Chairman Jim Parmenter provides an update on the situation at the Club.

Firstly, it was a great shame that our National League South game against Worthing at Crabble last Saturday was called off by the match referee.

Frosted pitches when the temperatures are forecast to rise the following day are always a tough call.

The previous day ( Friday) when the temperatures and the forecast were virtually the same, we implemented a procedure to see the best treatment for the pitch and by 11am the pitch was completely thawed, so it was reasonable for the groundsman to assume it would be the same on match day.

Temperatures did rise to 4.5 / 5 degrees and the pitch thawed as expected. Unfortunately, a small strip on the main stand side about 1.5 meters wide had not thawed to the match referees liking by the time he arrived at 1pm.

Whether or not that made the game unplayable is a matter of opinion, but of course, in that situation, it is only the match referees’ opinion that counts.

It appears that these days the default seems to be to call the game off rather than do everything you can to get the game played.

Supporters will remember the many times over the years that an army of volunteers has helped me clear tonnes of snow from the pitch from early morning to get a game on. How times have changed!

I do get concerned when I see individuals surrounding the referee trying to influence his decision, but again it appears to be the modern way.

For us, it was even more disappointing as we had a lot of hospitality bookings and of course, Ross Smith the European Darts Champion, visiting.

The result for the club is that the postponement means that we have played only two home games in nine weeks, which for our operational finances is a disaster, our crowds have been well down on budget, and without that vital match income, I am left paying the wages.

Obviously, this is a situation that cannot continue for much longer so I urge all supporters to get along and support your club to ensure its survival.

To those who seem to believe it is a good thing to spread negativity on social media, I say all you are doing is harming your club, negativity breeds negativity, so please stop and think and get behind the team.

We are just a few points off the playoffs with a very good chance of achieving them, with some adjustments, good support will help us achieve that target.

Moving on to our community project in partnership with our friends and sponsors at Megger, there has been a setback in the funding of the proposed community 3G Pitch project.

Unfortunately, despite giving me their support in writing, which I, in turn, supplied to the Football Foundation along with many other letters of support. Dover District Council officers at a separate meeting and without informing me informed the Football Foundation that although they supported the scheme, they did not see it as “strategically important” and therefore they wanted any Football Foundation money available for other “more important” council schemes.

Whether those other proposals will bring as much to the community as our project remains to be seen.

I have contacted DDC for an explanation, but so far no reply.

Concerned supporters may wish to contact their local councilor on the matter.

This does not mean we can’t proceed with our plans, but as it stands without Football Foundation grants, we are 300k short of our funding requirements, even with the generous support of our sponsors and others.

I will continue to strive to find finance from other sources to complete the project and would welcome any help that may be forthcoming.

In the meantime, I am hopeful that thanks to our friends at Megger we will be able to proceed with appointing our Community Engagement and inclusion Officer to start our joint community project.

I would like to thank our staff for their dedication during a difficult year and our small band of volunteers, who continue to do a magnificent job keeping the club running particularly on match days.

In closing, I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas, a prosperous New Year, and most importantly health and happiness to you and your families.

Our scheduled National League South fixture against Worthing at Crabble on Saturday was called off following a pitch inspection by the match referee.

The decision was made despite the best efforts of the club to get the game played as so much else was planned for the day, including meeting European darts champion Ross Smith in the Centre Spot.

The food prepared for today’s VIP hospitality guests has been distrubuted to charity.