​City face a tough task to return to winning ways as they take on league leaders Maidenhead United at Twerton Park.
Alan Devonshire’s men are ahead in a two-horse race with Ebbsfleet United at the National League South summit with just half a dozen games remaining. Having not competed in National Premier before, there’s a presumption that the Magpies could begin to flap under the pressure, but five wins on the bounce suggests they’re still in control. 17 clean sheets and just 25 conceded in 36 matches is an outstanding record, with United allowing just eight goals past them at home, and a mere seven scored against them in the first half. Whitehawk, nine matches back, were the last to net in the opening 45 against the Berkshire men. Whilst the defence is watertight, Dave Tarpey at the other end is terrorising opposition back fours. The 28-year-old has 40 in all competitions this term, 39 in the league which is a National League South record (and just shy of half the goals Maidenhead have plundered this campaign). They’ve scored the first goal 25 times in 36 matches, going on to win 22, and haven’t lost from a winning position since 6th February 2016, when they were beaten at Gosport.
That defeat took place two days after Gary Owers was re-appointed as Bath City boss. He’s overseen two defeats in his last two matches, which has almost mathematically relinquished hopes of a play-off place. Still, they have already matched last season’s points tally, and have netted more goals than that campaign. Going into Saturday’s match, City have picked up just one point out of 21 against the current top five, and have lost their last two matches against Maidenhead. A Shaquille Hunter missed penalty proved vital at York Road in November, in a match which saw the Romans end with 10 men after Frankie Artus was harshly dismissed. Artus was on target in this fixture last season, a 2-1 win back in August 2015. Bath have won eight out of eight against the Magpies at Twerton, scoring 16 and conceding three. Maidenhead have nevertheless been victorious at Twerton Park three times, maintaining a 100% record against Team Bath. One of those wins, in May 2007, saw them win promotion from the Southern League via the play-offs.

​On Monday the Bath City FC Community Sports Foundation hosted the SW Finals of the National League Trust U11 tournament at Odd Down. Seven teams participated from across the region (from as far afield as Torquay) with the winners (Kidderminster - see photograph above) going through to play in the Finals at the National League playoff final at Wembley.

It was a magnificent occasion, expertly hosted. Representatives were present from the FA and National League and it was a fantastic advertisement for both the Foundation and Bath City FC - and something we should celebrate.

It was a great honour for Bath City FC Foundation to be asked to organise and run the South West Tournament and the Bath City FC team enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere and goodwill shown by all. All of the teams and the staff taking part did so with good natured enthusiasm. It was a well-competed tournament and an enjoyable day of competition and we sincerely hope it is the beginning of more of the same. A big thank you too to Brian Lee for presenting the trophy, supported by Carol Follis, National League Trust and Paul Williams, Chairman, Bath City FC.
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We wish Kidderminster success in the semi-final and, hopefully, the final that takes place at Wembley on Sunday 14th May and we hope many of you there will be there to support the South West representative on the day.

​The Supporters Society was very pleased to make another “Spirit of Bath City” on Saturday 25th March. This is awarded to those who have made an outstanding contribution to the Bath City family.
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The latest recipient of the award is Mark Bladwell, who has been a supporter for many years and is always willing to help the club in any way possible. In the past he has helped organise beer festivals and auctions to raise funds and frequently provided refreshments on the supporters coach to away matches. These days he is most visible at the top of the tunnel on matchdays, where he performs stewarding duties but never claims any form of gratuity for his work. He is an integral part of our matchday team always, always performing his duties with a sense of humour, however high passions may get on or off the pitch.

Many thanks, Mark, for everything you do for our club!

The “Spirit of Bath City” award is presented in association with Independent Spirit of Bath in Terrace Walk, a specialist provider of cocktail grade spirits, single malt whiskies, fine wines and a vast selection of world and craft beers, who have kindly donated a bottle of ‘Ninkasi’ craft beer.
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If you know someone who should be the next “Spirit of Bath City”, please nominate them via bathcitysocietycommittee@gmail.com.
The photograph shows Society committee member Pete McCormack presenting the award to Mark (photo taken by Simon Howe)

As part of the children's group visits initiative, last Saturday saw a group of 27 children and 27 adults attend the game from Bath City Youth Under 9s. Following a tour of the tunnel area and a talk on the pitch about the club, the children met captain Dan Ball, accompanied by George Rigg and peppered the two players with questions. One of the children was mascot for the day and was presented with a Bath Building Society "goodie bag". The children and adults then watched the game from the Family Stand, and played  a small sided game on the pitch at half-time, before retiring to the Moore Stephens Lounge after the match. The group then devoured 16 large pizzas from Domino's Pizza before meeting Man of the Match, Andy Watkins, plus Bath based Max O'Leary and full back Myles Welch-Hayes. All three players willingly signed autographs and spent time chatting to the group. The photograph shows the children with Max O'Leary and Myles-Welch-Hayes.

Leader of the group, Dave Merritt commented:
“A massive thank you to Bob and all the team at Bath City for a fantastic day out. The organisation was superb and we were made to feel really special. The children loved the whole match day experience (and pizza!), with the opportunity to meet players, who showed themselves to be great role-models. They loved the extra-special opportunity to play at half-time on the pitch in front of over a thousand fans and show off their skills!  We look forward to coming again in the future!”

This Saturday, when Maidenhead United are the visitors to Twerton Park, the club will be looking after a group of 82 from High Littleton School. If you are interested in being part of one of these groups please contact Bob Chester on 07786092836 for more information.

City travel to Brighton this Saturday hoping to record their first double of the season after a Nick McCootie inspired home win back in September.

The Hawks have had an eventful season thus far. Having just missed out in the play-offs last year, Pablo Asensio was rewarded with a two-year contract as he looked to build a side to go one better. Following one win in the opening eight games, he was dismissed soon after a 2-1 defeat at City back in early September. Richard Hill took over, but after 10 games at the helm, he moved on to a scouting position at Aston Villa. During his brief tenure, he oversaw an FA Cup run to the 1st round, where they were knocked out in a replay by Stourbridge. They thought they’d won the first match, only to see Javier Favarel’s last second goal ruled out as the final whistle was being blown whilst it travelled towards the net. Ben Strevens took over as manager after Richard Hill left, and he has subsequently been replaced by joint managers Alan Payne and Paul Reid who oversaw progress in the FA Trophy with a replay win over Weymouth on Tuesday night.

The Romans were eliminated from the same tournament last Saturday with a narrow 1-0 loss at Sutton United. There isn’t much between City and Whitehawk in past matches, the Romans picking up two wins, two draws and three defeats. In the corresponding fixture last season, which took place in August, Nick McCootie’s close range finish was enough at a warm Enclosed Ground.

Away travel to Whitehawk on Saturday 17th December.
The supporters coach will leave Radstock Hotel at  8.35am; Sizzler at 8.45am; Twerton Park at 9.00am, Filo's 9.15am and Corsham at 9.25am.
Prices are: Adults £33, Concessions £31 and children £14 (£4 extra for non members). You can book your seat at the Supporters Hut on match days or ring Basil on 07881728689. These prices are if 23 people travel. The more people who travel the lower the cost will be after this.

Away travel to Hungerford Town on Sunday 1st January.
The supporters coach will leave Radstock Hotel at 11.35am; Sizzler at 11.45am; Twerton Park at 12 noon: Filo's 12.15pm and Corsham at 12.25pm.
Prices are: Adults £26, Concessions £24 and children £12 (£4 extra for non members). You can book your seat at the Supporters Hut on match days or ring Basil on 07881728689. These prices are if 24 people travel. The more people who travel the lower the cost will be after this.

My pledge

What is the status of existing pledges - have they expired? Can we assume that those people who have deposited money with the Bid do not need to renew their commitments?

Existing pledges with Microgenius have not expired. Each pledger will shortly be presented with a new prospectus laying out a revised business plan and route to community ownership. At that point, pledgers will have the opportunity to withdraw their pledges if they do not support the new prospectus. The same is true of people who have deposited money with the Bid - they are, and have been since last September, free to withdraw their investments at any time.

Obviously we hope that all the pledgers, and hopefully many new ones, will have confidence in the pln and new prospectus and will choose to keep their money in or invest for the first time.

Getting to 50%+1

How will the Bid/Community Board become the majority shareholder? If there are new shares made available would these be sold to the Society only and other existing shareholders blocked from purchasing them? How much money is needed to achieve 50%+1?

There are currently 500,000 shares in the club. If the new prospectus reaches its target figure, it is proposed that a further 500,000 will be created, and the Supporters Society will be given the exclusive right to purchase them at £1 a share.

We have received legal advice that such an exclusive offer is permissible.

We appreciate that some minority shareholders may like the opportunity to increase their shareholding. Please bear in mind, however, that the Bid team must set a new target figure and complete the Bid before the new shares are created by an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the Club. It would be difficult to set a target figure to achieve a 50%+1 stake when we did not know how many minority shareholders would buy new shares. We would have to make a conservative estimate, making the target figure higher. By giving the Supporters Society exclusive rights of purchase, we avoid this dilemma.

Minority shareholders who are keen to buy new shares are encouraged to contact the Bid team at info@bigbathcitybid.org.uk.

The revised target figure will be given in the new prospectus, to be published shortly.

New Board & Democracy in “Phase One”

What is the target timescale for putting in place the new Board? How in practice will the new Board members be “democratically accountable” to Supporters Society members? (At present there is only one membership meeting a year). Is it right for there to be pre-approved board directors representing the Society, shouldn’t the community shareholders get to elect them?

First of all, let us make clear that anyone who invests under the new prospectus will automatically become a member of the Supporters Society and will thus have a vote.

The current Supporters Society rules allow for a 12-person Board of Directors (the “Society committee”) to be elected for two-year terms by the members at AGM. Details of the current committee are given here: http://www.bathcitysociety.org/the-committee.html

This committee is, in turn, allowed to elect a Society representative to sit on the Club’s Board. If the Bid is successful, this will become six representatives.

It is proposed that the new Board will initially be elected by the Society committee as per the current Rules. This is why we have named our proposed appointees already - they have been pre-approved by the Society committee.

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The new Board will be put in place after the Bid has closed, after a Club EGM has been held to issue new shares and after the Society has completed its purchase of the new shares. We expect this would happen by the end of 2016.

We are aware that we will have to revamp the democratic mechanisms of the Supporters Society to make sure they meet the needs and expectations of members and are appropriate for the controlling shareholder of a football club. At the same time, during the transitional redevelopment and debt repayment phase, the Club’s new board will need to maintain the stability and confidence of the club’s creditors and development partners. We will consider this issue further and include our proposals regarding club democracy during the first phase in the new prospectus.

Redevelopment

Is there any news on what the redevelopment will entail, which external parties may be involved and what they’ll be getting for their investment? Or an estimate of when details might be announced?

The redevelopment is still at a very early stage and we do not have a realistic timeline of when more details might be announced. Options being considered on top of the new stand and club facilities include retail, student housing, social housing or a mix of the above. The Supporters Society continues to insist that community needs must be considered and any redevelopment will also have to go through a full and proper public consultation.

Some initial work has been conducted and we are cautiously positive about the potential success of the project. A potential investor has been identified and they would put in money to pay for the redevelopment and then profit from the eventual sale of the housing and/or retail units.

Ultimately, the Supporters Society and the Bid team believe that, at present, partial redevelopment is the only realistic way to secure a debt-free, community-owned club. However, we also believe that it is vital that supporters are in the driving seat for any redevelopment process, which is why we are continuing to push for community ownership.
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First of all, many thanks to Gary Owers for making sure that Bath City FC are safe in the Conference South for another season. Now that we've all breathed a sigh of relief, the Big Bath City Bid team will be redoubling its efforts in the off-season to push for steady progress towards community ownership. 

As always, much of the work is going on behind the scenes through constructive negotiations with the club's majority shareholders, but we will continue to endeavour to share updates as frequently as we can.

Redevelopment News

Representatives of the Bid have now had an opportunity to view an outline presentation regarding the feasibility of a partial redevelopment of Twerton Park. Many questions remain and much of the detail is still to be filled in, so we remain cautiously optimistic at this point. Overall, however, we remain positive about redevelopment as a path to community ownership and look forward to seeing how the plans progress.

It's particularly important to us that the community is properly represented in the redevelopment consultation process, and we welcome the early indications that this aspect of the redevelopment will be taken seriously.

When will the Bid reopen?

Watch this space - we continue to consult with relevant experts and bodies and hope to share an update soon.

Community Group meets

Sally Harris of AgeUK BANES and Jamie Luck of Mentoring Plus are now leading the Bid's community group. Sally and Jamie hosted a number of local charities and organisations in late April for a meeting to share local charities' current priorities and challenges, discuss the practical steps that would help a community-owned club work properly alongside local organisations to deliver social impact, and to explore how charities could benefit from new facilities at a redeveloped Twerton Park.