The Video will be Compromised and the VOTE will be Rigged as to whether Preston/Eben Step Down or not! You are All Gullible! As for this Season , Hopefully Jeremy will save it for us - because nobody else can, only maybe the New Centre Half if he ever gets a Game! C'mon Ned Kelly & Grace Kelly Tonight!
Did you bottle it last night or are you still going to carry on your keyboard warrior crusade. I don't think you did turn up last night because of all the questions you have asked if you are that interested why didn't you turn up.
The overall impression I had from last night's meeting was that Preston was trying to be realistic - I think he really wants to continue as co-chariman (hence the comments about recruiting players, CEO etc in the Summer), particularly after the improvements they have made over the last year following the disastrous 1st year, and he wants to continue with the progress into next season. However, he knows that there are a lot of people who will find it difficult to forgive the past and are understandably reluctant to give him a second chance.
As a couple of others have alluded to, what will be up for a vote is whether Eben and/or Preston should step down, not whether WAGMI should step down. The question will be whether whoever from WAGMI replaces Eben and/or Preston, if they are voted out, will be better equipped to improve the club than those two, given that they will presumably be starting with the same lack of knowledge of the Club and football that Eben and Preston started with 2 years ago.
I want them to stay and back the manager, they’ve clearly learnt a lot from last season. My question is if they are indeed voted out then who replaces them? Apart from a few investors we don’t actually know who sits on Wagmi’s board?
The Video will be Compromised and the VOTE will be Rigged as to whether Preston/Eben Step Down or not! You are All Gullible! As for this Season , Hopefully Jeremy will save it for us - because nobody else can, only maybe the New Centre Half if he ever gets a Game! C'mon Ned Kelly & Grace Kelly Tonight!
Did you bottle it last night or are you still going to carry on your keyboard warrior crusade. I don't think you did turn up last night because of all the questions you have asked if you are that interested why didn't you turn up.
I no longer attend RIGGED Meetings. I had enough of them at Natwest Bank.
I was there too. A different Preston to the one I have seen before, much more reflective without so much of the bravado. He mentioned his health issues last year, also a panic attack before the Hartlepool game, and had clearly been under some stress.
I'm convinced he is moving on (maybe WAGMI too) - he said several times that he may only have 2 months left, tonight might well be his last game at Crawley etc.
That to me explained most of the answers - CEO/commercial to be addressed in the summer, ticket prices to be addressed, SL contract to be considered in the summer, player contracts to be reviewed in the summer (maximum flexibility re next year squad etc), every player has their price etc. He gave Eben quite a bit of credit too. It all sounded like they wanted to give incoming people as much flexibility as possible.
He mentioned play offs a few times without really sounding convincing. But let's be honest we would all have taken top 12/14 after last season.
The only thing that spared much debate was the ground, there were comments for and against, which is understandable.
Tom Allman came across really well I must say. Sounded really professional. The club has 5 full time staff off the field and they must be working furiously to keep all the plates spinning. Plus the outlook on commercial side seems to be promising.
A little intervention at the end from the Safety Officer who gave a talk on flares (or whatever they are called).
I still think a change of owners is needed (ideally with owners who are UK based) but as I mentioned in a question people ready to put in £1.5m a year are probably not queueing up outside the Broadfield.
Overall a few questions were ducked a bit but it was a reasonable hour spent.
WAGMI walked in with a plan only to have to fire the manager and handle all the baggage that went with it,then yes it looked like disastrous replacement decisions but then under pressure they found our saviour Lindsey.We now look in a safe league position we have the cheapest tickets,the players have the best training facilities ever so why don't we give WAGMI a chance to see where they can take us?
WAGMI walked in with a plan only to have to fire the manager and handle all the baggage that went with it,then yes it looked like disastrous replacement decisions but then under pressure they found our saviour Lindsey.We now look in a safe league position we have the cheapest tickets,the players have the best training facilities ever so why don't we give WAGMI a chance to see where they can take us?
After watching the video I will be surprised if Preston is here next season. Spoke highly of Eben and all the work he has put in. I expect lots to be announced in the coming months. New front of shirt sponsor. I got the impression that there is a lot going on in the background but unable to enlighten the supporters yet. Preston comes across as genuine person who wants the best for Crawley Town.
Having watched the whole of the videod meeting I could see nothing to be negative about, Preston and Tom answered all the questions fully and honestly.When Preston mentioned watching his last match and not being at the club in a few months time this was obviously a reference to the changing the directors clause and for one I think we would be mad not to intrust the clubs future in them.
It does explain the belt tightening but as long as they are prepared to loan money to the club to keep it going then it's not particularly concerning.
Managed debt is normal - lots of owners "lend" money to clubs to keep them going. What matters is the expectation about what happens to the money. There are a number of options - as it is a loan, Wagmi could call it in tomorrow and fold the club but why would they do that?
Like many owners up and down the country they could dilute their exposure by having a share sale, they could waive the loan entirely, or more likely in my opinion, this will be factored in to any future sale price for anyone wanting to buy the club.
There are also tax benefits to keeping the money in the club as a loan - managed debt is fine as long as it is managed - we have all seen how Mike Ashley buys debt to eventually own companies (similar to Tiny Rowland before him, if anyone remembers him).
Although the club lost around £4 million, after August 2023 and the changes made to the playing staff, we are unlikely to see that level of loss again - most of it arose from their initial insistence in offering the existing players at that time large contract increases and when they came in and made silly offers to players such as Dom Telford. These actions have not been repeated.