Interview with the Chairman

We caught up with new chairman Andrew Croston a week on from his appointment.

How are you settling into your new role?

“It’s my second week and everyone has been very friendly and welcoming. I’ve had a couple of catch ups with some of the Directors. I went to the Family Fun Day, Natalie had done a cracking job along with everybody else that helped put that event together.

I went to the Buckley Town game on Bank Holiday Monday, which was a good game to watch and a great result.

First impressions of the club?

“Very well supported, good community engagement and has always been a team that plays good football. I came to watch the first game of the season against Bangor 1876 that gave me a good feel for our home support and atmosphere. Really positive to be honest.

You have a background in both football and business – what can you bring to the role?

In my day job, in my work, I solve problems and fix things for fairly big companies so I’ve already spotted a few things that we need to fix. Then it’s about what do we want to build on in terms of the ground, the stadium, match day experience, football and beyond.

“I’ve got a few ideas we can do to enhance the experience for volunteers, supporters and our players. Also commercially and making sure that we make the most of every pound that we spend and we make the most of people’s valuable time that they give to the club. So every hour that everyone gives we need to make sure that it’s making a difference to us all.

“Grassroots football in North Wales is very competitive – we’re up against other clubs that are competing for investment and resources. There’s a few teams on the up and although they might not be Tier 2 at the moment we’ve got to stay one step ahead I think and our aspirations are to be a Welsh Premier team, although the Cymru North is very good for local derbies.

“Very strong fanbases and that’s a real positive. But when I look at our ground people’s efforts have given us a very good pitch, the stands are good, we do need to do some ground development work on the clubhouse, changers and shop of course.

“We’re in a great location, particularly with some of the local industries that are starting to develop like offshore wind and others like that.

“We need to tap into those and I’m keen on the sustainability piece – the green agenda. I’ve got a couple of ideas around that where we can be leaders and benefit from it.

“And sustainability financially as well. We’ve had great support over the years from 4 Crosses Construction and we need to build on that benefit because they have been really helpful and we need to make sure we can tap into other support along similar lines.”

Building partnerships and building the club brand

“Things like our relationship with the FAW and Sport Wales – these are really important. Tapping into grants is crucial for our level of football club.

“I’m also keen on the matchday experience also – what can we do to improve on that and I’ve got a few ideas. I’ll be sharing some of the Boards thinking with volunteers and supporters groups to get a consensus and their thoughts on it as well.”

Do you have a short term, mid term and long term vision for the club?

“I’ve got my first Board meeting next week and what I’ll be saying is that we need a one-year plan, a three-year plan and a five-year plan which is something I’ve done before in a football context.

“What’s the here and now? What’s the next 12 months – what do we want to achieve? Three years is really important because of that sense of direction of achieving those things and you really start noticing a difference. And then five years is about evolving into a different type of club where you’re really strong.

“We’ll have a one-year, a three-year and a five-year plan.”

The team on the field

“The team’s getting into a rhythm and I thought on Monday they were very resilient against a big team. Buckley were a big, physical team and we did really well. We were unlucky to concede the penalty to bring it back to 1-1 but then it was great to get a winner and a fantastic atmosphere for everybody.”

And finally….

“I’m looking forward to working together. It’s a collective, all in it together.

“I’m keen to get people’s thoughts and ideas and want to be good at communicating with everybody so they know what’s coming.

“One little example of that is the new podcast we are going to put out weekly. We’ll have guests, players, volunteers and have some news and competitions and make it interesting.

“It’s something that people can tap into and get involved in, then you can have a quick 20 minute/half hour update on our club.

“A club like Colwyn Bay belongs to everybody and I’m really keen to maintain that and get the most out of it for everybody.”