The AGM's for both the Supporters Association and Supporters Trust will take place on Thursday 21st July at Vale Farm.
The evening will commence at 8.00pm with the Supporters Assocation AGM, and will be followed immediately by the Supporters Trust AGM. Attendance at the meetings is only open to those who are members of the respective organisations.
It is hoped that Gary McCann will be able to attend the evening to answer your questions following the conclusion of the two AGM's.
Members of the respective organisations will receive formal notification of the meetings via email or post over the next few days.
We have been advised by Barnet that their XI for the friendly in four weeks time will be made up from their youth and academy set up.
Admission prices for the game, which is due to be played at Vale Farm on Tuesday 19th July, will be announced nearer the time, but they will be reduced from our normal home matchday prices.
The club have announced today that the existing under 21 team has been disbanded and we have withdrawn our membership of the Middlesex County League.
The under 21 management team of Eamon Finn and Graeme Bourne were offered other roles within the revamped youth set-up, but due to other commitments they were both unable to accept the roles.
Eamon and Graeme have been with the club, managing sides of various age groups for a number of years. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for all their hard work and success over the years. They both intend to keep in touch with the club, and we know that they have both thoroughly enjoyed their time with us.
We hope to have news on the plans for the under 18 side in the next 2-3 weeks.
Gary McCann is delighted to announce that Junior Lewis has returned to the club in a player-coach capacity ahead of the new season.
Junior's main focus upon his return will be on the coaching side, where he will be able to bring new ideas, along with his experience of working as a coach under former Hendon player-manager Peter Taylor at Wycombe Wanderers and most recently Bradford City. He will be registered as a player, and will appear as and when required.
Junior originally joined the Greens in September 1996, making his debut in a 3-1 win over Bishop's Stortford where he was among the goalscorers along with Michael Banton and John Richardson. He went on to score 68 goals in 146 appearances, which included a period where he partnered Paul Whitmarsh in attack, which was one of the clubs most potent striking partnerships in its history.
Junior has often visited the club since he left in the summer of 1999 to join Gillingham, and we are delighted to welcome him back to the club.
Eddie Edwards has been approached with a view to having a three way 8-a-side tournament against the supporters teams from Barnet and AFC Wimbledon. The plan is for the tournament to take place at The Hive (Barnet's training ground) on Saturday 9th July.
The format will be at least two games of 40 minutes or three of 30 if another team (Wingate are being approached) can be persuaded. The aim is to start at 10am and finish by 2pm playing on their state of the art artificial pitch.
Our final friendly of the pre-season programme has been arranged, and we will entertain a Barnet XI at Vale Farm on Tuesday 19th July. Kick off will be at 7.45pm. Details of admission will be announced nearer the time.
The club are delighted to announce that we will be running three Sunday youth teams next season.
To this end, Alan Rolnick, a former youth and reserve manager at Hendon, has been entrusted to search for players for three teams, at Under-13s, Under-14s and Under-15s levels. The club will start the process by organising trials for the three teams over a weekend in July.
"The first aim," Rolnick said, "is to attract the right type of players at the three age groups. We want players who, in addition to talent, have some experience of playing for a club previously. It's not just about playing, but how you conduct yourself on and off the pitch.
"We have decided not to run an Under-16s or Under-17s team next season because we want to develop the squad at junior age groups so they can go up in age groups.
"The good news is that we are very close to appointing managers and coaches for the three teams. It goes without saying that it is absolutely vital that we get the right people to run our teams."
For further information on the trials and to apply, prospective players are asked to email the club's dedicated email address youthsection@hendonfc.net to apply. Applicants will be notified with details of dates, times and venues closer to the date.
"I am very excited to be back at Hendon Football Club," said Mr Rolnick. "I love the Club. I have turned down other opportunities because I wanted to be involved with Hendon FC."
Gary McCann has announced this morning that James & Dave Reading have left the club and are both expected to sign for Northwood. Indeed, the Woods manager, Gary Meakin, has already announced the signing of James.
James joined us in the summer of 2009 following his release from Wycombe Wanderers, and has shared duties between the sticks with Berkley Laurencin over the past two years, making a total of 63 appearances. Meanwhile, Dave joined us last summer, but only made 3 appearances during his time with us, but was a regular attender at games, even when not involved.
The club would like to thank the twins for their effort and excellent attitude during their time with us, and we wish them every success for the future.
The first close-season departure from the squad has been confirmed this evening with the news that Belal Aite-Ouakrim has signed for Staines Town.
The move is a step up for the 26 year old Moroccan who scored 46 goals in 124 appearances for us since he made his scoring debut in the 5-4 win at Wealdstone in August 2005. He spent a period away from the club with AFC Wimbledon, and his appearances have often been limited by injury.
Everyone at the club would like to take this opportunity to thank Belal for all his efforts and goals over the past few years, and we wish him all the best at Wheatsheaf Lane next season.
We will be travelling to Cobham, who play in the Combined Counties League Division One, for a friendly on Tuesday 26th July. Kick off will be at 7.45pm.
Gary McCann has made his first signings of the summer, as he looks to strengthen the squad for the new season.
who I believe to be one of the best in the Ryman League Premier Division.
"James, who joins from St Albans City can play in midfield or operate in a defensive role and I see him as a player of high quality who will compliment our squad.
"I am also in negotiations with a number of other experienced players and I'm also assessing and evaluating our current playing squad and hope that the new signings give a clear indication of my intention to strengthen the squad ahead of the new campaign."
23 year old Sean, will be a familiar face to Hendon supporters, having spent two months on loan from Queens Park Rangers in the 2005-06 season during which time he made 8 appearances between the sticks. Meanwhile, 27 year old James began his career as a youngster, before moving on to Wembley, Wealdstone and Northwood, before joining St Albans City for whom he has made over 130 appearances.
We welcome both players to the club, and hope that they have a long, fruitful and successful time with us.
Details of any departures from last season's squad, along with further new signings will be announced as and when paperwork has been completed.
We will now be making the short trip to Harefield United for a friendly on Saturday 6th August, kicking off at 3:00pm. This replaces the previously cancelled friendly at Hitchin Town set for the same day.
We have arranged our second friendly against Blue Square South opposition, and on Saturday 23rd July we will travel to Havant & Waterlooville.
Some supporters will have visited their Westleigh Park ground when we played Havant Town in the FA Trophy in 1997, just months before they merged with Waterlooville (who we have also played in the past) to form the new club in June 1998.
Meanwhile, our friendly at Hitchin Town on 6th August has been cancelled, and we are looking for an alternative fixture for that day.
The full list of friendlies can now be found by clicking the fixtures/results link on the menu. Last season's data has now been moved into the archive.
Our chairman Simon Lawrence, and the directors have been working hard as plans are put in place for the forthcoming season, and he has sent this message to all our supporters.
"I hope you are all enjoying the summer break.
"As I'm sure you can imagine, Gary McCann has already started to plan for next season. The pre-season programme is almost complete and Gary has spent the past few weeks trying to strengthen the squad. Last season was a 'season of two halves' - I think that anyone who watched before New Year would agree that there was undoubted quality in the squad, while those who watched after New Year will know that we need to strengthen if we are to make a push for the play-offs next season.
"Naturally enough, improving the quality and depth of the squad means having to increase the playing budget and this puts more pressure on our already stretched financial resources.
"The good news is that an individual has come forward who is prepared to match – pound for pound - any new or increased donations that Trust members are prepared to make for the coming season (ie the 10 months from July 2011 to April 2012).
"This means that if we can raise an additional £500 per month in donations, then Gary's playing budget will be increased to the tune of £10,000 for the coming season.
"This could be just the push that we need. Please let me know if you're able to start making a monthly or one-off donation (or increasing an existing monthly donation) to help make next season one to remember. You can contact me via email on simon.hendon@btinternet.com.
"Thanks for supporting Hendon Football Club."