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Dons Trust Elections - Questionnaire 2010
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| Q01 | Are you a member of WISA? If not, why not? |
| I am not a member of WISA. I think that board membership of the Trust and membership of Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association (with the emphasis on “Independent”) are inconsistent. | |
| Q02 | What role do you think WISA has in the future of the Club/Trust? |
| WISA has converted itself from a protest-related organisation into one that has taken a constructive role in matters such as the negotiation of the trademarks and silverware, etc, with “them”. This was a superb piece of work and was something that might have been hard for the Trust to negotiate. Similarly, there is a role for WISA in responding to the World Cup issue, sometimes saying things that the Trust can’t easily do. WISA also has a role to play in keeping an eye on the work of the Trust and raising anything that appears to be inconsistent with our values |
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| Q03 | What personal qualities (other than professional skills, and a capacity for hard work) do you have that the Dons Trust Board needs? |
| · Much as I admire the skills of the Management Committee they need to be asked difficult questions and I ask them and then politely ask them again if the matter isn’t resolved in good time. If I get a negative reaction, as has occasionally happened, I am more determined than ever to ask until I get an answer. I will not be put off by bluster and vague replies · I have massive experience of business, projects, and how to conduct Board business, accumulated over the years in a range of companies. · I provide continuity. There are certain to be at least two new Board members after this election. Changes and new ideas are good things however total change at such a critical time in the Board’s work isn’t a good idea and I will provide the necessary continuity and depth of knowledge of key issues, especially in one of the most important areas – the search for realistic options for a new stadium in Wimbledon. |
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| Q04 | What do you perceive the role of the Dons Trust to be? In particular, what do you see its role to be in relation to the club? What is the role of the members/owners? |
| The Trust Board’s main responsibility is to make sure that the Members’ interests are protected. Some Trusts have lost control of their clubs because their Boards appear to have been too weak, or too trusting, or not experienced enough to spot the signs of trouble looming. If we lose control of the club by failing to do our job, then all the efforts of many good people over the years will have been wasted. Nothing is more important than making sure this doesn’t happen. I am not just talking about someone trying to buy our football club. We can lose control by taking on too much debt, or by overreaching ourselves financially to try to get promotion, or by appointing the wrong people to Management Committee. I’ve been involved for many years at Board level in different organisations making sure these sorts of things don’t happen The second critical responsibility is to set the strategic direction of the football club and then monitoring Management Committees progress in implementing that strategy. The Board needs to do this constructively and should not try to duplicate their work as Board Members should only take on a limited number of tasks and avoid the temptation to dive in to the detail The Members need to be involved in all the significant decisions made by the Trust and the third task of the Board is to involve Members. Although the Board should show leadership in its role, Members should be asked their views regularly not just be told what is happening. The Chairman has a key role here and Board Members must insist that commitments made to Members are met. Looking to the short term future, the new Board must insist that the commitment made last June to consult the Membership about the strategy is carried out immediately, as it has scarcely started yet and when delays like this are allowed to happen the risk is that the loudest voices decide the policies and that is both wrong and dangerous |
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| Q05 | Have you been involved in any projects / organisations / working parties or volunteer groups on behalf of the Club or the Dons Trust? If so, what was your role and what did you achieve? If elected, and bearing in mind the time consuming nature of the Dons Trust Board, will you still carry on this work? |
| I am very fortunate to be able to offer a substantial amount of time to the Trust. In the past I have been the Chairman, appointed when the Trust Board was in need of greater structure and focus. I stood down voluntarily after a couple of years as I thought that it was time for a new person to take over. During my tenure the Board became much more focused and a more harmonious group I have also led the Stadium Working Group since we started the Trust. We have done a lot of background work to make sure that regular representations were made to the London Borough of Merton to keep the door open for a return to Merton and especially to the Greyhound Stadium. We did this work in liaison with WISA, making sure we were consistent in our submissions The SWG is made up of a group of extraordinarily talented people, architects, surveyors, planners, engineers, a lawyer, and consultants in the sports industry. With contributions from outside specialists we have combined to produce an analysis of the sites where we could build a new stadium while planning and overseeing the development of our current stadium so that we are ready for entry to the Football League. We are ready for that step, which is a massive tribute to the Groups work |
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| Q06 | How will you get more people to volunteer and help out the club? |
| I’ve been successful in bringing in volunteers in the past for the Stadium WG. The trick is to identify people who have the skills we need and then cajole them into coming to a meeting. Once they see what we are doing and how exciting the projects are, they are usually persuaded! The Board should avoid getting in too deep and instead should set Management Committee objectives to attract and motivate volunteers. Too often Board Members have wanted to be hands on where what we need are good ideas and some clear objectives. That’s what the Board is for, and for offering expert advice to support Management Committee in its work. |
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| Q07 | What are the biggest problems facing the Dons Trust? And what three things would you suggest to make it more dynamic? |
| Easily the biggest problem is the need to involve Members in the Trust. Members didn’t even turn out for some major changes in the organisation that were voted through at the AGM. As I said in my answer to question 4, it means that vocal minorities can dominate the discussions and that is very unhealthy. The next biggest issue is advancing our long term aspirations for the higher Football League levels by pro-actively pursuing feasible opportunities in Wimbledon or nearby for a new Stadium. We must do this in a measured way as it is a long term project lasting at least five years even if everything goes well but possibly extending to 10 years. . The Board has made considerable progress towards this aim but there is a very long way to go and anyone who suggests otherwise is kidding themselves as some of the obstacles are substantial I would take these steps to make the Trust more dynamic:- a Involve the Members. I said in my answer to question 4 that as a first step we must actively set about securing feedback from Members about the strategy review which we promised to do nearly 8 months ago. There is no discernible progress to report on this important matter despite some Board Members (including me) agitating for action. b Seek expert advice and do some benchmarking on how other Trusts involve their Members, perhaps Supporters Direct can help with this. The Board doesn’t need to be able to do everything itself and if we decide that we need some outside expertise then we should not hesitate to go out and get it. c Make the Board more accountable by publishing attendance records, voting records, and the Board’s objectives and how well we are doing compared to them. At the moment no-one outside the Board can tell what is happening and whether it is being run well or badly, since there is almost no reporting even of Minutes. |
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| Q08 | Why do you believe you can put your views into practice and deliver on any promises you make? How much time do you have to devote to Trust matters? |
| I don’t usually blow my own trumpet but I believe I can do it because I’ve been doing it for several years now. I can continue to devote enough time to be an active Board Member and lead the Stadium WG as my business only occupies a small part of my day. Both Stadium WG and Trust Board activities shouldn’t be too time consuming anyway because the major work is delegated to very talented people, i.e. Management Committee and the SWG members. I am good at delegating! |
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| Q09 | Do you have any financial interests in the club, associated companies or Trust? If so, please could you specify? |
| Like many Trust Members I am also a shareholder in the PLC. I have no other financial interests in the Club, Associated Companies and Trust | |
| Q10 | If we are not promoted this season, do you think we should try to get a league place and / or go professional (i.e. take on full-time players) as soon as possible, whatever the cost (financial or otherwise)? Is fan ownership non-negotiable? |
| Nothing we do should be done “whatever the cost”. From Withdean 2000 in our early days to Portsmouth recently, we have seen what happens when clubs overreach themselves. We must not follow their examples. As part of our financial controls, Erik has promised the Board a budget for going full time. I expect that the budget will be rigorously prepared. When we have seen it we can decide whether the figures show that the risk is acceptable or not. While not totally impossible it will be hard to go back on a decision like this so Management Committees recommendations need to be challenged thoroughly. It is one of the major decisions the new Board will need to take early in its existence – another argument for continuity of its membership. Preserving fan ownership is the most important role of the Trust Board. Personally it is non-negotiable but I suppose that there may come a time when the Members democratically decide that they want to change perhaps to speed up our climb through the Football League. If that ever happens I will be very sad and I would step down from the Board as it wouldn’t feel like my Club any more. |
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| Q11 | What schemes should / would you put in place to help reduce the club's debt? |
| None, beyond what we currently already have. Debt is not a bad thing so long as it is properly managed and we know we can afford to repay it. The important thing is to make sure we can continue to maintain our fundraising efforts because it is that money which is used for mortgage payments to Barclays. One day we may wish to borrow a lot more to help to pay for a new Stadium and our relationship with a Bank at that time will become even more important than at present. It doesn’t make sense to repay the debt and end the relationship when we may want to borrow from them again |
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| Q12 | What action will you take if you feel the Club is committing itself to ventures it cannot afford? |
| The important thing here is protective action in advance. Once you get to the stage where the Club is committing itself it is probably too late. Some apparent risks just can’t be taken as far as I can see. For example, the Trust and PLC both have paragraphs in their Constitutions that prevent the sale of the Club or the Stadium.,br>
All budgets and major projects must be approved by the Trust Board so if the Club was over committing itself that would be a breach of its authority and Management Committee would need to explain their actions. If someday we appoint someone to Management Committee who is dishonest then that is the time when we will be at maximum risk of not finding out until too late. That is why one of the most important roles of a Board is to select and appoint the Management Committee. Any action I would take will depend on the nature and size of the overstepping. The ultimate sanction for “a runaway Board” would be dismissal but good prevention and monitoring should mean we never get into that position |
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| Q13 | If the Club makes a profit from FA Cup or Trophy runs, or from the sale of players, should that windfall be used to improve the infrastructure of the Club or be used to improve the playing squad? |
| It must depend on the circumstances. Last season Management Committee prepared a proposal for how to use the profits from our Cup run. The proposals were very sensible and we agreed them quite quickly. This season the Club made a good profit from the sale of Chris Hussey which compensated for the loss of the TV money from Setanta and the Board agreed that this was an appropriate use for the profit. In another season, circumstances might be different and we’d consider the options as a Board. We can set broad guidelines for what we would want to do with bonus money when we get it but each event must be assessed on its merits |
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| Q14 | Do you see The Fans Stadium, Kingsmeadow, as a temporary or permanent home for AFC Wimbledon? |
| Temporary. The next obvious step in our development is a new Stadium. Without one we can’t continue to grow and develop and I believe that fans want us to do that, although not at the cost of losing control of the Club. Location of such a new Stadium should be consistent with existing Dons Trust Aims. | |
| Q15 | What is your opinion on the possibility of a move to the Greyhound Stadium what would you do if elected to make it a reality? |
| Given that I am aware of what is happening in terms of our aspirations for a new Stadium I am not going to comment on specific sites but I believe that the chances of a move to Wimbledon have increased over the last 6 – 9 months as all the work that we have done over the years by a whole range of people is now coming to fruition. But if anyone tells you that we are on the verge of success then they don’t understand the process and the hurdles we need to overcome. Unlimited optimism is premature and unjustified but the team has made very good progress and they should be encouraged to continue. The advice the Board has received is to keep the details confidential and that has led some people to think we have made little progress. I am certain that the new Board Members will be delighted with the work that has been done. As to my role, the ideas are now being carried forward by full time professionals, who are far better qualified to carry out the detailed work than anyone on the Board. But my knowledge and experience will continue to be relevant when we assess the results and recommendations they present to us. |
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| Q16 | What will you do to improve communication between the Trust members and their board? |
| I dealt with this in my answer to question 7. Last June we promised the Members that we would consult them on the certain specific parts of the strategy review and several Board Members, including me, have pushed for action on this but it hasn’t happened. When we make a promise like this, we should appoint someone on the Board to be responsible for doing it and then monitor their progress, which wasn’t done. We should also publish the results of the communications review that the Board commissioned and what has been done about it. When we have held the consultation about the strategy we should decide whether the approach we used might be an appropriate method for more communication. If it isn’t, we should take professional advice. |
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| Q17 | Do you believe that the Trust should adopt a clear stance on issues such as Milton Keynes’ inclusion in the England 2018 World Cup bid, or do you think that the Trust should maintain a diplomatic silence and leave such issues to WISA? |
| I supported the Trust Board’s decision to campaign for a change to the stadiums selected for the World Cup. We should do this with great care because any actions that reduce the chances of the World Cup coming to England are likely to lose us the sympathy and support of many football fans who currently admire us and support our aims. This could alienate the council and the government, both of which need to be on our side of we are to get a new stadium. Our campaign needs to be discreet and clever and it needs to recognise that the FA and government can never admit publicly that a decision to exclude anyone from the bid was the result of our protests. WISA should also continue its work which can be more public than the Trust’s. |
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| Q18 | Should Trust board members always be bound by ‘collective responsibility’? |
| This isn’t an easy answer to this. There is a policy in place that expects such an approach. Once a Board has made a decision that is against a Member’s conscience then a Board Member who feels strongly that it is the wrong decision can ask that it be discussed again. If they still can’t get an acceptable answer then they should resign and campaign against the decision. Any Board that doesn’t accept some form of collective responsibility is asking for chaos but I don’t think the current policy says what to do when a Board Member has a grave objection to a decision. It should be clarified to deal with that situation. |