A Pre-Season Message from the Chairman
A pre-season message from the Chairman:
Dear Cards Supporters,
With the 2025-26 pre-season officially underway, I wanted to take a moment to first thank you for your incredible support, and also to share with you some of the things going on behind the scenes at the club.
While there is still so much work yet to do, we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made since taking over the club last December, during what was, as many of you know, a precarious period for the club.
Once the takeover was approved and we were able to begin putting things in place, the team responded brilliantly. Over the final 24 games or so, we finished with around the 5th-best record in the National League during that stretch. That strong finish, combined with the re-signing of a number of our key players from last season—as well as some promising new ones --- gives us every reason to feel encouraged heading into the 2025-26 season.
Since then, we’ve largely kept our heads down and focused on the task in front of us. While we believe that actions speak louder than words, we also recognise that we’ve probably been a little too quiet. Upon reflection, we recognise that supporters appreciate regular updates and insight into what’s happening across the club, and that’s something we aim to improve moving forward.
This letter is a start.
While building a winning club on the pitch remains our biggest priority, we’ve also had to turn our attention this off-season to several long-overdue updates, repairs and improvements throughout the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
Improving our infrastructure, starting with the pitch.
The most glaring issue last season was the condition of the pitch itself. We understood the importance of addressing it, and so we made significant investments this off-season. We hired a new full-time groundskeeper who oversaw a complete renovation of the pitch. Unlike last spring when work started late and was limited due to a lack of funds—this spring we were able to start the renovation on time with full financial backing from the club. The early results are extremely encouraging, and while we obviously can’t predict what Mother Nature will throw at us this winter, we are optimistic that the pitch will be much improved this season.
Enhancing the matchday experience for all supporters.
To grow our club, we have to continue to try to improve the match-day experience at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.
One thing that bothered me in my first season was seeing the entire Chris Lane Terrace—which offers some of the best views of the pitch— allocated exclusively to away fans. Whether there are 1,500 away supporters or just 15, not a single Woking FC fan is permitted along the entire side of the pitch.
That just didn’t sit right with me, and so we’re actively exploring solutions that could potentially give us the flexibility—depending on the match—to allow Woking fans to use a portion of the Chris Lane Terrace. We think this would be a huge win for our fans, our players and the overall atmosphere inside the Laithwaite Community Stadium. We are also exploring ways in which we can limit the loss of seating for our fans in large sections of seating in Seymour’s Stand for certain matches as well.
Meanwhile, we also need to recognise the importance of improving the matchday experience for away fans as well. For example, we currently don’t offer supporters in the away section the full range of beverage options that are made available to away fans at virtually every other ground you visit. To that end, we’re working on plans to create a second “Fan Zone” specifically for visiting supporters, where they can gather conveniently and comfortably before the match and at halftime to enjoy their favourite beverage. We believe this would be a win-win for everyone involved and reflects the kind of club we want to be.
Working Together – The Woking Way
The encouragement, positive feedback, and support we’ve received on these projects have been fantastic.
That support had come in the form of hands-on help from our ever-growing group of volunteers, most notably the “Cards Crew,” who have donated their time and energy on this and several other projects and improvements taking place around the ground. There is no shortage of volunteer opportunities at Woking Football Club. If you’d like to get more involved at the club this season, we’d love to have you. For more information, please email our Volunteer Coordinator, Derek Bicknell, at derek.bicknell@wokingfc.co.uk for more details!
We’re also incredibly grateful for the financial support we’ve received on these projects from the Cards Trust Board, members of our shareholder group, and other generous individuals who have stepped up as well. Thank you!
In addition to the projects noted above, there are additional upgrades and improvements around the ground that we hope to launch this season, including:
• The installation of a digital screen in the “Home” Fan Zone area, where you’ll be able to read the latest team news, as well as catch up on the latest football results at half-time and full-time.
• On the food front, we are looking to add traditional pies, pasties and sausage rolls options to our matchday menu.
• Revamping and tidying up the interior of the club shop—another long-overdue project-especially to properly showcase our new kit and the latest merchandise.
Expanding Our Role Beyond Matchdays
As a tenant of our stadium, we are able to use it 24-hours a day, 365-days a year. Yet as a football club, we mostly just use it to put on around 30 football matches or so each season. We need to do a better job utilising our facilities beyond matchdays—to grow our non-football revenue at the club.
That means positioning Woking FC as a go-to destination for a wide variety of events—birthday parties, engagement celebrations, wedding receptions, community gatherings, religious functions, business meetings, and more. We have some great and unique spaces within the ground, including the Cardinal Bar, which is already one of our most popular and versatile venues. We’re in the process of freshening it up by making some long-overdue updates and improvements to make this space even more welcoming. We’ll be sharing more with you on this soon.
If you have a special event coming up and haven’t yet booked a venue, please give us a call or send us an email at events@wokingfc.co.uk—we’d be honoured to host you, and you can take pride in knowing you are supporting the football club in the process.
A Few Final Thoughts:
These are exciting times at Woking Football Club. I believe that by everyone working together, we can build something truly special here.
Remember that the early-bird period is ending soon. If you haven’t yet purchased a season ticket, please consider doing so. Every season ticket matters. Every supporter matters.
Whenever there is a change at a football club—or in any organisation—it also often involves personnel changes, and Woking FC is no exception. In that spirit, I want to take a moment to recognise and thank all the players, coaches, staff, and board members who are no longer with the club for all their contributions and dedicated service. At the same time, I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to those who have recently joined us—we’re excited to have you on board and look forward to the journey ahead.
Finally, if you’re reading this as someone who may have drifted away or lost interest in the club in recent years—we’d love to welcome you back. There’s never been a better time to be part of the Cards family. If you are a longtime fan---we are grateful for your continued support of Woking Football Club.
Thank you for being a part of this journey.
Together. We are Woking.
Todd Johnson
Chairman, Woking Football Club
