OxVox AGM: this Saturday

[Matt D]

A reminder email has just gone round to OxVox members about the AGM. The website is down, and I doubt we'll be able to get it up again before Saturday, so just wanted to flag this up for any members on here in case the email's missed you for any reason.

We start at 1.30pm ahead of the Plymouth game, this Saturday (14th), in the Landmark Room at the Stadium (the same room as we normally use). There'll be some signs up to direct you from the bar.

As a formal Trust meeting it will be members only, but anyone whose membership has lapsed and needs to renew, or anyone who wants to join, can do so on the door. As in previous years, once we've got through the official business, that part of the meeting will close and there'll be an informal discussion when members can raise issues, make suggestions, or ask questions.

I see there's been an interesting discussion on here about the pros and cons of reforming the membership basis and other aspects of the Trust: that's absolutely the sort of thing that could be brought up then.

Hope to see a good number of members there on Saturday.

Cheers,

Matt

[Snake]

Aren't you going to at least tell Us who the new Chair is, let alone explain the comments by MS regarding the ground situation?

[Brahma Bull]

The new officers won't be decided upon until the committee meet up for their first post-AGM meeting, where they will decide amongst themselves who wants to do which roles. That's the practice.

It's highly likely Jeremy Faulkner will be the new Chair and be unopposed. Then its for Myles Francis, Graham Butler, Matt Cavill, Michael North and the new additions, Terry Winter and Maurice Earp to decide on other roles. It may need others to come forward in co-opted roles to help with specific aims/jobs.

Mark resigned prior to the AGM. Matt, Gavin and I didn't re-stand for re-election.

As for Sennett's radio interview with Jerome Sale, well it sounded self-explanatory.

[Hog]

As for Sennett's radio interview with Jerome Sale, well it sounded self-explanatory.

If you haven't heard it this is for you (starts at 41:20)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02l3z9k#auto

[Matt D]

Aren't you going to at least tell Us who the new Chair is, let alone explain the comments by MS regarding the ground situation?

well if you heard the comments then you knew the answer to your first question, and i'm not sure why you'd ask the second, as it was clear they were mark's personal views and not for me or anyone else to explain.

[Snake]

As for Sennett's radio interview with Jerome Sale, well it sounded self-explanatory.

If you haven't heard it this is for you (starts at 41:20)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02l3z9k#auto

Thanks Dave. I turned Jerome off after the game. Very helpful.

[GodalmingYellow]

I'm afraid that for me, Mark's interview with Jerome just showed that he (Mark) doesn't really understand the economics or planning situation of either the Kassam Stadium or Water Eaton.

[Myles Francis]

I'm afraid that for me, Mark's interview with Jerome just showed that he (Mark) doesn't really understand the economics or planning situation of either the Kassam Stadium or Water Eaton.

Considering the amount of time and effort Mark has put in on this issue, I would suggest that he actually understands the economics and planning situation much better than pretty much all of us.

[Kairdiff Exile]

I'm afraid that for me, Mark's interview with Jerome just showed that he (Mark) doesn't really understand the economics or planning situation of either the Kassam Stadium or Water Eaton.

Considering the amount of time and effort Mark has put in on this issue, I would suggest that he actually understands the economics and planning situation much better than pretty much all of us.

Would appreciate it if you could expand on that, Myles. I don't hold any strong views on Mark either way (have met him a few times, he seems okay) and I thought his analysis of the situation was interesting. It'd be good to know the counter-argument if you have time to set it out.

[Brahma Bull]

Members of the OxVox committee last year spent hundreds of hours formulating a proposal, a cost analysis, funding options and met with ALL the key stakeholders, including councils and face to face meetings with FK. This presentation was then presented to The Lenagan's. After some significant deliberation and Ian Lenagan taking it to professionals for 'feasibility' purposes, it was deemed it was an option.

The uniqueness mirrors only one other club in the country, Brighton. A similar population, a similar demographic, a similar area of disposable income. It is situated next to the station. It has a host of features which see the club work with the train providers to offer combo season tickets/train tickets as a little example. Look at our similarities on gates in the 80's/90's and our stadium issues. Water Eaton however, has many more opportunities - funding from other areas of sport in the City who may like to partner, turning the site into a commercial and central sports hub for the county/city with community facilities and training. That's the tip of it but Ian was tasked with working with the new ownership to take it forward.

Of course, Eales and Co have had a challenging first six months, mainly due to the situation we have found ourselves on the pitch and having used over 40 players - some of which have yet to debut (Balmy, Ashdown etc). So perhaps it hasn't been on the immediate radar whereas fighting relegation was! It's for Eales to decide what he wants to do and he has said at the last official OxVox/club meeting that it would be his number 1 priority this year, sorting out a stadium deal. I hope he takes it forward with Jeremy and his new committee.

Mark knows inside out the situation regarding planning and the funding issues/options and the number of grants that believe it or not, are still available to this club.

Time however sometimes doesn't wait for no one. Let's hope all those left involved can't have sensible discussions and take things a little more seriouslly.

[Myles Francis]

I'm afraid that for me, Mark's interview with Jerome just showed that he (Mark) doesn't really understand the economics or planning situation of either the Kassam Stadium or Water Eaton.

Considering the amount of time and effort Mark has put in on this issue, I would suggest that he actually understands the economics and planning situation much better than pretty much all of us.

Would appreciate it if you could expand on that, Myles. I don't hold any strong views on Mark either way (have met him a few times, he seems okay) and I thought his analysis of the situation was interesting. It'd be good to know the counter-argument if you have time to set it out.

Basically, Brahma has beaten me to it!

[tomoufc]

Really interesting comments from Mark. Hopefully it's sparked a more concerted debate about where our club's heading among the fan base.

[Snake]

Oh no. All stakeholders! That means you've being told stuff by Hudspeth.

[Brahma Bull]

Here's Sennett's reply on the other site.

Mark Sennett
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Sennett on RO 14 hours ago malcolmnl, sarge and 6 more like this.
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Post by Mark Sennett on 14 hours ago
Firstly I'd like to say thanks to the people that have contacted me since Saturday and for the nice comments on this thread it's much appreciated. I'd also like to extend my huge gratitude to the outgoing officers of the Trust Simon B and Matt D who have really been the backbone of the committee for as long as I can remember the work they've done has gone above and beyond so thank you.

As this thread is in relation to what I said on Radio Oxford let me clarify a few things so there's no misconceptions for anyone who didn't hear it. I'm going to post what I said now as I am about to fly out for a holiday until post Easter so thought I should clarify a few things before I went.

I've decided now is the right time for me to step down from the OxVox committee as I've done it for four years as chair and 2 more as spokesperson. It's been a huge pleasure and an honour to represent OxVox members and have a chance to engage with the club we all love. I've got a lot of changes going on at the moment, which include moving away from Oxford and the needs of two energy-filled twin 3 year olds who need their daddy rather than a daddy that has to do multiple hours of OxVox work each week! Also I invited Jem Faulkner on to the committee as he's someone who I also envisioned taking over the trust and I'm thrilled he's willing to do so. I've been friends with Jem for years and he is smart, well connected and has a real passion to take OxVox forwards. It was the right time for someone else to grow the trust even further. I'm proud of the committees achievements during my time the highlights being:

RTB
Heritage boards on the stadium
Negotiations for supporter representation and share purchases
Club logos on the stadium
Launching the 12th man fund
Helping launch the YA
Walk to Wycombe
Dave Langan fund - that enabled Dave to get a mobile home for him and his wife to live in when they were set to lose their home
Informing fans about the goings on during the recent takeover bid with as much information as we could uncover
Numerous community events
forming strong relationships with councils and firoz kassam
Water Eaton feasibility study
Raising the trust's media profile massively
Growing membership to its highest ever number

These are just the first things that spring to mind and the people who helped make these possible and for members who supported us.
As I said on Saturday I am now looking forward to being a fan and I look back on my time at OxVox with great fondness and pride. I also know the Trust is in great hands with the committee left in place and I will support them and be an active member in anyway I can. I wish Jem every success as chair, which is often a thankless task but a strong supporters trust is important and I'm sure it will remain strong with Jem at the helm.

But when you serve on a committee you can't always express publicly your own opinion as you have to follow the agreed communication strategy of your committee. Now that I'm back to being just a member and a normal fan I'm looking forward to being able to post on here and say may views as and when. So on Saturday speaking as a fan (not as an oxvox committee member) I shared my views on a few things.

1) I've spent thousands of hours on a feasibility study for purchasing the Kassam Stadium and building at Water Eaton. This has involved getting professionals to do costings for both sites, talking to all the councils about what planning would be looked on favourably, talking to investors, grants, and extensive dialogue with Firoz Kassam. Based on these facts in my own view and that of everyone who worked on the project not only see Water Eaton as viable but a must for our football club. This is not something that would have taken 10 years and funding is available to make the project a reality. Prior to the OUFC takeover all parties were aligned in what could happen and were keen to move it forwards including Mr Kassam. Since that time I have been very disappointed that it's not moved forwards this is something that only has a small window (prob about 18 months more) before Mr Kassam will plough ahead with his own plans for the Kassam Stadium site unless he's given a better option. Considering the mounting debt levels of the club and the willingness to engage in meaningful negotiations I did indeed call this a dereliction of duty to not take this forwards. it's the single most important issue facing our club and the window of opportunity is closing fast.

2) Debt levels I touched on this as I personally am concerned that the club is expected to lose over £2m this year and will likely be near £10m in debt. That's a scary level of debt and back to the days of the Manor but this time with no stadium as an asset. Mr Eales can't be expected to cover these losses forever and neither can he afford to. He needs to see a better return on his investment from management. He's a wealthy man but he's not got endless pockets and as mentioned elsewhere on this thread Robin Heard was a wealthy well intentioned man but when he was no longer able to fund the club we got in a real mess.

3) Costs increasing - The club is heavily investing in infrastructure for recruitment and backroom staff. When the business is already losing £1m per annum in League 2 when taken over increasing the costs is a brave decision. This investment is a credit to Mr Eales but he needs to see a return on this investment soon as no other clubs at this level have this depth of infrastructure. If this area doesn't deliver results next season it is an expensive cost to carry and could be a burden on the club.

4) Attendances the paying average attendance is way down on last season and the club budgeted for a paying attendance of 6,000 this year to lose £1.5m (these figures were published in oxvox meeting notes from meetings with the board). We are nowhere near that level and the need to bring fans back in needs to be addressed as a serious concern by management

5) Playing side clearly Mr Eales has invested heavily in the team this year and again that's a real credit to him. But results have not been good as we all know and this is something that every fan wants to see improve to make us challenge for promotion next season.
That's the gist of what I said. It's entirely my own opinion and I'm sure plenty won't agree with my view but they are my views. They have nothing to do with me leaving oxvox at all and in fact if you look at OxVox meeting notes we asked questions around these areas. Personally I hope the club buys a stadium, wins the league and turns a profit next season and if that happens we'd all be thrilled. But there are key issues I'd like to see management address that I don't think are being properly addressed at the moment.
Hope that clarifies a few things!


Read more: http://yellowsforum.co.uk/thread/20571/ ... z3UdVvsSPG

[tomoufc]

I see no report so far on the Oxford Mail website. You would have thought that this is newsworthy.