Supporters Trust Fans Forum - Thursday 27 July

[ExmouthMart]

But apparently struggling to invest in the Squad.

We have been here before with Norrie Stewart of course and that did not end well.

ECFC runs a small business with a simple business model.

Do we need a CEO, even if part time ?

The Chairman didn’t really expand too much on the new CEO and why he was the stand out candidate for the job. I’d imagine it will be much more difficult to move a CEO on than a player etc. How will his performance be judged?! Am sorry but money for old rope springs to mind. Surely it’s a full time role CEO or it looks like you’re not really focused on the job in hand. He’s an advisor to several companies and doesn’t seem to have any experience in the world of football other than his time on the board here. You will get quoted that the CEO is paid from a different budget to the playing budget but it’s difficult to justify a big salary when we are struggling to sign players who would want a similar salary and are far more useful to the Club. As you say we are a small business with a simple business model and this appointment and a CFO needs to be explained in far more detail or unfortunately it does look like jobs for the boys. Self promotion and networking seem to be creeping in everywhere……

 

[Bridgy 81]

The Chairman didn’t really expand too much on the new CEO and why he was the stand out candidate for the job. I’d imagine it will be much more difficult to move a CEO on than a player etc. How will his performance be judged?! Am sorry but money for old rope springs to mind. Surely it’s a full time role CEO or it looks like you’re not really focused on the job in hand. He’s an advisor to several companies and doesn’t seem to have any experience in the world of football other than his time on the board here. You will get quoted that the CEO is paid from a different budget to the playing budget but it’s difficult to justify a big salary when we are struggling to sign players who would want a similar salary and are far more useful to the Club. As you say we are a small business with a simple business model and this appointment and a CFO needs to be explained in far more detail or unfortunately it does look like jobs for the boys. Self promotion and networking seem to be creeping in everywhere……

I think you maybe better off/happier supporting a different football team.

 

[Rosencrantz]

I get all that, which is entirely correct. But what I was questioning, as my post said, was the section in bold quoted from Gordon Dale's post namely

a) there is no need to start at 6am. Nobody else does. I think players may think it is a manager striking a pose for no good effect. (We don't play any games at 6am during the season!). And
b) after a programmed triple session from 6am until 5pm, then to add unexpected additional sessions. Perhaps the intention is to show that you can always do more however exhausted you are. However it seems unnecessary - you can tell players at the start of the day what sessions you will do and when. It runs the risk of alienating players if what you say about the day ahead can't be trusted.

It was those issues that I thought worthy of discussion

a) I think you would be surprised then at how early elite athletes start when doing such training. Rugby players are often in the gym before breakfast. They don't tend to be competing that early in the morning but it is probably better to start early rather than finish late. The players get all evening to decompress, recover, refuel and have some relaxation time and get to bed at a good time. If they have the standard 10am start, they are finishing at around 9pm which gives them little time to do the above and get a good night's sleep to be in again at 10am.

b) Doing spot push ups and planks which is what is described hardly constitutes a session. I thought GC also explained the rationale behind it well. It's as much psychological as well as fitness. In the season at times when the players think they have nothing left, they know they can find that bit extra. Again, something done by elite endurance athletes. Seb Coe always tells the story of going out for a long distance run on Xmas Day when it was cold and chucking it down. Just because he thought Steve Ovett would be doing the same and thinking Seb wouldn't be. As it turned out Ovett wasn't, but Seb didn't learn that until years later .

Whilst it may be worth discussion, in my opinion, it's a sign of the club attempting to step up the levels. It isn't something that is unusual. You talk about the SAS and Gary learning from that mistake. Why then do teams regularly use The Marines and other armed forces as well? Clive Woodward took the England rugby side to Lympstone Commando for a weekend in the build up to the 2003 World Cup. We didn't do too badly there. Even if it is marginal gains, they do add up.

It is about creating a culture that players buy into to improve. It is clear from everything GC says that he wants a character of player who wants to improve. Maybe some players will fall by the wayside as they don't buy in, but maybe most of them won't and do buy in. The players have ownership of what they want their career to look like. For any elite sportsman or sportswoman to succeed, they sacrifice things. I really don't see how this is a bad thing for the club in the long term. It's actually showing ambition to reach a level we haven't in the past.

 

[ExmouthMart]

I think you maybe better off/happier supporting a different football team.

What does that mean and who exactly are you to be saying that?! You are one of the individuals on here who are so prickly about anything you deem to be anti Club or Trust. I don’t care about that. What does concern me is spending large sums of money on salaries for questionable returns when what most of us want to see is a competitive team with a decent squad. That’s where the priority should be, not having some faceless CEO. We have a new training ground, new pitch and a much better stadium which should now be supplemented by a better team of players which is where the bulk of the money should be going. No one’s impressed by your CEO or probably that interested.

 

[iscalad]

What does that mean and who exactly are you to be saying that?! You are one of the individuals on here who are so prickly about anything you deem to be anti Club or Trust. I don’t care about that. What does concern me is spending large sums of money on salaries for questionable returns when what most of us want to see is a competitive team with a decent squad. That’s where the priority should be, not having some faceless CEO. We have a new training ground, new pitch and a much better stadium which should now be supplemented by a better team of players which is where the bulk of the money should be going. No one’s impressed by your CEO or probably that interested.

Your CEO? Why not our CEO?
There's an article on DevonLive from Nick Hawker you should read.

 

[Bridgy 81]

What does that mean and who exactly are you to be saying that?! You are one of the individuals on here who are so prickly about anything you deem to be anti Club or Trust.

I’m no-one other than a long standing Exeter City supporter, so presumably in that sense, no different to you.
I’m not sure I’m prickly about anything that’s anti Club or Trust, but I do put my faith in the democratic process that we have in relation to our governance.
I haven’t put myself forward for an elected role, because I don’t want to, so I vote for and trust the people who do.
If you don’t (which seems fairly obvious) it’s equally clear what you need to do to get your ideas heard and implemented.

 

[Grecian in Guzz]

Your CEO? Why not our CEO?
There's an article on DevonLive from Nick Hawker you should read.

Is this the article ?

Exeter City playing budget won't be hiked despite player sales

Academy graduates Archie Collins and Josh Key have been sold to Peterborough United and Swansea City respectively, while the club have also come into a cash windfall from Ethan Ampadu’s move from Chelsea to Leeds United.

www.devonlive.com

 

[Spoonz Red E]

What does that mean and who exactly are you to be saying that?! You are one of the individuals on here who are so prickly about anything you deem to be anti Club or Trust. I don’t care about that. What does concern me is spending large sums of money on salaries for questionable returns when what most of us want to see is a competitive team with a decent squad. That’s where the priority should be, not having some faceless CEO. We have a new training ground, new pitch and a much better stadium which should now be supplemented by a better team of players which is where the bulk of the money should be going. No one’s impressed by your CEO or probably that interested.

The next step in our progression, if we have sporting ambition, is Championship football.
A division that is costing most teams enormous amounts of money.
We don't have the straightforward financial reserves to compete on those levels (spoiler - neither had some other clubs whose adventures in the Championship broke them).

It's great that we are often maxing out our attendances and building a good reputation so I guess a CEO is there to look at how best to capitalise on this and develop other ways to improve our business revenue and standing.

Sure I'd like more money in the playing budget but teams with much bigger playing budgets than ours are faltering at this level.

There was nervousness about the scale of the Cliff Hill development plans at the outset and I remember similar disquiet on this forum a few years back at how many non-playing staff were being recruited at the training ground. I think our investment in coaching, player development and facilities has served us well and provided good returns.

I totally get the wariness at the potential pitfalls but I'd rather wait and judge on the results rather than assume the doom.

 

[Mid Devon Grecian]

What does that mean and who exactly are you to be saying that?! You are one of the individuals on here who are so prickly about anything you deem to be anti Club or Trust. I don’t care about that. What does concern me is spending large sums of money on salaries for questionable returns when what most of us want to see is a competitive team with a decent squad. That’s where the priority should be, not having some faceless CEO. We have a new training ground, new pitch and a much better stadium which should now be supplemented by a better team of players which is where the bulk of the money should be going. No one’s impressed by your CEO or probably that interested.

You were banging on about the club being run by a ‘village fete committee’ the other day, now we’re professionalising that’s not right either.

I’m all for people expressing their views but please be consistent.

Nick Hawker said last night, he’s coming up for 66 years old, he’s done a really good job but you can’t expect these people to give their time and suffer the stress just because they love the club. It’s not fair or realistic to operate like that.

Accounts for y/e June 22 shows a turnover of £4.5m, total staff numbers at 212, TOTAL DIRECTORS REMUNERATION JUST £71k.

This is a business that must invest off field to secure the current success and plan for the next steps.

So, what do you want? A professional set up or the ‘village fete committee’?

 

[Egg]

FTSE 100 CEO Remuneration massively higher

Pay of FTSE 100 chief executives rose an average of 23% in 2022 | Executive pay and bonuses | The Guardian

Campaigners and TUC say rise to almost £4m is unjustifiable during cost of living crisis

amp.theguardian.com

Absolutely, I get that. I only referred to the FTSE 100 to make a [crude] point, which was that there are much bigger organisations than Exeter City where the main man / woman wouldn’t earn anywhere near 140k [albeit there will be a few smaller ones where they do]. For example, my last employer had a turnover of circa £40m, ie five or six times the football club’s, and 200-300 employees, but the CEO would have earned nearer half that figure.