Stolen from the Oink 'UN (and Smith must score)

Got back from the meeting last night. This is an approximate summary of what took place with I hope most questions being covered .....I'm still under the influence of a few pints so I hope it all makes some sort of sense despite the beer.......

Firstly the three guests appeared as promised. I must confess that after last Saturday's debacle I half expected Delia to announce that she had a ' collapsed souffle ' to attend to so I was quite surprised to see her there accompanied by MWJ and Chief Executive David McNally. Therefore fair play to the three of them for putting their heads above the parapet to take the flak from the floor.

The meeting was well attended by Capital Canaries and other non-members. I couldn't count the exact numbers but the room was full. The non-members included a reporter and photographer from Archant which rattled the guests somewhat as they seemed to be under the impression that there would be no press representation ( as has been the case at all other Capital Canaries AGM's.) My view is that this was an exceptional meeting, two days after an opening day 7-1 defeat, and it was not unreasonable to think that the Press would be represented.

As you might expect the meeting was lively but civilised and I felt that those in the firing line acquitted themselves well. The new Chief Exec is a much improved version of the one he replaced and I got the feeling that when push comes to shove he won't be taking too many prisoners....

From the notes I took this is a summary of how the session unfolded :

Question : What we're the factors that made you decide to appoint Bryan Gunn ( BG ) in the close season ?

Michael Wynne Jones ( MJW ) said he felt BG needed more time. Delia Smith ( DS ) challenged anyone in the room to find a manager - there were no takers - and also felt more time was needed.

Question : Who else did you interview ?

DS said they couldn't be open as the Press were in attendance and David McNally ( DM ) said that it would be inappropriate to name names .( quite why having the Press in attendance would make a difference I really don't know )

Question : It came out in the summer that Ian Crook was on a longer contract than previously thought. How did this come about ?

MWJ : We felt he needed a longer period after uprooting from Australia. The Board's decision on his re-appointment was not influenced by the Charlton result.

DS : We felt the management team looked right as it some has lower League experience.

Question : Should we judge BG in 10 to 15 games time ?

DM : Results are the only thing that matters ( to me that sounds as though the knives are being sharpened already! )

Question : Can NCFC make a profit ?

DM : Most clubs can only dream. This year NCFC had very negative cash flow. Club has too much debt on the balance sheet. We need to sort that out.

Question : Are you trying to sell/ had any offers for your shares ?

MWJ : We weren't keen to sell our shares. We need investment. Delia and I have no desire to be majority shareholders but we've had no offers. No one wants football clubs. There was no offer from Mr Cullum.

Question : If someone said I'll buy the Club for nothing what would you say ?

DS : We would only release shares if money put in.

Question : Is the football club up for sale ?

DS : Not for sale.( I was a bit puzzled by this as I was under the impression that if a decent offer came along it would be acceptable ) We need new investment. We don't want NCFC to fall into vultures hands. She and MWJ knew that they would not get their money back ( Applause from the floor )

Question : Andrew and Sharon Turner. What happened to them ?

MWJ : They left and didn't give a reason . The Board are not hiding behind anything. ( when pressed on this MJW said he'd given an answer so the matter was left )

Question : Youngsters. Will we be able to keep them ?

DM : We hope they progress but we need experience too. BG needed two players for each position. If good offer came in we would have to sell.

( There was light relief when someone said that it was outrageous to think that DS and MWJ would hide after Saturday's result. DS replied that she couldn't think of anywhere she's rather be....)

Question : Why are we in a mess when we get such large attendances each week ?

DM : We spend too much. We have a duty of care to ensure that NCFC is here in another 107 years. We will get a plan together.

DS : We're fighting a fire called finance. The alternative is administration.

MWJ : Our attendance doesn't pay it's way

Question : What is the Club's policy towards youth players ?

MJW felt this was a shame that it has been neglected. DM said if good enough old enough.

Question : How much land/money in land do we have ?

MWJ : Approx 8 acres. This could be a ' golden goose ' when the recession ends. Nobody will give money to buy players but buildings are a different matter.

Question : Are we close to administration ?

DS : We'll fight the fire. We own 30% of the hotel when sold and there are plans in place if the banks come calling ( from the sound of this administration is not on the agenda )

( At this point someone called for a vote of confidence in DS and MWJ. They've put a lot of money into the club. In the event no vote was taken. )

Question : The 7-1 defeat. What happened ?

MWJ : It was surreal. Don't know what happened.

Question : How long has Bryan Gunn got ?

( Understandably the guests felt this wasn't a fair question but when DS asked if anyone in the room felt sorry for BG there was a VERY muted response from the floor )

Question : Why did the Board not stop the loan players farce ?

DS : We could only afford loan players but do feel responsible for the mess.

Question : Regarding the pitch incursion by two supporters last Saturday I understand that they have been given a caution today by the courts but what action, if any, does the Club propose to take ? ( at this point there was laughter as someone suggested they should be given lifetime season tickets as a punishment )

DM : Clearly what happened is unacceptable. We have a duty to protect club employees and others who are caught up in these sort of incidents Why did the Club security fail ? There will be a far reaching independent inquiry as to exactly what took place and we will make a decision on receiving their report.

Question : Will the alleged incident after the match involving Wes Hoolahan be investigated ?

DM : Yes and it will be part of the encroachment enquiry. There are no plans to sell him.

Question : Rumour has it that we received an offer of ?600,000 for Daryl Russell. Did we turn it down ?

DM : An offer was received from a Premiership club and was not acceptable as it did not meet our valuation ( at this point more laughter as someone asked whether it was more than ?600,000 )

Apologies that this post is so long but there was a lot to cover. If there's mistakes it's because it's late and way past my bedtime!

To summarise I think I must say fair play and thanks to the three guests for entering the ' lions den ' last night. After Saturday's disaster it would have been so easy to have made an excuse and not turn up. None of them did that.

I felt that they were as open as they can be. Delia and Michael answered the questions fairly confidently and seemed less hesitant than of late. David McNally I thought was a big improvement on the previous Chief Executive. He seems to know what he wants and I don't think he'll take many prisoners getting it.

As you would expect after recent events the atmosphere became a little heated at times but not uncomfortably so. Everyone behaved in a civilised manner and nobody was shouted down so all in all it was a much more satisfying meeting than some I've attended ( probably because Neil Doncaster has moved onto pastures new )

As to the manager's position it looks pretty obvious that it's hanging by a thread. He needs some ' get out of jail ' results..........quick!

Posted By: Chester Drawers on August 11th 2009 at 09:40:56

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