End of Year Recap

London Seaward’s regular season ended earlier this month with the club solidifying its hold on fifth in a division of twelve teams. With the season done and just one (or two!) cup matches to follow, it’s time to take stock of my year as sponsor.

Short version: I couldn’t be happier.

There’s more to the story, of course. Seaward rose as high as third in the standings but came down to earth a bit at the end. The depth of talent throughout the English football pyramid means that most games will be competitive and all three results possible, so some variability is expected.
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That said, the Anchors did well with the resources at hand. Bigger clubs come with bigger budgets, as I alluded to in this somewhat cheeky graphic:

When deciding whether to sponsor the club, I looked at the committee, managers, and players who had seen London Seaward through the traumatic separation from their “name” men’s club and a year of training in parks with portable lights in the fight to avoid relegation. They won my confidence and it turned out to be a terrific decision. It bears noting that two teams from Seaward’s division had to withdraw part way through the campaign, which attests to the difficulty of competing at this level.

What Seaward have done, beyond finishing in the top half of the table, is establish the club as a great place to play. Players share notes about the teams they’ve played for, whether they’d go back, and whether they’d recommend a club to their friends. Seaward benefitted from players arriving on loan or on a short-term contract—with luck, that reputation as a welcoming and competitive club will continue.

And now we head into the offseason, which is always times of transition. Open trials will happen in a couple of months and decisions made as to players, managers, and (yes) sponsors. I’ve indicated my interest in continuing on but one of the realities of sport is that everyone is replaceable. I’ll let everyone know what’s up as soon as I can.
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We are London Seaward.