We are now at the start of March and yet another season has almost come to an end.

The final positions are now formulating and very soon the successes and failures will be known.

At our recent league Council meeting, David James from the London Football Association attended to give us an update on the Respect campaign that we have signed up to. This is an initiative with good intentions even though it does not seem to have been able to keep up its momentum. I would ask you all to remember the importance of showing respect to opponents, referees and also team mates which will help to enhance your enjoyment.

This season we have seen quite a few of the teams fall by the wayside, the most recent of whom are FC Marylebone. They are a group of individuals from France, mainly Paris, who have either returned home for varying reasons and their numbers were seriously depleted. They were a great asset to our league and I hope that they can re-group in the future and make a comeback.

I will not comment on Holy Mount Zion whose case has been well documented.

It is not a good thing that so many teams have dropped out this year but I can tell you that there are enquiries for next season, so hopefully we will increase our numbers for future years. But let us not be despondent because we still have an excellent league which is the envy of many.

We have played two representative matches. We won the match against the North London Sunday League by 3 goals to nil but were heavily defeated by the Turkish Federation in our second game. Let’s hope we can make a comeback in the third game against the Cypriot league and make an appearance in the final.

We have decided to re-introduce the Barry Goldstein Cup this season and now with the return of the wet weather, let’s hope it can be completed.

Now for West Ham. Where there’s life there’s hope. Their performances are starting to improve and I was extremely delighted with the performance yesterday against Liverpool. Demba Ba is a good acquisition and once Robbie Keane is fit and Piquionne and Obinna gel with the others I am really hopeful. It’s real great to have Thomas Hitzlsperger fit. He is a quality player.

You will have all read about the Olympic Stadium. I am a sentimentalist and really do not want to leave Upton Park. That is our home and I believe it is quite sufficient to accommodate everyone who wants to go. The Olympic Stadium, although a great venue, will not be for easy viewing and the atmosphere will be very different. I do not think that we will be able to fill it. This is solely a commercial undertaking for Corporate customers. At no time have the fans ever been asked for their opinions. I wonder why?

Wishing you all well.

David Wolff
Chairman
JCMaccabi (Southern) Football League