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....present Carson, Holt, Gray and Iffy in for King.......SSW was there with Mickey at his side....reminded me of King Theoden and Grima Wormtongue.

  James Wills who I've yet to see at one of these was reelected as was Gray.

 A copy of SSW letter was handed out and the Trust handed out their response......and not much more was said on this matter.

 The accounts were signed off....Gray mumbled something about the next set , and was asked to speak up.....so Holt took over from then.

 Complaints were registered about the inconvenient timing of the meeting and  an evening was requested next time.

 Holt was quizzed about the losses amassed on this Board's watch and the response was.....that's football.

 Of particular interest was a question about the CVA payment of 900K in 2007......for which there is no contingency beyond that it wil happen if the CG gets the nod.....but if it doesn't there'll be no club.

 This questioner then probed about the state of play with St Modwen...which is still precarious but not dead. Carson intimated that outline plans had been lodged with teh Council and they had been hoping for good news but this was delayed. These plans are the clubs not St M or any other developer, but they'd hope another could be found if ST M pull out.

 Failing this they will look to franchise the club to another town.

 Iffy gave an interesting overview of the club from his perspective, and his hopes for youth development.....he comes over well and seems to be enjoying his role.

 Asked  whether a large number of the youth might get a deal of involvement this season to augment the 1st team squad as a matter of policy, he was a little evasive, but didn't rule it out.

 Another point of interest is that planning permission still exists for a Stratton Bank stand....which has to take into account nearby houses...but as I've pointed out on numerous occasions the 94, wasn't stopped by the residents but because the club couldn't afford to carry on.

 A redevelopment would concentrate on other areas of the ground for Hotel conferencing etc.

 Can't be arsed to type more.....but will if something important comes to mind.

Some interesting points there.

Not particularly good to hear about not having any contingency plans for the CVA payment.  Surely this is of such massive importance they should be looking at some?

Also the franchising of the club to another town......... :evil:

Cheers Mr Smeeton, very useful summary there as I'm sure others will agree :nod:

Cheers Reg.

Looks like we are definitely in the last chance saloon regarding CVA payment and the CG redevelopment then.

 SSW's letter apart from containing the slagging of the Trust does suggest that the best way for fans to help is to lobby the Council.....I know you live outside teh town, bu ti don't think that makes your opinion any the less worthwhile as you can indicate the importance of STFC as a beacon for interest in the town from a regional perspective.

 Eric Beint got rid of the Borough of Thamesdown from Burnley.

Reg, a daft question, but how does one go about lobbying the council.  what do I actually have to do?  Shout outside the offices?

 All councillors should hold surgeries for their constituents.....where you can meet them face to face.....yours could well be Lawn.....book in to see Mr Bawden, and ask him to consider your concerns.....do the same with the othe r 2.....book in to see Justin Tomlinson as self confessed lead councillor on the matter.

 Also.....write letters to the Adver......

  Write to the new Labour MP for South Swindon.....seek her opinions and ask her to make a public statement of support for any project which come up...also you can meet her and suggest she gets behind this on the basis of the importance to the community, with soccer schools Study Centre and Football in the Community

I wonder how many people would support a development on the current site, given that the Elton John thing seems popular?

Indeed, and I will be doing so. I think it is clear this really is a life and death issue regarding STFC.

janaage, I also wasn't clear as to how to lobby the council. Being an 'outsider' with obviously no representative to directly lobby I have emailed the club for further guidance. I don't know whether I will get a response because it also included a less than complimentary response to Sir Setons statement regarding the trust.

If that avenue fails I will ask the trust who to lobby, a list of email/postal addresses regarding the relevant parties would be a start.

cheers for the report Reg, I'm even more depressed now :cry:

Stunned is what I am, stunned that a statement of intent to franchise the club can be slipped into discussion like it's an option for the fans & club.

We have put forward proposals for a development without a developer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  What on earth are they playing at, how do they intend to fund it? How do they intend to build it? (there aren't many people left willing to get involved with us).

I'm sorry, this all smacks of lets bugger it up and then we have to move to a cheaper site out of Swindon in some souless business park and find a new fan base willing to pay a bit more (Newbury anyone?)

I've been supporting this club for 22 years and I've just about had enough, I'm almost at the point of believing the club needs to fold and be restarted, and that is a shocking state to find myself in.

The lack of any sort of contingency plan for the £900k CVA payment smacks of stupidity.  It seems as if we've been trading without any direction since we last came out of administration, chucking all our eggs in the basket marked "new Stadium"

As a footnote to that surely it is in SSW's interest to pay the £900k if no-one else will, given the millions that he's pumped in to the club over the years?  or would he just hand the club over to someone or some organisation for nothing and let them worry abouyt paying it, which they wont be able to afford

thats football!

Seriously this just shows how badly our club is being run.I see the end of everything just over the horizon.Im starting to wonder if I should have been so dismissive of the whole Franchise/Wimbledon situation.Newbury Robins? Gloucster Reds? Oh fuck!

If the club was moved, theres not a chance I'd support them.

I'd rather support Highworth.

I guess the board aren't willing or able to pump money in ad infiniteum. The problem is their current business plan, formed as part of the CVA, has failed. Will the new one be any better?

Franchising : would they use it as a way out, i.e. "sell" the club or would they carry on elsewhere. Either way there is no guarentee that this would be allowed despite the Franchise move. It would guarentee the end of STFC as far as I am concerned, even if the club was moved closer to me (eg. Newbury)

 It should be pointed out that BH didn't flippantly use the words... that's footballl, but rather pointed out that most FC's lose money pointing to Chelsea losing 84 mill, and that having pared down overheads, the cost of wages and stadium always tended to exceed income and had done so historically at STFC.

If you live in Swindon, look for your councillor's email address on this page:

http://www.swindon.gov.uk/yourcouncil/popularpages-councillors-link

and send them an email expressing (politely) why they should back a proposed redevelopment. Too early to do it now though really as the proposals haven't yet been published.

If you don't live in Swindon you could still email Mike Bawden (council leader) saying that STFC is the only thing that gets you to come to the town and spend money here (not just match ticket, also your pre/post-match beers, that lavish meal you always have after the game at one of the top restaurants in town, revenue for the council when you pay to park your car, then of course your good lady always takes the opportunity to hit the splendid shops while you're at the game). His address is on the same page - again, I'd wait a while until we really kick in on the lobbying again tho there's no harm in sending off a few emails now.

Keep em polite though - even if you do think the council are a waste of space it doesn't help persuade them to our side if you tell them so ;-)

I don't think he's got it to pay anymore even if he wanted to.

It's not as bad as it sounds.

The old folks are doing much the same thing for a couple of houses.  Originally they used a developer who agreed to purchase the plots on the basis that planning permission was granted.  However the developer managed to screw up the plans and a couple of applications dragging on for over 12 months each after appeals etc where turned down on technicalities.

Pretty basic stuff that the developer screwed up and in the same process pissed off local residents.

They have now contracted an independent architect who is working directly with residents all of whom have agreed that as things stand they have absolutely no objections.

Once planning has been granted they are probably going to sell a large share to a developer or sell it outright.

The bust up with St Mowden I believe was down to the amount of housing they wanted to build on the site.  I suppose this way and the impression I got from Bob Holt’s words from a community meeting the club can tailor what it sees best for it’s needs as well as appear to look after the concerns of local residents.

Plus if there are several interested parties’ once planning has been formally improved the club can hold out for the best offer on the table.

Going back a few years but the casino idea once mooted may be an idea worth including in the hotel  Not sure how the residents would feel but it would guarantee extra income and I’m not entirely convinced about hotels attached to football grounds.  The old Chelsea village a few years before Roman turned up was operating at a sizeable loss.

I've just remembered someting else that SG mumbled  (she comes fron NZ you know)

 She said she thought two of the out of contract players would sign....I'd hazard a guess at Evans and Igoe then.

Oh fucking great.

Nobody interested in the useless twats no doubt.Fair play to Igoes agent he did his best to put his name out there linking him to every club :x I think the Evans thing hinged on the KFC they were buliding near his house :soapy tit wank:

 :soapy tit wank: