The TFFC Club Awards Presentation Event, season 2024/25
The 2024/25 CAPE morning was held on Sunday 1st June at Silver Jubilee Park in the form of a five-team round-robin tournament followed by a final and 3rd/4th play-off game. After the tournament had finished, everyone gathered in the clubhouse which had been splendidly decorated with new banners and signage.

Over 40 people attended the event with 34 players participating in the football part of the morning. A young and fast 1sts seven won three and drew one of their four group games to finish top of the group on 10 points, whilst the Over 30s team won two and drew two for their 8 points tally and second place. Third were the 2nds, the previous year's winners, on 7 points, with the Old Boys (1 point) and the TF Founders team (1 point) finishing 4th and 5th respectively. With the Founders' Shield being based on the group winners, the famous old shield was won by the First Team once again.

The last round of group fixtures brought tremendous drama when the Over 30s team, needing a win to pip the 2nds for the runners-up spot in the group, were being held 0-0 by the Founders until injury-hit Adam Speck stepped up to smash the winner in the final minute! In the 3rd/4th play-off, the Old Boys and 2nds drew 1-1 but the Old Boys won 3-2 on penalties to claim 3rd place overall, their best position in three years of playing this tournament.

In the final, there were even more dramatic scenes when, after a close 1-1 draw, the Over 30s won a thrilling penalty shoot-out 4-3, with Saul Tiano excelling in goal. Michael Goldberg, Sammy Samuelson, Liam Stein and Simon Linden scored their penalties. This was the third year in a row where the 1sts finished as tournament runners-up, although a slight consolation came in the form of Bailey Stockman being nominated as the Player of the Tournament by Vice-Chairman Simon Linden.



Congratulations to the TF Over 30s for taking the Jack Kyte Challenge Cup for the first time in two attempts. The winning squad (shown above, left to right) was Michael Goldberg, Ben Mandell, Hezzie Raymond, Sammy Samuelson, Saul Tiano, Liam Stein, Adam Speck and Simon Linden. Well played the 1sts, 2nds, Old Boys and TF Founders too.

Silverware on offer
The Club has a full array of silverware covering some long-running awards. If you're new to the Club and would like you check out the trophies and previous winners, check out the link here.

First Team playing kit 2025/26
Whilst the Old Boys Team will continue with their a splendid 'tiger stripe' kit, the First Team will go into season 2025/26 wearing the same brilliant Hariis Blacombe playing kit. The kit has been replenished with new stock and our thanks go to Harris Balcombe for renwing their sponsorship arrangement with the Club. Needless to say, this excellent kit must be looked after with care and attention.

There is a major change this coming season which all First Team players must be aware of. Shirts will be assigned to individual players by manager James Lee using squad numbers. Each player, apart from those who have previously bought their own kit, will receive a designated numbered shirt with a pair of shorts and socks to keep for the duration of the season. This kit remains the property of the Club and must be returned at the end of the season.

Those who bought their kit sets can still carry on using them, with their current number being their squad number for season 2025/26. Any player who loses Club-owned kit must pay for its replacement – a kit set costs £36. The onus is on all players to look after their kit for the season and to bring it to their next game. If you forget your kit on any particular Sunday, you will be sent home prior to kick-off – simply put, no kit, no play!

The advantage of this method will be not having to designate a player to wash the kit each week. Also, since every player in the squad will have his own kit set, we should avoid playing kit shortages, which blighted the team last season. Of course, this can only work if everyone looks after his set carefully. If you leave the Club at any time, you are obliged to return the kit set – no player will be released/transferred without the Club being in possession of his full kit.

If you would still like to buy a kit set as your very own to keep always, contact Kerry and you will be given a choice of shirt numbers available. Cost: £36. We will only order extra sets if we have a batch (to keep delivery costs down).

OWNED KIT SETS
The following sets have been purchased by the players named. They can KEEP the items indefinitely. (Each set includes a shirt, pair of shorts and pair of socks).

Size MEDIUM: Shirt number: 24 - owned by SAMMY SAMUELSON; Shirt number: 36 - owned by DUDI EDREYI; Shirt number: 44 - owned by ADAM SPECK. Size LARGE: Shirt number: 20 - owned by BEN KRIEGER; Shirt number: 28 - owned by MICHAEL GOLDBERG. Size EXTRA LARGE: Shirt number: 23 - owned by SAUL SIMONS.

Playing kits archive
On the subject of playing kits generally, we have a splendid archive of ALL kits used by TFFC since formation. We are likely to be the ONLY club in Maccabi football who has historically chronicled EVERY kit covering every season of Maccabi football particpiation! If you're interested in seeing them, try out these links - First Team, Second Team, Old Boys Team.



Club membership
A big thank you to all those who have paid membership fees to date. Our minimum aim is to have 15 Full/200 Club Members per team (so a total of 30), with a few casuals which we always expect. Membership income is absolutely vital, which adds onto the weekly match subs we collect to keep us running throughout the season. With us expecting pitch expenses to top £4,000 - and overall expenditure to reach £10,500 by the end of the season please play your part in paying your way (PYW). Not paying subs simply short-changes the Club and collectively reduces our ability to cover the costs.

We have a Club Membership section on the website which covers everything you need to know about a whole list of things, some of which have been included in this newsletter as separate items for your information.

Weekly match subscription fees
The match subscription fee is £12 per player per match for starters and £6 for subsititutes. Anyone washing the playing kit is exempt from paying. Be certain to pay the match subscription fee prior to kick-off preferably via your bank card for iZettle payments. A Club surcharge of £10 could be imposed if any non-payment is considered to be in breach of the Code of Conduct; the Team Secretary or Manager is entitled to drop any player who falls behind with paying his subs. Again, the message is simply PYW!

Our iZettle kings!
Following on from the last item, a big 'thank you' go to Sammy Samuelson and Jonathan Abrams who have agreed to look after the two iZettle payment devices at MGBSFL and Masters fixtures respectively. The iZettle devices offer simple TAP & PAY using your payment card so cash is no longer required. As stated previously, please do not avoid paying - the Club needs all the income it can get to cover the large expenditure over the course of the season. Worth repeating - always PYW!

TFFC on WhatsApp
We have several TFFC WhatsApp groups currently running, one each for our teams' players, and one each for the Team Managers' group and the TFFC Management Committee! These exist for communication, of course, and are proving to be an invaluable tool to getting things organised. Please refer to your team group regularly and respond to any requests posted, particularly from management. Especially react to Match Availability 'YES' or 'NO' choices via WhatsApp (First Team) or Spond (Old Boys Team).

MGBSFL structure
The MGBSFL held its AGM on Monday 28th July at EHRS Stonegrove and surprisingly it was a very straight-forward meeting! Attended by Nigel, Kerry and Aaron Black, the AGM discussed all matters relating to the 2024/25 season and also the structure of next season's divisions.

The disappointing withdrawal of seven teams across the League - namely Boca Chillers, Brook Farm Rovers, Hapoel Hampstead, HMH 'B', HMH Camden, Mill Hill Dons and Oakwood - was counter-balanced by seven new teams joining. Of these, Stopinsky have elected to go straight into the Premier Division, which had been reduced to just five teams. Joining them are Division 1 champions Yallatasary and Redbridge Jewish care 'A'.

With a total of 23 teams in the League for season 2025/26, the clubs voted to have a structure of 8, 8 and 7 in the Premier, Division 1 and Division 2 respectively. The influx of seven new teams means that most of Division 2 have been pushed into the section above, including Temple Fortune, so theoretically we can celebrate the Club's 19th promotion within the League! In Fortune's division, we now have Bocher Juniors, Brady, 40 Year Wanderers, Hampstead Ducks, Mill Hill Minyan, Rapid Vienna and last season's Division 2 winners Sukkotingham Forest.

As a Club, although we were anticipating a stay in Division 2 which arguably our 4th place merited last season, the promotion pushes us into a division we will be familiar with, whereas being in the new-look Division 2 would be an unknown quantity.

What's in a name?
The newbies always throw up the usual batch of cringeworthy names, Chopped Villa and Schlepfield Wednesday being two of the latest crop. Over the years, we've seen Athletic Bilbaum, Bayern Mincha, Boca Jewniors, JC Milan, Jewdinese, Jewventus, Paris St Jewmain, Real Sosobad, Shacharit Donetsk, Son Of Neasden, Tottenham Chutspah and West Hamdillah - and you can only snigger (or wince) at the names these guys give some newly-formed teams. Rather unsurprisingly perhaps, none of these clubs exist any more! I think that historically, those who don't take their name seriously do not last long. For example, if you played for Tottenham Chutspah, would you really take pride in a club called that? (Might explain why they lasted one season!)

Allegedly, clubs that never made it to the MGBSFL over the years - or past the London FA affiliation stage for that matter (for one reason or another), include Bayer Leavenedbread FC, BumUSA FC (Below Us Makes You So Awful), Dynamo Dreidel FC, Eintruck Frankfarters FC, Jooslose FC, Mohel Choppers FC, Retard Fussbal FC, Schmucklesfield Town FC, Scinless Sosedge FC, Tampax Bay FC, Wasawki FC (We Are Sh*t And We Know It), West Hambergers FC and WHA FC (We Hate Arsenal)! Just as well in some cases!

MMFL structure
Temple Fortune's Simon Black completed his first full season as MMFL chairman at the summer AGM and we feel that the league is finally in good, safe hands having been sloppily managed for a number of years. Following the demise of Glenthorne United, the league will run with the same seven teams, namely Brady, EHRS Stonegrove, Hendon Harriers, Maccabi London Lions, Scrabble, St John's Wood Tigers and Temple Fortune Old Boys. The agreed proposal to reduce the minimum age to 40 comes into play for the 2025/26 season. In time, the objective will be to attract more players and new teams.

Each team plays the others once only in Phase 1, giving six league fixtures, after which the league splits into Division 1 (first placed to fourth) and Division 2 (fifth place to eighth), with the possibility of a Maccabi XI drawn from registered pool players comprising an eighth team. Thereafter, home and away fixtures follow, adding up to a further six games and 13 in total. The cup competition will encompass all eight teams in a knock-out opening round, with the four winners playing in the main competition and the remainder in the Jack Morgan Cup (which Temple Fortune won three years ago).



TFFC display board
Anyone visiting Silver Jubilee Park will notice the TFFC display board located on the outside of the pitch fence as you head down towards the clubhouse/dressing rooms/pitch gates. Having been playing at SJP since 2017, TFFC are seen by the owners as being a valued facility user together with Hendon FC, Edgware & Kingsbury FC, UCFB, Hendon Women FC and Hendon Youth FC to name just a few. We are one of the main Sunday hirers for sure.

With this recognition in mind, SJP arranged to give the Club a display board erected (pictured above). So, as well as promoting the Club to anyone entering the ground, it should instill a sense of immense pride to our players that Temple Fortune FC feature so prominently within a Step 4 stadium. Each time you enter the ground, your Club will be there in your face and, especially, in the opposition's! Whether that gives Fortune an edge in matches remains to be seen but we can enjoy seeing that board each time we go there!

Essentials at SJP... and £50 fines
Still on the subject of SJP, a reminder that all matches played there will be kicking-off at 9.15am because our slot will be from 9am to 11am. This means an early start - make sure you get no later than 8.45am - but the advantage of an early start means you will get home to enjoy the rest of your Sunday that much earlier!

Also, there are two very important essentials all our MGBSFL players must be aware of. Moulded boots MUST be worn at all times on the playing surface and surrounds, which includes the strips around the pitch, including the dug-outs, within the outer green fence. You cannot wear trainers, blades, small multi-studded astro boots, or ANY flat-soled footwear including plimsoles, shoes, sandals or flip-flops at any time including after the game when crossing the pitch. This includes walking on the pitch with just socks.

If you wish to change into your trainers or flip-flops by the side of the pitch, leave the playing area by the gate near the corner flag on the dug-out side. Flat-soles, whether on footwear or your bare feet or socks, flatten the artificial grass strands and reduces the quality of the surface over time. The new owners are very hot on this, so please make sure you wear moulded boots. They have instructed their staff to take photos of anyone offending - if you are seen walking across the pitch in sliders for example, you will be fined £50 if reported with a possible ban from playing at SJP.



The second essential is rubbish. Always clear your empty drinks bottles, sock tape and other rubbish before you leave the playing surface. There is a green wheeliebin between the dug-outs and by the clubhouse.

Footballs at SJP
We lose quite a few footballs at SJP being kicked over the hedges, fences and other outer perimeters. If you are a substitute and see a ball kicked over, please go and retrieve it. There is no point leaving the balls until after the game - they will be snapped up by kids playing in Silver Jubilee Park (the name of the park in which the stadium is located) and West Hendon Playing Fields outside very quickly. Decent match balls cost approximately £12 to replace so we would rather look after them - please help us!

First Team training
Sessions at the Powerleague in Mill Hill may well be organised during the season and First Team players are requested to support any that are arranged by James. The Club has not budgeted for a training expenditure so this must be covered by participating players.

James/Sammy will be touch in the First Team group with more details about midweek training as and when these happen.

Tom sidelined
The sad news came through this week that Tom Lee, brother of First Team manager James, has picked up a serious knee injury that will keep him out of action for the 2025/26 season. This is more or less what happened to James last year so it is almost like history has repeated itself.

Tom has very generously donated his membership fee to the Club's TFFC Book fund (money being raised to cover the printing of the 50th Season in the M(S)FL book) which is very much appreciated. We wish him a speedy recovery.

The 24th Inter-Club Football Quiz
The Fortune News (TFN) Inter-Club Football Quiz was introduced for Club Members as "a bit of light-hearted fun" at the start of the 2002/03 season. At first labelled as just a "fun" event, the competition was given a sense of achievement by the fact that a trophy was awarded to the first winner. The season-by-season history of the Inter-Club Football Quiz can be found here. Of the current batch of members at the Club, both Alan Harounoff (Old Boys Team) and Kerry Higham (management) have won the Quiz.

We're running the competition for the 24th season and everybody is invited to compete. The qualifying round will be in the form of 20 questions presented to participants in a WhatsApp group on a specific date, which means you have to answer immediately (obviously nobody is allowed to Google answers!) Depending on numbers taking part, the leaders will progress to the next round. The quiz is purely football-related and is good fun, so if you would like to participate, contact Kerry via email or WhatsApp by 30th September when entries close. Thereafter, a date will be set midweek, probably a Monday at around 8pm, and those entering will be innvited to join in. The qualifying round will take about 20 minutes or so. Give it a go! Register your intererst to Kerry NOW.

We're proud to be FORTUNE!
If you glanced at the side panels in this newsletter, you'll see an item titled 'We're Fortune!' So a reminder to those new to the Club, and those not new but who keep calling as 'Temple' during matches. Temple Fortune FC are NOT and never will be just TEMPLE. A headline in the JC a couple of seasons back said 'Temple' when referring to the Club and we complained (they apologised)! Call us 'Fortune' by all means, but never 'Temple'.



Extracted from an old article by Alfred Boiler, who used to write for The Fortune News years ago: "I recall the story of the Chairman who was watching a TF match at Bethune Park several years ago when one of the Fortune players called out: "Come on, Temple!" Aaaaarrrrgrggh! Apparently, Mr K almost blew a gasket and at the earliest opportunity the player was admonished. Temple! No, no, no! After all, you don't call Man. United 'Manchester' or Sheffield Wednesday just 'Sheffield'. So, remember well - especially the newcomers amongst you - "Come on, Fortune' is fine. "Come on, Temple" is a fine!"

Well, we won't go that far, but do remember, we are Fortune!

Points deductions
From the start of the 2023/24 season, the FA introduced point deductions for teams across the grassroots game if their players or coaches commit repeated offences of serious misconduct, making clear to clubs that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated. This is a new deterrrent to help reduce misconduct and hopefully retain referees.

Point deductions will apply in the MGBSFL to teams who commit cumulative incidents of serious misconduct. This could include acts of discrimination, assault or attempted assault, physical contact or attempted physical contact against a match official, and mass confrontations such as the one in a Second Team game two seasons ago against Real Madriedel at SJP.

Deductions will range from 3 to 12 points depending on the amount and severity of offences committed within a 12-month period. All players need to be aware of these sanctions. We do not expect to get anywhere near the threshold that will invoke such severe measures, but you never know – one extreme situation (such as that unsavoury brawl mentioned above) could lead to points being deducted. Bear this in mind as a general policy that sportsmanship and good behaviour are a must this coming season.

Admin charges/fines for Yellow Cards
Remember that referees will not tolerate misconduct on the field, particularly dissent and foul or abusive language. Carefully read the Code of Conduct and ensure that your conduct and sportsmanship remains excellent during each match. A caution will cost you £14 (or £17 for dissent whether resulting in a Sin Bin or not) whilst the current fine for a sending off is generally £55 unless a more serious offence, in addition to a suspension of between 1 to 6 matches (depending on the severity of the offence).

Dissent – the cancer of Maccabi football – will not be tolerated and carries an automatic £17 fine. Nowadays a player can be sin-binned for 10 minutes for dissent, which obviously handicaps the team. Just one word to the referee which is interpreted as dissent, such as "rubbish!", will incur a £17 fine. There are no excuses for showing dissent – if you have a go at the ref, you pay the resulting fine. It’s as simple as that! The advice to players is KEEP IT ZIPPED!

Payment of fines
If you get booked, sent off or collect a Club fine, you must send the appropriate payment promptly to the Administration Officer once notified within 14 days. For some red card offences - yellow cards are excluded (there are no appeals for cautions) - players may appeal in writing to the Club within 1 day of the match. There is an appeal fee of £100 (payable by the player) to accompany an appeal so there has to be an extremely good reason to go ahead and the matter must be dealt with immediately. In most cases the Club accept the misconduct charge.

Delay in paying a fine for misconduct - a breach of the Code of Conduct - will incur a late-payment surcharge of £10 and/or an indefinite suspension being imposed until the fine is paid in full. Once again, the message is always 'PAY YOUR WAY'.

Kit washing
Since we keep the playing kits together as one (except for the First Team now), we need them washed each week. This is done by Old Boys players in turn, or by volunteering. Anyone washing the kit is exempt from paying the match subs for that particular week, so £12 saved! If you have a mother, wife or girlfriend (or to be politically correct in these current times) a partner, who can do it for you, it's well worth you throwing her/him a fiver or tenner to get the job done!

Anyone washing the kit - and this includes the kit in your possession if you're a First Teamer - please remember that you need a WARM WASH only and NEVER, EVER iron the shirts. Excessive heat can damage the printing in particular.

Baselayer tops
Since the two kits are short-sleeved, with the exception of the goalkeepers' shirts, you can wear base layer/compression tops to turn your shirt into a long-sleeve, particularly in colder conditions. Such garments are usually purchased from Sports Direct or Pendle Sportwear and of course you are welcome to buy your own. Or you can go to Kerry and buy those purchased by the Club, for only £9 (subject to availability).

The colours MUST be as follows – no ifs or buts. DO NOT wear any other colours. First Team and Old Boys Team – AMBER or YELLOW. Pendle Sportswear are one of TFFC's main suppliers and they do base layer tops for £9. If you ignore this and wear other colours, the referee may instruct you to take it off and you could well be fined by the Club.

Baselayer pants/compression shorts which are worn below the regulation TFFC shorts must be RED for the First Team and Old Boys Team. DO NOT wear any other colours.

What it takes to run TFFC
If anyone is interested in the Club's administration and what it takes to run a football club at grassroots level, visit the Officers' Reports pages on the website - it's an eye-opener on how TFFC is run. See the Chairman's Report and General Secretary's Report. On the financial side, the income/expenditure is not something for the public domain and therefore isn't on the website, but it's available via last season's AGM Minutes upon request to Kerry.

Our website home page
Below is a graphic showing you your "go to" places for info about the Club, such as Fixtures & Results, Club Statistics, the website menu, and a lot of TFFC-related stuff via the 'Red Menu Bar' across the middle of the page.



Advice to players and newcomers' guide
The TFFC website includes pages full of important information so please check out these two pages and carefull read the info listed – Advice To Players; Newcomers' Guide.

Club welfare
The Football Association has made appointing a Welfare Officer mandatory for season 2024/25. In her capacity as Administration Officer at TFFC, Kerry Higham is our chief Welfare Officer as listed on the Whole Game System (WGS) on the FA's online portal.

The role of the Welfare Officer is to be a point of contact for issues relating to the well-being of Club Members, with the aim of fostering positive experiences and relationships within the Club. We have a page on the website relating to Club Welfare so feel free to read it for more information.

Personal accident insurance
One of the major benefits of FULL MEMBERSHIP and 200 CLUB MEMBERSHIP is cover on the Club's Personal Accident Insurance scheme via Sportsguard. The Club has arranged a basic insurance policy which covers players under the age of 55. Players (including those over 55) may contact the insurer directly to top up personal insurance at their own cost according to individual needs and circumstances – so if you are self-employed you may wish to consider this option.

Featured on the website is a large section covering the Personal Accident Insurance scheme and all the info you need about it. I will reiterate that this cover is for Full Members and 200 Club Members - if you joined as a Casual Member you may not be covered as such.

Leaving the Club
An inevitable part of running a football club is the fact that some players will leave during the course of the season. As much as we do not like seeing players depart, we understand that it is impossible to keep everybody happy all the time. Far from putting a negative slant on things, the responsible side of this Club means that we are simply pointing out the possibility of this happening and where to go when it does.

Of course, hopefully if a player has issues relating to the playing side - team selection, opportunities to play etc - then your first port of call should be reaching out to your team manager. If it's an administration or TFFC-related issue, please contact myself or Kerry, especially if related to Club welfare.

Change of personal details
If you move, change your phone number or anything else relevant to playing for the Club, please let us know - contact Kerry. Communication is the key!

General TFFC-related queries
If you have any queries related to the Club in general, please talk to Simon L, Kerry or myself - we are here to help in any way we can. And of course, communicate with your team manager and assistants if need be.

And finally...
Above all, help us to stay one of the best run clubs in Maccabi football. We can only do that with your fullest cooperation.

I will conclude by wishing you the best of Fortune this coming season!

Regards,
Nigel
temple.fortune.fc@gmail.com

Main TFFC email: info@tffc.co.uk