Although the result wasn’t the one we wanted, it was great to be back in competitive action back at Macron Stadium for our opening game of the Sky Bet Championship against Leeds United.
We were caught off guard in the first half and to concede the goals in the manner we did was a little bit disappointing as the manager has noted in his post-match comments.
That said, it was a much improved second-half display where our players showed immense character and battling qualities to almost salvage a point against a side that I believe will be in contention for promotion to the Premier League at the end of the campaign.
We now need to dust ourselves down and move on to the next game. The key is not to dwell on what has happened but to learn from the mistakes and take a positive attitude into the forthcoming games.
We suffered a setback before a ball was kicked with the news that Sammy Ameobi and captain Darren Pratley were not available for selection due to injury and illness respectively.
Sammy won’t be available for up to six weeks as he recovers from minor knee surgery.
We’ve had bad luck with injuries and to lose Josh Vela and David Wheater during the game was a massive blow.
Josh will be having a scan on Monday morning, but the injury does not look good I’m afraid.
This would be terrible news considering how well he has done recently and when you take into account Sammy's injury, it is a body blow before the season has got going.
I thought our crowd was magnificent on Sunday and helped to generate another fantastic Macron Stadium atmosphere.
It was good to see you all back at home and if we can continue to have crowds like that for the rest of the season, then I’m sure it will have a positive impact on our performances.
Tickets and hospitality are on general sale for our next home league game against Derby County and can be bought by clicking here
We’ve got the opportunity of bouncing back from defeat almost immediately with a short trip to Crewe Alexandra on Wednesday night for our first foray in the Carabao Cup.
I’m sure the manager will make some changes to the team in view of the frenetic start to the campaign, and it will give the opportunity for some of the squad to stake a claim for the trip to Millwall at the weekend.
Crewe will provide a stern challenge though and we’ll have to be on our guard if we are to progress to the next round.
Sales for the new kit have been very encouraging and it was pleasing to see so many of you wearing the home and away shirts. If you haven’t already bought yours, please visit www.bwfcdirect.co.uk to order yours today.
Sports Shield BWFC’s (SSBWFC) Winding Up Petition hearing in the High Court today with Blu Marble was adjourned again for a further 14 days to enable the EFL to consider the several options put to them by Blu Marble lawyers.
Once again, l must emphasise that the hearing is not anything to do with the club. Neither the club or l have any control over this matter as it relates solely to SSBWFC, Dean Holdsworth and Blu Marble and not the club.
I have, however, expressed the club’s preferred settlement option and this is now with the EFL for consideration. Hopefully, the issues will finally be resolved at the hearing on the August 21, until then neither the club or l will be making any further comment.
Finally, I would encourage as many of you as possible who are members of the Supporters Trust to fill in the survey they recently issued. The information will prove to be very insightful as we look to strengthen the relation between the Club and Trust going forward.
Kind regards,
Ken