Iain Murray,
Treasurer of the International Hibs Supporters Club (IHSC) reports from the 2000
Hibs AGM
October 2nd 2000, Famous Five Stand at
Easter Road
Report by
Iain C. Murray
� 2000
I arrived just before 7pm when the meeting was supposed to start
and was surprised to see the room barely half full. But a bit like
matches at Easter Road some Hibees liked to arrive late!
On the seats we had a fancy colour brochure of 8 pages, which was
a review of the ups and downs of the last 10 years. This included a
message from Tom Farmer and the surprising information - for me anyway -
that during the last year the club had been kept solvent by a 2 million
pound �loan� from the parent company.
Malcolm MacPherson
formally started the meeting and introduced the board, which included a
Ken Lewandowski whose appointment I must admit I had missed. He then
outlined the business to be conducted, and the general schedule of the
evening. He then stated that in future years the formal company business
legally required of the AGM, would be held in a brief afternoon meeting,
although there would still be meetings for shareholders questions.
The Chairman then
swiftly moved through the legally required stuff then handed over to
Chief Executive Rod Petrie who went through the main figures in the
accounts with the aid of two large video screens either side of the
boards platform to show diagrams illustrating his points. He started off
by saying they were pleased to show a profit even if it had been via the
sale of a player. Although the sale of Kenny Miller prevented them returning a
loss he stated that the board�s financial plan had budgeted for a loss
in this financial year, he also defended the circumstances of Miller�s
sale. He then went through the figures for income, which showed an
increase in turnstile income due to visits of Rangers, Celtic and
�that other team�. On
the figures for costs he said almost all the staff costs of �5.3
million was the player pool and that the jump from the previous year had
been planned into their financial projections as they tried to support
Alex McLeish�s squad improvements. The other significant increase in
costs mentioned was interest charges, although he glossed over this and
quickly moved on to state that the assets were strong with the stadium
being professionally valued at �9.2 million. The debtor�s figure had
increased merely due to the fact that the final instalment from the SPL
was made in August falling after the accounts cut off date of 31/7/00. The liabilities had increased as the club had received
a �loan� of �2million from the parent company, which Rod stated was
basically Tom Farmer and that nobody should doubt his backing for the
club.
Questions were then
invited from the floor on the accounts with the first question picking
up on the slide, which showed figures for catering and commercial income
as almost the same as the previous year. Rod replied that although the
figures were static and that they were indeed disappointing action had
already been take. He said
Colin Deas had been appointed as a full time commercial director and he
had reconstructed and realigned the business with many staff changes to
help this. This was followed by a question asking if Hibs had an
overdraft facility as Rod had implied the loan from the parent company
had been required to continue normal day to day trading.
Rod Petrie replied that Hibs did have an overdraft facility and
that the Bank of Scotland was happy for Hibs to use it for daily
operating.
Malcolm MacPherson then
closed questions on the accounts and moved the formal motions, which saw
the Directors reports, & accounts being accepted and KPMG appointed
as auditors without opposition. He
then gave his Chairman�s address which he started by talking up the
positive start to the season before moving on to welcome Colin Deas
& Ken Lewandowski to the board and emphasised Ken�s business
background. He complimented Alex McLeish on the results the first team
were getting and the style in which they were being achieved. The
players who left in the summer were thanked with John Hughes & Pat
McGinlay in particular being named, before he stated that the squad was
stronger and listed out all the new player contracts the club had signed
in the summer. By including all current Hibs players signing new
contracts as well as new arrivals the list was highly impressive. He then gave a detailed defence of the sale of Kenny Miller
finishing by stating that basically it was pointless to try and keep a
player so obviously keen to leave.
The proposed youth academy at Vogri Park was his next topic with
Malcolm giving a long glowing report on the benefits it would bring to
Hibs. But he then stated that there was no point in Hibs proceeding if
the so called Bosman II ruling was passed, although pressure had been
brought to bear on politicians with Erik Davidson bringing in it up at a
recent meeting with Tony Blair in Glasgow.
Malcolm moved on to the youth set up complimenting the work of
John Park, the contribution of Hibernian Youth 2000 (formerly known as
Club 86) and thanking a significant individual sponsor of Youth 2000.
The saga of the construction of a new west (main) stand was the
next issue he tackled. Malcolm stressed that a lot of hard work had gone
into the planning of its construction, that it was unfortunate that Hibs
had missed the cut off date, but that it was better to do it right �if
late- rather than rush the job and possibly botch it. He insisted that
money had never been the problem and that Barr Construction had been
contracted to start the work in January as had previously been
announced. He then
stated that proposed �Lochend Butterfly� development in which the
consortium involving Hibs as a minor partner �failed in a blaze of
publicity� was unfortunate for the club as it would have greatly
benefited Hibs but the club appreciated all the fans who helped in the
campaign and he would like to thank them for their assistant.
He then moved on to say
that apart from selling Kenny Miller and the West Stand issue, the vast
majority of letters from & contact with the fans could be termed
�customer care�. Malcolm
then proceeded to lavish praise on Alex McLeish for the improvements in
the playing side and Tom Farmer for funding he provided.
The final issue that Malcolm covered in his address was the
pricing and structure of tickets. He
defended the increase in season tickets saying that the increases were
not reckless but had been thought out and introduced in stages. The 2
level pricing of last season he said could not continue and although
long term ticket holders had been hit hard, there had been a large
increase in the clubs costs during the period their ticket prices had
been held. He finally defended the increases in ticket prices by saying
that despite warnings they were too expensive crowds at Easter Road are
currently up 3% and stated that he hoped this season would see us in
Europe and possibly even some silverware.
The floor was then thrown open to questions with the first one
being regards the Family season tickets. The shareholder stated that the
rises in season tickets for families had bee ridiculous, he outlined the
rises for himself and other large families and said that this had lead
to families not coming and the choice of which child to take being
rotated by the parents. He said Hibs never used to be like other clubs
in high charges and that Hibs were missing an opportunity to make Hibs
the option for any larger family who wanted to watch football. Malcolm
replied by saying that he didn�t disagree with anything he had said
but that they were not easy decisions taken lightly. The shareholder
replied by saying that perhaps the board should consult the fans to see
what the ordinary working fan could afford. Malcolm replied by admitting
that the club had received a large number of letters on the subject, but
that it had been done with the clubs best interests at heart.
Rod added that the family ticket structure meant that additional
adults were being charged �2 a game, something that was unsustainable,
but he noted the point about consulting fans.
The next question was regards talk of UEFA setting minimum
criteria relating to stadia, pitches & solvency for clubs entering
European competitions and Hibs ability to meant the criteria. Rod
replied that what was being talked about was a UEFA license.
The licensing authority for Scotland was going to be the S.F.A.
and that while he believed Hibs were ok as things stood, it was planned
to introduce the measures in 2002-03 season so there would probably be
interim measures to help clubs cope.
Mike Burns then asked the board for the reasons behind the
pricing policy, as he believed that �21 for the Rangers and Hearts
games was �way over the top� and Hibs were now the most expensive
team in the SPL to watch. Rod defended the prices saying that the �21
pound tickets were only for the Famous Five & South Stands, and that
the terracing was considerably cheaper, and that visiting support were
contributing to income. Mike
replied that he still felt the prices were way over the top, and this
made buying a season ticket less attractive especially when we didn�t
know what we were getting due to the split season. When pressed if Hibs
had voted for the split set up Rod replied simply yes.
Mike continued to press him on the subject saying that it was a
terrible set up, which was unfair to clubs and unfair to fans who
didn�t know who there teams would be playing.
Rod admitted that himself and Alex McLeish had favoured the Swiss
set up where the bottom 4 of a 12-team league dropped off the play the
top of the lower division but this had not been adopted.
The next question was relating to the talks about a European or
Atlantic league, with the shareholder asking is Hibs were joining or
even invited. Rod stated
that the proposed league was not the fait accompli presented in the
press and that the club were keeping up to date with talks as they
needed to be conscious of changes affecting it and developments that
might benefit it.
The next questioner
asked how in the light of the failure by the development consortium,
were Hibs going to finance the East stand. Malcolm replied that the club
itself was not in a position to finance the East stand but once the West
(main) Stand had been finished the board would look to put together a
deal similar to the Vogri Park idea.
The next shareholder up stated that the board lacked imagination
in selling tickets, and maybe things like issuing vouchers at
�lesser� games giving money of the more expensive matches should be
looked at. Malcolm replied
by saying that the club had to be careful as rules stated that clubs
couldn�t charge visiting fans more than home fans.
Rod intervened and said that Colin Deas had been looking at this
and that they had decided to start with an advertising awareness
campaign, but as they had picked the Motherwell game it had been lost in
the publicity surrounding the fuel crisis.
The next question regarded the failed development for the Lochend
Butterfly with the shareholder wanting to know details of the offer
rejected by the council. Malcolm
replied that while the consortium had put together a very substantial
deal he could not go into the details as the club were not in the
driving seat and �we were tagging along to get a free stand�.
Frank Dougan then asked about a fan�s forum the board had set
up a few years ago. He wanted to know if it was still operating or if it
had fallen by the wayside and if so would it be revived.
Malcolm confirmed that this group had fallen by the wayside and
rather than revive it in the old format it would be replaced by meetings
with supporters, possibly via the supporters association.
Next question was from a supporter who stated that he had heard a
rumour that if the Old Firm left Scottish football to play in a European
League the Bank of Scotland would review banking facilities of other
Scottish clubs. This could cause problems for Hibs if borrowing or
overdraft facilities were curtailed.
Malcolm replied by saying he had not heard this rumour, that he
thought it unlikely in his experience.
Len Rossi then asked what options did the club have for that area
behind the ground given the failure of the consortiums plan and that Rod
that previously mentioned a hotel or similar project as a possibility,
possibly similar to clubs in England such as Bolton. Rod replied that
when they had originally submitted the outline plans for the East &
West stands together, the plans had included a hotel built into the East
stand. This caused complications so the word hotel was deleted from
the plans. He stated that
as the West & East stands were identical, the space in the
undercroft of the West stand allocated for things such as dressing
rooms, board room etc was obviously free for commercial use in the East
stand. He said board members had visited Bolton when their hotel was
being built on a fact finding visit.
Malcolm intervened and stated that �we have to be clever� to
get the East stand done as we can�t simply borrow the money.
A question was then asked about the clubs plans regards filling
in the 4 corners of the ground to complete the ground and increase
capacity. Malcolm replied
that the West stand was being built to fit in with the stands already
built, and once the East stand was completed the corners would be
completed as and when the club could afford it. He added that the West
stand was the priority as it wasn�t acceptable in terms of comfort or
facilities.
The next person up asked if families would have a choice of areas
in the new stand once built. Rod replied that the club currently were
looking at 2 possibilities, the first was to make the Famous Five Stand
an exclusive family area, the other was to have a family section
�wrapped around� the corner with the option of seats in the FFS or
new West (main) Stand. The
next questioner complained that there were no Hibs books (and he listed
every Hibs book he had) on the shelves of the cities Reference Library
in George IV Bridge. It was pointed out from the floor a full selection
of Hibs literature (inc fanzines) is held in the Edinburgh Room in the
same building. The next
person stated he was happy with the season ticket prices but wondered if
when the new stand was built could they arrange for a pillar, or speaker
hanging down on a wire as this was a great starter of conversation as
people asked, �did you see that� or �what happened there?� After
everybody stopped laughing the next question asked was, where was the
club getting the funding for the new stand? Malcolm replied that with
any project the money was being borrowed and that the lenders were
comfortable with the project, the way the club was run and where the
club was going. Malcolm then closed this section and Alex McLeish then
took to the microphone. He
started by mentioning all his coaches and staff by name and thanking
them saying they were all integral parts of the clubs set up.
He said that before the end of last season they were sure of
which players would be leaving and that�s when they drew up the list
of players to target. He thanked the supporters for their backing in
Germany and said that although some had been concerned with the results,
the pre season games were just about fitness and fine tuning playing
systems, the results were irrelevant. He said that we now had a new more
technical team and this had been achieved by bringing in more technical
players. He mentioned and praised Laursen, Smith, Fenwick & O�Neil
and said that if John had an extra yard of pace he would be playing at a
higher level than Hibs. He said the squad had a good spirit and good
discipline, he joking said that Russell Latapy's late return from
Trinidad had resulted in him been fined 20 litres of unleaded as at that
would hit him harder! He continued by saying that our good form was
being noticed and Colgan was called up that afternoon for the Irish
Squad and that Lovell was in Dubai with the Australians.
He said he appreciated Lovell wasn�t the fan�s favourite and
joked that at times last season he wasn�t his favourite either. He
defended Lovell saying that he was a great influence in the dressing
room with a positive effect on younger players who he took under his
wing. He said that he had taken Kenny Miller under his wing and helped
him tremendously. He added that McManus had now attached himself to
Lovell and commented �maybe he�s angling for a move to Rangers�.
He also complimented Franck Sauzee and his influence on and off
the park. Alex
continued on to state that he wanted Hibs to be as consistent as the
fans backing, and he wanted us not just to win but win with style for
the fans.
He then returned to his previous comments talking
at length about technical ability saying that during the summer it was
noticeable watching Euro 2000 that it was the technically superior teams
that came to the fore, and this was a key reason for changing Hibs
pattern of play. He
stated that a European place was not beyond us but that depended on
injuries, suspensions and when prompted from the floor he added �and
penalty decisions�. He
tried to explain the reasons behind the SPL set-up saying it was to
protect the larger clubs pointing out the cost of relegation to the
likes of Hibs and Dundee United. He said that he was driven by a
combination of desire to win and fear of losing but stated it wasn�t
fear of losing in a negative sense.
He then talked about the Agathe deal stating that it was the
clubs policy that if Hibs were not 100% sure about somebody he would be
given a 3 month deal initially although that might not be prefect it was
a case of some you win some you lose. He added that after doing enough to convince him, Agathe�s
heart wasn�t in playing for Hibs as he stalled and changed the
goalposts more than once.
The floor was thrown open to questions, with Len Rossi first up.
He asked that as we know how good we were and how far we could go, what
did Alex think would it take to go a stage further. As in his opinion we
were now in the position to challenge the Old Firm if we were to make a
reasonable investment in the squad.
Alex replied that was difficult as it was about backup because
with 1 or 2 key players injured we might become ordinary an ordinary
side again. He stressed that players of this calibre were expensive and
hard to find, he quoted the Liverpool mangers point that even with the
quality he already had it would take him 4 to 5 years to build a
championship challenging team. He joked that maybe if Malcolm could
spare him �10 million he could try!
Malcolm replied that the club had to be realistic and operate
within budget. That they couldn�t spent the money allocated for the
new stand on players as it �was not the same money� and that it was
the boards job to drive revenue streams upwards to generate money for
the manager. When Len
replied that you had to speculate to accumulate Malcolm repeated the
boards line and Alex said we were now at the stage players had to be
sacrificed to bring in new faces.
The signing of David Zitelli was raised with the shareholder
wanting to know when we would see his best form.
Alex replied that David was a class player and he was delighted
to have been able to sign him, but admitted that he had probably played
him too early. He explained he had arrived with a slight injury and had
not played for 5 weeks but because his planned pairing of Mix &
McManus had been disrupted by Tams injury he had played him.
He felt he was getting stronger and was beginning to fit into the
team well in training so he was confident we wouldn�t have too long to
wait for his best form. The
next question concerned Franck Sauzee with the shareholder concerned
that as we rely on him so much what happens next season?
Alex admitted that at times last season he hadn�t quite the
legs for the midfield role he was playing but since Franck he had a new
lease of life and given Sauzee�s comments in the papers that morning
it wasn�t impossible he would continue to play on into next season.
The next person up was John McGachey who raised Jamie Curton who
Hibs had tried to sign, but had signed for Reading instead for a �250,000
fee. He said that watching him turn in an impressive game and score a
hat trick against Brentford made him wonder why Hibs hadn�t followed
through and signed him. Alex
replied that while he appeared an impressive player while doing his
normal research and background checks he started to have doubts.
He stated maybe he was wrong but �if there is a doubt, there is
no doubt� I don�t sign them, he admitted maybe he was wrong but
again said every signing decision was a risk and some you win some you
lose. When asked if this
season was the last of Russell Latapy�s contract he confirmed it was
and confirmed that the club would soon be talking with a view to getting
Russell to sign on again. The
next questioner asked whether the sales of Agathe and Miller were
examples of the Old Firm weakening the opposition by cherry picking
their best players. Alex said it was frightening the strength the Old
Firm had, he added that during negotiations David Miller had told Kenny
that �I don�t pay �2million for a player to sit on the bench�. He
then made a sarcastic comment about what is he doing now before
finishing by again defending the sale of Miller on the basis that the
player wanted to leave.
The next question changed tack a bit by asking if the club had
any plans for glamour friendlies during the winter shut down.
Alex said that it maybe but it depended on the demands of the
clubs. He said there were agents that could easily fix up a big name
club, but that the fees involved would make the match commercially
unviable. He added that the break last season had been longer due to the
millennium, and that they probably wouldn�t undertake a tour like the
Trinidad adventure. He said that the squad would probably go abroad for
a weeks training together somewhere like Portugal or Spain but that
would be the limit with no games planned.
The final question of the night was on referees with Alex being
asked his current policy. Alex laughed and said that at the moment it
was strictly no comment! The
questioner stated that Hibs had suffered many bad decisions over the
years in Glasgow and maybe we should just let the television show the
evidence. This started a general discussion with Alex stating that
although he had not tried to influence the referees decisions in any way
with his press comments, this was admittedly how it was being
interpreted, he said maybe he had learned his lesson.
Malcolm then thanked everybody for coming and stated that
although the club had made great progress there still needs to a lot of
hard work done. The meeting was then closed at approx. 8:36.
Last year I felt a bit disappointed that they had steamrollered
things through and there was less opportunity than normal to ask
questions. This year the
sparse attendance again meant that a lot of questions went unasked.
In hindsight I would have liked to ask why we were still posting
a loss despite receiving a �2 million cash injection, and where the
parent company which itself is rumoured to be over �10 million debt
itself got this money given it has virtually no commercial activity.
Why the finance for the new stand is not included in the accounts
as it should be under normal accounting practice.
Why detailed plans or pictures of the proposed stand have not
been unveiled. The mortgage
for buying the stadium starts in 2004, and we are going to be paying a
rate of 7% on an amount of �2.5 million. How much is this going to be
in real terms each month / year and given the club is already losing
money will this not exacerbate an already poor financial position?
And also Rod Petrie showed a lot of figures on his fancy slide
show, which were not in the accounts.
Despite a promise at an AGM a few years ago to provide more
detailed accounts, we are now getting less information and key
statistics being omitted.
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