Where are OUFC headed now?

The last Fan’s View was described by one contributor on the Yellows Forum as a “depressing read”. Well, hell yes it was.
Will this one be a depressing read too? Do you know what, I don’t know. I don’t know where the fingers on the keyboard will take me.

On Independence Day the biggest OUFC news for many a year broke.

Understated rumour, or was it a carefully orchestrated gentle leak, had let us depressed and bewildered fans know that Ian Lenagan had been in talks and offers had been made for the club prior to this sensational announcement. The Water Eaton potential get out of jail (currently serving a 25 stretch in the Kasstad) card, which some of us had got wind of a few weeks beforehand also made it into the mix as the leader of the County Council spoke on Radio Oxford.

But we weren’t expecting such a potentially seismic shift. Potentially being the key word.

Until July the 4th the best my desperate search for positives had brought was that we could put out a first eleven that if they all stayed fit, didn’t get suspended or lose form horribly would just about keep us up. I.e. we were basically f****d.

Without knowing any detail of the rival bids – business plan, structure of the finances, short, medium and long term objectives for the team and site on which it is to play in the future – logic says support the local fan. But then I recall the rivals to Firoz Kassam all those years ago. I can’t remember the detail but think that the so-called “Gang of Four” Jim Rosenthal, Bower, Bailey and Dewar (don’t know their Christian names, sorry) had, or could get their hands on, somewhere between £0.5m – £1.5m to see us through to the end of the season but lacked any strategy to see us move away from the Manor, which was sadly an undeniable necessity if we were to survive.

And whatever you say about Firoz, with all his penny pinching, he got us around the breakeven point and the finances were not in too bad a state when he sold the Football Club to WPL (Ian Lenagan).

But on IL’s watch we’ve usually lost significant sums year on year and that was not sustainable. To y/e 30 June 2011 OUFC were nearly £5m in debt. The following year we lost another million. The AGM is usually held in June covering the accounting period that closed almost a full twelve months earlier. I don’t recall anything coming through the post yet telling me when the 2014 AGM covering y/e 30 June 2013 is going to be held. With such a lot going on I can understand why this has not been a priority. So let’s say we’ve lost another million in the last two years. That would put us in the red to the tune of £8m.

So why had we got into such a state whilst still remaining in League Two, with, let us face it, having largely watched uninspiring football on our home patch over the last few years? It’s not as though we gambled big and actually went for s**t or bust. Is it because Kassam has bled us dry with the extortionate rent? Did Kelvin take his eye off the ball? After all, not having a Chief Exec type was one of the big criticisms levelled at Kassam. Should the manager have done better with the budget he was given in terms of points gained and entertainment served up, which in turn would have brought in more home fans and revenue? It was allegedly competitive and all things being equal should have seen us at least scrapping into the top seven on occasion.

That of course is now history and should not be dwelt on but there have to be massive lessons learned from this period.
So, what of the people who now hold the future of our football club in their hands and where is the money coming from? How much? Who will the football club be borrowing it from?

We now have a joint owner in Darryl Eales, who along with Ian Lenagan holds between 30% and 50% of the shares. I wonder how much Eales paid for these. In the official statement he was referred to as a new shareholder and investor. He’s a lifelong Bluenose and season ticket holder at St Andrews. He’s now our Chairman. He tried to buy Brum but recently pulled out. I assume he thinks we are a better proposition. He was the CEO at LDC, Lloyds private equity arm, for 11 years up to May this year. So presumably he’s got money, or more to the point can get money via this means. People who invest through such a way are after one thing – a profit.

So, should we be worried? Possibly, possibly not. If we are put back on a firm financial footing by sound investment then why shouldn’t those willing to take risks make a profit as long as we’re not shafted? After all it’s not as if we’re in a good place at the moment, in more senses than one.

Ian Lenagan is going to concentrate on the Stadium Development project. Whilst appreciating potential commercial and political sensitivity, wouldn’t us fans love to know what the objective is here? Buying the Kassam from Kassam? Then developing it? Selling it for scrap but with planning permission? Doing a deal for a new ground at Water Eaton, with or without these other deals? Potentially exciting times ahead but very much with risk attached.

Time to ponder a bit though – I’ve often heard it said “we need to own the ground”. Question, who is this “we”? Even if the ground, on which Oxford United play, comes back onto the books of the football club as an asset at any time in the future, we need to remember who owns the football club by dint of the number of shares stuffed in their back pockets. Whilst a few of us are privileged enough to hold a minimal amount which entitles us to go to the AGM the vast majority only have ownership in the sense that it is the team in their hearts and blood. Minority shareholders of course have no influence unless we enter extraordinary times. I’m still baffled by the fact that Nick Clegg is sat at the top table with the MP for Witney.

What of the others who have arrived on the scene?

There’s an article in the Telegraph at the back end of 2006 by Tony Francis that’s not too complimentary about Watford’s then and our new Chief Executive.”It’s a shame that Mark Ashton, a dashing James Bond figure of a chief executive, sees it as a personal affront if anyone outside his clique exchanges pleasantries with anyone inside it.” An article in the Watford Observer two years later, “Logic dictates there must be more than one person with a good word to say about Mark Ashton’s reign as Watford’s chief executive, but I have yet to meet them.”

After he resigned he sued the Hornets for approx. £200k.

In 2009 he was CE at Wycombe for four months before again resigning. From Chairboys.co.uk – “Ashton was thought to be key figure in Steve Hayes’ plans to push through a move to a new stadium but now after less than four months down the line Hayes will be looking for another figure head to help the joint venture between Wanderers, London Wasps and the Local Council”.
Um, now let me think. Right, thinking done. I’ll keep an open mind but we’ve got to remember that Chief Executives do not come cheap, whether they be good at their jobs or not.

As for the change in Head Coach, whilst it was a surprise on the one hand – no one saw it coming, particularly given the timing – on the other it was no surprise at all. Gary Waddock convinced no one. Even if the wheels were almost off when he arrived it was but a short distance to the finishing line for a play-off place. His failure was utterly miserable but I’m always cheered up by the man’s hair style. He’s been compared to John Lydon but I prefer to think of Lance from the Phone Shop. Makes me chuckle.

Gary Waddock

The new guy has a very strange managerial (head coacherial) record. He’s managed at four clubs who are considerably higher up the pecking order than we are. But in total he’s only been in charge for 80 games. (19 won, 25 drawn & 36 lost) And he’s only 38 years old. Yawn, but it’s got to be a wait and see. What salary is he on I wonder and also what pay off did GW get?

But at last things are moving on the team building front. We’ve signed a player today. Michael Collins appears to be a decent acquisition. More to follow no doubt, but let’s hope we see more of them than we did of Jonathon Meades. (Where is he?)

And finally, good luck to our captain for the coming season. A captain who will be wearing the yellow again. A captain who had no intention of joining our ex-manager. A captain who played through injury to help the cause such was the lack of depth in our squad last season only to be mercilessly abused at Sixfields by some who travelled on the last day of last season. Jake Wright, unlike some of our fans, I salute you.