From the Club Board

Following the Chairman’s statement on Saturday the Board of Woking FC would like to express their thanks and appreciation to Mike Smith for his strong and principled leadership throughout a successful period for the club.

Mike took the reins during a time of uncertainty and transition 5 years ago and served the club honestly and wholeheartedly; there are many achievements of which the Chairman, and the club, should be justifiably proud. As examples Mike oversaw the completion of the agreement with the club landlords guaranteeing a 125-year tenure of the ground. Over the 5 years the club has retained an excellent management team, achieved promotion and 3 top half National League finishes – the most consistently successful period for many years. On a wider front Mike was a big advocate of Woking FC in the Community, which has won many national awards; he also oversaw a major reorganization of the Academy. Mike has driven the plan for the proposed community facility with passion and skill and we are hopeful this will soon come to fruition.

Mike was a strong advocate for the club liaising more closely with the fans through the Cards Trust. He also served the club nationally on the Board of the National League and was a voice for principle and fairness. We also saw first hand the many hours work Mike put in, as a volunteer, behind the scenes; as Board members we knew he would stand with us and support us.

Being a club chairman in the competitive and uncertain world of football is a very demanding and stressful role – and is also voluntary! We, and we believe the whole club, owe a huge debt to Mike Smith and also his wife Bev and sons Michael and William for allowing Mike to serve the club as Chairman. We look forward to seeing the Smiths at the Laithwaite Community Stadium in the months and years to come.

Thank you Mike.