a great game with Shaun Jones’s vets side. Really good game which we won 6-2. In the inter club friendly the 1s beat the 2s 3-2 again a really good game. Our 5s lost 3-1 to Alleyns. 4s drew 2-2 to a West Wickham 4 team which are a league above them. 6s lost 7-2 to old blues who decided to field 4 1st tam players in the game which took it away from being the close contest it had been. Some good performances from a few new faces and lots of positive to take forward.

[Show slideshow]

As of Wednesday (21st September) and every Wednesday night, training will be moving to St Marks Academy, CR4 1SF (right near Mitcham Eastfields station).

Training is separated into two sessions

Session One – Under 9s, 11s and 14s will be  from 6pm – 7pm

Session Two – Under 13s and 15s will be from 7pm – 8pm

Please aim to get there 15 minutes before session starts so training can begin promptly.  Please note that the playing surface is AstroTurf, so no metal studs.  More details can be found on the Training Page.

As of next Wednesday (7 September) and every Wednesday night, training will be moving to St Marks Academy, CR4 1SF (right near Mitcham Eastfields station). Please aim to get there for 7.45pm for an 8pm start.  Please note that the playing surface is AstroTurf, so no metal studs.  More details can be found on the Training Page.

Dear All

Its that time of year when if you are thinking of joining/re-joining the club your membership form need to be completed and fees paid ASAP.  The league campaign starts on 10th September for 1s, 2s and 3s and 17th September for 4s, 5s and 6s, so please pay this fee by then in order to ensure your availability for selection.  Those that have paid will get priority selection over those who haven’t. Details of how to pay and the form itself can be found on Membership page.

Also this year all players are encouraged by the FA to create a WGS account. In order to do this, you will need you FA number. You can either retrieve this online, or contact Mike Todt. Please do feel to contact him should you need any other assistance with this process too.

On Sunday (4 Sept), Merton gets a glimpse of the future with the Youth Induction Day. Should be a fantastic occasion, with a number of matches taking place, plenty of emerging talent on display and a BBQ for all afterwards. Bar will be open for much/all of it, and the weather looks good. So here’s a shout out to all the senior guys… Let’s get down there and support the next generation of Merton superstars. The festivities start at 11am at the Hood. Should be loads of fun, and a great way to spend a Sunday!

RESULTS TODAY – down at the Hood the 1s in their new ‘Excelian’ sponsored kit (pic) beat Old Blues 3-0. Good game goals from Emilio (pic) Jase and Tom Rowe. 5s drew 1-1 with Civil Service in another good game. Very good game well reffed. Andy scored a rocket equaliser for us (pic) 3s won 1-0 away at Old Wokingians Scorer – Dan Kelly (Pen) (Action pics). 4s lost 5 – 0 to a very good Civil Service.

Merton Football Club

Review of season 2015/16

This is a difficult season to assess. It has had its good points and disappointments.

Essentially the Adult section has had a disappointing season on the pitch. Our pre-season recruitment drive produced some new members and this was enough to ensure that we had six teams playing weekly in the SAL without the extreme difficulties of the previous season, but we were largely unsuccessful on the field. However team spirit, club support and camaraderie were strong throughout.

The Youth section had five teams playing and the highlight of the season was the U9s enjoying a very successful season and winning the Surrey Youth League Africa Cup. This was a memorable final at Carshalton and congratulations to Matt and his management team and all the players. This year we will continue with five teams and we have an excellent team of managers in place.

The main difficulty for both sections was the weather and the condition of the Hood which was unplayable due to waterlogging for almost 10 weeks at the turn of the year.

Off the field though it has been a different story. We have had some great events; a very successful quiz, an awards night with excellent fish and chips and some great ‘Apres Footy’ in the bar on Saturday evenings. All this has helped develop the Club atmosphere and also helped our finances.

As you will see from the Annual Accounts (mertonfc_accounts_2015_16) that Len has prepared together with his commentary after the heavy loss of last season we managed a surplus of £2500 shared equally between the two sections. This is very pleasing as is the fact that we have such a small amount of debt outstanding. This means that we are proposing at the AGM to keep our subscriptions and fees at the same level for the season ahead. The Club is in a strong financial position.

As ever we have a challenge ahead. The most important two areas on which our future depends are ‘Recruitment’ and ‘Facilities’. We need members and they need somewhere to play.

Recruitment – We need to recruit more players to the club. We need young reliable players at all levels in the club. But we also need administrators to come forward and help run the club. I am pleased to say that recently a number of our members are stepping forward to help and that is very encouraging. We also need to continue to grow the Youth section and again the right, high quality coaches are an essential part.

Facilities – Without doubt ‘The Hood’ has deteriorated markedly over the past years. The Morden Park Project, the project on which we have been working and pinning our hopes for the past ten years, is facing major difficulties and may not proceed. We will know very shortly and we must be ready to switch our focus on improvements at the Hood or another ground. We have a plan B and will implement it.

I would like to thank all the members of the committee and all managers and captains throughout the club for the work that they have done this year.

I would also like to thank Terry Baker who has announced his retirement this year as President of the Club. Terry has been a cornerstone of the club for the past 40+ years as a player, manager and administrator and without his determination we may not have survived the dark days we may not have survived.

So that is a summary of last season and the main challenges we now face as we continue to build our Club.

Max Herbert (Chairman)