We started the meeting with a full and frank conversation about the club, decisions taken and how it needs to significantly improve communication with supporters, taking on board comments directed to the Trust from members over the last few days.
The fans forum in February had shown that the more open and transparent the club is with the supporters, the more they will back the club once they are in possession of the full facts of the situation, with a need to involve stakeholders on decisions. There was a clear need for the club to display both leadership and direction, as too often they have been reactive rather than proactive.
We discussed the finances at the club, how the Covid-19 crisis had impacted them, and how we are having to re-examine the club’s model given that we may not be able to rely on the transfer market and cup runs in the future, as we have done in the past.
The Trust are currently undertaking a research project with a view to attracting families to the Crown Oil Arena. Amongst the Trust committee, we have been allocated a club each from the eight EFL clubs to win Family Club of the Year over recent seasons and will produce a mini report on each to find out what they do well before compiling an overall report for the club. That report will also be published on the Trust website.
Ian Henderson situation:
The leak on Thursday night. Given that this has never happened to the club before, how was it possible for the news of the retained list to be leaked by a BBC Radio Manchester journalist on Thursday evening?
The leak came from a source close to one of the players who was released and was 100% not from the club.
Why wasn’t Ian Henderson’s departure accompanied by a proper and fitting tribute from either the Chairman or the Manager given everything he has done for the club? This could have made a significant different to the events over the weekend. Given it took Gary Jones over six years to return to Rochdale following his departure, how have we reached the stage where another club legend leaves the club under a cloud?
The club accepted the criticism over this and agreed, that in hindsight, this was something that should have been done and considered in the future.
Is it correct that Ian Henderson was unaware of his release when the leak appeared on Thursday evening? Why did the club terminate Ian Henderson’s relationship with the club via email rather than via telephone call or face to face?
As released in the chairman’s statement on Monday, the matter had been discussed in a telephone conversation between Ian and Brian Barry Murphy on 13th June.
If this is simply a case of negotiations breaking down between the two parties, is this something that could still be resolved?
It was stated that it was not the club that closed the door on the negotiations, and you can never say never in football.
Questions from us:
Now the 2019-20 has ended for us, when will we get to know about season tickets, new kit etc?
Information on new season tickets would be released within the next fortnight. We are looking to re-open the club shop on a limited basis from Saturday 4th July, with the new kit available from mid July.
Any decision on the season ticket plan that we discussed at our meeting two weeks ago?
The club were delighted to accept our proposal. The Trust would formulate a plan to be announced before the end of this week.
We asked several questions about the new season and fans attending matches.
We are one of a growing number of clubs within the EFL who are not wanting a return without crowds. There has been very limited information from the EFL regarding any start date at this point. Clubs are tentatively talking about a possible return date about 1st October operating under a 30% capacity. There is a Senior Executive from the EFL who is part of the Government’s working party on (is) “Letting Crowds Back into Sporting matches”, but it must be reiterated that this very little coming from the EFL with regards to this.
Questions from members:
How many/which other investors have you held discussions with?
Whilst the specific details must remain private between Dale and possible investors, the club have spoken to a number of possible investors with a view to taking the club forward
Why did you turn down the Altman/Marcelli approach?
Unfortunately, the club are bound by the non-disclosure agreement in place between both parties and are unable to go into details.
When did you become aware of the private shares transfer to Altman/Marcelli?
The club were made aware of the sale of the shares in October.
Are you aware of any other transfers of shares since June 2019 and if so how many and to whom?
The other significant trade in shares was the purchase of Martin McCleoud’s shares by Director Andrew Kelly.
With the share register now in the public domain, the Trust would be looking in depth into this and will report back to members about any significant changes.
How will the stadium be protected with any incoming investor?
It was stated that the stadium is already listed as an Asset of Community Value, listed up until 2024. The Board of Directors were very mindful in ensuring that any investment was for the best interests of the football club which carried a level of protection in itself. It was essential that the club brought in an investment to take the club to the next level.
Every manager since Steve Parkin had lamented the fact that we don’t have a training facility of our own, and this was essential for the club – not just one for the first team, but for the academy as well. It is vital that improvements are made to the infrastructure of the club. One club at our level was given as an example as earning £400,000 over a season from pre-match dining alone.
Amongst the changes being discussed by the EFL were stricter wage budgets at this level, and beyond that they were looking at bringing in rules ensuring self-sustainability – with the club currently reliant on transfer fees and cup runs, changes will be needed with the infrastructure of the club to help us achieve that.
We had some questions with regards to now postponed EGM. Due to the level of detail in the questions, these (questions) have been passed on to the club’s legal team, and will be reported back as soon as we can.
We had some questions regarding Dale Lotto. However, with two members of the Trust committee being Lotto agents, it was felt that it would more appropriate to hold a separate meeting when one of those could be present. We discussed this with the club and they are happy to arrange such a meeting with our Lottery Partners at Total Gaming Solutions present. When this meeting is arranged, we will notify Trust members.
This report was first emailed to Trust members’ on Tuesday 23rd June. If you’d like to receive Trust newsletters you can do so by joining the Trust for 2020-21 for just £5 at https://www.daletrust.co.uk/2020/06/trust-membership-opens-for-2020-21/