Club Open Forum Meeting in the Noel White Suite, 7 March 2003, at 7.30p.m.

These are not official minutes and do not necessarily express the view of the Football Club.

At last night's Open Forum at Moss Lane, chairman Geoff Goodwin, directors Grahame Rowley and Andrew Shaw, with manager/secretary Graham Heathcote, answered a wide range of questions about the Club. Alty captain Rod Thornley was one of the 40 or so in attendance.
Land Deal and Debts

Andrew Shaw (AS) was invited to explain what had happened regarding the recent collapse of a land deal at Moss Lane which would have seen the club move elsewhere. He explained that the property developer involved needed assurances from the Moss Lane freeholders, Trafford Council, that the current 20 year-lease by the Council to the Football Club could be extended as otherwise he would have difficulty selling the proposed properties to be built on the ground. For reasons which could not be fully made public, the negotiations had collapsed. This, he said was in many senses good news because it meant that the Club would not leave its "spiritual home" at Moss Lane.

However, although "the land deal is finished, we are open to the two statutory bodies (Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise) big style", he said. Apart from the VAT and tax bills, the club's main creditor was an ex-director whose repayment was only required if the club left Moss Lane. So, the threat of that person foreclosing on the debt was now removed as we were not moving. The total VAT and tax bill is currently £75,000; all the VAT and tax incurred since the current Board took over has been paid- the debt is historical. The Board emphasised that they were extremely grateful to all those other directors who had unrepaid loans with the club for their patience and for not taking action to recover their money. The Board pledged that it would repay those debts as soon as it was in a position to do so.

Geoff Goodwin (GG), the chairman, revealed that on the current season the Club had more or less broken even and if the older VAT and tax debts could be paid, the club should have a long future provided it continued to match expenditure to income. The annual operating costs are around £200,000. GG revealed that the recent curry/hotpot evening raised over £2,000 and he urged everyone to support future events.

STAR and Centenary

The Board indicated that they would all attend the launch of STAR, the supporters' trust, on Sunday and that that they would each join STAR. There was then some protracted discussion about shares, but as previously reported none are currently available for issue. Alan Johnson thanked GG for sponsoring the team shirts and his other support of the club and this was underlined by applause from the audience. GG revealed plans to launch a new centenary team kit next season to mark the 100th anniversary of the name Altrincham FC being applied to the pre-existing Broadheath team.

Conference

Discussion moved to the Conference restructuring proposals. GH explained why Altrincham had not paid the £1750 requested by the Conference. In essence, the restructuring will not take place without FA approval and the FA is expected to demand that all eligible member clubs can apply once the Conference and FA agree on proposals. GH felt there was little chance of this happening for 2003-04. GH also underlined our responsibility to those clubs left behind by the new plans. He did confirm that Altrincham had expressed an interest to the Conference when the original proposals were made.

Signings

GH was now asked about players. He revealed two new signings which had been made as we had only 11 fit players for today's game and 2 subs. The new signings are, firstly, Steven Clegg, who has signed on loan from Stalybridge. (He is a former Man. Utd Reserve defender). Secondly, we have signed Tony Cullen a former pro, from Salford City. (Tony is a midfielder/former forward, who has played for Sunderland, Newcastle and others). However, Tony may not be fit for today's game.

Pledge

Graham Heathcote then made a major pledge towards the fund to pay off the club's debt. He indicated that he was owed £12,000 from his previous three-year contract with the Club, when he worked alongside Bernard Taylor. GH will now write-off that debt. In addition, he is selling his large holding of shares in the club and will give the proceeds to the club. This could amount to £10,000. It was also confirmed that Bernard Taylor's contract will be finally paid up by the end of May 2003 and that the money released by this will at least partly be used to reward Assistant Manager Dalton Steele who, to date, has worked for nothing for the Club. Dalton has been working hard travelling on scouting missions and other duties, all at his own expense.

Contracts

Regarding player contracts, it was confirmed that only Rod Thornley, Ian Craney and Jason Gallagher are currently contracted. There would be negotiations to determine what contracts could be offered for 2003-04. It was also confirmed that if the club offers Ian Craney a new contract and he were to refuse it, the club could still require a fee from any club that might sign him as he is under 23.

The Team

GH went on to answer questions about the team. He felt they had done a great job since he took over and that even at Barrow "we did not play poorly", an opinion backed by members of the audience. That defeat arose because we did not defend corners and that was largely due to a lack of height - caused by absences through injury. Stan Riley asked about discipline. GH explained the circumstances why he was banned himself, following the Cup game against Hyde. Overall we needed to cut out silly bookings. As Rod Thornley winced, GH said that all the squad were invited to a voluntary weight-training programme over the summer. GH was confident there would be a good response to this and that we would be even fitter last season than we are now.

GH explained why Jordan Burke had left the club at his own request. Burke has now gone to Skelmersdale- his fifth club since August. GH was also asked about Vernum Rowland. He confirmed that Vernum had played this week for Nantwich; he felt Vernum needed to recapture the form which so impressed everyone last season. GH had suggested to him that he return to Moss Lane in the close season to review his future. GH went on to praise this season's youngsters who had broken into the first team. Asked about Tony Sullivan, GH said that Tony knew that he would not play every game this season. He had had a spell of not playing at Southport before joining us and knew that he had to get fitter. Chris Adams and Gary Scott were both praised by Graham who described them as "as good a pair of full-backs as you will find in our league".

The Chairman

GG asked Mike Crockett of the Sale and Altrincham Messenger to continue his good work in promoting the Club. He also thanked his fellow directors Andrew Shaw and Grahame Rowley. Grahame, he said, may be a director but he still sells Golden Goal tickets, produces the programme with his brother Terry and with his wife, Karen, and children does an enormous amount for the Club. GG also thanked all those others who work for nothing for the club, such as the stewards and the turnstile operators as well as everyone in the Club offices, shop and bar.

He repeated an earlier plea for people not to write negative comments on the internet and urged STAR to help by providing volunteers when needed. GG announced that there would be a Centenary Dinner in September for which tickets would be £40-£50 and at which there would be a major auction of football and cricket memorabilia. A number of the audience felt that having another new kit, albeit a centenary one, was excessive given the short life of the current shirts, which had not been available till late in this season. As the team had only one set of kit, Jenny Heslop was thanked for her running repairs to it through the season.

The Ground

The club was congratulated on the state of the pitch. GH responded by, in turn, thanking Peter Barry and also Manchester United who had funded drainage works as well as sanding the pitch recently. An appeal was made for volunteers to help steward the Manchester United v City Reserves game at Moss Lane this Thursday at 7pm. All volunteers should contact Doug Ashton via the Club (928-1045).


Previous Meeting Notes

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