That is fifteen games at the football club now. Eight wins, one draw and six losses. To me it has been black and white. The games we have won, we have deserved to win and the games we have lost we deserved to lose, and there cannot be no arguments. Consistency is key and I have no doubt this will come, as the players continue build their relationships with the club and with each other both on and off the pitch. By my math’s however we’ve better form than Darlaston, who currently occupy sixth position in the league, so if we can find consistency and a little bit of rhythm, anything is possible.

We had the disappointment of going out of two cup competitions in January and in all honesty, I am still feeling hurt from our defeat in the Vase. The game was there for the taking but we just were not good enough on the day collectively. I am accountable for that, and we will need to use that experience to shape our future. The wins over Worcester Raiders (7-0) and battle against Biggleswade down south when we went down to nine men in the first half will live long in the memory. I am just disappointed we could not find that little bit more magic to see us through to the next round.

Peter Bartozzi has returned to Shrewsbury Town now following his loan. He was unlucky not to get the game time he needed to build some momentum. There were seven games postponed during his spell that stopped any sort of rhythm. During this period, we have had multiple offers for our players who have all decided to stay on the journey with the football club. We have also brought in Nicky Parker & Cam Dourish from Market Drayton, Josh Hyde & Macauley Taylor from Newtown, and Ollie Holden from Nantwich. All exceptional talents based within Shropshire playing for our football club. Of course, players come and go and since my last update Joe Care has decided to leave the football club and we wish him all the best with future endeavors. At present I’m happy with the balance of the squad with the looming transfer deadline. This group need to be prepared to see the job through.

We must be able to cut our cloth accordingly, moving forward in a model that makes us fully sustainable. We need to be able to extract more for less moving forward. This is not to say any model we have used in the past has been the wrong one, far from it as it given us the grounding and foundation at Step 5, and without it we may not be here today competing at the level. But we must recognise we are in a different space and it’s now up to us as the custodians to build a new structure and a way of working. More for less centred on warriors prepared to run through brick walls for Alport. A little old fashioned I know but #WeAreAlport and I want that attitude imbedded in our future identity to do whatever it costs for the badge. I always feel it’s better to be transparent about our realities as we are all invested in this together and all want the same outcome.

In saying that we need more support and volunteers to grow our club. We are growing our membership as a community club, but we do need more hands if we want to continue to grow and realise our future ambitions. Please reach out as your support is critical and we need you. We are a volunteer led football club full of brilliant people.

I have taken immense pleasure in watching a number of our junior games of late. Most recently our u12s girls Vs Prees who put in a superb second half performance that deserved victory. I am looking forward to joining in and leading more of our juniors’ sessions throughout February and always look forward to weekly updates provided by Andy Williams and keeps me connected to why I love our game. There must be a theme of integration across all elements of the football club.

Lastly, it is a thanks to Winnie for his endeavors of late. Genuinely I speak more to him than my partner. He is putting countless hours and time into our club. A real clubman who is doing everything he can now to keep us moving forward. Thanks mate.

Seven games to look forward to in February with four of them at home. I hope to see as many of you as possible throughout month. An opportunity if we are ruthless enough to kick on.

#WeAreAlport

Shilly