Summary Of Evening - Comments below are precis of what was said and not verbatim record
1. Following suggestion from Chiefdave etc new format was tried - rather than the previous free for all a bit more structure was introduced with questions submitted to hosts prior to start of meeting and then they were dealt with in a Questiontime format. This kept the evening flowing and on track without too many sidetracks and venting of personal issues - thanks for idea guys!
2. Chris Anderson - overall came over as a decent guy who tried to distance himself from SISU and the actions of the past stressing today and the future are what matters. He acknowledged the mistakes and said they should have not happened but as the brilliant Jimmy Hill Memorial showed when previous protagonists work together the results can be spectacularly successful. He was clearly an intelligent guy with a sense of humour and in no way underestimated the task ahead of him. It was stressed to him (politely) by several people that supporters had heard all the same words from his predecessors and he would be judged not on talking the talk but when he was seen as walking the walk.
Answers to Questions from here (excluding the one about goats!)
1. Madisson - club always knew it would have to let him go at some stage - we are a small club that struggles for money and will only survive by developing players and selling them on. 12 PL teams had made enquiries about JM with a couple (unnamed) making offers but JM turned them down - looked like they were bigger clubs where JM realised he would just be part of the U21's rather than 1st team. When Norwich offer came in JM liked the opportunity and said yes as he would be on loads more money and be in or around a Prem clubs first team squad. He insisted that he be loaned back for rest of season - as did TM. When asked why we didn't hold out until the summer CA stated that basically the difference with what we were being offered today compared with what we might get in Summer was not a big enough difference to take the risk of JM getting injured or losing form etc. Better actual albeit less money today rather than a bit more possible money in future.
2. Fisher stated current model wouldn't work in Championship etc. They are working hard on putting plan in place for Championship - budget wouldn't be up there with the top clubs but would be more than the bottom few - TM would have a competitive budget. Promotion is what club is aiming for and wants this season or the next.
3. Stadium. He said that mistakes had been made by predecessors by making announcements prematurely but he had been told that 2 sites had been identified but these were no longer available. He is currently working on business cases for new ground v long term at Ricoh and at this stage did not discount either option. When a decision has been made the facts will be given to the supporters to show why club is doing what it is doing. Talks with Wasps/ACL are ongoing on a number of levels and relations are cordial. He referred to the Ricoh as a Premiership class facility but if we did have to move it would not be to Northampton or Walsall but would be in Coventry. No decision is imminent and could be months before one is arrived at but FL is putting some pressure on for club to come up with a minimum 10 year solution. When asked whether a sound financial club is mutually exclusive from a community based club he dismissed this out of hand stressing a club is the fans and is the heart of the community. He said the club needed to build revenue streams form local business but due to the stigma attached to club following Northampton etc many businesses didn't want to be associated with club for fear of being tainted with this stigma. He acknowledged it would take time to break this but realised that bridges need to be built and built strong and long. It was pointed out that there was a chicken and egg situation and as long as people of Coventry felt that club was not committed to the City due to legal actions of owners and the lack of a commitment to a home in the City there would continue to be scepticism as to its long term viability and no business wants to commit to that.
4. Ticket Office - acknowledged that current system is diabolical and inefficient. A new modern user friendly system is being worked on and hoped to be able to make announcement soon.
5. Contracts - whilst many players are out of contract at end of season how many of those out of contract would we realistically want playing for us in Championship? Those that were felt to be good enough have been offered new contracts and had to decide themselves on their own futures. He stressed that TM and MV were doing a brilliant job in player recruitment and there was no reason that they couldn't attract the like of Armstrong and Cole or even better in Championship. He was full of praise for the pair of them and Jamie Clapham. He also singled out Joe Cole as a brilliant role model to the youngsters both on and off pitch but whilst he had been made an offer for next season and was really happy with the club etc there was a possible overseas opportunity that might be too good to turn down - not financially but simply as a challenge and life style experience.
Overall a good evening - well attended (around 100 I think) and CA made a good impression but as was said bridges need to be built for many fans to trust club again and actions speak louder than words.
Thanks Jan
Talks a lot of sense. Like the sound of it.
Hopefully it is someone the trust can work with.
Makes sense te Maddison in terms of the risk of injury the gamble is how much more would you earn.
12 prem league clubs enquiring though, I think you would earn a lot more and get your pick of loanees for the Championship next season. Very important considering our budget.
Fair play to Maddison says a lot about the kid, he wanted to stay here in loan, he choose a lesser Prem Club in order to have a better chsnce of playing.
In hindsight would have been nice to ask why we can't afford the wages of a free transfer goalie after the Maddison deal.
Good to hear the FL have finally realised something doesn't add up and the next solution has to be a 10 year one.
Let's hope this man will build a relationship with the organisation that thinks more closely to the views of the majority of the fans.
