They say a month in politics is a long time, well a month at Chester Football Club is a lifetime!
It is just four weeks ago that the financial plight of our football club became public knowledge but the reaction of the fans, the city and the footballing community as a whole has been absolutely fantastic.

In less than three weeks we raised the incredible sum of £75,000 through raffles, auctions, donations, an upsurge in CFU members and of course, the fantastic All Stars football match last Thursday which also featured Sam and Ian Pemberton, who had bid £2,000 for the privilege to be involved. Special thanks goes out to Jeff Banks who was the lynchpin in organising this match with the invaluable support of Colin Murray and Michael Owen. There are still many items of memorabilia from this match that will be made available for fans to bid on over the coming weeks, so keep a look out.

We also had that memorable night when our Youth Academy side triumphed against Gateshead in the National League Under 19 Alliance Cup in front of 1,065 supporters who had raised over £12,000 that night. How special must it have felt for Cain Noble to celebrate his winning goal in front of a packed East Stand, a memory to treasure. But we cannot stop now, we must continue with our fundraising efforts to guarantee the certainty of our future.

Off the field there have been a number of changes to the CFU Board with four Directors stepping down. We would therefore like to thank Jonny Hughes, Anne Salmon, Neil Bellis and David O’Toole for their dedication whilst serving on the board.

Those Directors have been replaced by four co-optees, Jeff Banks, Calvin Hughes, Mark Howell, Simon Olorenshaw and the addition of a non-exec Director, Rich Lynes, who will extend his role as Head of the Governance Working Group into the Board environment to ensure that the required checks and balances are always in place when the Board are making our decisions. Once the FA have approved these appointments we can formalise all roles and focus on ensuring the survival of our precious football club and make sure that we have a team to support next season.

On the field, last Saturday showed that the feel-good factor created by the euphoria of the All Stars match had reached the first team. Probably our best home performance of the season brought us a valuable three points, given the results of most of the teams above us. On Tuesday, we really do believe we deserved more from the game having shown great passion in the match on the back of Saturday’s result. The last two games have shown that when we get behind the players on the pitch there is a willingness to perform and play for the shirt, we’ve got 7 home games left, lets make each one of them a cup-tie and create an atmosphere that lifts the lads.

As a Board we appreciate how difficult it must be in these uncertain times to prepare for a game when there is the possibility that players will move on at short notice, but we hope you would agree that the players Marcus is bringing in to the squad demonstrates that we all have the ambition to turn this season around, and that’s where you, the supporters, come into play again.

We’d also like to wish everyone making the trip down to Dagenham tomorrow a very safe journey. and also to the Chester Exiles attending the game we’d like to thank you all for your support, and hopefully we can return with all three points.

On and off the field we can, and we will survive.
Andrew, Calvin, David W, David H-W, Jeff, Laurence, Mark, Mark, Mike, Rich, Simon”

City Fans United can today announce that four new Directors have been co-opted onto the CFU Board.

The Board are delighted to announce that Jeff Banks, Mark Howell, Calvin Hughes and Simon Olorenshaw have been co-opted – all subject to FA Clearance.

Richard Lynes will also take on the role of non-executive Director.

Also following last night’s board meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium, David O’Toole has resigned from his position as Director with immediate effect.

Following Thursday’s CFU meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium, three directors have decided to resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.

They are Jonny Hughes, Neil Bellis and Anne Salmon.

The scheduled board meeting for Monday will go ahead as planned with the remaining CFU directors. Updates from that meeting will follow in due course.

Below follows statements from Jonny, Neil and Anne.

Jonny Hughes, Chair of City Fans United

Firstly, let me express my gratitude and respect to all the concerned CFU members who gathered at the Swansway Chester Stadium last Thursday night at our Formal CFU Meeting.

It was never going to be easy to give such news to you all and I have to admit that for quite a while I felt under tremendous pressure and some of my replies probably reflected that.

I understand, however, that for all the pressure I felt, you were all hearing this news for the first time and were understandably hurt, angry and upset: For that I am truly sorry and I apologise for my part as a member of your board that didn’t let you know sooner and I also accept that I let you down.

Since then I have been reflecting heavily on how we can all move forward together as one team to ensure there will always be a Chester FC. For that to happen I strongly believe we all need to come together, like we did at the Guild Hall, galvanised by purpose and passion and with nothing but fire in our hearts as we continue to realise our dreams of a sustainable fan owned football club playing at the highest level possible in the city of Chester.

For that to happen, I also believe there needs to be changes. So, with the best interests of the club at heart, I have taken the decision to resign my position of Chair of City Fans United and as a member of your board of directors with immediate effect.

That in no way means I am giving up the fight for our club however … no chance. I intend to continue to be the fully-committed and active fan and volunteer I always have been and to continue to offer my skill-sets, verve and energy in support of the club so I can do my part to help put things right.

I have been humbled by the messages of support that I have received in the last 24 hours, but for all of that I recognise that as a board we got some important things wrong: Again, I am truly sorry. I love this club. I love the people. I love our volunteers: There is and only ever will be one Chester FC, so my support for the team on the pitch and the team off it will always be unwavering.

Together we will get through this and prosper under the banner of Fan Ownership and City Fans United. Together, we are Chester FC.

Thank you for the privilege and see you on the Harry Mac (greatest terrace in the land), Jonny Hughes

CTID

Neil Bellis, Vice-Chair of City Fans United

After a period of reflection over the past few days, I have decided to resign from the board of City Fans United.

It is clear that the board needs to regain the confidence of the fan base in order to move forward as a club. As a member of the board which has failed so badly over the past year, I feel it is necessary that I stand down. I also wish to take this opportunity to apologise to the fans for that failure.

I am still committed to the future of Chester FC as a fan-owned club, and will continue to offer any support to the club that I can.

Thank you, Neil Bellis

Anne Salmon, Director of City Fans United

I have done a lot of thinking since the meeting on Thursday and I believe that as one of the longer-standing board members, I should apologise for my part in our joint failure to act quickly or decisively enough to prevent the situation we find ourselves in today and therefore resign from the CFU Board with immediate effect.

I will continue to be committed to the survival of Chester FC, supporting fundraising initiatives as a CFU member and a fan and I sincerely hope that those who have been calling for more immediate and decisive action will now step up and volunteer – especially with regards to Health and Safety.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who believed in me and voted me onto the Board in 2015, it was an honour and a privilege and I am sorry if you feel I have let you down. I also wish all those remaining on the CFU Board and in the working groups, every success over the next few weeks.

Thank you, Anne Salmon.

The board of City Fans United (CFU) is pleased to announce a change in how they will work to help drive the club forward as well as improve transparency, accountability and foster closer and more focused working relations with members, fans and stakeholders.

Instead of each director having a portfolio, members of the board will instead be responsible for individual items (e.g. Squad Builder, CFU Membership, Health and Safety) and with each item falling under one of three broader headings.

The three headings are: Membership and Engagement, Governance and Income Generation.

The Portfolio document (PDF) can be downloaded here…

The board have split the items based on the skill-sets and talents of board members but agreed that as income generation is of paramount importance, all directors should ultimately be responsible for at least one project under that heading.

The hope with this restructuring of board member responsibilities is also that both members and fans will have a clear line of communication should they wish to suggest an idea for a certain item or volunteer for one.

CFU chair Jonny Hughes said: “As you can see from the attached document, we have looked at the way we work and agreed a path that will see improved transparency and accountability for our members as well as promoting a more focused and targeted workflow throughout the business.

“The next step for the board on this is to provide a detailed action plan for each item, taking in current and past data, to project realistic targets for growth and to outline a plan for our members on how these targets will be achieved and, most importantly, who will help us achieve them. Items will be monitored and progress reported on regularly.

“One thing which I think is important to say is that this is a working document. Items will be added and taken away as the needs of the football club change over time but that doesn’t mean that if you think there is something missing you can’t tell us. Part of ensuring that the club is successful as a fan owned club is the continued engagement of members, fans and stakeholders.

“In fact, how well we all work as a team is what will ultimately define how successful we are. Whether you are a board member or not, the responsibility of this football club rests with all of us. “In line with this, we will be asking for members and fans to engage with us more than they ever have before and will be releasing details soon of the many ways people can help. If you would like to pre-empt this and get in touch in touch with us directly, then please do.

“The team is you.”