Martin Byrne - The Chairman

At the heart of any successful football club is a passionate Chairman who supports the club first and foremost; having their best interests at heart. We have seen how sometimes owners at certain clubs are only in the position for personal benefit, and not that of the club. It remains to be seen whether the likes of Roman Abramovich and Randy Lerner will get fed up of their Premier League 'toys' and abandon ship once they have had enough. Chairman at lower league level must remain loyal as they, along with the treasurer, are the figures that keep a small club like Bay running .Martin Byrne, who has held the position as club chairman for eight years, certainly fits into these guidelines. He explained to me how he watches the Bay Athletic first team every week, as well as injecting £3-5000 of his own money into the club to keep it running in an era where financing at lower league level is being placed under the spotlight. I then asked Martin about the nature of his duties as Chairman, to which he replied: 'I arrange sponsorship for the first team and liaise with the committee to discuss the club in general; we have committee meetings every month. I am always available to talk to the managers if they need help, and I'll often help out with travel expenses and things like that." Byrne, who is the Managing Director of his own company, disclosed reasons for his appointment as Chairman and how it helped save the club. He said: 'I was a player for Bay since I was 16. My appointment as Chairman came about after I helped save the club ten years ago, just as it was about to go out of business. We certainly did turn things around at the club.' Many people at the club have said that although the squad could probably compete in the Northern Counties East League, which represents the tenth level of English football, the financial issues surrounding a promotion would hinder its realistic possibility. With the obvious increase in publicity that a promotion to the competition would bring, I asked Martin whether his duties as a Chairman would be altered if the club did decide to take the step up and enter a higher echelon of English football. He replied: 'A promotion would require more effort. To start with we would need to appoint a board; the Northern Counties League is a lot more professional. It would cost us £700 a year to join the league, plus we would need to pay our players and accommodate for their travel expenses.' I ended the interview with some questions of a lighter tone. On the topic of hobbies away from football, Martin explained that he enjoys Golf and going on holidays. I also asked him about Euro 2008, and who he thought would win (just to be completely random and off topic) and was provided with an answer that the majority of the English population would probably offer on response to the same question: 'I've lost interest since England went out. I've not really thought about who I think will win it!'

Staff Profile - Richard Spychalski

Masterminding Bay's superb season has been first team manager Richard Spychalski. Spychalski, who has been in control of first team affairs for four years, is another manager, similar to second team manager Curtis Israel who has played for the Bay before going on to manage the club, as Richard explained. 'This is actually my second stint at the club. I played for Bay before eventually managing the second team where we managed to win the treble. I then moved on to managing the first team where we won division one not long after my appointment.' When speaking to Curtis Israel, it seemed apparent that most managers seem to have aspects of their job that they particular enjoy, or on the flip-side completely dislike. Curtis revealed to me that telling a player he will not be playing in the forthcoming game is one of the more difficult aspects of the role, but Richard seemed to disagree with the notion that there are parts of management that are easier - or more enjoyable - than others. He said: 'Telling a player he won't be playing this week is part of being a manager. Managing does not have many bad bits; it's a challenge. The majority of the time I succeed'. It is without a shadow of a doubt that Bay are having an excellent season. Sitting in top spot, and having played considerably less games than their nearest challengers for the Premier Division title, full credit has to go to Spychalski and his squad of players for producing excellent football and obtaining the results they deserve for it. On reflection of the season so far, Richard said: 'We had success two seasons ago when we won the County Cup; we also came runners up last season. We looked like genuine challengers for the title last season until March when we began to fall short. On top of league results, we lost two semi-finals and just managed to scrape through the Challenge Cup. We were very inconsistent last season and it cost us. Our expectation this season was to still be competing and we're doing that; despite other teams poaching our players.' After Richard revealed to me his enthusiasm for the tactical side of the game, including how he often studies teams before big games, I asked him whether he believed the Bay Athletic first team could embrace the step up to the Northern Counties East Division, provoking a positive response. He said: 'Personally, I feel we could challenge for the top four'. Moving away from Bay Athletic slightly, I quizzed Richard on his hobbies away from football. Many football managers and players alike often list football as their only real hobby because it takes up so much of their time, however, Richard clearly enjoys other things apart from football. He stated: 'Golf is one of my main interests; I enjoy a round of Golf. I recently went to Malaga with some friends - we managed to win a tournament whilst we were over there! I enjoy cooking and wine drinking, especially going out for meals. Socialising, especially with my kids, is also important to me.'

2nd Team Manager - Curtis Israel

With the first team doing so well in the Premier Division, and looking a good bet to secure the league title, many people not associated with the club are unaware of the second and third team that Bay have in place. Currently occupying fifth place in the West Riding County Reserve Division 1 is the Bay Athletic AFC second team, managed by Curtis Israel. Curtis, 21, has been with the club for nine years and took over the helm as second team manager at the young age of 19. Despite an obvious lack of experience in the managerial department, Israel informed me that he had no hesitations in fulfilling the role - especially as he was able to draught a few players in with him. Curtis explained how the side had hope for promotion at the start of the season, but have been let down by the temper mental English weather. He said: 'Our aim at the start of the season was to win promotion. We were top of the division but after having a game called off four weeks in a row against East End Park (in the West Riding County F.A Challenge Cup) our season came to a bit of a halt. We didn't have any training sessions during December either, and as a young side I think you lose a bit of cohesion' For any manager, sometimes the worst part of the job is telling one of your players that he won't be playing that week; especially if the player is so enthusiastic about the game. Curtis explained to me that this was probably the biggest negative of managing a club, but I got the impression that the positives substantially outweigh the negatives for Curtis. 'The best part of being a manager is the pride that the players and I take from winning a game. We are all good friends which is extremely important. When we won the West Riding Cup last season, we had a night out to celebrate which was excellent!' When discussing the development of players and their progression into the Bay first team, Curtis revealed that a selected few have stepped up to the first team where they had become better players because of it. He said: 'We've had a few (players represent the first team). Tom Brown and Ben Burnett are two names that have made the grade. McKinley Taylor also played for the first team then came back to help us win the cup after he'd improved whilst playing at a higher level.' I asked Curtis on his thoughts concerning the West Riding County Amateur League, and whether he rated the standard of football it produces. He gave a positive response, also indicating that a former Tottenham, Southampton and Wolves defender recently participated in the competition. He said: 'It is a good standard of football and has some good players. One of our players was offered £100 to play at a higher level, but he turned it down because he enjoys playing for Bay so much. An ex Carlisle United player has played for a team within the competition - I can't remember which one - and I know that Dean Richards played for Campion last season.' After Curtis revealed to me that he is struggling for players this weekend because of an impending trip to Dublin, I quizzed him on his hobbies away from football. He informed me of his love for football and going on a night out.

Supporter Profile - Graham Buckley

Committee member and Bay Athletic enthusiast, Graham Buckley, is clearly very passionate about the football club. His role as committee member involves the crucial role of attracting sponsors and raising funds which in turn keep the club afloat. Graham revealed the history behind his association with the Leeds Road side, which all began in the early 1980's: 'In the 1981/82 season a group of us, between 20 and 30 roughly, joined the club on mass. I had played for Heywood Sports for a couple of season before joining Bay, so it wasn't the first club that I'd represented. We had originally wanted to start our own team prior to joining Bay, but we were refused entry into the league after a protest by the Bay Athletic side at that moment in time!' Graham explained how at the time Bay were languishing in the fourth division of the Huddersfield District League, before later winning back to back promotions and thus settling in division two for about six years. As Graham explained, that was certainly not the end of Bay's success during that successful period: 'We went on to win the league 3 times in the early 90's, before joining the WRCAL in the 1996/1997 season. We managed to win division 2 in our first season, before eventually turning down promotion from division 1 a few seasons later because we thought the club was going to fold!' On the topic of finance in lower league football, Graham stated his belief that the club do not receive enough support from the F.A, which could hinder their ambitions for future years: He stated: 'Ability wise, we would be able to hold our own in a higher division than the one we are currently in. Financially, it would be a big step. There is very little money in the game at this level and we feel that we get no support at all from the F.A. Luckily we do have one or two irons in the fire, but financially we rely heavily on a small group of sponsors, such as Beaumont Insurance Brokers, and chairman Martin Byrne, who provide all the kits etc'. I asked Graham whether he felt the club received a justified amount of local media coverage, to which he replied positively. However, he does not think highly of the ethos that national tabloids adopt. On the topic, he said: 'They (the tabloids) tend to build teams or people up, put them on a plateau, and then proceed to destroy them. Some of the character assassinations are appalling.' After I discovered the history of the club house, which was built approximately forty five to fifty years ago, Graham revealed his hobbies. On top of visiting numerous different countries, Graham disclosed his love of fine dining and adventure sports: 'I love travelling abroad. I've visited the USA approximately 8 times. I got married in New York in 1999 in the gardens of the World Trade Centre! I am always up for any social event, and in my time have flown gliders, been ballooning and driven tanks and quad bikes!

Financing the Bay

We understand a lot about the role and importance on finance in football at the highest level. Within the last five years or so, or arguably within the last eight years after the collapse of ITV digital, the way in which football clubs at the higher levels of the English game are financed has been thrown into the media spotlight. With Premiership players' wages now exceeding astronomical amounts, the need for well-managed finances in mandatory. Some argue that as the rich get richer; the poor get poorer, and perhaps this is the case at clubs like Bay who play their football in the West Riding County Premier Division - eleventh in the pyramid of English football. The F.A (Football Association) has come under criticism for the lack of money they are apparently failing to invest into lower league football. The F.A responded during March this year by announcing their intent to invest £200 million into grassroots football over the next five years, with the long term aim of developing better English players that can improve the standard of the English leagues and consequently the underachieving national side. So how do the finances sort themselves out at Bay? Is it enjoyable and what sort of tasks are involved with financing a club who would appear to have minimal overheads; given the status of the club and the fact that the players do not receive a fee for playing. Treasurer of two years, John Buckley, was able to provide me with some interesting points concerning financing at the club. The first question I posed to him concerned his duties as treasurer and the nature of them. He said: 'In a nutshell, I send out the invoices and pay our bills. At the same time, I have to keep a concise note of the money that we have or have not got'. John, who admitted that he only intends to conduct his role as treasurer for another season after the current one has ended in May, explained that there is not one aspect of his role that he particularly enjoys. He explained: 'There is no part of my role that I enjoy. It is quite difficult, especially collecting money off the players as some don't want to pay!' It would seem that the role of treasurer at a smaller outfit like Bay Athletic is perhaps as un-enjoyable as it is at a club in the higher echelons of English football, like the Premier League or Coca Cola Championship. However, controlling the finances at a club like Bay cannot be even remotely compared to the stress of the same job at a club like Chelsea or Manchester United. Both may be un-enjoyable, but the pressure of financing a club in the top divisions is much more risk related and the ramifications of errors much more cost-worthy. We only have to look at the amount of football clubs entering administration as a result of poor financial management; Leeds United F.C acting as undoubtedly the most high-profile case. After discussing the finance of the excellent club house; as well as the importance of local companies and figures that provide sponsorship for the club, like Beaumont's Insurance Brokers, I quizzed John on the subject of financial support from the F.A. He stated: 'I don't think the F.A can justify the amount of money that they input into football at a lower level. They need to help out more clubs at this level for the good of the game as a whole, not just lower league football like the West Riding County league'.