The Members Club currently has 5 serving directors. Each director leads on a range of roles, under the leadership of Chris Woolley who is the current chairperson.
Chris Woolley – Chair
I am Chris Woolley and the current chairman of the Members club company. It may make me seem remote from the fan base, which is not my intention. It’s because on match days there is always something with which I have to get involved.
So you can get to know me a bit better I will give you a little snapshot of who I am. I think I was around 9 or 10 when my dad took me to Sandy Lane when we were playing Hendon. Even then a Toots fan wanted to have a fight with one from Hendon, but my dad wouldn’t let us stay for the outcome. My first game coming alone was when we lost to QPR in the 2nd round of the FA Cup in 1956. The next 4 years or so were very exciting for a school boy as we took on pro clubs in various cup competitions and won many more than we lost. Drawing to Nottingham Forest, who went on to win the FA cup and just losing to Chelsea in the London Challenge cup final at Stamford Bridge were some of the high points.
Football was organised very differently then. It was divided into amateur and professional and there was no pyramid. The best amateur players were better than the lower level pros and often fitter. Its alleged that they secretly got paid better too! So there is no point in wondering why things are different now.
Between the end of the 1950s up to the late 90s I watched Tooting spasmodically. My work in housing development, family life and moving away from the area were partly to blame. The truth is though I preferred playing to watching. That I carried on far too long, being too old and too slow to be much good to the rest of the team. So I returned to watching in 1998 and was overheard one day in the stand, by the then chairman, saying “I wonder if there is anything I can do to help”. Before I knew it I was roped in to helping negotiate the merger with T&M Sports & Leisure, to prevent the club going into insolvency. One thing led to another and I am still helping, via the Members Club. So come and join me please. You can even put me out to pasture!!
Lyn Catchpole
Lyn has been a long term director, for about 10 years years at Sandy Lane and continuously since we moved to Imperial Fields.
Lyn has has a variety of roles including:
- Director/manager of the walking football team.
- Overseer of the WATCha Foundation for work in the community.
- Chief Steward and overseer of stewarding.
- Club Safety officer.
- Matchday stadium manager.
Lyn’s first Tooting game was with her step dad as a toddler but she was too young to remember it! Her best ever Tooting games were the FA Cup matches with Swindon and Stockport. She also supports Manchester United.
On matchdays, Lyn can be found wearing her hi-vis jacket generally in the stand or tunnel area.
Keith Kelly
Keith joined the old committee that then run the club in the late 80s that became the Members Club when the Sports and leisure side took over and eventually became a director in 2008
Since 1974 Keith has helped behind the scenesin a full range of roles – he has produced and sold match programmes, raffle tickets, run the club shop and organised the occasional coaches to away games. He was also the reserve team secretary for around 11 years that sometimes meant I was also physio, assistant manager and even an assitant referee on a number of occasions. Keith has also been a matchday steward at various times.
Keith now runs the boardroom hospitality on a matchday, getting and cooking the all the things needed for that. This was only supposed to be a temporary role as the much-missed Nigel Sarson asked him to help out one day some 16 years ago!
His first competitive Tooting ame was a 1-0 victory over Enfield back in 1973 thanks to a Alan Ives goal our first game in the new sponsored Isthmian league although he had seen a couple of friendly games in 1972
My best games are the two Swindon games and of course that amazing 7-6 game at Dulwich Hamlet in the Trophy.
You will find Keith in the boardroom on home games trying to watch as much as possible the action not always possible which is why he enjoys the away games, although ‘enjoy’ might be the wrong word sometimes!
Charlie Rowe – Members Club Secretary
Charlie has been a director since 2021. His role as Club Secretary means he covers a range of roles, and has previously helped set up the football club webiste (www.tmunited.org) and supported the club’s social media.
Charlie’s first Tooting game was and he is also a Charlton Athletic supporter.
His favourite game was a last minute home win against Northwood in 2019 – a really good crowd that day with Razzaq Coleman getting the late winner.
On home matchdays you will find Charlie doing odd jobs at the ground and he watches games at the Bog End.
Stephen Reynolds
Stephen has been a director since 2022. His main roles have been organising matchday volunteers, supporting the club’s social media activities and assisting with sponsorship and events.
Stephen’s first Tooting game was in December 1972, a 5-0 win against Oxford City in the Isthmian League at Sandy Lane. He was taken along by his grandad. His most memorable game was the 2-2 draw at Swindon Town in the third round of the FA Cup in January 1976 – with the team scoring twice in the last few minutes have trailed by two goals for almost the entire game.
Stephen doesn’t support any other teams although his dad did force him to watch Crystal Palace as a child.
Pre-match you will find Stephen working in the club shop, and checking up on volunteers and any matchday guests. During games he will generally either be up at the top of the stand to support the matchday announcer or behing the goal with the Bog End faithful.