Meeting with Chairman...

As previously indicated, members of Crewe Asi’s committee met with Alex Chairman John Bowler and director, Jim Macmillan at Alexandra Stadium last Thursday, 8^th October.

The principal goals of the meeting were to re-invigorate lines of communication and to get an update on how the club is now working.

A number of topics were discussed, issues raised and questions asked. This led to a frank and informative exchange of views, a précis of which are detailed below. It is appropriate and in the best interests of both parties that some discussion points remain “off-the-record” for the time being. However, rest assured that Crewe ASi addressed all the issues relevant to supporters and will continue to meet with the club on a bi-monthly basis.

The Academy

It was raised that two of our academy starlets left the club in the summer.  Was it worrying that this could be the start of a trend?  JB felt this was a big issue nationally and was a growing concern that at age 14 to 16 and again at 18, players could opt to go to whoever gave the most attractive offer! However, new regulations would soon be coming into operation, where there would be a possibility at 14 to offer a scholarship and at 16 to offer a professional contract.  This will give the club an opportunity to safeguard our future players.  The Football League are also looking at compensation methods. With regards to the two who joined Stoke in the Summer, would that still have happened if Dario had been in charge? Hard to say.

The question was asked whether the academy as a business perspective was a waste of time, as it appeared that now there was no long term player loyalty.  JB felt that the Academy needs to populate the first team.  To supplement the experienced professionals in the team there were two ways.  Firstly by bringing in loan signings and secondly, by having an academy. However with financial pressures you can’t have both.  Perhaps five years ago, this mix and match method was possible as the club was far more financially stable – but not now.  The era of high sell on transfers has vastly subsided, thus taking out a large revenue opportunity.

There was an absolute commitment for the club to continue with the academy.  The term “Back to Basics” was used.  Thankfully this was not referring to a basic type of football, but to concentrate on youth development and to look elsewhere for prospects from lower leagues like we had done with Luke Varney, Steve Jones etc etc.  The club needed to optimise the scouting network, and part of Neil Baker’s role was to find young promising players, and Carl Martin was one of those.

The Team

First point raised was about the situation of our four goalkeepers (subsequent to the meeting, one returned to Bolton).  The situation with David Button was that when he went back to Spurs with an injury, it was decided we needed to act fast to bring another keeper in.  Button’s injury was not as bad as first feared and returned to the club far quicker than anticipated. 

The one goalkeeper the club had developed through the youth ranks who appeared good enough for first team action was Owain Fon Williams, who unfortunately moved to Stockport without playing a first team game for the Alex.  JB expressed his disappointment at this scenario.  The board had given Steve Holland the go ahead to extend his contract, but Steve delayed making Owain an offer and he decided to move to Edgeley Park.  Steve Holland was planning to play OFW in goals towards the end of the season, but with safety not assured, did not want to throw him in at the deep end.

One of the things continually raised by fans when Dario was in charge was that we never had a goalkeeping coach.  Upon Gudjon’s arrival he swiftly brought in a keeper coach, who has subsequently departed. Are the club looking at bringing in a replacement keeper coach?  Well with DG back in charge, and as he has always been against this role, there was no intention to bring in a specialist coach.

In addition to the two loan keepers we have got, we also have a number of other loan players.  How long were they contracted for?  The Bolton keeper came for one month, with Button and Worley signed until January.  Verma is with us until November, and Simon Walton is for all season.  Some of these players already do not appear to be in the Managers plans, so could we return them early?  JB thought this improbable as there were likely to be cost implications.

The conversation turned to outfield players, with the purchase of players being raised once the transfer window was open.  The recent recruit, Carl Martin was able to be signed as it was a compensation fee paid to Wealdstone, not a transfer fee, as he had refused to sign the contract on offer from Wealdstone.  It was accepted that the guy had been previously messed around with him coming for trial on a couple of occasions, without any offer.  Dario’s view was that we should have signed him.  The lad has potential, but is certainly not the finished article.  Should (and the emphasis was on “should”) John Brayford be transferred then Martin with the right development could be the one to step into his position.

Future transfers appear doubtful.  At the moment the club is not looking to bring in any further players.  However if a player does become available at the right cost and is for a position we feel we need to supplement and this position could not be filled by one of our own, then this would have to be considered, but certainly not with the fees being paid similar to those paid over the past 10 years or so.

So what hopes were there for the rest of the season?  Both John and Jim were aiming for the play offs. It was still a realistic aim, and though we have made it difficult for ourselves, that was still an achievable target.

The Management

The club did not rush into a replacement when Steve Holland left.  In hindsight did they employ the right person?  JB was disappointed in what GT had said at the interview, compared to what he actually put into operation when appointed.  However that was the gamble of interviews.

Discussion was then held about the current Management structure.  At the moment Dario was deemed as manager, responsible for the whole of football.  Steve Davies was Assistant Manager, with Neil Baker’s responsibilities being player recruitment and coaching.  However, Dario wanted to delegate some duties, with an example given that Dario will be taking a group of kids to Chelsea on a Thursday and Friday with Steve Davies assuming control.  The club need to get the structure right below Dario, and identify a successor.

JB stated that at present the club were not actually seeking another Manager.  Dario’s strengths were still the same and from opinions they had heard after the Rotherham game, although defeated, supporters were happier in the way we played the game.  Our Academy players will be given an opportunity.

The Match Day Experience

At previous meetings JB intimated that he would like to use the ASi as a “sounding board” on various issues.  At Thursday’s meeting, we raised our disappointment that we had not been involved in the thought process of setting Season Ticket prices for the 2009/2010 season.  It was raised that it was felt that season ticket prices were too high. With dropping down a division, a marginal decrease or some form of enticement could have been offered.  The query on VAT was raised with JB commenting that when VAT was to raise again in January, the club would be liable for this increase, should we have reduced the prices.  JB didn’t feel that if season ticket prices had been reduced, season ticket sales would have increased. 

It was pointed out that for those not renewing season tickets, nothing had been done in regard to communicating with the individual to clarify the reason why they did not renew.  The club accepted that this was the case, but are always looking at ways of increasing attendance, though were more than aware that the best way to increase attendances was to have a winning team.

Season tickets sales this season had reduced by only 80, though ticket sales on day of match had reduced drastically.  Last years average home attendance was approximately 4,500.   With dropping down a division, it was hoped that we would get average home attendances of 4,300.  Current average is 3,800.

One point always raised by fans was the price of beer in both clubs both before and after the game.  It was highlighted that in a number of pubs around the ground beer was far cheaper and as such were being utilised far more than the Alex club.  JB / JM acknowledged this and commented that this had been discussed already and they were looking at getting a promotional offer from the brewery to get special offers on a match day. 

Other Business

At the recent AGM, shareholders were advised of the intention to set up another business, giving the chance for Supporters to have a stake in the club.  Crewe ASi commented that apart from what had been said on the night, nothing else had been seen either from a club communication or in the local press.  JB stated that press were in attendance but had not published anything.  JM said that once everything was finalised and all the facts were available, then communication would be put out to all supporters explaining the process – watch this space!

On another matter, the option of a Supporters Trust was raised.  A number of meetings with the club, a selection of fans and Supporters Direct had been held, but no decision had been taken on this.  A trust was certainly not easy to set up, and requires a lot of supporter participation.  It was still being considered as an option, but the club were still looking for the right option to take the club forward.

Crewe ASi organised a player of the season evening last season which was enjoyed by everyone in attendance, including JB and JM.  We asked if the club were happy for the ASi to run a similar event at the end of this season.  The club were happy for us to run another one, but warned that it may not be as easy to get all the players to attend.  In the New Year we intend to set up communications with the club management to take this forward.

JB summarised the status of the club.  “Back to Basics” is the phrase, and re-affirmed that we have got to be a proper community club. There will be a large loss again this season, magnified should they not receive a substantial income from transfer fees.  We need to balance the books, and need to look at all options in order to balance them.  Crewe ASi raised that from the starting line up on the first game of the season, the only saleable players on display were John Brayford and possibly Joel Grant.

One final discussion was on the way forward with regards to the relationship between the board and Crewe ASi.  All present agreed that it would be mutually beneficial to have bi monthly meetings in order to build on the relationship.  So if you do have any views, do let us know, so we can put them to the board.