08/02/2000 Rant

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 04/08/2000

Give the New Board a Fair Go

It amazes me that so many people are calling for the new board to announce plans, invest money in the club etc. and making a host of other demands.

I personally support the new board and there are those who support the past board. So be it.

I think therefore that we should look at the facts rather than assumptions, rumours and supposition.

The new board, immediately on appointment, engaged a company to conduct an audit. The company concerned reported that there were no documented financial or business plans either to fund the new stadium or even a plan to see the club through to the end of the season. There had been further losses of approximately 400,000 pounds between June 1 and December 16 1999.

All that is fact not fiction.

Despite what the previous board say about Dudley Ramsden he is not a director of the club nor did he seek election to the board. All Dudley Ramsden has done so far is to exercise his rights as a shareholder to vote at the AGM.

Certainly he has some influence with the current board as they are his friends and associates and that is not a crime nor is it against company rules. To some extent, as we are supporters, we probably have some influence with the board simply because they listen to what the supporters are saying. Recently, Dudley was asked to help out the club financially and he has done so.

This board is new. They will need time to sort out the present financial difficulties that the club face and put in position proper business and financial plans not only for the present but for the future survival of the club. It is estimated that it will take 3 years to get the club into a secure financial position and staying in the first division is a vital element of those plans.

I believe we have to be patient for a little longer and give this new board a chance to introduce proper procedures and plans to establish a more professional business culture within the club. This will not be easy. It will require the commitment of everyone in the club from the directors down.

I believe that we should give them a fair go. We gave the previous board 18 years to get us where we are today so a few more weeks won't kill us.

Bill Osborne

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