Notes of Fans Forum held on Thursday 19th June 2025

In attendance

Lawrence Levy (LL) Tony Gauthier ( TG) Harry Wheeler (HW) Ian Culverhouse (IC) Paul Bastock (PB), Ian Rogers ( IR)

 

Ian Rogers Supporters Trust chair opened the forum and thanked the club officials for their attendance

 

LL said this was a long awaited forum, alluded to key issue being ticket prices and briefly explained TG role at the club.

 

He said relegation last season was a blip in the journey the owners had started on in 2011 , he went on to say that the previous season had incurred a loss of £200k which he and John McGowan had funded and said there was no profiteering by the owners.

The cost of living had affected everyone including the football club for example the cost of utilities , the club has 3 sources of income , admission charges, merchandise and sponsorship.

He made a comparison of Clarence Park against Hemel Hempstead Town FC who owned a larger site and were able to generate non match day revenue. He cited the recent Brewfest which was cancelled .

LL then went on to say that the club officials had agreed on the ticket pricing in order to have a competitive playing budget and that IR had been in attendance and voiced the views of the Supporters Trust that pricing should reflect the league we are in , he mentioned the loss of National league sponsorship .

 

LL explained the longer term need to have a sustainable club and that they were engaged in dialogue with the council regarding a new ground. He said the future is bright for the club but is very tough right now for supporters and some decisions were going to be unpopular but the owners feel this right for the longer term and that they will still need to provide funding to the club.

 

Question from the floor, We understand the need to fund the club but the pricing is wrong, it should be £16 on the gate and if you want to maximise revenue a £315 season ticket will not sell at that price the average price in this league is £190 and suggested £250 was more acceptable , also the pricing for a 12 year old at £60 is wrong.

 

LL said if we reduce prices the playing budget will be the same as Lewes for example and we will not keep our best players. He added we will live by what we have done and prices will not change and asked for supporters ideas on attracting more revenue.

 

A suggestion was put forward that the club should look for more investors , LL said this was the case and spoke about only having a 5 year licence on the ground and the restrictions placed on Clarence Park adding what is there for an investor to invest in?, Mention was made of the club having to maintain the ground unlike the cricket club who the council undertook work for.

 

LL asked what fans thought about a new ground and spoke about sustainability.

A project in 2019/20 had looked at using Westminster Lodge to redeveloping as a ground but it would have an athletics track and cited Chelmsford City ground, adding the council do not want s there anyway.

He went onto say another fans forum would be set up specifically to look at the new ground issues and fans engagement in it.

He refreed back to the playing budget saying it is not a step 3 budget.

LL confirmed the new ground would be owned by SACFC and there will be a covenant on the ground to protect it which is part of the planning condition .

A question was asked as to what modelling was done to set pricing , LL said none was used.

 

The club has sold 24 season tickets to date compared to 48 like for like this time last year

A supporter commented that this policy of pricing will lose community engagement and integrity.

 

There was a general dissent amongst all supporters prsent and a number said they will not attend home matches .

A question was asked about where the money from the in ground franchising go to? LL said was 20% of their income .

A further point was asked “ At what point with 24 season tickets sold does your plan fall apart?

Adding is there a plan B?

 

LL threw out a challenge to supporters to come up with ideas to raise funds adding the club are investing in the playing budget.

A comment was made about the clubs communication to fans, saying it was patronising had the wrong tone , better communication would have softened to the blow of price increases

LL said there had been problems with social media , a further comment said the post match interviews were too soft on the manager and not challenging.

 

LL was asked if he accepted the last time there had been an increase to £18 it had lost 26% in those attending?

LL said apart from the FA cup season the owners had had to put funding in to keep the club running.

 

A volunteer said it was they who would face the vitriol of supporters on the gate and that they received no recognition for their efforts no pat on the back , LL said he will address this.

 

A question was asked as to what the price is on the gate is it £16.50 or £18 not clear on the web site , LL again referred to ongoing media problems.

 

Mention was made of fans podcast which had a large following where pricing and communication were topics a strong view was made that the club had gor the pricing all wrong

 

LL said he will take the views expressed at this forum away but he had to deal with the facts financially in front of him.

A comment was made that if the club reflected on what had been said tonight they would see sales increase.

 

LL rounded of the session by explaining the high cost of providing training facilities at local schools for the team.

 

Harry Wheeler (HW) Ian Culverhouse (IC) Paul Bastock (PB), Tony Gauthier (TG), Duncan McLeod (DM).

DM opened the second half of the forum by thanking the management team for attending, before opening the floor to questions.

A supporter asked how the Director of Football role works. HW explained that it is a collaborative relationship and approach, and that he works very closely with Ian Culverhouse and the entire management team.

PB was asked why no goalkeeper has been arrived as of yet. He confirmed that a goalkeeper has signed, but that they need to wait until the end of June before they can announce it.

HW commented that while we do not have the biggest budget, the management team of Ian Culverhouse, Paul Bastock and Joe Simpson have huge appeal and pull for players.

IC was asked about Zane Banton re-signing, and he said that Zane was very upset about relegation after the Truro City game. Conversations about Zane re-signing started early on and he is delighted to have him here.

A question from the floor asking what the biggest appeal of the Club is to prospective signings. HW commented that it is the people and the exposure that they get from play for St Albans City. Players are provided the time and attention to develop.

PB stated that due diligence on whether players are a right fit for the squad and Club is a big part of their research into potential signings. He said that this was unfortunately a problem with last seasons squad. He then emphasised that they want to get the Club back to where it should be.

A supporter asked about whether the squad will be as reliant on loan players this coming season. IC explained that they hope to have a squad of around 22 players, and that they want this to be made up of St Albans players, including a few players who have progressed through from the academy, and not loan signings.

TG was then asked about the state of the pitch last. TG said that the big issue is that water pressure is so low at Clarence Park, and that an updated sprinkler system would cost £75,000.

Renovations are ongoing on the pitch, and 40 tonnes more sand has been used already compared to last summer. The pitch will also have 2 and half extra weeks of recovery during the off-season.

TG commented that last year a Luton game was hosted that probably shouldn’t have been, as it ended up causing long term issues. It was also been agreed for the forthcoming season that the Under 23’s will play their games elsewhere when the weather is bad.

A question regarding the budget this season was asked, and HW explained that it will probably be the 7th or 8th biggest in the division but has been slightly increased upon from last season.

IC commented that while there will be Clubs with bigger budgets, he is excited about the squad being built and wants to give the fans a squad to be proud of.

IC was asked why goals were such a struggle to come by last season. He explained that a lot of balls were delivered into the box, but the players in there didn’t get first contact. The new squad now has wide players who can deliver a quality ball in, and they also have a lot of confidence in Harrison Smith. George Sippetts is also another local lad who wants to be at the Club.

A question from the floor regarding Alex Wall re-signing was posed, and IC commented that the squad this coming season is one that has variation and different options compared to last. Alex Wall provides a different option, and in some games the play style will need to go longer. Wall wasn’t fit when he originally joined, but is working on that the moment and knows that he won’t be starting every game next season.

A fan commented that a lot of goals conceded last season came late on in games, and IC replied by saying that too many points were left out on the pitch and the issues behind that was often to do with keeping focus and having the right mentality.

IC explained that the players coming in this summer have experience and the right mentality. The squad lacked a leader last season, but that wont be an issue this coming season.

HW followed up by saying that at key moments last season the players were not good enough, and that the whole management team is working to recognise those areas of concern and learn from them.

DM then closed out the session by thanking the speakers and the supporters for attending.