DT Election 2003 - Questionnaire

Are you a member of WISA? If not, why not?

No. I was a member until last year but I did not renew because I felt that WISA were directing too much of its efforts towards Franchise and ignoring the issues that were surfacing at AFC Wimbledon. I am encouraged by WISA getting involved in the election process in this way, and should they continue to get more involved with AFC Wimbledon matters then I will be looking to renew my membership.

Why should WISA members vote for you?

•  I am a ‘do-er' – I get involved and I get the job done.

•  I will place the issue of paying off the debt at the top of the agenda – it is of prime importance and cannot be ignored.

•  I will use my own experience of working for a membership organisation to look at ways of improving communication between the members and the Board.<

•  I am approachable and would ensure that members know who I am, and that they can talk to me about any Trust issues.

•  I am committed to seeking guidance from members rather than following a personal agenda.

•  I am young and can represent a significant proportion of our fanbase, who have not previously been represented at Board level.

•  I can represent the volunteers. Without the volunteers neither the club nor the Trust could function but they presently have no voice on the Board. The volunteers are a useful source of information, as they are the public face of the club on a matchday and often hear views that are not otherwise heard by the Board.

How much time can you commit each month to DT duties (excluding AFCW activities?).

It is difficult to quantify the amount of time that I can commit. I work full-time as a Senior Economist, which involves 35 hours per week but little or no overtime. I also work as an unpaid steward on all AFC Wimbledon home matchdays and also for some away games. I am young and single with few ties outside of work, and I am both willing and able to devote a significant amount of my spare time to Dons Trust duties.

What role would you perform on the DT board?

I am a good organiser and act as secretary to a number of Economics-related panels at work. In addition I have accounting experience, so I would be happy to be considered for either of the secretary or treasurer jobs.

I would also like to be given the opportunity to use the experience that I have gained working for a membership organisation to work on improving communication with the members. This would involve looking at ways to increase the amount of information given out to members by the Board and also coming up with initiatives to provide more opportunities for member input. I have included some of my ideas in my response to question 12.

Would you undertake any additional activities in AFCW?

I already work for AFC Wimbledon as a volunteer steward on all home matchdays and I have used some of my annual leave from my full-time job to help out at the ground with tasks such as painting. Obviously stewarding would prevent me from taking on any further duties on a matchday but I would be happy to take on further activities if there was a need for my skills.

Did you support the recent share issue enthusiastically, with reservations, or were you unhappy with the idea?

First of all, I think that the decision to undertake the share issue without seeking formal approval from the Dons Trust membership was wrong. Though I have no doubt that the Board acted with the best of intentions, I firmly believe that any decision to change the ownership structure of AFC Wimbledon should only be taken with majority agreement of the members.

Aside from that I did have reservations about the share issue, because in the absence of the Dons Trust Board providing any evidence to the contrary, I thought that there were other ways to generate the money. Ceding control of any part of the club, however small, should only have been done as a last resort when all other avenues have been explored.

However as far as I am concerned the decision over the share issue has been taken and cannot be reversed. Whether or not I agreed with it then is immaterial as I am committed to making it work for the members of the Dons Trust. And were a decision to be taken in the future, either by the membership as a whole or by the Board, I would accept it as the result of a democratic process and would do everything in my power to make it work.

I do not own any shares myself. This is partly due to my personal financial situation (I graduated two years ago and am presently repaying student debts) and also because I have no yearn to own shares beyond the share I own through my Dons Trust membership. Rather I am committed to raising money for the Stadium Fund so that the Dons Trust can use the money to pay off the debt directly or buy shares itself – whatever the Board deems to be appropriate. For example, my family hired out the car park of Carshalton High School for Girls for the game away to Raynes Park Vale in April. This not only provided our fans with somewhere to park but also contributed in excess of £500 to the Stadium Fund. In addition I stewarded at the match away to Chipstead in October for which they paid us £100 towards the Stadium Fund. I will be volunteering to steward at any other away games where the opposition promises to give a donation to the Stadium Fund for my services.

Do you favour a register of interests to record any benefits (financial or otherwise) Trust members gain from their dealings with the Trust or PLC?

If members feel that such a register would enhance the openness of the Trust then I would be happy to endorse it. In the case of the Dons Trust this should not be an issue. Rule 72 of the Dons Trust constitution says that “no Society Board member is to have any material financial interest personally or as a member of a firm or company or as a director or other officer of a business trading for profit or in any other way whatsoever in any contract or other transaction with the Society” (taken from the DT website). However it is unclear how this rule should be interpreted with regards to the Plc.

What personal qualities (apart from professional skills, and a capacity for hard work) do you have that the DT Board needs?

Working at the CBI I come from a background of working for a membership organisation. Ignoring the politics surrounding the CBI (which I believe are irrelevant when considering whether I would be a suitable candidate for the Dons Trust Board), my job is wholly dependent on me providing a service to our members, and therefore consultation and member focus are second nature to me. I think that this makes me an ideal person to be part of the Dons Trust Board because I have the capacity to improve the communication between the Board and the members, through both my own personal efforts, and through introducing techniques that I have learned working for a membership organisation.

I am a good organiser, as demonstrated by the fact that I have been appointed as a ‘bronze leader' steward, with responsibility for a group of stewards in a particular area of the ground.

I have a proven track record in successfully undertaking project work – something I believe is an essential skill that each Board member should have. For example I was recently tasked by AFC Wimbledon to assess the arrangements regarding radio equipment for the stewards. As a result of my work the Club has terminated the previous rental agreement and purchased new equipment, which will provide significant cost savings to the Club for years to come.

I am also young – at 25 I am acutely aware that members of my age group have not been represented on the Trust Board thus far.

Please list all financial benefits that you have received in the past through dealings with the Trust or Plc.

I have not received any financial benefits from the Trust or Plc. I am a steward but am unpaid, although all stewards do receive a complimentary matchday programme. Should the decision be taken to pay stewards in the future, then I would donate all of my earnings to the Stadium Fund.

What do you think of the Trust's performance and achievements so far?

I think the present Board has done some things well. The Community football scheme has been a great success and the Board has successfully completed the purchase of Kingsmeadow, as instructed by the members.

However I believe that the Board has made a number of mistakes. Firstly I believe that the Board should have polled the membership before going ahead with the share issue. Secondly I think that the Board should have commissioned a survey of the ground before going ahead with the ground purchase – this would have revealed what repairs were needed. These repairs have had to be undertaken at significant cost to AFCW Plc in order to get the ground into a useable state. The Dons Trust Board should have made these repairs a condition of the purchase – had they done this, the money already spent on repairs could have instead been used to lower the debt.

The Dons Trust Board has not done a good job of keeping the membership informed about the results of its fundraising efforts. Though a number of events – such as ‘Leap of Faith' and the 5-a-side tournament – have generated good publicity, the Board has not informed the membership of how much money they have yielded collectively for the Stadium Fund. Equally we do not know how much was raised by the ‘Playing for Keeps' appeal. In fact the Trust membership has been given barely any information on the state of the Trust's finances.

One of the big failings of the present Board has been lack of communication. The members have received just three newsletters in eighteen months and little other correspondence to inform us what the Trust is doing. Similarly the Board has failed to seek opinion from the members on how either the Dons Trust or the AFC Wimbledon Boards are performing.

I would look for the Trust to clearly define its role. This process must include consultation with the members to see what role they believe the Trust should take on. In particular the relationship between the Trust and the Plc should be clarified with areas of responsibility clearly defined. Though those on the respective Boards may already know how the relationships work, this needs to be explained to the members, a significant proportion of whom in my experience do not understand.

The Trust must also look at the issue of communication. It is almost universally acknowledged that communication has been a major weakness of the Trust until now, and improving this must be one of the top priorities of the new Board, behind paying off the debt.

I would also question whether the Trust should continue to produce merchandise. The club and Trust have produced a number of similar lines but it makes no sense for the two to be in competition, and in my opinion demand is likely to be far higher for AFCW-branded goods. I would like to see responsibility for merchandise handed to AFCW, with the proviso that the Trust logo could be incorporated into new designs were there clear demand for it.

How could the Trust board improve its communication with members?

I work for a membership organisation and my experience in working for those members has highlighted a number of methods that the Trust could adopt in order to improve communication. Communication must be a two-way process – the Board needs to better inform members of what it is doing and it also needs to be committed to seeking member opinion.

If I were elected I would press for regular meetings with the members and more regular newsletters and website updates. I would like the minutes of each Board meeting to be made available to the membership (although commercially sensitive information would need to be excluded) and a report of every Board meeting should appear in the next programme.

I would like to see regular Dons Trust surgeries where members could raise any issues that they pleased (AFCW has already done this successfully – the Dons Trust should learn from the success of these meetings). The Trust should also follow the lead of WISA and produce an annual survey of the membership to gauge opinion on all aspects of the performance of the Dons Trust, AFCW Plc, AFCWL and AFCW Stadium. A key function of the Dons Trust Board is to monitor the performance of the AFCW Plc Board and the best way to do this is to ask the membership what they think.

When considering candidates for board member positions for the Club, what characteristics would you look for?

The Dons Trust appoints two non-executive directors to the AFCW Plc Board. I would favour candidates who, as well as being hard working, have specialist skills, in particular commercial experience. With such a sizeable debt hanging over us, it is essential that the Plc is run as a successful business, with the commercial side being an integral part of this. In AFCW Plc Board meetings, these non-executive directors must also be willing to act in accordance with the majority policy of the Dons Trust Board, regardless of whether they agree with it themselves.

With regards to the executive directors, it is unclear what control the Dons Trust Board has over their appointment. There is a definite need for greater transparency, and the incoming Board should be prepared to clarify the mechanism for appointing these directors, and set out how they will measure the effectiveness of the executive directors and the CEO. With regards to the CEO position, the outgoing Board had promised in June that “details of the duties and responsibilities attached to this position, as well as the objectives by which his performance will be measured at the end of this contract, will be circulated to members as soon as possible” (taken from the DT website). However they are yet to deliver on this promise.

Should directors of DT subsidiaries (E.g. AFC Plc) be allowed to take up elected posts on the DT Board?

We need to make the distinction between executive and non-executive directors.

Obviously the Dons Trust needs to appoint non-executive directors to sit on the AFCW Plc Board to ensure that it acts in accordance with the wishes of the Dons Trust and its members. I firmly believe that anyone appointed by the Dons Trust to act as non-executive members of the AFCW Plc Board should be an elected member of the Dons Trust Board.

As for the question of executive directors of AFCW Plc, there are obvious conflicts of interest, as they would be effectively asked to monitor their own performance. My personal view is that the constitution should be amended to prevent executive directors of AFCW Plc being eligible for election to the Dons Trust Board. Nevertheless it remains vital that the Boards of the Trust and AFCW Plc maintain a good, close working relationship. This issue is fundamental to the structures of AFCW Plc and the Dons Trust, so I would like to see consultation with the membership before constitutional change is formally recommended by the Dons Trust Board.

How do you currently understand the duties and relationship of the DT Board in relation to the AFC Wimbledon PLC, AFC Wimbledon Ltd., and AFC Stadium Ltd. boards?

Current situation:
At present the Dons Trust Board's primary function is to oversee AFCW Plc, AFCW Ltd and AFCWS Ltd. This is done through the appointment of two non-executive directors to the AFCW Plc Board, and by having the AFCW Ltd and AFCWS Ltd Boards report back directly to the Dons Trust Board. As the Dons Trust constitution stands all members of the other Boards must be members of the Dons Trust Board – if they haven't already been elected they must be co-opted.

AFCW Plc wholly owns AFCW Ltd and AFCWS Ltd. AFCW Ltd controls the first team and reserves as well as merchandise. AFCWS Ltd runs the stadium and all related activities (such as function rooms, bars, teabars, etc). The Dons Trust also works to further the links between the local community and the Trust and Club, as well as producing merchandise and overseeing the AFCW ladies and junior teams.

Future structure:
I would like to see the Dons Trust concentrate on two areas. Firstly overseeing and working with the AFCW Plc Board to ensure that it acts in the interests of the Dons Trust members. Secondly I would like it to continue its excellent work in establishing links with the local community.

All issues concerned with the stadium should remain the domain of AFCWS Ltd, while all football related activities (including all merchandising) should be controlled by AFCW Ltd.

No executive director of AFCW Ltd, AFCWS Ltd or AFCW Plc should be permitted to be a member of the Dons Trust Board – they would be effectively assessing their own performance, which would represent a clear conflict of interests. The Dons Trust should continue to appoint two non-executive directors to the AFCW Plc Board to ensure that it is run in accordance with the interests of Dons Trust members. The Dons Trust constitution should be amended to prohibit executive directors of AFCW Plc from being members of the Dons Trust Board, and the requirement that directors of the football club be co-opted as members of the Dons Trust Board should be removed. Instead the directors of AFCW Ltd, AFCWS Ltd and the executive directors of AFCW Plc should be invited to attend Dons Trust Board meetings to report back on their activities, but they should not be members of the Dons Trust Board nor have any voting rights on it.

Should the Trust membership have the final say on the big issues, like where the club has its home ground or selling shares in the club?

Yes. Though in terms of the Constitution, the present Board did nothing wrong in selling shares without the formal agreement of the membership, I believe it was a mistake not to call a vote. I would like to see the Constitution amended such that it dictates that any ‘big issues' must be agreed at a full meeting of Trust members. Obviously the wording of the Constitution must define specific areas – ones that spring immediately to my mind are changes to the ownership or structure of AFC Wimbledon and changes of ground location.

Should Trust members have the right to propose motions at the AGM and other general meetings?

Yes – I think the Trust should encourage member involvement in the running of the Trust, and preventing them from doing so would arguably go against our democratic principles.

What ideas do you have for paying off the rest of the debt on the purchase of Kingsmeadow?

As far as I am concerned paying of the debt is the most important issue for the Trust to address over the coming months. Paying £9000 per month in interest (which could increase from the second year depending on the path of base rates) will act as a noose around our necks, preventing us from taking the club in the direction in which we want to take it.

The share offer is ongoing but it is likely that we already have the vast majority of the money from this source. We have exhausted the funds of our fans, and we have found that the vast majority of fans of other clubs are not interested. Therefore we must explore other avenues.

One idea that has been raised is of fans loaning the club money at a lower rate than that being paid to the Khoslas. This idea could work but in order to protect itself, the club would have to insist on paying back the loans only when it could afford it, and fixing the rate of interest payable now. This could make the loans unattractive to the fans because they would have little control over when they would repaid and, with interest rates on an upward path, they would be likely to yield less interest than they would get from a bank. Loaning money to the club rather than putting it in the bank would also be more risky. Borrowing the money from a financial institution has also been mentioned but, even if such an offer was forthcoming, it is unlikely that we could secure such finance at an interest rate that would make a significant difference to our monthly interest payments.

The corporate sector remains an option for raising funds. Three of the stands at Kingsmeadow are without sponsors, while we also have a number of advertising boards unsold. The stadium name itself could be made available for sponsorship – in our situation we must try to take advantage of money from practically any source.

The Dons Trust can also work with AFC Wimbledon to make use of Kingsmeadow for fundraising events. Past experience shows that events like the Comedy night have made good money for the Stadium Fund. We now have facilities to put on similar events, with the added bonus that we will also keep the bar takings. Possible events could include bands, quiz nights, etc. In the summer the pitch could even be used for open-air concerts.

We must also look at ways of generating more money from present activities. For example we have SKY so should be encouraging our fans to watch games in our bar. We could also introduce more fruit and quiz machines to the bars, and try to increase the use of our function facilities by people outside of the football club.

n my opinion there is no magic way of generating the £1.3 million from one source. Instead we should be trying to generate money from a number of different sources, and make better use of the facilities we already own. It is a case of thinking ‘outside the box' and coming up with imaginative ways of bringing in funds.

Are there any situations in which the Trust could, or should, relinquish control of AFCW?

I would not like to see the Dons Trust ever relinquish control of AFCW – having come this far and formed a club truly owned by the fans I would not want to risk our future by ceding control. The only situation I could think of would be if AFCW was on the verge of bankruptcy, but had a potential buyer, at which point the members of the Trust would have to take a decision about which way they think we should go.

Do you see Kingsmeadow, The Fans Stadium as a temporary or permanent home for AFC Wimbledon ?

Ideally I would like to see AFC Wimbledon return to Wimbledon one day in my lifetime and it should remain the ultimate aim. However I think we all have to accept that it is very unlikely to happen in the short or medium-term, as we do not have the fundraising capability to build a ground in Wimbledon even if we could find the land.