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Post by Deva Chanter on Apr 29, 2017 23:49:52 GMT
It's so, so easy to point the finger at board members and say daft things like "how little they do" and that they seem around in their suits". Do people not realise that these people are giving up their own time on a voluntary basis - often many, many hours to the detriment of their professional or personal life - maybe both. Be interesting to see how many of those being critical have volunteered even a single hour to the club. It's quite simple. If you are volunteering, you are taking on a role of responsibility. Volunteer or not, you should then deliver what is expected of someone with that responsibility. Just because you are a volunteer should not mean you are immune from criticism. They are representing us at boardroom level. Are you happy that they are representing and moving this club forwards? If they've not got the time, capacity or commitment, they should step down. Unfortunately it appears to be a closed shop. Last time anyone with an alternative view tried to gain election, there was a systematic attempt to ensure they couldn't. I mean the board have actively been asking for fans to consider applying for co-option to the board since February. But hey, lets not allow facts to get in the way of a good bit of shit throwing.
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Post by tarvinblue on Apr 29, 2017 23:56:45 GMT
It's quite simple. If you are volunteering, you are taking on a role of responsibility. Volunteer or not, you should then deliver what is expected of someone with that responsibility. Just because you are a volunteer should not mean you are immune from criticism. They are representing us at boardroom level. Are you happy that they are representing and moving this club forwards? If they've not got the time, capacity or commitment, they should step down. Unfortunately it appears to be a closed shop. Last time anyone with an alternative view tried to gain election, there was a systematic attempt to ensure they couldn't. I mean the board have actively been asking for fans to consider applying for co-option to the board since February. But hey, lets not allow facts to get in the way of a good bit of shit throwing. True, let's all clap our hands, cheer our inadequate manager, worship our wonderful CEO and be grateful for the people who self indulge in looking important, yet fail to represent the fans - only themselves. There's nothing wrong with our club after all and we can all look forwards to a fantastic season next year, battling for 24th place in front of a sparse crowd of 1,200 each week. Get me a season ticket.
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Post by Solihull Blue on Apr 30, 2017 1:03:08 GMT
I have total admiration for those who give up their time admirably to volunteer at our club. I would be interested in doing anything to help but it's not viable as I'm nearly 100 miles away. There has been a lot said on various threads on here. Today's performance was unacceptable full stop. I wouldn't worry about several players being signed up for next season asap as it was glaringly obvious they don't want to play/perform for Jon. It was sad to witness how flat and divided the ground was today. Surely anyone who watched today's game could see that a change is needed? yes with our resources staying in this league has to be the objective. It costs nothing for players to express themselves, play with commitment and put a shift in. Why are they not doing so? There is qlearly something wrong the way we played today. With regret I suggest it's time for a change.
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Post by billyw on Apr 30, 2017 7:17:15 GMT
It's so, so easy to point the finger at board members and say daft things like "how little they do" and that they seem around in their suits". Do people not realise that these people are giving up their own time on a voluntary basis - often many, many hours to the detriment of their professional or personal life - maybe both. Be interesting to see how many of those being critical have volunteered even a single hour to the club. I applaud the Board members for the voluntary hours they give the club but ultimately they are fans not businessmen and consequently do not have the capacity to make hard-nosed decisions. I can imagine that Maguire and McCarthy can talk them into believing the earth is flat.
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Post by Blue Boy on Apr 30, 2017 7:21:55 GMT
For what it's worth I think Macca should go but I don't agree with hounding a board that are actively seeking assistance and members to support them.
It is apparent on here that there are a number of people with personal issues with Mark Maquire who seem to be able to make comment about his ability to carry out a job when they have little to no idea what his job role is , and indeed what he is being asked to deliver.
The question of the CFU fan base should be asked of the board to review the paid staffing structure , not comments like sack them all !!
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Post by TheTheremin on Apr 30, 2017 7:47:30 GMT
Don't understand why everyone is so anti-Maguire. It's even been proven that he's done a lot for the club from the recent CFU meeting. I suppose the fans of our club have always had someone to moan at, whether that is Smith, Vaughan etc, looks like Maguire is that person.... Everybody is not against him. And the ones that are should join CFU, go to the meetings and argue for the changes they want. They can either be part of transforming the club into what they want, or a malevolent process outside that trying to bring CFU to its knees so a private investor can step in. They seem to want the latter and that is really sad.
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Post by TheTheremin on Apr 30, 2017 7:48:19 GMT
For what it's worth I think Macca should go but I don't agree with hounding a board that are actively seeking assistance and members to support them. It is apparent on here that there are a number of people with personal issues with Mark Maquire who seem to be able to make comment about his ability to carry out a job when they have little to no idea what his job role is , and indeed what he is being asked to deliver. The question of the CFU fan base should be asked of the board to review the paid staffing structure , not comments like sack them all !!
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Post by Superman on Apr 30, 2017 8:42:30 GMT
I endorse the views of TheTheramin and Blue Boy. If you are a CFU member ranting on here, and believe me I feel like ranting at times, then a better bet may be to contact a board member or the CEO directly by email. I did and pulled no punches but offered my personal view of changes to management structure on the footballing side. I received a prompt reply. The more people that make direct contact the more likely it will have an impact. The same route is open to non CFU fans, but if you feel that strongly that serious change throughout is needed pay your £12 and get involved.
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Post by billyw on Apr 30, 2017 8:59:41 GMT
I endorse the views of TheTheramin and Blue Boy. If you are a CFU member ranting on here, and believe me I feel like ranting at times, then a better bet may be to contact a board member or the CEO directly by email. I did and pulled no punches but offered my personal view of changes to management structure on the footballing side. I received a prompt reply. The more people that make direct contact the more likely it will have an impact. The same route is open to non CFU fans, but if you feel that strongly that serious change throughout is needed pay your £12 and get involved. Good post. I assume the Board members,being fans of the club read Deva Chat so will be aware of the general feeling, but on a technicality, i was wondering whether it is permissible for someone to stand for election to the Board as a representative of Deva Chat
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Post by Cestrian For Life on Apr 30, 2017 9:05:12 GMT
At this moment in time, we really need to do our best to appoint a Chairman that is capable of running the business. With the best will in the world (and I'm sure he would say this himself), our current stand-in Chairman is not interested in the role and is simply filling in whilst it suits him and the Club. Unfortunately, things have gone very pear-shaped recently and the need for a Chairman who has REAL business management skills has become a priority.
If we wait until November to appoint someone, I fear the lack of leadership and direction will see us relegated with all time low crowds, a record low number of season ticket holders and a bleak outlook beyond.
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Post by TheTheremin on Apr 30, 2017 12:08:41 GMT
We stand or fall based on the financial stability and sustainability of the club. At the moment we are stable. We will lose in a season what unsustainably operated privately owned clubs lose in a week, or in some cases in a few days.
At every level from the top to the bottom privately run clubs fill practically every relegation position.
I'm not a happy clapper. I can see issues at the club. We need to invest in the management structure on the playing side to support McCarthy. Our marketing needs to get much smarter. The pricing structure on match days is wrong and doesn't encourage younger fans.
So much to do and so much still to learn as a young club. But at the same time we have come so far and we must not destroy what has been achieved.
If you have constructive ideas then just join CFU and have your say. It's the only way forward.
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Post by YELLOW CARD on Apr 30, 2017 16:58:15 GMT
The Club have appointed people over the last few years as Chairman who have had considerable business knowledge but no football expertise that is where the Club has gone wrong; would imagine football is run differently to a normal Monday to Friday business, ie decisions would have to be made 24/7 on Players etc, going forward the Club needs to have people on the Board with football knowledge and not just other assets.
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Post by Harrymacman on Apr 30, 2017 17:05:10 GMT
At last , mr theremin, someone with sense and not reacting on here say, conjecture , rumour and ignorance. This forum is the electronic equivalent of blokes chatting in a pub if you want to make change either volunteer or attend the CFU meetings.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2017 17:21:44 GMT
Genuine question - if Maguire was to be "ousted", would there be a cost for his period of notice, if so how much?
Does his employment contract have the notice period of a week, a month, 3 months?
Given we're supposed to be skint this might not be an insignificant amount
N.B. I'm not 100% convinced that he should go although I'm heavily leaning in that direction, after all his track record elsewhere hardly inpires confidence and his support for the manager is worrying.
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Post by paulie on Apr 30, 2017 17:37:43 GMT
Genuine question - if Maguire was to be "ousted", would there be a cost for his period of notice, if so how much? Does his employment contract have the notice period of a week, a month, 3 months? Given we're supposed to be skint this might not be an insignificant amount N.B. I'm not 100% convinced that he should go although I'm heavily leaning in that direction, after all his track record elsewhere hardly inpires confidence and his support for the manager is worrying. Just make him and his job redudant. No pay off needed then, has he been with us 2 years?
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Post by YELLOW CARD on Apr 30, 2017 18:48:15 GMT
In employment you make the role redundant ie CEO, then the person has to leave; hopefully the Board have this in the pipeline too do, as soon as possible!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2017 18:55:46 GMT
In employment you make the role redundant ie CEO, then the person has to leave; hopefully the Board have this in the pipeline too do, as soon as possible! Fair point by yourself and Paulie - this leads on to the question therefore " do we need/want a CEO?"
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Post by dmcnally on Apr 30, 2017 19:04:59 GMT
Without Mark who does all the commercial work? Genuinely amazed people are so against Mark, maybe because we've always had someone at the top to press the blame on such as Smith, Vaughan etc... Mark gave Macca the contract and you all were happy with it. Mark has done a lot of work for the club in 10-11 months even though he hasn't been here long enough to start having a full impact (he said this would take 18 months) He is professional and knows what he is doing, the CFU board are volunteers and may struggle for professionalism as a club (not having a pop thats just how it is) so to have someone with proper football business experience is key for us. I fully back Mark and I am confident we will be far better off with him. Some things from the recent CFU meeting: Mark Maguire did a presentation on what he has added to the club to address the concerns of fans. He told the board at the time of the interview that it would take 18 months for him to have a full impact and he stands by that now having a CEO costs £17k a year more than a commercial manager (I.e Tracey Smith) Having meetings with Bank of America regarding continuing their connection with the club following their sale of MBNA Lots of conversations going on - want to tell you about what's happening but can't it's confirmed - need to be judged over a period of time He's never been more confident that in he is now that he is going to deliver commercial and financial success for CFC Sponsorship was a mess when he came and a number of sponsor boards in the ground hadn't been paid for for a year or sometimes two years which had mostly been resolved now There were examples of businesses being asked if they wanted to purchase an advertising board who had turned down the opportunity but the boards were still produced Abbey gate college one example of that - now they have linked with community trust to do outreach work for lonely people in rural area, which helped them get funding for 3G pitch and now will be sponsoring the club He recovered the total fitness sponsorship which CFC was going to lose - which saves the club £14k a year in gym memberships - this will continue next year as well He recovered the maxi flow sponsorship which saves the club £8k a year There are a number of things he has done that have not delivered profit but have provided large savings such as alcohol sponsorship, he estimated this "other savings" had saved the club a total of £38k He had made the club £5k in up sales on advertising existing sponsors Overall new deals made during his time as CEO had generated the club £21.5k Another new sponsor expected in the next month would save the club £9k a year for 3 years He is currently working on further income through stadium revenues which would result in a £37.5k a year income for the club, but this was still in the "pipeline" Perception of club commercially - had to make self unpopular to prevent others from approaching sponsors - upset fundraising group at times - can damage our commercial integrity if we keep going "cap in hand" to particular businesses instead of establishing a strategy He was building key relationship - dozens over a period of time 2 key initiatives in the next few months:- "100 club" - recruitment of 100 companies paying £1000 each to be part of a group of business which would provide networking and community outreach opportunities, not going to deliver 100 in year one but hopefully 30 or so in the first year and 100 in the second year "Affinity marketing" - establishing a marketplace for everyone interested in CFC where you can benefit the club by buying goods and services from businesses that would then contribute to Chester FC. He is already in talks with a betting site and its expected to bring the club £5k in commissions. A number of energy companies have also expressed an interest and other businesses such as broadband providers, barbers, printers, restaurants etc were being contacted. He stressed that he is a Chief Executive as well as a Commercial Manager. He said that he had helped steer the good work of those involved in the youth set up. Had protected club in terms of FA, fought them twice this season and "won both." It had taken up a lot of his time, but by appealing the charges it saved money, integrity and morale - took a week and a half to collect the info on the Wrexham incident and In the end CFC submitted a 20 page document to the FA which resulted in the charges being dropped. Hotels for away travel - last year when we stayed away it was £2.5k a time Having worked in the hotel industry, he negotiated better deals so it's now £1.9k a time Ticketing - nobody knew who floating fans were Now got software to communicate with people The current approach is rather than give away free tickets which creates market for free tickets and doesn't bring data, we do initiatives which collects data and we will be trying to get them back Season ticket campaigns People look at Bradford City - £149 in March then went up each month after that Cash flow the reason, most football league clubs need cash after they receive their central funding in January/February time - hence why they launch their campaign early We don't have that cash flow problem - no need to release them early unless need to It makes sense to launch the campaign on the back of positive things - if we were in a promotion plus we would have done it by now Results been awful so not done that It has to be on back of some positives for next season Mark's "fault" but stands by it The new season ticket package is going to address some of demographic issues in the crowd Going to be great Online shop - We have collected data and there are more improvements to come Want to make it easier to buy from us Make it too difficult here at the moment and that will be solved with technology and a big piece of work Mark's connection with David Felgate was instrumental in getting him to come to the club Sam Hughes - Mark managed to convince the board to turn down bid from Barnsley - confident will come to fruition in the coming weeks - "judge me on that" We had previously struggled with car boot sales and had made a loss on occasions Mark got someone with experience of car boot sales to run it and the club are now forecasting £7k-£10k a year from the car boot sale once up and running Does this not give you confidence that Mark is doing his job? No? Baffled.
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Post by bluesince72 on Apr 30, 2017 19:12:14 GMT
In employment you make the role redundant ie CEO, then the person has to leave; hopefully the Board have this in the pipeline too do, as soon as possible! Fair point by yourself and Paulie - this leads on to the question therefore " do we need/want a CEO?" Exactly! Or more precisely 'can we afford to have a highly paid employee performing the tasks proper to that role? We will/can not give the manager a competitive budget, yet we reduce what is available to fund the bread and butter side of the club by employing a CEO. Whether he is the right person is a second order question, I have no idea whether he is a good CEO or not, however, his track record does not exactly inspire confidence. Do we need a CEO? In an ideal world with funds to spare yes. The tasks he performs need to be done, but at this critical juncture in the clubs history, surely it would make more sense to spread them out amonst voluteers/board members, and make that post redundent. Adding the saved wage bill to the playing budget. Nothing a CEO can do could bring in more revenue than a winning team....
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Post by dmcnally on Apr 30, 2017 19:16:54 GMT
Genuine question - if Maguire was to be "ousted", would there be a cost for his period of notice, if so how much? Does his employment contract have the notice period of a week, a month, 3 months? Given we're supposed to be skint this might not be an insignificant amount N.B. I'm not 100% convinced that he should go although I'm heavily leaning in that direction, after all his track record elsewhere hardly inpires confidence and his support for the manager is worrying. Just make him and his job redudant. No pay off needed then, has he been with us 2 years? Redundancy pay? And no, about 10-11 months.
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Post by billyw on Apr 30, 2017 19:17:34 GMT
Without Mark who does all the commercial work? Genuinely amazed people are so against Mark, maybe because we've always had someone at the top to press the blame on such as Smith, Vaughan etc... Mark gave Macca the contract and you all were happy with it. Mark has done a lot of work for the club in 10-11 months even though he hasn't been here long enough to start having a full impact (he said this would take 18 months) He is professional and knows what he is doing, the CFU board are volunteers and may struggle for professionalism as a club (not having a pop thats just how it is) so to have someone with proper football business experience is key for us. I fully back Mark and I am confident we will be far better off with him. Some things from the recent CFU meeting: Mark Maguire did a presentation on what he has added to the club to address the concerns of fans. He told the board at the time of the interview that it would take 18 months for him to have a full impact and he stands by that now having a CEO costs £17k a year more than a commercial manager (I.e Tracey Smith) Having meetings with Bank of America regarding continuing their connection with the club following their sale of MBNA Lots of conversations going on - want to tell you about what's happening but can't it's confirmed - need to be judged over a period of time He's never been more confident that in he is now that he is going to deliver commercial and financial success for CFC Sponsorship was a mess when he came and a number of sponsor boards in the ground hadn't been paid for for a year or sometimes two years which had mostly been resolved now There were examples of businesses being asked if they wanted to purchase an advertising board who had turned down the opportunity but the boards were still produced Abbey gate college one example of that - now they have linked with community trust to do outreach work for lonely people in rural area, which helped them get funding for 3G pitch and now will be sponsoring the club He recovered the total fitness sponsorship which CFC was going to lose - which saves the club £14k a year in gym memberships - this will continue next year as well He recovered the maxi flow sponsorship which saves the club £8k a year There are a number of things he has done that have not delivered profit but have provided large savings such as alcohol sponsorship, he estimated this "other savings" had saved the club a total of £38k He had made the club £5k in up sales on advertising existing sponsors Overall new deals made during his time as CEO had generated the club £21.5k Another new sponsor expected in the next month would save the club £9k a year for 3 years He is currently working on further income through stadium revenues which would result in a £37.5k a year income for the club, but this was still in the "pipeline" Perception of club commercially - had to make self unpopular to prevent others from approaching sponsors - upset fundraising group at times - can damage our commercial integrity if we keep going "cap in hand" to particular businesses instead of establishing a strategy He was building key relationship - dozens over a period of time 2 key initiatives in the next few months:- "100 club" - recruitment of 100 companies paying £1000 each to be part of a group of business which would provide networking and community outreach opportunities, not going to deliver 100 in year one but hopefully 30 or so in the first year and 100 in the second year "Affinity marketing" - establishing a marketplace for everyone interested in CFC where you can benefit the club by buying goods and services from businesses that would then contribute to Chester FC. He is already in talks with a betting site and its expected to bring the club £5k in commissions. A number of energy companies have also expressed an interest and other businesses such as broadband providers, barbers, printers, restaurants etc were being contacted. He stressed that he is a Chief Executive as well as a Commercial Manager. He said that he had helped steer the good work of those involved in the youth set up. Had protected club in terms of FA, fought them twice this season and "won both." It had taken up a lot of his time, but by appealing the charges it saved money, integrity and morale - took a week and a half to collect the info on the Wrexham incident and In the end CFC submitted a 20 page document to the FA which resulted in the charges being dropped. Hotels for away travel - last year when we stayed away it was £2.5k a time Having worked in the hotel industry, he negotiated better deals so it's now £1.9k a time Ticketing - nobody knew who floating fans were Now got software to communicate with people The current approach is rather than give away free tickets which creates market for free tickets and doesn't bring data, we do initiatives which collects data and we will be trying to get them back Season ticket campaigns People look at Bradford City - £149 in March then went up each month after that Cash flow the reason, most football league clubs need cash after they receive their central funding in January/February time - hence why they launch their campaign early We don't have that cash flow problem - no need to release them early unless need to It makes sense to launch the campaign on the back of positive things - if we were in a promotion plus we would have done it by now Results been awful so not done that It has to be on back of some positives for next season Mark's "fault" but stands by it The new season ticket package is going to address some of demographic issues in the crowd Going to be great Online shop - We have collected data and there are more improvements to come Want to make it easier to buy from us Make it too difficult here at the moment and that will be solved with technology and a big piece of work Mark's connection with David Felgate was instrumental in getting him to come to the club Sam Hughes - Mark managed to convince the board to turn down bid from Barnsley - confident will come to fruition in the coming weeks - "judge me on that" We had previously struggled with car boot sales and had made a loss on occasions Mark got someone with experience of car boot sales to run it and the club are now forecasting £7k-£10k a year from the car boot sale once up and running Does this not give you confidence that Mark is doing his job? No? Baffled. You might not convince everyone but fair doos lad for taking the trouble to post all that
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Post by paulie on Apr 30, 2017 19:22:01 GMT
Just make him and his job redudant. No pay off needed then, has he been with us 2 years? Redundancy pay? And no, about 10-11 months. Entitled to nothing if employed by the club less than 2 years.
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Post by dmcnally on Apr 30, 2017 19:24:24 GMT
Redundancy pay? And no, about 10-11 months. Entitled to nothing if employed by the club less than 2 years. Ohh I see. Would Macca not count too; if he was re-employed in a different capacity when he was appointed manager? Clutching at straws here...
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Post by Simply The Guest on Apr 30, 2017 19:52:07 GMT
Without Mark who does all the commercial work? Genuinely amazed people are so against Mark, maybe because we've always had someone at the top to press the blame on such as Smith, Vaughan etc... Mark gave Macca the contract and you all were happy with it. Mark has done a lot of work for the club in 10-11 months even though he hasn't been here long enough to start having a full impact (he said this would take 18 months) He is professional and knows what he is doing, the CFU board are volunteers and may struggle for professionalism as a club (not having a pop thats just how it is) so to have someone with proper football business experience is key for us. I fully back Mark and I am confident we will be far better off with him. Some things from the recent CFU meeting: Mark Maguire did a presentation on what he has added to the club to address the concerns of fans. He told the board at the time of the interview that it would take 18 months for him to have a full impact and he stands by that now having a CEO costs £17k a year more than a commercial manager (I.e Tracey Smith) Having meetings with Bank of America regarding continuing their connection with the club following their sale of MBNA Lots of conversations going on - want to tell you about what's happening but can't it's confirmed - need to be judged over a period of time He's never been more confident that in he is now that he is going to deliver commercial and financial success for CFC Sponsorship was a mess when he came and a number of sponsor boards in the ground hadn't been paid for for a year or sometimes two years which had mostly been resolved now There were examples of businesses being asked if they wanted to purchase an advertising board who had turned down the opportunity but the boards were still produced Abbey gate college one example of that - now they have linked with community trust to do outreach work for lonely people in rural area, which helped them get funding for 3G pitch and now will be sponsoring the club He recovered the total fitness sponsorship which CFC was going to lose - which saves the club £14k a year in gym memberships - this will continue next year as well He recovered the maxi flow sponsorship which saves the club £8k a year There are a number of things he has done that have not delivered profit but have provided large savings such as alcohol sponsorship, he estimated this "other savings" had saved the club a total of £38k He had made the club £5k in up sales on advertising existing sponsors Overall new deals made during his time as CEO had generated the club £21.5k Another new sponsor expected in the next month would save the club £9k a year for 3 years He is currently working on further income through stadium revenues which would result in a £37.5k a year income for the club, but this was still in the "pipeline" Perception of club commercially - had to make self unpopular to prevent others from approaching sponsors - upset fundraising group at times - can damage our commercial integrity if we keep going "cap in hand" to particular businesses instead of establishing a strategy He was building key relationship - dozens over a period of time 2 key initiatives in the next few months:- "100 club" - recruitment of 100 companies paying £1000 each to be part of a group of business which would provide networking and community outreach opportunities, not going to deliver 100 in year one but hopefully 30 or so in the first year and 100 in the second year "Affinity marketing" - establishing a marketplace for everyone interested in CFC where you can benefit the club by buying goods and services from businesses that would then contribute to Chester FC. He is already in talks with a betting site and its expected to bring the club £5k in commissions. A number of energy companies have also expressed an interest and other businesses such as broadband providers, barbers, printers, restaurants etc were being contacted. He stressed that he is a Chief Executive as well as a Commercial Manager. He said that he had helped steer the good work of those involved in the youth set up. Had protected club in terms of FA, fought them twice this season and "won both." It had taken up a lot of his time, but by appealing the charges it saved money, integrity and morale - took a week and a half to collect the info on the Wrexham incident and In the end CFC submitted a 20 page document to the FA which resulted in the charges being dropped. Hotels for away travel - last year when we stayed away it was £2.5k a time Having worked in the hotel industry, he negotiated better deals so it's now £1.9k a time Ticketing - nobody knew who floating fans were Now got software to communicate with people The current approach is rather than give away free tickets which creates market for free tickets and doesn't bring data, we do initiatives which collects data and we will be trying to get them back Season ticket campaigns People look at Bradford City - £149 in March then went up each month after that Cash flow the reason, most football league clubs need cash after they receive their central funding in January/February time - hence why they launch their campaign early We don't have that cash flow problem - no need to release them early unless need to It makes sense to launch the campaign on the back of positive things - if we were in a promotion plus we would have done it by now Results been awful so not done that It has to be on back of some positives for next season Mark's "fault" but stands by it The new season ticket package is going to address some of demographic issues in the crowd Going to be great Online shop - We have collected data and there are more improvements to come Want to make it easier to buy from us Make it too difficult here at the moment and that will be solved with technology and a big piece of work Mark's connection with David Felgate was instrumental in getting him to come to the club Sam Hughes - Mark managed to convince the board to turn down bid from Barnsley - confident will come to fruition in the coming weeks - "judge me on that" We had previously struggled with car boot sales and had made a loss on occasions Mark got someone with experience of car boot sales to run it and the club are now forecasting £7k-£10k a year from the car boot sale once up and running Does this not give you confidence that Mark is doing his job? No? Baffled. So if he's doing all this, what exactly does Tony Allen Do to justify his salary ?
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Post by richard on Apr 30, 2017 19:58:15 GMT
Fair point by yourself and Paulie - this leads on to the question therefore " do we need/want a CEO?" Exactly! Or more precisely 'can we afford to have a highly paid employee performing the tasks proper to that role? We will/can not give the manager a competitive budget, yet we reduce what is available to fund the bread and butter side of the club by employing a CEO. Whether he is the right person is a second order question, I have no idea whether he is a good CEO or not, however, his track record does not exactly inspire confidence. Do we need a CEO? In an ideal world with funds to spare yes. The tasks he performs need to be done, but at this critical juncture in the clubs history, surely it would make more sense to spread them out amonst voluteers/board members, and make that post redundent. Adding the saved wage bill to the playing budget. Nothing a CEO can do could bring in more revenue than a winning team.... The Governance Work Group completed a root and branch review of the club's processes and procedures a little over 12 months ago. The detailed results of that audit were passed the the board for action. One of the key recommendations was to significantly improve the day to day management of the business, where consistent improvements were urgently required. It was clear that despite their best efforts and the cost of significant personal sacrifice, volunteers could only go so far in terms of moving the business forward. The appointment of the CEO quickly followed, however it should be noted that the CFU board were of a mind to create such a post before receiving the Audit Report . Strategically speaking, completely the right thing to do. In the time that has passed since the appointment of the CEO more than 70 percent of the Audit actions have been completed as a direct result of the CEO's intervention and personal effort. The remaining 30 percent is in the process of review and action. Mark McGuire has met with the Work Group and regularly updates are received on progress. This work has seen significant progress in process, procedure and work practices. The role is very much required. The individual who performs this role will be judged on progress by the elected board on his objectives. I fully trust them to do this on our behalf.
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Post by Frustrated on Apr 30, 2017 20:11:42 GMT
Exactly! Or more precisely 'can we afford to have a highly paid employee performing the tasks proper to that role? We will/can not give the manager a competitive budget, yet we reduce what is available to fund the bread and butter side of the club by employing a CEO. Whether he is the right person is a second order question, I have no idea whether he is a good CEO or not, however, his track record does not exactly inspire confidence. Do we need a CEO? In an ideal world with funds to spare yes. The tasks he performs need to be done, but at this critical juncture in the clubs history, surely it would make more sense to spread them out amonst voluteers/board members, and make that post redundent. Adding the saved wage bill to the playing budget. Nothing a CEO can do could bring in more revenue than a winning team.... The Governance Work Group completed a root and branch review of the club's processes and procedures a little over 12 months ago. The detailed results of that audit were passed the the board for action. One of the key recommendations was to significantly improve the day to day management of the business, where consistent improvements were urgently required. It was clear that despite their best efforts and the cost of significant personal sacrifice, volunteers could only go so far in terms of moving the business forward. The appointment of the CEO quickly followed, however it should be noted that the CFU board were of a mind to create such a post before receiving the Audit Report . Strategically speaking, completely the right thing to do. In the time that has passed since the appointment of the CEO more than 70 percent of the Audit actions have been completed as a direct result of the CEO's intervention and personal effort. The remaining 30 percent is in the process of review and action. Mark McGuire has met with the Work Group and regularly updates are received on progress. This work has seen significant progress in process, procedure and work practices. The role is very much required. The individual who performs this role will be judged on progress by the elected board on his objectives. I fully trust them to do this on our behalf. Hopefully the 30 percent review and evaluation process you elude to will be comprehensively evaluated by people with professional backgrounds, not the amateurs we unfortunately currently have at the helm . I don't mean that as a pop at the status quote, it is merely observation of reality .
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Post by dmcnally on Apr 30, 2017 20:12:24 GMT
Without Mark who does all the commercial work? Genuinely amazed people are so against Mark, maybe because we've always had someone at the top to press the blame on such as Smith, Vaughan etc... Mark gave Macca the contract and you all were happy with it. Mark has done a lot of work for the club in 10-11 months even though he hasn't been here long enough to start having a full impact (he said this would take 18 months) He is professional and knows what he is doing, the CFU board are volunteers and may struggle for professionalism as a club (not having a pop thats just how it is) so to have someone with proper football business experience is key for us. I fully back Mark and I am confident we will be far better off with him. Some things from the recent CFU meeting: Mark Maguire did a presentation on what he has added to the club to address the concerns of fans. He told the board at the time of the interview that it would take 18 months for him to have a full impact and he stands by that now having a CEO costs £17k a year more than a commercial manager (I.e Tracey Smith) Having meetings with Bank of America regarding continuing their connection with the club following their sale of MBNA Lots of conversations going on - want to tell you about what's happening but can't it's confirmed - need to be judged over a period of time He's never been more confident that in he is now that he is going to deliver commercial and financial success for CFC Sponsorship was a mess when he came and a number of sponsor boards in the ground hadn't been paid for for a year or sometimes two years which had mostly been resolved now There were examples of businesses being asked if they wanted to purchase an advertising board who had turned down the opportunity but the boards were still produced Abbey gate college one example of that - now they have linked with community trust to do outreach work for lonely people in rural area, which helped them get funding for 3G pitch and now will be sponsoring the club He recovered the total fitness sponsorship which CFC was going to lose - which saves the club £14k a year in gym memberships - this will continue next year as well He recovered the maxi flow sponsorship which saves the club £8k a year There are a number of things he has done that have not delivered profit but have provided large savings such as alcohol sponsorship, he estimated this "other savings" had saved the club a total of £38k He had made the club £5k in up sales on advertising existing sponsors Overall new deals made during his time as CEO had generated the club £21.5k Another new sponsor expected in the next month would save the club £9k a year for 3 years He is currently working on further income through stadium revenues which would result in a £37.5k a year income for the club, but this was still in the "pipeline" Perception of club commercially - had to make self unpopular to prevent others from approaching sponsors - upset fundraising group at times - can damage our commercial integrity if we keep going "cap in hand" to particular businesses instead of establishing a strategy He was building key relationship - dozens over a period of time 2 key initiatives in the next few months:- "100 club" - recruitment of 100 companies paying £1000 each to be part of a group of business which would provide networking and community outreach opportunities, not going to deliver 100 in year one but hopefully 30 or so in the first year and 100 in the second year "Affinity marketing" - establishing a marketplace for everyone interested in CFC where you can benefit the club by buying goods and services from businesses that would then contribute to Chester FC. He is already in talks with a betting site and its expected to bring the club £5k in commissions. A number of energy companies have also expressed an interest and other businesses such as broadband providers, barbers, printers, restaurants etc were being contacted. He stressed that he is a Chief Executive as well as a Commercial Manager. He said that he had helped steer the good work of those involved in the youth set up. Had protected club in terms of FA, fought them twice this season and "won both." It had taken up a lot of his time, but by appealing the charges it saved money, integrity and morale - took a week and a half to collect the info on the Wrexham incident and In the end CFC submitted a 20 page document to the FA which resulted in the charges being dropped. Hotels for away travel - last year when we stayed away it was £2.5k a time Having worked in the hotel industry, he negotiated better deals so it's now £1.9k a time Ticketing - nobody knew who floating fans were Now got software to communicate with people The current approach is rather than give away free tickets which creates market for free tickets and doesn't bring data, we do initiatives which collects data and we will be trying to get them back Season ticket campaigns People look at Bradford City - £149 in March then went up each month after that Cash flow the reason, most football league clubs need cash after they receive their central funding in January/February time - hence why they launch their campaign early We don't have that cash flow problem - no need to release them early unless need to It makes sense to launch the campaign on the back of positive things - if we were in a promotion plus we would have done it by now Results been awful so not done that It has to be on back of some positives for next season Mark's "fault" but stands by it The new season ticket package is going to address some of demographic issues in the crowd Going to be great Online shop - We have collected data and there are more improvements to come Want to make it easier to buy from us Make it too difficult here at the moment and that will be solved with technology and a big piece of work Mark's connection with David Felgate was instrumental in getting him to come to the club Sam Hughes - Mark managed to convince the board to turn down bid from Barnsley - confident will come to fruition in the coming weeks - "judge me on that" We had previously struggled with car boot sales and had made a loss on occasions Mark got someone with experience of car boot sales to run it and the club are now forecasting £7k-£10k a year from the car boot sale once up and running Does this not give you confidence that Mark is doing his job? No? Baffled. So if he's doing all this, what exactly does Tony Allen Do to justify his salary ? I've asked this myself and I'd like to see a justification of his wage here like we have seen from Mark. I believe Tony is a football secretary at the club.
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Post by richard on Apr 30, 2017 20:20:24 GMT
The Governance Work Group completed a root and branch review of the club's processes and procedures a little over 12 months ago. The detailed results of that audit were passed the the board for action. One of the key recommendations was to significantly improve the day to day management of the business, where consistent improvements were urgently required. It was clear that despite their best efforts and the cost of significant personal sacrifice, volunteers could only go so far in terms of moving the business forward. The appointment of the CEO quickly followed, however it should be noted that the CFU board were of a mind to create such a post before receiving the Audit Report . Strategically speaking, completely the right thing to do. In the time that has passed since the appointment of the CEO more than 70 percent of the Audit actions have been completed as a direct result of the CEO's intervention and personal effort. The remaining 30 percent is in the process of review and action. Mark McGuire has met with the Work Group and regularly updates are received on progress. This work has seen significant progress in process, procedure and work practices. The role is very much required. The individual who performs this role will be judged on progress by the elected board on his objectives. I fully trust them to do this on our behalf. Hopefully the 30 percent review and evaluation process you elude to will be comprehensively evaluated by people with professional backgrounds, not the amateurs we unfortunately currently have at the helm . I don't mean that as a pop at the status quote, it is merely observation of reality . The remaining actions will be signed off by the auditors as completed or outstanding with further action required
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Post by Frank Owen’s Paintbrush on Apr 30, 2017 20:21:12 GMT
Personally I remain unconvinced by the value of our CEO who, let's remember, is being paid handsomely out of our own pockets due to the nature of our fan-owned club. A lot of "middle management" type talk and nothing tangible in the way of positive developments.
My biggest fear, though, is that the CFU board - our custodians - actually answer to him. If he answers to them, then they must be content with an ever-decreasing fanbase and an ever-increasing apathy amongst those who remain. Which scenario is worse?
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Post by Deva Chanter on Apr 30, 2017 20:31:45 GMT
Personally I remain unconvinced by the value of our CEO who, let's remember, is being paid handsomely out of our own pockets due to the nature of our fan-owned club. A lot of "middle management" type talk and nothing tangible in the way of positive developments. My biggest fear, though, is that the CFU board - our custodians - actually answer to him. If he answers to them, then they must be content with an ever-decreasing fanbase and an ever-increasing apathy amongst those who remain. Which scenario is worse? Perhaps I'm imagining things, but I could swear there is a post on this very thread, just a few above yours, which heavily details quite a number of positive developments achieved by Maguire to date.
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