Summary of Fans Forum held on Thursday 22nd February 2024

In attendance – Lawrence Levy (LL), Matt Bigg (MB), Michael Hill (MH), Ian Rogers (IR), John McGowan (JMG), Jon Meakes (JM)

Club Visions and Values

These had been developed over a number of meetings and were applied to how the club conducts itself.

Our Club Vision

To be a financially sustainable Football Club that our city is proud of, playing in our own local,multi-purpose , carbon efficient stadium and delivering £1m social economic benefit to our community.

Club Values

Teamwork, Excellence, Sustainability, Inclusivity, Courage, Intengrity.

LL agreed this will be put on main club web site and responded to a request to have the information posted in the ground , this was agreed.

News about a new ground

LL explained that several locations had been looked at, Clarence Park is not sustainable , the club are working with the council for possible suitable sites and this work will be going into the local plan. If planning permission was granted in 12/18 months from now it would take ¾ years before a new ground was built. LL has spoken with a number of other clubs who are in a similar process to get information; LL added he now believes the council understand the importance of the football club to the local community.

A question was asked that in 2018 the club said we are close to getting a new ground , are we closer now?

LL said our plan at that time was not accepted by the council due to it being on green belt land.

A further question was asked regarding does the new ground rely on a housing development to fund it  ? And will supporters go to a new ground if located a distance away.

LL said funding for a new stadium relied on developer getting housing built and the football club are the key to unlocking a development site on green belt land, possibly residential and commercial of 300 houses would pay for the stadium , adding the club cannot continue relying on owners putting money in.

Regarding the location of a new ground the club have extensive data on who attends matches , where they live and what they spend at matches, this information will be used to develop a transport plan for the new ground MB outlined work he done with  Brighton and hove  Albion in  their  relocation.

In response to a question as to what is the difference now with the council compared to some time ago? JMG said the local and county councils are backing the club now.

Do we have a director of football?

LL said no the club is still looking at this post, it was going to be Harry Wheeler but then David Noble departed , at this point LL introduced Jon Meakes as the manager with Harry as coach.

LL was asked how the increase in crowds had come about.

He said it started with attendance by club personnel at school assemblies , it was not just one thing that had made crowds increase , the match day experience, food and drink outlets , the covered areas behind the goals, style of football and retaining supporters from the FA cup run in 2021 all had helped the increase.

What is the financial health of the club like right now?

LL said the same as always, the club is not sustainable , the FA cup money helped the running cost of the club going but for the first time in months the owners have had to put monies in to meet the wage bill.

A question was asked about the priority drinks app that season ticket plus holders have , LL said it is in place and is used MH added if any problems email the info email at club.

2 questions were asked about provision of away travel and what plans the club had, LL said there is no plan , IR is to write to MB on adding information on away travel and ticketing at away matches to go in the match day pack.

On the question of the deal with Mad Squirrel, JMG said it is a 3 year deal but drink prices are likely to increase at some point. the bars are to be upgraded and added our prices are still cheaper than local pubs.

The club has invested and pushed the academy with the philosophy of bringing players through the ranks into the first team. Will this philosophy be followed with appointment of John Meakes as he managed the reserves and has moved on. Will the club practice what they preach

JM said our philosophy is to get 2/3 players through the ranks , a number of players did play in pre season, but there is a big gap from the U23 to first team level. Thus we are sending players out on loan to gain experience.

A question was asked about Hemel Hempstead town FC whose development squad has a number of players who were with us , what are they doing differently?

LL talked about different approaches to recruiting young plares and their development.

JMG confirmed we have ground grading to meet National league standard but this was with 1 years grace.

Is it still the club's view - as it was around 3-4 years ago - that local media are 'irrelevant'?

LL said the club did not see local media was irrelevant but that the club wanted to grow it own output more to ensure relevant content , 3 years ago we had 70 people on our You Tube it is now 70,000, this is part of our community engagement. MB spoke about the relationship with the St Albans Times.

The club seems to be doing very well commercially and generating revenue on match days with the large crowds, food/bars, hospitality, sponsor etc. Why hasn't this been reflected in the first team in terms of the pedigree of the new signings who in general (with the exception of Rasulo and Partington) have not been regulars for their teams and played in lower divisions?

MB said he totally agreed with this sentiment , he went on to say we have limited resources and time to do everything but we have an upcoming interview with Kieran Gauthier on his football journey at the club as an example of promoting the U23 side.

NOTES OF PART 2 FANS FORUM 22nd FEBRUARY 2024

Jon Meakes (JM) was introduced and congratulated again on his appointment as Manager and recent team performances.

2 questions had been submitted in advance. Firstly, JM addressed his managerial philosophy in terms of style of play. He said he was at one with David Noble with a positive possession game. A quicker movement of the ball had been evident in recent games, apart from at Bath, but this reflected players returning from injury and an increase in confidence.

Secondly, a question about whether we relied too much on signings from Clubs in lower leagues. JM felt this wasn’t the case quoting players recruited from comparable Clubs or loan players. JM went on to describe the comprehensive scouting and analysis system in place. Also the strong relationship being built with a number of league clubs including Luton, Cambridge, Watford and Luton. If players were signed from less senior clubs it was to improve the team based on strong evidence.

Questions were then open to the floor. There was a discussion about plans for possible National Conference football. JM recognised the gap that existed and how promoted clubs had struggled this season. Most of our current players would probably not wish to go full time as they had secure alternative jobs. Lawrence Levy stated that going full time immediately was a big step and a phased approach was more likely. JM highlighted the need to bolster the squad and the strength of our scouting system.

The lack of appearances from Shaun Jeffers in the first half of the season, particularly given his scoring record before and since was raised. A supplementary question about whether it was linked to appearance money was asked. JM stated that it was purely for football reasons and Shaun had struggling to adapt to the shape and style of play of the team at the start of the season. He had worked hard to incorporate changes to his game and maintained a positive attitude. This had led to his success in recent games.

JM was asked whether any more signings were likely this season? The transfer deadline was 3rd week of March and JM felt it was unlikely that there would be more activity given the size and fitness of the current squad. Players were being sent out on loan to give them game time.  Ben Wyatt was very unlikely to play again this season.

The meeting then returned to prospects for the National Conference. Lawrence and JM both emphasised the Club wanted to go up but recognised the challenges and the need to build both on and off the pitch. Around 16 of the current squad were on contracts.

At that point the meeting concluded.