Our chief executive Jason Turner has provided an update on a number of club matters.
Season’s greetings to all our supporters. Here’s to a wonderful Christmas complete with plenty of points!
I wanted to bring you up to speed on what’s been going on behind the scenes at Meadow Lane, beginning with a couple of recent fixture changes.
Firstly, our Vanarama National League home match against Barnet has been moved due to Nottingham Forest hosting Derby County in a televised match on the same day. With a full midweek programme to follow, moving this fixture to the Friday was the best option.
We had also hoped to play our Buildbase FA Trophy third round match against Altrincham on Friday 17 December due to another clash with Forest but, as our opponents’ players are part-time and because we have an important trip to Chesterfield on the following Tuesday, a Saturday 7.30pm kick-off proved to be the best solution - our thanks to Nottinghamshire Police for their assistance. We’re in conversation with Altrincham regarding providing a stream for those unable to attend.
We’re aware that we have a further clash with Forest when we’re due to host Grimsby on Saturday 5 February and initial discussions have taken place between the clubs regarding this. Neither Sky Sports nor BT Sport have announced their broadcast schedules for that weekend yet and we’re unable to set anything in stone until they’ve done so. We will provide an update as soon as we can.
Moving on to other matters, I’m pleased to say that supporters can look forward to an improved atmosphere in our concourses early next year when new televisions will be installed complete with Sky Sports and BT Sport in HD. These improvements have already been made in our hospitality lounges and come as part of our continued efforts to provide the best possible matchday experience for our fans.
Further to this, the central heating system in the Broken Wheelbarrow, which has been in place since 1979, is being replaced and work continues on the full refurbishment of Lawton’s Bar – a project which is on course for completion in January. A huge thank you to the Lifeline committee for releasing funds not only to support these much-needed improvements but to also help us acquire a range of camera equipment which will take our media output to the next level.
This week we received the wonderful news that our commercial operations manager Jordan Worthington has welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. Our congratulations to him and his girlfriend Kerri and we hope he enjoys his paternity leave.
On his return to work, one of Jordan’s tasks will be to continue his close dialogue with Cadbury as we enter the next phase of our innovative shirt sponsorship arrangement. As many of you will have seen, we recently appealed for season ticket holders to nominate the company they work for to feature on our home shirts throughout the 2022-23 campaign and we had a strong response including some very exciting options. Watch this space!
Jordan will also be delighted to hear from hard-working, enthusiastic candidates who would like to join our pool of matchday staff who work in our hospitality and catering areas. Interested parties should send an email to jordan.worthington@nottscountyfc.co.uk detailing their experience.
Don’t forget, our club shop is open 9am – 5pm, Monday – Friday in the build-up to Christmas, as well as every Saturday and the final Sunday. We’ll also be holding one late-night shopping event before the big day, complete with appearances from some of our first-team players and staff! Details to follow.
Enjoy a break from football this weekend and we’ll see you back at Meadow Lane fresh and ready to cheer on the boys against Southend United on 11 December.
COYP!