FIXTURES
 
Saturday 4 November  home to Weymouth league  kick off 3.00pm.
 
Tuesday 7 November away to Kings Langley Big FreeBet Cup  kick off 7.45pm. There is no coach for this game.
 
FIXTURE CHANGES
 
Saturday 11 November - the league game at Bishops Stortford is now replaced by our F A Trophy tie at Chesham United.
 
Saturday 25 November - the Chesham United league game will not take place as one of the two clubs will be playing in the third round of the F A Trophy.
 
Tuesday 26 December - the league game with Royston will have a 1.00pm kick off.
 
Saturday 30 December - we are now playing Kings Langley in a league game. This has been brought forward from New Year’s Day.
 
The league game at Bishops Stortford has been provisionally arranged for Tuesday 19 December and we are awaiting league approval while the Chesham league game has yet to be rearranged.
 
SUPPORTERS’ TRUST
 
Saturday’s game with Weymouth will be used as a Supporters’ Trust Promotion Day. There will be a special programme article outlining the work of the Trust while a flyer will be handed out to all supporters at the game which will contain Trust information and Supporter’s Club information.
 
The Trust is one of the great success stories of Hitchin Town FC. Many clubs have tried to copy our scheme but few have succeeded. The idea started in May 2005 when a meeting was held in the boardroom to try and encourage supporters to contribute towards the club’s playing budget. It seemed an ambitious idea but it immediately took off. A  committee was formed and unbelievably 12 years later the Trust is still going strong and making a vital contribution to the playing budget.
 
I well remember supporters saying to me in 2005 that they were joining the Trust because they had the confidence in me as treasurer to ensure that Trust money would only go to the playing budget and not be used to pay any other football club debts. I can truthfully say that in the intervening 12 years every single penny has gone to the playing budget and it always will. This is imperative if we are to keep the supporters who contribute on board.
 
The various Trust committee members have done a tremendous job over the years and not one penny has been taken out for administration costs. Their books are audited every year  and there is absolute transparency.
 
Chairman Terry Barratt, manager Mark Burke and myself have no doubt at all that without the financial backing of the Trust we would not have enjoyed the same level of football and would probably not be in the premier division at all.
 
The Trust is obviously always looking for new members. It is a sad fact that some of the original members have passed away and new blood is always needed. The great thing about the Trust is that there is no minimum donation and any donation however small can make a difference. Twenty people paying £1 a week or month is the same as one person paying £20 a week or month. So however little you can afford will still help the playing budget.
 
It is incredible to think that over £150,000 has been raised in the 12 years and this is a great tribute to the Trust committee members and our loyal fans. On Saturday a "symbolic" cheque will be presented to Mark by the Trust to highlight their incredible achievement.
If you are not already a member please consider joining. You should contact Trust secretary Rupert Russell.
 
 
HITCHIN TOWN LADIES FC
 
The Ladies are at home to Woburn & Wavedon Lionesses on Sunday 5 November at Swinburne Avenue Recreation Ground, Swinburne Avenue, Hitchin SG5 2QT. Kick off is 2.00pm.
 
HITCHIN VETS FC
 
Our Vets team are at home to Knebworth Vets on Sunday 5  November in the Herts Vets Cup. The game is at Top Field with a 2.00pm kick off. The squad includes John Coley, Zema Abbey, Carl Drew and John Hawkins in addition to Darren Bonfield, Ian Lindsay, Ian Scott, Liam George, Carl Williams and Bill Baldry who played in the previous round. Entrance is free so why not come and see our heroes from the past to complete the opportunity of seeing the future, present and past of Hitchin Town in the space of 4 days (with the Ladies also in action).
 
HITCHIN TOWN UNDER 18’S
 
Last night our under 18’s were beaten 6-4 in the F A Youth Cup by Dagenham and Redbridge. It was an incredible game and great entertainment for the excellent attendance of 254. The team can be proud of their run in the Youth Cup having reached the first round proper for the first time in many years. Unfortunately the Dagenham team was that much older and physically stronger but Hitchin showed great skill and determination to come from behind four times. Desejado da Silva scored twice with further goals coming from Charlie Moss and Kieran Hamilton.
 
Incidentally in answer to a question raised recently Cody Spavins is related to Canary legend Bruce Spavins. Cody’s grandfather was a cousin of Bruce.

PLAYER NEWS
 
Academy player Desejado da Silva has signed on for the first team. Please see the full story on our website.
 
Liam Brooks has been transferred to Biggleswade Town. Please see the full story on our website.
 
Kieran McCaffrey has suffered a setback in his comeback and will not be available for some 4-6 weeks.
 
Other than Kieran McCaffrey, we have a full squad to choose from for the Weymouth game.
 
HERTS CHARITY CUP
 
We will find out our Herts Charity Cup final opponents tomorrow as Hemel Hempstead play Royston in the other semi-final. Both were without a league game so agreed to play this Saturday. The final is likely to be in January or February.
 
COMMUNITY NEWS
 
We have agreed to display banners at both Top Field and the Arena on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council to help their campaign to recruit foster carers to care for Hertfordshire children. We are happy to help out and will not charge for this.
 

 
MANAGER’S NOTES WITH MARK BURKE
 
CHESHUNT
 
This game could have turned out so differently if Cheshunt had scored the first goal but fortunately for us luck was on our side. We had started the game poorly and after 30 minutes I had prepared a critical half time talk. However this talk changed dramatically after we scored 3 good goals in 6 minutes before half time. This demonstrates how football can change so quickly.
 
We had not created many chances from free play but I was very pleased with our set pieces and our corners were particularly dangerous. In the second half we were very comfortable and if anything I was disappointed we did not score more goals.
 
We now look forward to a tricky tie in the next round of the F A Trophy at our old rivals Chesham on Saturday 11 November.
 
WEYMOUTH
 
Weymouth manager Mark Moseley has brought in a number of young players that have come through the professional game system. They have been playing some attractive football and getting results. They are in a play off position and I know we will be in for a difficult encounter. But it should be a very attractive game for supporters and we will be looking to extend our unbeaten record.
 
KINGS LANGLEY
 
On Tuesday we travel to Kings Langley in the BigFreeBet Cup. I am taking this competition seriously as there is good prize money on offer. It will be good to cross swords with manager Paul Hobbs and his coach ex Canary Steve Conroy. Interestingly Steve and Paul were on opposite sides when our Vets beat Berkhamsted Vets recently.
 
update by Roy Izzard

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