Exemplary Communication with Supporters by Trust Board (Exeter's board to be exact)
Interesting article from Exeter published on their website on the challenges facing supporter owned clubs of our size. Although not all is relevant to WWFC, enough is to make it worth a read.
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Fascinating, @DevC .
If there's one sentence which sums it all up, to me anyway, it's this one:
"From time to time this brings playing results that disappoint us all, but that is a direct consequence of what we can afford."
I know it's not the ownership model you would choose. It absolutely is the one I choose, but I'm not sure everyone who does, does so in full recognition of that stark truth.
What a thought provoking article and full marks to the Board for sharing their thoughts / priorities is such a manner - really interesting to see their thought process. Also interesting to see that they too are experiencing a high level of injuries and lower gates than anticipated. Guess the gates bit is due to their current struggles, but are the injuries also a direct result?
An excellent, insightful communication. It would be interesting to know how the cost of running their academy compares to the windfalls that it has generated, to understand how negative or positive it is financially to the club.
Extremely interesting and required reading for Trust members, Trust Board members and anyone else involved in the running of Wycombe Wanderers.
A more eye-catching headline for this thread would help to ensure the kind of readership numbers that it deserves.
Exeter's situation is similar in many respects to our own and this article really does provide a fascinating insight into the way a well-run supporter-owned club operates.
Quality article and a must read for all WWFC fans.
What a help it must be to have a trust so open as to give a report that covers all aspects of running the club ,Exeter fans are very lucky.
Young players discarded by bigger clubs and from non-league seem to be the answer at least for the foreseeable future.
@drcongo - I feel very strongly that this thread should be re-titled. Exemplary Communication with Supporters by Trust Board (for example) would boost what have been very modest numbers.
Agreed @micra
@micra Done. Hopefully @DevC won't mind.
Apologies to Mr Micra for a poor choice of title! I have no objection to it being changed.!
What to make of all this. If you have time read through Exeter's forum response
http://www.exeweb.com/forums/showthread.php?58160-News-from-the-Boardroom-State-of-the-Nation. You may just recognise some themes.
Apparently despite the Boards efforts in explaining the detail of what they are up against, actually it is very simple. Ignore all that crap, if the club loses a couple of games, its all down to the chairman being incompetent or lazy and the manager being useless and playing rubbish football. (in Exeter case not getting it forward quick enough apparently). A suggestion to play "better football" and win more games at home is greeted as a revelation of a genius. Ho hum.
there are some interesting comments in the report though, that are worthy of mature reflection but almost certainly will not get it. The report seems to be questioning whether, in a time when foreign ownership and cash injection is percolating down the leagues (Morecambe the latest apparently), is the fan owned model sustainable. Is it? Do they have a point? If it is to be, what does that mean in practise? Does it mean that to work the fans themselves have to put their hands in their pockets? But is that going to happen - as righty says, not all are in a position to do so, others, tbh I am one of them chose not to (I cant in all morality prioritise the football club over kids in Africa) others, such as Malone on another thread, have their own reasons (excuses?) not to contribute. But if the fans can't or do not want to, can the fan model survive?
What is the point of the trust and what is its role. Should it have a proactive role running the club or is its role simply to appoint competent people to do so and then sit back doing very little practically? Is its role simply to hire and fire people to run the club and stand ready to assess any takeover offers that come along preventing (perhaps) a rogue. Should it be more vocal at least in matters of reputation and legacy. Should it be criticising the style of play over the last couple of seasons which has damaged the clubs on the field reputation or should be it take amore realistic view that that style may well be necessary to keep the club vaguely competitive on the field. More shamefully perhaps, it appears to have had no view on the antics of the yob minority that appear to be risking a long established reputation for being a decent family orientated bunch off the field to the possible detriment of the law abiding majority now and in the future. If it has nothing to say on such matters, what is the point.
Exeter, while suffering similar funding issues appear to be going in very different direction to us, re youth football. They prioritise youth development, seeing the first team almost as a showcase for their youth and onward sale. We close ours down. Who is right. Exeter teetered on the edge of bankruptcy in very recent times, saved only by PFA loans, one exceptional player and a favourable cup draw. We have so far avoided that fate. Our policy is easy to criticise, but to be fair to Woodward, any beancounter will tell you that however good long term returns may promise to be, if you cant fund an investment in year one or two, then prospective returns in years 3-5 are irrelevant you cant do it. So maybe our policy is right, just a shame that so many of Don Woodwards pronouncements later turned out to be inaccurate, that his judgement on this matter too becomes a little more unreliable.
Are football supporters capable of mature discussion or are emotions too strong and prejudices too entrenched? the Exeter board offers little reassurance, ours in recent time too (is it really so hard to understand why Pierre didn't play on Saturday). Perhaps we get the communication we deserve (Exeter board update was out of the blue and not the norm = their board is normally full of people moaning about communication).
Lots of questions few answers from me. But every now and then we should all be prepared to do a little honest navel gazing for the best interests of the club.