If you want to read the whole thing, go here: https://www.thstofficial.com/thst-news/thstthfc-board-to-board-meeting-minutes Here's some of the key parts to come from the meeting, which I'll try to arrange into some kind of order. There's things that will make sense and there's things that will make sense until you think about them for a few moments; there's things you'll agree with and things you won't; there's questions being answered and there's questions being dodged - all in all, there's some answers, some answers you already knew, and some questions that certainly aren't answered... PART ONE: THE NEW STADIUM Why we're building a new stadium The impact of Financial Fair Play means that revenues have to be increased in order to compete regularly. As an illustration, THFC’s match day revenue currently stand at £1m compared to Arsenal’s £3m, so the need to build a larger capacity stadium was clear There was an acknowledgment from THFC that a bigger stadium was absolutely crucial to help Spurs to move into the bracket occupied by the top 5. In terms of stadium size, WHL is the 10th largest in the Premier League. In terms of revenue, THFC currently rank 6th in the Premier League with the 6th highest wage bill. Of the largest 20 clubs in the world, THFC has the smallest stadium Why WHL isn't being redeveloped THST questioned why WHL couldn’t be redeveloped to increase capacity. THFC confirmed that this option had been explored. Reasons for rejecting it included the fact that the maximum capacity for a redeveloped WHL would only be 40,000. Construction would take 3-4 seasons with capacity reduced by 8,000 seats during the build phase. There were further restrictions owing to the proximity of the stadium to surrounding roads etc. It was too small an increase in capacity (4,000), compromised size and did not justify the cost or satisfy the need for a greater capacity THFC referenced a consultation undertaken in 2008 where redevelopment of the existing stadium was effectively ruled out The NIMBY Regarding the outstanding CPO on Archway Steel, THFC said all efforts had been made to reach agreement with the Josif family over the past 12 years. Deals had been agreed only for them to be rejected at the last minute. Their intention was to cause delay. The Club said it has relocated over 70 businesses amicably but has been unable to accommodate Archway. Archway were now challenging the legality of the CPO in order to cause further delay. The High Court appeal is scheduled for 15/16 January 2015 THST questioned whether the amount of money needed to buy out Archway Steel was significant when considered against the effect of delays and loss of revenue that failure to reach agreement had caused. THFC reiterated that this was not a straightforward matter of paying an excessive amount Why the club won't be playing at WHL during construction of WHL2 Many reasons were cited with the most material being the level of risk associated with construction and the length of the build programme which would impact on banks’ confidence in the project. When the project was originally proposed in 2007, banks were less risk averse. The recession had resulted in banks becoming more risk averse THFC stressed that moving away for a season was not a cheap or easy option – in part because of rent costs associated with sharing a stadium - and was not something they wanted to do. But the Club felt it has to move PART TWO: PLANS FOR WHILE STADIUM IS REBUILT Ground share Having covered the reasoning for needing to move away from WHL for a season, THFC outlined the options for alternative venues. These were Upton Park, Olympic Stadium, Wembley and Stadium MK Milton Keynes THST reiterated their opposition to a move to Stadium MK, a stance based on location, travel costs, loss of club identity and association with franchise football THFC stressed the need to keep all options open at this time THST asked for assurances fans would be fully consulted once discussions had progressed THST also requested a Season Ticket amnesty during any period away from WHL and THFC confirmed this was being explored, along with assisted travel packages There was a recognition that a ground share was far from ideal, and that if you’re a Tottenham fan, you want to stay in Tottenham THST asked for reassurances any period away from WHL would be for one season only. THFC confirmed that this is the plan whilst acknowledging that delays could occur with a construction project of this size PART THREE: ENIC'S PLANS Vision for the club THST asked for ENIC’s long term commitment to THFC, as further takeover rumours had been circulating. There was confirmation that no talks were on-going and ENIC were not seeking interests, having been here for 14 years already. However, given the wider shareholder base there was a duty to consider should anything arise Again, FFP was referenced and THST flagged the need for further information to be given to fans on this area, where there was a belief this wouldn’t be implemented and there were loop holes that could be exploited. THFC stressed both the PL and UEFA had FFP rules and there was little scope to manoeuvre here In terms of short term strategy, THFC explained that funds were available at the end of the season to spend on players. Obviously, should the Club progress in various cup competitions or finish higher up the league, this amount would increase, along with any other monies from player trading This meant development of younger players through the academy and projects such as the new stadium was vital in order to compete THFC stated £180m net had been spent on players in the past 13 years, along with £110m on the NDP and £60m on the Training Centre. Once again it was underlined how critical the new stadium was to the future ambitions of the Club PART FOUR: THE FIRST TEAM Poch There was backing for Mauricio Pochettino from both THST members and THFC, who felt confident in his ability as a coach and one who believed in the philosophy of the Club THFC referenced it was early days for Pochettino. The summer had been truncated by the World Cup and it would take time to establish his style of play Player recruitment THFC confirmed that player recruitment was a collaborative process where the Head Coach would identify the positions where cover was needed. The D of F and scouting team would then provide names from which the Head Coach would make his final choice THST questioned the balance of players being purchased. Successful teams in the past had had a mix of flair players and uncompromising, gritty players. The latter was, in THST’s opinion, lacking at present Results Owing to the meeting taking place mid season, THFC were cautious of commenting on matters on field, a stance which THST respected PART FIVE: TICKET PRICES Ticket pricing THST acknowledged the freeze on ST and match day prices for this season but expressed disappointment that the price points that could be moved, had been i.e. cup games The 25% increase in UEL pricing was raised by THST as a factor in lower attendances this season. THST sought assurances that this would be taken into consideration when agreeing pricing for the rounds of 32 and 16, should Spurs progress, and for next season’s UEL matches, should Spurs qualify THFC confirmed this had been heard and would be considered, while making the point that ticket pricing was not the only factor affecting attendances THST also asked for all Gold and Platinum members to be emailed in advance of autopay runs for cup games. This was agreed by THFC Booking fees THST also raised booking fees, in particular on Multi Game Packages, where the charging of booking fees per game was felt to be grossly unfair. THFC confirmed talks are underway with Ticketmaster and booking fees would be discusse StubHub THST reiterated their position on the StubHub partnership, which is opposed on the grounds that a resale facility should be a service and not a revenue generator. THST urged THFC not to renew the contract, which is due to expire in May 2015 and confirmed they are in discussions with providers around an ethical exchange scheme, which will be passed onto the Club THFC stated that the StubHub deal was a commercial one and that commercial revenue was vital owing to FFP, but they would review. The amendments in respect of flipping and pricing levels were acknowledged as positive outcomes of the dialogue PART SIX: THE MATCHDAY EXPERIENCE Lack of Saturday 3pm games THST flagged the frequency of Sunday 1.30pm kick offs and questioned whether this was down to managerial choice. THFC stated that kick off times were solely down to TV scheduling both in the UK and globally and this would be discussed with BT Sport, Sky and other broadcasters shortly Decline in atmosphere The decline in atmosphere was discussed. THST confirmed the surfing flag was due for imminent delivery. There was backing from the THFC Board for the Drum, which had returned for the Asteras match and was also welcomed at COC matches, alongside UEL games THST stressed that the crowd needed a spark on field to react to as much as the players needed crowd support. Whilst booing during a match or singling out an individual player was felt to be counter-productive, THST defended the fans’ right to express dissatisfaction at the final whistle THST stated that fans don’t boo losing. They boo the manner of the performance HFC acknowledged that full capacity stadiums were needed to create a good atmosphere also Flag policy/#LevyOut Questions were raised by THST around THFC’s flag policy and, in particular, the removal of the #LevyOut protest banner at the Stoke City match. THFC stated this had caused disagreement amongst fans with contrary views who did not agree with the banner and had thus been removed. THST questioned this as a legitimate reason, drawing attention to protests articulated by other fans at other clubs without significant conflict breaking out and putting the view that fans had a right to express their opinions. THFC maintained its position that the guiding principle was removing anything which caused an issue in the stands THST suggested THFC better articulate their flag policy as there was confusion around this. THFC reiterated their policy of refusing entry to any flags of a political or religious nature or anything with content likely to cause offence. Their opinion being watching football should be about supporting the team as opposed to displaying political affinities PART SEVEN: EVERYTHING ELSE The Special Relationship THFC explained how the original partnership had revolved around access to younger players. This required buy in and co-operation between both sets of coaching staff, which hadn’t transpired THFC confirmed that in terms of tangible benefits, the partnership was not active Use of DoF Relating to the Director of Football role, THFC pointed to Southampton, Manchester City and Chelsea all working to this model BAE THST asked a member’s question around Benoit Assou-Ekotto. THFC confirmed he was still under contract and remained on the payroll. He was not training with the first team and is not included in the 25 man squad for this season Testimonial for Dawson THST asked whether THFC would consider organising a testimonial for Michael Dawson. This is something we’re pleased to report is being discussed
Completely fobbed off. No real answers just standard corporate bull . A real wasted opportunity but to be expected from the regime . Many on twitter , other forums have called it a disgrace and the THST toothless , with not representing them . Not challenging the diatribe spill is a major issue for many. I hope both parties enjoyed the prawn sandwiches . .
Interesting read I think hbic. Reactions on Twitter have been very mixed, praising the fact that THST are trying to ask the difficult questions (while still being a smaller trust with a lower profile than some others) but slamming THFC and particularly Levy for being evasive with some of the answers and hiding behind FFP as justifications for some key decisions. The player recruitment point was interesting. It seems that the DoF and scouts look at players in particular positions specified by the manager and come back with a list of players a, b and c. But what if Pochettino wants player x, y or z, can he request that they be scouted or is he limited to the shortlist given to him? Edit: Sid I think your point about THST being mis-representative has to be counterbalanced by the fact that THST as it is today is still a young trust, with only ~4000 members. Its still growing and its a far from perfect entity, and certainly nothing to be compared to Spirit of Shankly or MUST yet, which appear to be far stronger and better organised. Hopefully regarding THST, membership will continue to grow and it will as a result represent a larger variety of fans than it does right now as a result of that growth.
The club does seem to have a real problem when it comes to communicating with the fans, with the new stadium being the most obvious example of this (as was the fence-sitting by the club during the whole Yid chant non-furor, and the lack of an answer when discussing rumours of playing outside of Tottenham, or even London is telling), which is causing a certain amount of unrest on its own. I do have to wonder why the THST asked about Benny, though - we know he's still at the club and he;s not in the first team squad, so asking was a waste of a question.
Same old rubbish by Spurs, basically saying don't question us but keep giving us your money. This isn't the club I fell in love with.
I am actually appalled at the charging of booking fees for multi game packages, frankly if someone buys a package of 6 games, then surely only one booking fee is appropriate. And as for the waffle response to the Stub Hub scheme, well sadly this is typical of he way the club is these days.
Stub hub and booking fees are outragous imo. stub hub is legalised ticket touting...the tickets should only be allowed to be sold at face value...plus a set fee ... instead 40 quid tickets are being sold for 3 times that amount...and they wonder why the atmosphere is ****. and as for booking charges...there is no justification for members to be charged...there are no tickets to be printed or posted as they are put onto members cards...I got 3 tickets for me and my daughters to the coc match and was charged a total of £7.50 in booking fees...the tickets came to 63 quid...so it comes to over 12% etc. for nothing
I thought the clubs were pretty honest and open. It's good to finally hear what the agreement with Real was supposed to be and admitting that it hasn't happened. Would've liked to hear some questioning on money available to the manager and plans for the future as I don't think we're going to turn this around by continually having a net profit in the transfer market. Being a tough club to deal with is absolutely the right way to go about things when it's going well but when it's going badly. I don't care if Siggurdsson has been sold and now looks like a bargain and I don't care if it happens with more players in the future, keeping hold of players the manager doesn't want is detrimental to the whole club. It slows down our ability to get players, wastes time that could be spent on younger players getting chances or new players settling and getting our team going forward again.
Thanks for the informative thread, HBIC. I’m not particularly impressed or depressed by the information. It’s about what I would have expected. It is interesting to me that most people blame the players and not the manager for our bad start. I’ll leave it at that for fear of derailing the thread. I hope THST continues to grow and become more influential, especially regarding playing at MK Dons. That’s one that just doesn’t make any sense to me. I guess the club is saying every better option won’t work. It’s funny how huge an impact safe standing could have on our club, and on the nature of the PL competition in general. Let it in and a club could double its attendance without spending anything any time they stared playing successful, attractive football. It would make it a lot likelier for a mid-table club to get much bigger quickly, and avoid the risk of building a new stadium.
Some have said ENIC have also tried to screw Archway too during the haggling. So difficult to know whose word to take on this one.
ENIC seemed to come to an agreement with everyone else and the court order backs them too, but you wouldn't put it past either side to have been trying it on.
A shame we didn't include a clause in the deal to stop Factitious reneging on it. Something that would make any transfer between the clubs null and void, or more realistically something that states they'd have to pay the transfer fee in full rather than over a period of time to duck FFP regulations.
I have seen one claim where ENIC allegedly tried to pull the rug at the last moment on the amount when the deal was nearly done. Exactly when this allegedly occurred, I know not. Also whenever I enquire as to where they will be specifically be offered a relocation site, nobody seems to have an answer (I assume road links are quite important to them - they are close to the A10 / A406 etc) .
