Chairman's report on Club AGM

[Jason H]

I wouldn't necessarily hold up Shrewsbury, as they have until recently been something more of a 3rd/2nd tier side and their "natural level" (according to my non-patented NLQ) is lower end 3rd tier, which is where they've been the last couple of seasons (and I suspect may end up dropping towards this season after a great start).

Others have tended to have new stadia mixed in with serious investment (Wigan, Reading) and/or a massive helping hand from the local government (Swansea).

 

[tavyred]

Reading were owned by a multi millionaire who paid for their stadium and their ascent up the leagues. So the stadium was not of itself, in any way transformative; the money was and that money also paid for the stadium.

Reading's improvement is less to do with their stadium and more to do with the individual wealthy benefactor it was named after - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Madejski - that and a certain Mr Eamonn Dolan.

I’m personally less interested in how clubs were able to afford a new stadium, more the fact that having had them built their clubs have been transformed as a result.

 

[Fareham Grecian]

I’m personally less interested in how clubs were able to afford a new stadium, more the fact that having had them built their clubs have been transformed as a result.

But they haven’t been transformed ‘as a result’. As Jason says, I haven’t seen any suggestions put forward yet of clubs which have been transformed JUST by having a new stadium. They have generally had huge investment which AMONG OTHER THINGS has got them a new stadium.

 

[Red Bill]

'Finally on this topic I hope we are able to retain his services, although it is a fact and something we need to reconcile ourselves with, that the ethos of our club, for better or worse, has changed to some degree in the light of the actions the board was instructed to take around this time last year. I will do all I can to re-establish that ethos and trust which had always been our bed rock.'

I cant believe that nobody has pulled him up on this statement???? If I am reading this correctly he is softly saying that the actions taken last year go against everything the club stands for and he appears to be condemning us for it???

If so this is an astoundingly arrogant statement! In his eyes the Supporters Trust can never truly have a say on the managers position??

And this is why its so important to me the we (the Trust) as majority shareholders step up and exert our authority and make it clear that its us who'll decide what the ethos of the club should be, not just a handful of individuals, no matter how passionate or dedicated they may be. Its also why I believe its so important that we reach the goal of 75% shareholding, as I think once that's achieved any resistance from private shareholders to sell their shares to the trust will evaporate and we will find ourselves as outright owners (or at least a 90% shareholding which more or less equates to the same thing). Hopefully that would mean we'd heard the last of the resentful and disrespectful comments like the one quoted.

I have nothing against Tagg, I think he's City through and through and works very hard for the club, but it does appear that he's never fully taken on board what supporter ownership means.

 

[Terryhall]

And this is why its so important to me the we (the Trust) as majority shareholders step up and exert our authority and make it clear that its us who'll decide what the ethos of the club should be, not just a handful of individuals, no matter how passionate or dedicated they may be. Its also why I believe its so important that we reach the goal of 75% shareholding, as I think once that's achieved any resistance from private shareholders to sell their shares to the trust will evaporate and we will find ourselves as outright owners (or at least a 90% shareholding which more or less equates to the same thing). Hopefully that would mean we'd heard the last of the resentful and disrespectful comments like the one quoted.

I have nothing against Tagg, I think he's City through and through and works very hard for the club, but it does appear that he's never fully taken on board what supporter ownership means.

To paraphrase Orwell, "all supporters are equal, but some supporters are more equal than others"...?

 

[tavyred]

But they haven’t been transformed ‘as a result’. As Jason says, I haven’t seen any suggestions put forward yet of clubs which have been transformed JUST by having a new stadium. They have generally had huge investment which AMONG OTHER THINGS has got them a new stadium.

I’m not denying the huge investment, just putting forward the idea that Reading FC ‘Madejski Stadium’ bears no resemblance to Reading FC ‘Elm Park’.

 

[DanceMagnet]

Give us some examples of the transformative effect of a shiny new stadium for L2 football clubs?

Not a L2 football club at all, but surely you don't have to look any further than the Chiefs to see how things can change. It's not just about ground capacity anyway. The Chiefs have developed a stadium that can generate income over and above their direct matchday income. The St James Centre is never going to have the same appeal.

However, I'm not against staying put, and I agree with RedBill that a 12k capacity is probably the most the club would ever need. If that can be achieved within the current site, all well and good, but I'm not convinced there are any real avenues for generating significant additional income on the current site. I hope that the student residence next door will open up the potential of students using the facilities during the weekdays given the right incentives to do so.

 

[Jason H]

In fairness, if anyone is going to look at a stadium-based success story in Football, you should be looking at Burton. They, like the Chiefs, massively benefited from selling off their old footprint for a huge sum and bought a cheaper plot to develop the new ground.

 

[John William]

In fairness, if anyone is going to look at a stadium-based success story in Football, you should be looking at Burton. They, like the Chiefs, massively benefited from selling off their old footprint for a huge sum and bought a cheaper plot to develop the new ground.

...which we cannot do as we don't own the ground and anyway there are no cheap plots available in Exeter.

Every situation is different, and there is no point comparing us with other clubs. Burton is a Midlands town with more derelict land than you can shake a stick at. Exeter's topography and other factors are against this.

There is Zero chance of ECFC moving in the next decade or longer, and people who think otherwise are not being realistic.

 

[Red Bill]

In fairness, if anyone is going to look at a stadium-based success story in Football, you should be looking at Burton. They, like the Chiefs, massively benefited from selling off their old footprint for a huge sum and bought a cheaper plot to develop the new ground.

But to counter that Jason, can you say with any certainty that they're recent success has anything to do with their new (or new at the time) stadium?