Newly expanded Club Ethos, as agreed at our recent EGM

At last week's EGM there was a lengthy discussion about respect and the conduct of members.  It is a sad fact that the way our former captain Andy Thornes was treated was a factor in his decision to leave the club.  So at the EGM we discussed how to prevent such nonsense from recurring.

It was agreed that a new paragraph be added to our ethos, drafted by myself, pointing out that due respect MUST be given to those members who sacrifice their valuable spare time to run the club, both on and off the pitch.  In my opinion the various coaches/captains of the squad have NEVER been afforded the proper respect, and have had to suffer levels of verbal abuse, bitching and so on that would embarrass a team of 11-year-olds, never mind a squad of fully grown, supposedly intelligent men.  Most of the squad has behaved impeccably but a minority has let us all down.  A line has been drawn in the sand.

So the CLUB ETHOS a little way down on the right-hand side of this blog has now been updated as follows:

CLUB ETHOS

1. The main reason that the Accies was formed was to allow a group of friends to meet regularly, have a game of football, a few beers and a chat in a friendly, non-hostile environment.

2. Winning is important to all of us but not at the expense of fairness and friendship.

3. While everyone is expected to give 100% every game and to be as fit as their own personal circumstances allow them to be, there will be no discrimination against players purely on the basis of talent. All members of the club are equal regardless of footballing ability and are entitled to equal playing opportunities.

4. We respect those who give up their time to manage the club. Decisions made by those people can be questioned if someone disagrees with a decision. But this should be done in person and never between the hours of 7-10pm on Thursdays. And in the end the fact that they give up their time to run the club for us makes their decisions final.

5. All new players who join do so on the understanding that the above rules are sacrosanct.

Point 4 is the new addition.  It is pretty self-explanatory but if you need any help understanding it, feel free to ask me.  Show your respect to the members who run your club for you, who enable you to play football every week on a fantastic pitch. If you disagree with any of their decisions etc, wait until we’re off the pitch and changed after a match, then feel free to discuss your issues with any or all of the panel. You have nearly an entire week to chat to them face to face, or call them, text them or email them to raise your issues. Time’s up one hour before the kick-off of the next match – hold your tongue until we’re off the pitch and changed after the match, and so on and so on and so on!

Let's work together as a team to make sure that our club's ethos, which has always been one of the main things that sets us apart from other teams, is followed to the letter.

I will type up another post soon expanding on the theme of respect and stressing the kinds of behaviour that will no longer be tolerated and, frankly, should never have been.

Any Accie with even an ounce of common sense wants to have fun, enjoy playing football and give everything for the team on the field of play.  If you do anything to prevent others' enjoyment then I'm afraid this isn't the right club for you.

Up the Accies!