14/3/17 - Supporters Charter Meeting Minutes

[David]

MINUTES OF THE 3RD MEETING OF THE SUPPORTER CHARTER GROUP DERBY COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB
14TH MARCH 2017, PRIDE PARK STADIUM

DCFC Supporter Representatives (Alphabetical order):

DCFCFans - David (DHI)
RamsActive - David Mortimor (DM)
Disabled Supporter Group (DCOSG) - Gary Dempsey (GD)
RamsTrust - Kevin Hepworth (KH)
Derby County Official Supporters Group (DCOSG) - Lynn Hemsworth (LH) 
Not formally affiliated - Nick Webster (NW)
Punjabi Rams - Pav Samra (PS)
Derby County Collection - Peter Bonnell (PB) 
Non-Season Ticket Holder (DCOSG) - Sally Green (SG) 
1884 Group - Simon Penny (SP) 

DCFC Senior Management Representatives (Alphabetical order):

Daniel Holdsworth (DH) - Supporter Liaison Officer 
Faye Nixon (FN) - Marketing Manager
Gary Rowett (GR) - First Team Manager 
Mel Morris (MM) - Chairman 
Paul Tyrrell (PT) - Director of Communications 
Sam Rush (SR) - President and Chief Executive 
Stephen Pearce (SP) - Chief Financial Officer 

Welcome and Meeting introduction:

1.1  PT opened the meeting by thanking all Supporter Representatives and Senior Management for returning to the third meeting of the Supporter Charter Group – especially GR, who had endured a particularly long day following his appointment as the Club’s new First Team Manager.

1.2  PT explained that with MM, GR and SR having to leave after approximately one hour of the meeting due to other commitments, we would ask those individuals to present their thoughts on the recent appointment of GR and decision to relieve Steve McClaren of his duties. 

MM & SR on recent Club direction and future strategy

2.1.  MM started by explaining The Board’s decision to remove Steve McClaren and his coaching staff from their positions at Derby County. MM stated that, despite results not being solely the most important key performance indicator, he was disappointed by the recent performances - especially against Brighton & Hove Albion.

2.2.  MM stated that it was becoming evident that a malaise had set in as the team lost sight of the play-offs, and that the correct attitude towards meeting the Club’s objectives was not always being demonstrated.

2.3.  MM reiterated that the recent decisions to remove Managers were not taken lightly and were carefully considered and actioned for specific reasons.

2.4.  MM stated stated that GR had already brought an honest and up-front approach.

2.5.  SR reinforced that recent decisions over the management of the first team had been

deliberated carefully.

2.6.  SR stated that decisions taken by the Club were not MM working in isolation.

2.7.  SR expressed excitement at the future under GR and reiterated that each decision

over recent Managers were all made for the right reasons.

2.8.  On a separate issue, MM stated that recent media rights discussions, which had

been heavily influenced by MM and DCFC, had gone extremely well. MM said any future media rights agreement could considerably change the financial landscape for Championship clubs (and those in League 1 and 2).

2.9.  MM highlighted that wage inflation in the Championship had reached unsustainable levels, with some clubs now paying in excess of £60,000 per week for a top striker

2.10. MM said he was currently investing significant amounts per month across all aspects of the football club, money he could donate to more philanthropic charitable causes.

2.11. MM stated the Club were moving to standardise bonuses and clauses in contracts. 

 GR on his appointment and future plans for DCFC

3.1. GR stated that he was aware supporters knew he lived in Derby and that was a former player – but that he said he wouldn’t have taken the role had the “tools not been right.” 

3.2.  GR said conversations with MM had been blunt, open and honest. Both MM and GR stated they were aware of the importance of agreeing Key Performance Indicators.

3.3.  GR stated he had told the players what he wanted from them and thought that perhaps the players had, subconsciously, thought their talent alone could win matches without more considerable effort and desire.

3.4.  GR also stated that a perceived lack of effort is not always down to the players alone – with systems having to suit players and a good balance of players also being essential.

3.5.  GR stated that his 6 months break between posts had been extremely beneficial and that he had visited several workplaces in industry to enhance his management skills and develop management theories.

3.6.  GR said he had realised that if the players were involved in the process they were more likely to perform better when executing strategies/tactics.

3.7.  GR reiterated that he felt it was important to have the right balance of players – some willing to dig in and be mentally tough and some excellent footballers, concluding that the right team is not always the 11 best, technical footballers.

3.8.  In response to a question on ‘The Derby Way’, GR said his interpretation was that ‘The Derby Way’ was not a specific way of playing football (tactically) but more a set of virtues/values that players must possess and demonstrate when wearing the Derby County shirt.

3.9.  GR said he had a strong idea of the current issues within the Club but, in fairness to the players, needed to find them out for himself and make his own judgements. 

GR & MM was asked by PS whether they believed core values were missing from the Club

4.1.  GR said that his family were based on core, hard-working values.

4.2.  GR said that once had made his expectations clear for the players to change their

mentality, he would identify any players that were not able to change their mentality to suit playing for DCFC. 

MM was asked by DM to elaborate on the remit of GR (including transfer activity)

5.1.  MM said that there was a financial aspect to GR’s remit and that he would be responsible for reducing the wage bill from its current size. There would be guidelines put in place on what the Club would be willing to pay for players in specific tiers across the first team, U23s and The Acaedmy.

5.2.  GR stated that, in the past, his team had done well to acquire players and get them in the first team before selling them on for a healthy profit that could be re-invested in the first-team squad. 

GD asked MM whether the synergy between the first team and the academy was still deemed important

6.1.  MM confirmed that a synergy is still important.

6.2.  MM said that GR would have time to develop his own team and style of play before

filtering this down into the academy. 

6.3. MM also demonstrated that the recruitment of academy players would be carefully aligned with the needs of the first-team squad positions. 

JC asked MM whether a Director of Football would be appointed to aid player recruitment

7.1.  MM indicated that GR had advised MM of potential candidates for someone to replace the position previously held by Chris Evans and that they would be assessed over the coming days/weeks.

7.2.  GR advised that in his previous position, he and his team had successfully scouted and acquired players without someone in such a position.

JC asked GR if he would be focussing on recruiting younger players

8.1.  GR suggested that he would be looking to find young, hungry players that had something to prove

8.2.  GR confirmed he was not particularly keen on signing players that had played in the Premier League and were looking for ‘an easy ride in the Championship.’

8.3.  MM also reminded the group that, as a result of his investment and subsequent creation of an academy recruitment budget, that Club had recruited more academy players than ever before at DCFC.

PS asked GR about his aspirations /objectives for the rest of the current 2016/17 season.

9.1.  GR confirmed he wanted the team to ‘hit the ground running’ and make sure that the feeling in the club over the upcoming summer period was a positive one.

9.2.  GR indicated that he thought the Club should not give up on the Play-Offs and that if the team could get off to a good start there could be some hope.

9.3.  GR also stated that, depending on results, some of the U23s could get an opportunity in the first team. GR said he would be watching every minute of the U23s matches between now and the end of the season.

PT concluded this part of the meeting and thanked MM, SR and particularly GR for their attendance at the meeting.

Introduction of new Supporter Liaison Officer (SLO) – Daniel Holdsworth (DH)

11.1.  PT introduced DH as the Club’s new SLO

11.2.  DH gave a brief explanation of the matchday activities of him and his

Matchday Supporter Liaision (MSLO) team, whose overall goal is to ensure

supporters have a positive matchday experience.

11.3. DH also explained the role of the MSLOs who assist on a matchday to ensure

supporter satisfaction.
11.4. DH then described the other parts of the SLO role, including improving the

communication link between the supporters and the Club.
11.5. DH advised he was using the remainder of the 2016/17 season to evaluate the

effectiveness of the SLO role and how it could add additional value next season.

Derby County Football Club Supporter Charter Group Meeting #3

11.6. DH encouraged the group to contact him with any thoughts, suggestions or critique of the SLO role with a view to improving it in the future.

12. 2017/18 Kit Launch

12.1. FN and PT indicated DCFC had successfully re-negotiated a new kit contract with Umbro.

12.2. FN said the Club would like to build a framework in which supporters were involved in the design of the 2018/19 home kit. FN also confirmed there was a strong possibility the Group could help decide the kit design based on 4-5 shortlisted supporter designs, ongoing discussions with Umbro will continue with an update provided as soon as possible.

13. Pre-Season Training Camp

13.1. PT confirmed that the first team were looking to go on a pre-season training camp, probably at a European destination to be confirmed.

13.2. ACTION - DCFC: It was decided that DCFC would let the Group know as soon as the location for the pre-season training camp has been decided.

14. New DCFC website

14.1. FN advised that there was an event to be held on 21/03/17 to test the prototype of the new DCFC website.

14.2. FN said over 200 fans had signed up to be part of the team testing the new website, with around 100 being active.

14.3. The group were all formally invited to attend the workshop on the 21/03/17 by FN.

14.4. FN stated the new website is scheduled to be launched early in June (to ensure any potential issues are ironed out in advance of the launch of the 2017/18 fixtures).

15. Pub Supporter Forum

15.1. FN advised the group that the Club were looking to hold a ‘pub supporter forum’ in April 2017, at a Derby city-based venue to be confirmed.

15.2. FN asked the group to submit any suggestions for the venue for this event by 20.03.17.

15.3. PT advised that the format would be similar to previous ‘pub tour’ events with senior executives attending.

15.4. When asked about what which factors would be counted as a measurer of success for the upcoming April event, PT suggested there would need to be large attendance, a broad representation across the entire supporter base, an appropriate location - as well as fair and reasonable questioning from the audience, bearing in mind it was a public forum.

15.5. NW suggested that perhaps inviting a player along to the event would be of interest to supporters. Some members of the group voiced concern about this but PT stated he was not averse to the idea and that this possibility will be explored in

Derby County Football Club Supporter Charter Group Meeting #3 the future.

16. Media Rights Discussion Document

16.1. PT gave an overview of the media rights discussion document, recently compiled by the Club and presented to the EFL by MM

16.2. PT underlined the Club’s stance on the vast undervaluing of the Championship in comparison to the Premier League.

16.3. SP reinforced the broad gap between Premier League and Championship clubs.

16.4. PT said the Club’s radical proposal had won considerable backing from other Championship Clubs and even had support in the lower divisions. MM had been asked by the EFL to take part in the league’s process of finding the best broadcast partners. Since MM’s intervention, the EFL have started to take the issue more seriously. 

[cheron85]

15 minutes ago, David said:

.2.  GR said conversations with MM had been blunt, open and honest. Both MM and GR stated they were aware of the importance of agreeing Key Performance Indicators.

Pet Peeve - You can have 'Performance Indicators' but having multiple 'Key Performance Indicators' makes them no longer Key...

Do you think this is why we've had sackings for such a random number of different reasons?

[G STAR RAM]

3 hours ago, cheron85 said:

Pet Peeve - You can have 'Performance Indicators' but having multiple 'Key Performance Indicators' makes them no longer Key...

Do you think this is why we've had sackings for such a random number of different reasons?

Would disagree with this.

Having a Key Performance Indicator is putting all of your eggs in one basket.

It sounds like Rowett's remit is going to quite broad, so there will be many indicators, for instance:-

Wage bill

League position

Number of players making the transition from Academy to first team

I guess your argument is, having too many KPIs give MM too many different routes to swing the axe!

 

[GboroRam]

4 hours ago, cheron85 said:

Pet Peeve - You can have 'Performance Indicators' but having multiple 'Key Performance Indicators' makes them no longer Key...

Do you think this is why we've had sackings for such a random number of different reasons?

Course you need more than one kpi. If it was league position it'd just mean spending tons of money. If it was financial you'd pay pennies for players and be down the league like a stone.

[Tombo]

Who is JC? 

That wage inflation is concerning. I had been under the impression that our highest earners were on about 30k, maybe 35k. Now looking at it, we'd be paying peanuts in comparison if we were only paying that. 

[Animal is a Ram]

16 hours ago, cheron85 said:

Pet Peeve - You can have 'Performance Indicators' but having multiple 'Key Performance Indicators' makes them no longer Key...

Do you think this is why we've had sackings for such a random number of different reasons?

If all the indicators are KPIs, then yes, its pointless.

But if, say, you have 10 performance indicators, and 3 are KPIs, then that just makes them high priority. How it works in the retail work I've done..

[cheron85]

12 hours ago, G STAR RAM said:

It sounds like Rowett's remit is going to quite broad, so there will be many indicators, for instance:-

Indicators yes - KEY indicators no, otherwise how do you define importance?

11 hours ago, GboroRam said:

Course you need more than one kpi. If it was league position it'd just mean spending tons of money. If it was financial you'd pay pennies for players and be down the league like a stone.

Again... Many PIs needed... Few (I would argue 1) KPIs needed

3 minutes ago, Animal is a Ram said:

If all the indicators are KPIs, then yes, its pointless.

But if, say, you have 10 performance indicators, and 3 are KPIs, then that just makes them high priority. How it works in the retail work I've done..

Yes well okay this is mostly my point... However it annoys me that people refer to everything they measure these days as KPIs... They aren't, they're PIs...

Also - I would still argue that you should have multiple PIs (probably no more than 5) and a single KPI otherwise you're still pulling in several different directions - Just because people do have several doesn't mean it's right (As I keep arguing vehemently with my clients)

[GboroRam]

4 minutes ago, cheron85 said:

Indicators yes - KEY indicators no, otherwise how do you define importance?

Again... Many PIs needed... Few (I would argue 1) KPIs needed

Yes well okay this is mostly my point... However it annoys me that people refer to everything they measure these days as KPIs... They aren't, they're PIs...

Also - I would still argue that you should have multiple PIs (probably no more than 5) and a single KPI otherwise you're still pulling in several different directions - Just because people do have several doesn't mean it's right (As I keep arguing vehemently with my clients)

My last place had 50 KPIs. Crazy.

It probably warranted 4 KPIs, 20 PIs and the rest were just managements information. 

[David]

19 minutes ago, Tombo said:

Who is JC? 

 

Joel from DCFC Podcast I think, they must have missed him off

[GboroRam]

20 minutes ago, Tombo said:

Who is JC? 

That wage inflation is concerning. I had been under the impression that our highest earners were on about 30k, maybe 35k. Now looking at it, we'd be paying peanuts in comparison if we were only paying that. 

Bloody Corbyn gets everywhere, the publicity whore.

[Tombo]

1 hour ago, GboroRam said:

Bloody Corbyn gets everywhere, the publicity whore.

Asking for more directors like the authoritarian statist he is.

[eddie]

2 hours ago, Tombo said:

Asking for more directors like the authoritarian statist he is.

Is the number of directors a KPI?

[1of4]

When is the next meeting being held and will an agenda be released in advance.

[David]

Not heard anything when the next is to take place. Now they are 4 a year it should be in June

[Carl Sagan]

Seriously, thanks to all involved at the club for taking the time and trouble to do this and to the fan representatives too, especially our @David who occasionally does have his uses.

[JG400]

On 03/20/2017 at 16:47, David said:

PT said the Club’s radical proposal had won considerable backing from other Championship Clubs and even had support in the lower divisions. MM had been asked by the EFL to take part in the league’s process of finding the best broadcast partners. Since MM’s intervention, the EFL have started to take the issue more seriously. 

Does anyone know the finer points of the proposal?

[ram1964]

On 21/03/2017 at 09:34, Tombo said:

Who is JC? 

That wage inflation is concerning. I had been under the impression that our highest earners were on about 30k, maybe 35k. Now looking at it, we'd be paying peanuts in comparison if we were only paying that. 

I was also under the impression wages for our more expensive,experienced players would have been in 30ish k per week and that would be above average throughout this league. How ever if more substantial signings elsewhere are achieving higher wages we are paying peanuts and have plenty of monkeys to prove it.

Wouldn't want to think what we must be paying Blackman ,Vydra and the likes that havent contributed anything to our season.

[David]

12 hours ago, ram1964 said:

I was also under the impression wages for our more expensive,experienced players would have been in 30ish k per week and that would be above average throughout this league. How ever if more substantial signings elsewhere are achieving higher wages we are paying peanuts and have plenty of monkeys to prove it.

Wouldn't want to think what we must be paying Blackman ,Vydra and the likes that havent contributed anything to our season.

This is why I can't understand why so many fans get hung up on wages, not one of us has negotiated a footballers contract, nor do we know the going rate for players in this league.

To think some are earning 60k per week now might sound ludicrous but we have seen the ridiculous rise in transfer fees recently, that was always going to bring a rise in wages.

They have agents who's job is to extract every last penny out of clubs for their clients, who in turn get an insane amount for daylight robbery.

If clubs can afford it without risking the future of the club and pricing out the average fan from watching, go for it, not my money, many of our team are probably at the point of never having to work again in their lives if they can lead a normal life without Gucci underwear, not like they need the insane money they can still command, we all know we'd demand it if we could, not their fault I was born with 2 left feet and only the ability to understand HTML/CSS which sadly isn't worth 30k per week.

[ram1964]

7 hours ago, David said:

This is why I can't understand why so many fans get hung up on wages, not one of us has negotiated a footballers contract, nor do we know the going rate for players in this league.

To think some are earning 60k per week now might sound ludicrous but we have seen the ridiculous rise in transfer fees recently, that was always going to bring a rise in wages.

They have agents who's job is to extract every last penny out of clubs for their clients, who in turn get an insane amount for daylight robbery.

If clubs can afford it without risking the future of the club and pricing out the average fan from watching, go for it, not my money, many of our team are probably at the point of never having to work again in their lives if they can lead a normal life without Gucci underwear, not like they need the insane money they can still command, we all know we'd demand it if we could, not their fault I was born with 2 left feet and only the ability to understand HTML/CSS which sadly isn't worth 30k per week.

Spot on,but by the sounds of it the going rate for two left feet could be upwards of £5k p/w

[G STAR RAM]

10 hours ago, David said:

This is why I can't understand why so many fans get hung up on wages, not one of us has negotiated a footballers contract, nor do we know the going rate for players in this league.

To think some are earning 60k per week now might sound ludicrous but we have seen the ridiculous rise in transfer fees recently, that was always going to bring a rise in wages.

They have agents who's job is to extract every last penny out of clubs for their clients, who in turn get an insane amount for daylight robbery.

If clubs can afford it without risking the future of the club and pricing out the average fan from watching, go for it, not my money, many of our team are probably at the point of never having to work again in their lives if they can lead a normal life without Gucci underwear, not like they need the insane money they can still command, we all know we'd demand it if we could, not their fault I was born with 2 left feet and only the ability to understand HTML/CSS which sadly isn't worth 30k per week.

Whilst I have never really got hung up on wages, I think we should not be just adopting the 'we've got Mel to pay for it approach'.

There is a club not too far away who adopted that approach and their chairman dropped dead one day.

I won't bore you with the details but they've been a joke of a club ever since.

Under GSE we made losses but they were of a level where would not struggle to find a willing buyer.

There days Im not so sure.

After stripping out the Mel factor, I would not be surprised if the accounts posted tomorrow have a loss in the region of £20m.