Speakers: Jim Rushe, Steve King, Justin Skinner 

Introduction:

Peter Grimes, Chair of the Trust opened the meeting. There has been a lot of rumour and concern regarding the status of the club and the position regarding the ground. Jim gave an overview of the current situation and then took questions from the floor. Steve and Justin then answered questions regarding the playing side of the Club

Beaconet Situation

Although Jim wanted to focus on NVFC, he did clarify the position regarding Beaconet. Contrary to popular belief, Beaconet are not in receivership and are still trading. There is an LPA (Land & Property Act) receivership in place, which involves  the receiver taking the asset away (the ground and land) and selling it to pay back the bank charges against the property. These are understood to be in the region of over 1m to the Clydesdale Bank, 150-200k to Marston’s and approximately 1m to Summit Finance.

This means that there is an opportunity for the Club to regain ownership of the ground.

Dino

Dino feels that he has been unfairly dismissed and it is likely that this will result in a tribunal. Jim re-iterated that the decision to remove Dino was based on the best interests of the club and the playing staff. Time will tell if the decision was correct or not.  He also stressed that as he has put in 60 hours per week since coming to the club and is 200k poorer for the privilege, he has earned the right to make the decision.

Finances

The position is not much different from when he took over in November 2007. The tax man has had 175K and is due some more. They have been getting impatient for the outstanding amount, but Jim has been in discussion with them and there is a way forward.

The Decision was made earlier in the year to go full time. This has cost in the region of 70-80K in players wages over the Summer, when there are no gate receipts, attendances have dropped due to poor performances and the general vibe at the ground.

In addition, the credit crunch has hit Jim and Nick in their other businesses and Nick can’t put anymore into the Club, having already put in 300k.

Whilst the Club are a tenant of Beaconet, there are problems with selling advertising. Advertising boards sold for NVFC, had to be taken down for Man Utd games, making it difficult to sell them. The Football Club still owes the Inland Revenue 300K (as opposed to the 460 - 470k in November 2007) They do not owe the banks.

A question was raised regarding the rumours that players’ wages were not being paid. Jim has personally paid 50% of the wages, this month.

Jim stressed that we are better off than 12 months ago.

Witton

Jim went to a meeting with Witton. He went with an open mind and no agenda, to look for common ground to work together, as Northwich is a small town and businesses often use the fact that there are 2 clubs to hide behind, rather than sponsor Vics or Witton. The meeting was NOT about Witton helping Vics. It was Jim’s view that sharing a stadium could work in Northwich (it works in Milan).

As a summary of the past 4 months, Jim repeated that he is open to fans’ questions, and if anyone wanted to spend the day with him to see exactly what is involved in running this club and the amount of travelling and work involved, they’ve only to ask!!

Playing staff

When asked about the decision to release Trevor Benjamin and Michael Byrne, and bring in the 2 lads from Charlton, Jim explained the financial sense behind the decision. Charlton are paying towards their players and Vics do not need to pay them for 30 days, giving them time to improve the team and hopefully increase attendances. This is a sound financial decision.

Steve King has to work within a budget, but the longer term aim is to develop our own players and Steve has a proven record in this regard.

Security of the Ground

Vics have a 25 year lease with successors entitlement (negotiated by Nick Bone). As a sitting tenant, we have rights to play at the ground for as long as the Club stays solvent. The lease price is built into the contract and also the dates of price reviews and that any increases in rent are inflation linked.

In addition, as the council and the sports foundation gave grants, planning permission for the development of the stadium for the playing of football, it is unlikely that any new owner would be permitted to buy the land and bulldoze the stadium. Jim is in discussions with a consortium of football people, who want to buy the ground and also be involved with the football club. They are only one party bidding for the ground and it is essential that the club stays solvent.  He also stated that he is sufficiently confident in the benefit of the consortium to the long term future of the club, that he would even take his losses and move out of the club if required, as he thinks they are the future.

Again Jim stressed that the Club is in a better position than when we played our ‘last game’ against Exeter last season and it is his opinion that we will remain solvent for this season.

Directors / Key personnel

Jim is the owner of NVFC. He has already been in discussion with the consortium about giving shares in the club as part of the deal.

Nick Bone can’t help much at the moment, due to issues with his other businesses.

The Foootball Club board consists of Jim and Howard Roberts, with support from Derek Nuttall and Dave Thomas.

Deloitte and Touche are the LPA receivers

Rumours had been circulated that Steve King had ulterior motives for joining Vics. Steve explained that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on websites!!! Steve was sacked from Lewes for being too successful and ambitious. He had then been approached by a consortium interested in buying Lewes, with the view to being re-appointed as manager, however, this had gone through the rumour mill and turned into Steve King is leading a consortium to buy Lewes!. He is at Northwich to manage the team.  (He has watched 70 matches so far this season, so there’s not a lot of time for anything else!)

Ian Campbell has new work commitments, and so doesn’t have much time to dedicate to Vics. It was disappointing to read the outspoken article in the NLP.

Issues relating to the VS

There are difficulties with the power supply at the VS, with power provided by diesel generators, not the mains.

Tempers have run high and Jim removed the Board notes comments from a recent programme due to concerns as to whether they were libellous.

Now that Man Utd are not using the stadium, Jim will see about getting the loudspeaker on the DaneBank reconnected.

Revenue streams

Jim’s experience at Woodley, makes him think that all weather pitches are not cost effective. He discussed the possible marina and explained that British Waterways have expressed an interest in relocating to Wincham.

The hope is that the new landlord will be sympathetic to NVFC, but even if they aren’t, although it will be difficult, NVFC could survive.

Jim’s business model is to develop players and through the sales of these players, keep the money in the club.

Trust

Jim’s view was that any money that the Trust / fanbase raised would not be sufficient to gain a significant share in the land / club. Players’ wages are £35k net per month, with a further £15K for paye? and £8k per month off the arrears. That’s before running costs. So the amount required is in the millions, not thousands and the fans could not hope to raise enough money to make a difference. He would love to see the Club owned by the fans / made secure for the future, but he was dismissive of the Trust / fans being able to make a significant contribution.

When asked about whether volunteers were needed at the moment, Jim stated that this is not the case. Gate men etc are provided as part of the service agreement with Beaconet, although a number of issues were raised regarding this. Many of the gate staff do not take their wages, as they prefer to donate it to the Club. It was not clear whether this money was actually being provided to the Club and Jim will check.

Loan Scheme 

Peter Grimes gave an overview of the Drill Field Trust which was set up in 1993 to quickly raise money to save the Club and raised approximately £75K in a week. He asked the meeting whether there would be any interest in setting up a similar scheme now. The basics involve the fans providing and interest free loan to the Trust, secured on the ground. The Trust would then raise money to repay the loans. As a result, the Trust and fans would get a small share in the ground.

It was agreed that the Trust Board should investigate the setting up of a scheme, whilst there is no urgent pressure, although Jim stated that it might not be needed as he is confident that the finance can be provided by the consortium and any money that the Trust could raise would be too late!!

STEVE KING and JUSTIN SKINNER Why Northwich?

S - The Club needs saving, this is a new challenge and a new environment. ON the football side, the Club was on the floor, and this is a good opportunity for them to turn it around.

J – In some places you can’t do anything about the set up. Here, they know about the problems off the field, but Steve and Justin can get the playing side right.

We saw a significant improvement in the team on Saturday against Burton, how did you get that performance?

Some managers do not know how to handle pressure and players can lose confidence. Steve and Justin had watched Vics a number of times throughout the season and particularly at Crawley and Histon you could see players losing confidence. They could identify who is technically good, who needs talking to, some individuals need an arm around the shoulder and lifting. It’s all about man management.

What are your short term and long term aims?

This season the focus is on staying in the division, then building in the close season with the view to aiming for the play-offs next season.

What is the latest position regarding Lee Steele and Joel Byrom?

Both are hoped to be back within 2 weeks. Lee is at Lilleshall this week and will be back on full training. Joel has had an injection.

Jon Allan is likely to be out for a month, due to a cartilage problem.

Given your experience, what do you believe are the benefits of being full time?

It is not necessarily all about fitness, which is the usual reason given for going full time. Histon are part time and doing well. A good player will do work on their own.

Is the nucleus there, to stay in the league?

There are areas that need addressing and these will be addressed. Peter Winn’s loan has been extended to mid-January.

Given that your experience and connections are based in the South, how do you feel about the move to the North and will it be difficult to develop the knowledge and relationships in this area.  

Steve went to 180 games last year, 160 games the year before. He has extensive knowledge of non-league football. From a personal point of view it is difficult as both Justin and Steve are family men and their families are in the South, but they bnoth have understanding families.

Our goalkeeping situation- it seems to be feast or famine.

The result on Saturday was no one person’s fault. There was a catalogue of errors before the shot that resulted in the goal. You could equally argue that if the strikers had taken their chances, no one would be questioning the keeper. The key to the team is that they are going to be a unit.

What is your footballing pedigree?

S – Steve played up to under 18 level professionally, but was injured and finished early and went into Sports Management.

J – Justin has 20plus years of professional football experience, as a centre midfielder and then sweeper. Teams included Bristol Rovers, Walsall, and then a move to Scotland.

They both have UEFA ‘B’ coaching badges.

J – Footballers have a privileged lifestyle and are getting paid for it! They can guarantee a level of performance, although they can’t necessarily guarantee results.

Discipline has been an issue this season, what’s your approach?

They will be stamping down on the verbal and silly bookings. Another area for action is the team giving away soft free kicks around the box.

Who do you admire in football and why?

J – Martin O’Neill, for taking Wycombe from Non-league to the league and also as he was a manager at Celtic when Justin was in Scotland, he admires him both as a man manager and a person.

Will you be going out into the community?

Not at the moment. Steve set up the Football in the Community scheme at Lewes, but at the moment they are not planning anything at Northwich.

Where does Steve see himself in 4-5 years.

In the football league – he believes in the set up at Northwich.

What do you think of the standard of football in the conference this season and who has impressed you?

S – The standard has deteriorated. Good performances – Crawley in the first half against Vics.

J – Stevenage against Burton.

Do you already know who you intend to bring in?

Yes, there will be loan moves with a view to permanent appointments. Possibly a new player on Saturday versus Stevenage.

Justin asked the question – what are the fans going to do for the Club and suggested we need to bring a mate and up the gates. 

Other items of note – they have had discussions with Steve Burr about Vics. They like expressive and free play and Steve loves wingers!!