What happened at the Surgery?
On Friday, 12 October I held a surgery for supporters in the Princess Royal. I met with six supporters. I would like to thank all those that came to meet me. The main topics that they raised were:
- Why doesn’t Terry Butcher communicate directly and more frequently with supporters like Martin Allen did? Terry works in his own way and has his own methods. He does communicate regularly through the matchday programme; his post match interviews appear on the official website where he also does the occasional interview with Peter Gilham. The question of communicating directly with supporters was discussed with him at the last Club Board meeting where he said he would consider further other ways of communicating with supporters.
- If the Club are not promoted this season how will this affect next year’s playing budget? In short it is too early to say. Next season will be shaped by how well we perform on the pitch, against this season’s budget and any additional sources of funding we can secure. A key element of our financial success for this season will be the revenue we generate from gate receipts. About half our income comes from this source. After a good start our crowd numbers are slipping below the budgeted crowd figure (4,250), so we do desperately need to turn this round.
- How much time will the Board give Terry Butcher to improve upon current results? It has also been statistically proven that Clubs that stick with their managers are more likely to be successful than those who change them frequently. In the space of 12 months we have had four managers; Terry, being the latest of these, was appointed with the long-term in mind. He has brought in 13 new players this season and it is only reasonable that he is given time to find the right blend for the team. The players’ commitment has been evident and I know Terry is focused on getting other aspects of the team’s performance right.
- If we don’t succeed with a new stadium at Lionel Road, what is “Plan B?” The plan is to to ensure that we can survive at Griffin Park for longer than 5 years. It requires looking at what can be done within the confines of Griffin Park to make it more sustainable and would mean investing more in the short term in order to generate additional revenue in future years.
My next surgery will be on the Ealing Road Terrace before the home game with Darlington on 17 November between 1.15 - 2.15 pm.
20th October 2007