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Paul Barber on communication, transparency, finances, the fans and club staff



Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,575
Back in Sussex
Paul Barber took time to read the Albion losing one million a month? thread and responded to me with some points on various aspects raised. I'm posting them in a separate thread so they get the attention they deserve.

As I have a day job, the presentation is pretty raw. I've provided the grouping and headings, not Paul, so blame me for structure.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: although there are decisions made that I disagree with, and there are aspects of the matchday experience that annoy me, I have massive amounts of faith in the (off the pitch) team assembled to look after our football club and the detail below only reinforces my view on that.

Anyway, here it is...

Communication and transparency

The one theme that Albion fans consistently relate to me (wherever I go and whenever I meet them) is that the “bad years” - and even some that followed - were typified by a lack of transparency and openness from senior management of the club. I’m sure this is at the root of much of the distrust that exists (from what seems to be a small but vocal group of fans) today – and, as a football fan of 40 plus years, I sympathise hugely with what went on and the struggles that followed.

My style, supported by Tony and the Board, is to be as open and as transparent as I can possibly be; and I'd like to think I’ve demonstrated this – consistently - since the day I arrived. From time to time, I’m prepared (and I’m backed by the board to do this) to tell it how it is; for me, it’s somewhat ironic that all of a sudden, for some supporters, this openness is “spin”, “ill-advised”, “slight of hand” or “disingenuous” (someone will have to explain that to me!).

The club’s openness manifests in a variety of ways but for me is most pertinent when Tony and myself (and other senior people) do more unrehearsed, unscripted, "take on any question that comes" fans forums than this club has ever done – bad years or not.

The open approach means that I make myself totally accessible to staff, sponsors and supporters - and I personally answer every e–mail I receive and, where appropriate and wherever possible, I will tell supporters how it is even if it’s not what they want to hear. I don’t duck questions asked of me in any forum but, by the same token, I’m also prepared to defend the club when a supporter is unfair, unreasonable or plain offensive.

I take time to explain things in detail where I feel it’s necessary (but for some this is patronising), while other times I’ll be short and to the point (or, as some would have it: arrogant). Sometimes I feel I can’t win in this job!

I don’t expect medals or praise for this; it’s the way I have chosen to do the job (although some of my fellow CEOs think I’m crazy!). Regardless, for me, this is the best way to run a football club because people know where they stand, they feel more connected, and there are a minimum number of surprises.


Club finances

Like most Championship clubs, this club is losing a lot of money; we know this, the owner knows it, the board knows it, the staff know it, the media knows it – and, yes, the supporters should know it too. We don’t make a secret of it because we’ve nothing to hide; there’s no creative accounting, no tricks, it is what it is and there’s nothing for us to gain by presenting things any other way

We’re managing it, (we like to think!) we know what we’re doing, and, closely monitored by a board made up of 7 vastly experienced non executive directors (and only 3 executive directors), it’s part of a controlled strategy to get out of this division, backed by our owner (who some people seem to forget - or gloss over - has already invested over £200 million in this football club).

As I've repeatedly explained, Championship revenues – even the best of them like ours – do not produce income to support a promotion-chasing playing budget. As such, and as much as we want to be self-sufficient, we rely on Tony’s generous subsidy (other Championship-challenging clubs are similarly subsided by their owners or through parachute payments or, in some cases, both!


Fans working with the club, not against it

It’s why everyone in this club gets hugely irritated when they read supporters encouraging others to "stop buying season tickets", "stop attending matches", "don’t buy the merchandise", or "drink and eat elsewhere" when everyone at the club is trying so hard to raise revenues to support our playing budget and reduce the dependency on Tony.

Everyone is of course entitled to spend their hard earned money how and where they wish, but often those behaving in this way are the same characters demanding a bigger playing budget or criticising the club for failing to sign certain players; to us, to be totally honest, it’s a very odd mentality and it makes little sense. Thankfully, again, it’s a very small number of people .


The BBC 'Price of Football' survey

We’re not a public company, so, even though we could, we do not need to “steer” people on our annual results - or feel the need to use information at certain times to defend a BBC survey!

With the greatest respect to the poster that suggested this, we are simply responding to questions the survey raised not orchestrating some Machiavellian plot to divert attention from our own accounts or from something – season ticket pricing - that’s been in the public domain for five months or more!

Again, let’s be clear, we have never claimed to have the cheapest tickets - and the BBC have not revealed anything that wasn’t already in the public domain about our pricing or anyone else’s. They have created headlines by taking a simplistic view of ticket pricing and failing to reflect the added value that we – and some other clubs – offer to their season ticket holders. For me, this is disingenuous at best, mis-leading and unfair at worst.


More on Club finances

Given that we do have a small number of shareholders, I do however need to be respectful of their investment on our club and therefore the timing of our accounts follows our financial year and the statutory reporting period we are required to follow; again, nothing sinister in this: we have reporting deadlines to our auditors, to the Football League and to Companies House – and we follow them.

Unfortunately, without getting in to the specifics of last year’s numbers, I’m not a miracle worker so the notion of me “eliminating” losses in just over 2 years is a little ridiculous and for the poster that suggested this was my job shows a lack of understanding of how any business operates, let alone a football club’s finances.

However, as I state in this week’s programme notes, we continue to increase income and to reduce our costs; of course, this work is ongoing but most importantly it has allowed us to maintain our football budgets despite a lower central contribution from the Football League and new FFP constraints meaning Tony’s contribution must be reduced.

At the same time, we have opened and are running a hugely expanded (and therefore expensive) training ground and academy; from our work to increase income and reduce (other) operational costs, we must fund this (and all that sails in it).

We will not always be able to give supporters what they want; we will not always agree with every complaint they make; we won’t always give in to unreasonable demands. We must establish policies and procedures that reflect the size of our club and the season ticket holders we now service. Yes, this is different from the Withdean and Gillingham years, but so are the numbers involved!


Albion staff and directors

I’m incredibly proud of the hard work our staff – all of them - have put in to help us boost income and become more efficient in the past two years or so – and, indeed, since the Amex opened; this stuff doesn’t happen by accident and it takes a lot of planning, effort, and skill to deliver. This club is very lucky to employ some very talented and very hard working people at all levels. Fortunately, many fans appreciate this and regularly email the staff with messages of support and thanks – which helps!

Finally, around the board room table, we have 10 people – including one that has invested over £200 million of his own money, several others who have spent a lifetime following and supporting this football club (and have intimate knowledge of everything that’s happened before), a few that have spent the best part of half a century of their career running professional football clubs, and a few others that have built, run, and, in some cases, sold businesses far bigger and far more complex than this one; the vast majority of our board live locally and face supporters every day.


Summing up


If there is a more open, transparent, accountable, hard-working group of people than those that own, run, or are employed by this football club, then I’ve not come across them in my business career – and I’be been lucky enough to work with many great people in some fantastic organisations; I'd really like to think that the majority of supporters would take heart and confidence from the way we do things.
 








BobbySmith

New member
Oct 25, 2004
844
Worthing
Good response from the Club. like Bozza, there are things that I think could be improved, but I deal with some large companies and can confirm that, although not perfect, the club is in very good hands, from the owner, shareholders and staff, we are lucky to be in the position we are in and if the fans don't appreciate that, then think you should find another club to support, as I don't think you will find another club as well run and have progressed so much in the last few years to form the foundations of a wonderful football club for our and our kids and grandkids future.
 




Tony Meolas Loan Spell

Slut Faced Whores
Jul 15, 2004
18,067
Vamanos Pest
Im off the hook then. As I buy the merch, the beer and the food and so I can criticise that we bought (at the moment shit) midgets to replace our striker.
 








jasetheace

New member
Apr 13, 2011
712
I do not have a problem with any of that. Except there is one thing missing. Respect for Accounting periods or not it is possible to give the fans a steer on where this current years huge transfer surplus currently leaves the club from a comfort perspective. Paul should not then fear us turning round and saying...oh well you can afford to loosen the purse strings a bit....as the vast majority of us can make informed financial decisions given the entrepreneurial nature of this city and the hinterlands.
 




willyfantastic

New member
Mar 1, 2009
2,368
I like Barber - you don't get many people who consistently give this much of their time to respond to the fans. He seems frustrated by NSC, and rightfully so - the amount of complete bollocks people spout on here so often is embarrassing

There's a good reason he's in charge and we aren't
 




Tim Over Whelmed

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 24, 2007
10,165
Arundel
and this is a classic example of why I feel we couldn't be in better hands, what more can people want than someone who is prepared to answer the questions and criticism and face it head on? (There will now follow comments about being sycophantic) Top man, strong and courageous board with a plan to get us to The Premiership in a sustainable manner.
 


Blue Valkyrie

Not seen such Bravery!
Sep 1, 2012
32,165
Valhalla
Excellent statement from Paul Barber.

All very reasonable, and good to be reminded that there is a lot of hard work going on to reduce the losses and drive the club upwards.
 


Napier's Knee

New member
Mar 23, 2014
1,099
West Sussex
Excellent answers from Paul - we are a magnificently run football club. From Archer to this is amazing. I'm so proud of this club.
 






CheeseRolls

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jan 27, 2009
5,922
Shoreham Beach
For the conspiracy theorists;

1 Why is the Chief Executive wasting time on an Internet forum ?
2 Why is Bozza so cosy with the club ?
3 Is the club now monitoring everything that is said on NSC ?


For the rest of us - I imagine thanks are due for taking the time to respond and or pass on the feedback.
 


clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
Can't argue too much with what he has said, but, as alluded to in his comments the aim of the club is to get to the Premiership. Does the board really think that by buying 'strikers' from League One that is do-able?

I know that there never is any guarantee of success by 'spending money' but giving a just relegated striker a 3 year contract does not say to me that is money well invested. Have the board not learned lessons from the CMS 'experiment'?
 


The Large One

Who's Next?
Jul 7, 2003
52,343
97.2FM
I do not have a problem with any of that. Except there is one thing missing. Respect for Accounting periods or not it is possible to give the fans a steer on where this current years huge transfer surplus currently leaves the club from a comfort perspective. Paul should not then fear us turning round and saying...oh well you can afford to loosen the purse strings a bit....as the vast majority of us can make informed financial decisions given the entrepreneurial nature of this city and the hinterlands.

How can you make an 'informed financial decision' when you don't know the trading figures?

You're only using the one criterion of unconfirmed transfer receipts / expenditure as your all-encompassing guide to what could be spent. Even if the fans did know, rightly or wrongly, it's not a democracy as to what or whom the club should spend its money on.

Do you know how the club is doing financially regarding other forms of income / outgoings in order to make your irrelevant informed financial decision?
 




Publius Ovidius

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
45,919
at home
Oh Christ..he has had a go at me for being a bad, non eating and buying tat, fan.

What has happened to the 8 million we received for ulloa? Has that gone into the pot or has that been ring Fenced?
 





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