Firstly I would like to welcome you all to this NEWI Cefn Druids AFC AGM.

Season 2006–07 began promisingly with an unexpected place in  the FAW Premier Cup due to the fact that some higher placed teams could not meet the floodlighting criteria.

This proved the foresight of the Board of Directors to invest in upgrading the floodlights two seasons previously had been rewarded. A win against Welshpool in the first round led to a meeting with Newport County in the second round. The heartbreaking extra time defeat was balanced by a more than welcome cheque at the end of it.

Unfortunately this was to prove one of the highlights of the season as we were disappointingly beaten by Welsh National League side Brymbo at the first hurdle in the Welsh Cup.

With the prize money at stake in this cup we should really have been looking to progress past teams such as these, and the result was very disappointing.

Injuries to key players did not help our cause as we continued to underachieve in the league and in spite of adding experienced players to the squad too many odd goal defeats cost us dearly in our bid to gain entry into the Premier Cup again. I am looking for better things in the coming season.

Off the field the outlook is looking very bright. The accounts will show how far the Present Board of Directors has progressed in reducing the inherited debt.

The Financial Directors report will cover this more fully. Also as most of you are already aware, the club has been approached by developers with a view to developing the site which the club occupies.

Should the development go ahead, the Board of Directors have agreed to relinquish our lease in exchange for a new ground which will include a new larger social club and facilities which will comply with the EUFA ground criteria which we need to have to obtain a licence to operate in this league.

We would also get a new lease which would have a minimum term to run of our existing lease or even longer. When full details are available I will call an open meeting where everyone can view the plans.

The Social Club continues to be one of the more popular venues in the village on a Saturday night and I would like to thank Jen, Tommy and Cath for the extremely hard voluntary work they put into running it. This is a vital source of revenue to the club.

The Goldmine, another source of revenue to the club, which  Mike Bowen raises almost half the income to, is another success story. My thanks go to him and all the other agents who sell tickets. We are also looking to build this up even more by adding further prizes. This can only be done with your help.

The Academy and under 18’s are further success stories which will be covered later.

I would also like to thank everyone who gives their time voluntary to help in the running of the club. I would also like to thank Mark McKean, who is a true fan of the club who not only runs the website but also puts our program together and edits it, all from his base on the Wirral.  And a special thank you also goes to all our sponsors without whose financial help we could not hope to survive.

As for the coming season, I would like to introduce you to Dave Bennet who has agreed to join the club’s commercial department. Dave has a wealth of experience in this field with Wrexham and other clubs and will work with Ossie Jones who has reverted to his original position as Commercial Director.

Unfortunately Dixie informed me yesterday that he has decided to retire from management so at the moment we are without a team manager. I have asked our coach, Carl Darlington, to hold the fort as it were for the time being until such times that we appoint a new manager.

Hopefully this will be in the very near future. As a result of the one player, one club rule which comes into force this season, we will also be entering a reserve team in the Welsh National League. Further details on this will be freely available when arrangements have been finalised.

To finish as I did last year, I must stress that this is your club and if you would like to help in any way, or have any ideas or have anything you would like bringing up, please contact myself or any member of the Board.