PST Elections 2014: MARK TRAPANI

Many thanks to Mark Trapani for providing the following answers to my questions.

Are you a shareholder?  I am a shareholder and so are members of my family and a number of our local Businesses.

How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?  Before we took over the Club we wrote a business plan that gave us a realistic working document with a number of targets to achieve over the first 5 years. Naturally the 1^st years trading is now behind us and we have achieved very much more than we originally set out to achieve. Most of our growth will come from Ticket sales and other areas of profitable trading. Reducing our operating costs was just as important as increasing sales and the two have to work alongside each other. Just look at our credit rating when we took over and look at where it is today. We pay people on time and do not commit to anything that we cannot justify or afford.

As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months?  My personal goals for PCFC are as follows:

• To maintain financial stability of the club, returning it to profit within two years.

• To return to the Championship within five years.

• To repay all football and other creditors in the timescales agreed.

• To improve the Catering and Kiosk sales on Match days.

• To increase player budget when prudent to do so.

• To improve facilities – Training Ground, Safety at Fratton Park.

• Build a New North Stand with Corporate Boxes when affordable.

• Improve facilities for wheel chair users

• Make The Academy Self-funding

• To improve our ties with the Ladies Football Team

• To really become a Community Club with greater ties to PITC and the community at large

• To forge greater links with the Portsmouth Business Community

What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?  Borrowing to hopefully buy success is a dangerous game and one which I would not openly encourage. Our challenge is to grow 1^st team players from the Academy and to allow player trading to become a profit centre.  

How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members?  Our communication with the majority of shareholders and members has improved and the new website is an enormous improvement. We are slowly encouraging all members to only receive electronic messages as ‘snail mail’ is just so expensive and slow. We are encouraging prospective members to visit the PST website through social media advertising.

What do you think should be done to increase PST membership?  When I look at the total fans that regularly go to games and compare that number to our PST membership totals, I am personally a little disappointed. In my opinion we should have more paid up members than we do however, a number of fans do not see the need to become members and that needs to become a real challenge for PST.

How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?  Pompey fans and a number of local businesses were badly treated and often let down by previous owners of the club. We are working hard to build bridges with those people and to show people what a Community Club really means to our City. We cannot influence the previous two Administrations and the subsequent promises that were made to pay past creditors.

Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?  The fair distribution of tickets to fans will always be an issue. I personally favour allowing people to purchase tickets based upon a number of key criteria. I would always favour those with a track record of support and our database is now able to track loyalty. I would also give preference to the Shareholders who frankly put their faith in us. Without this group of people none of us would have a Club today.

How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits?  This is a really difficult question as we do have to be commercial as well as community spirited, I would personally like our kit to remain current for two seasons.

Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors?  I have no commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors other than being a Director of the Club.

Mark is one of 6 candidates competing for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

PST Elections 2014: PAM WILKINS

Many thanks to Pam Wilkins for providing the following answers to my questions. 

Are you a shareholder?  Yes, I have one share myself and also bought a joint share for my son and grandson.

How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?  Through our three Trust representatives on the Club board who are involved with specific areas within the Club and know what is going on. PST should be monitoring what is going on at PCFC. I would suggest that the TGFC can play a big part in bringing supporters concerns to the Club.

As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months?  To make sure the Club continues to pay off the debts and develops on a sound financial basis, as well as supporting Andy Awford in hopefully bringing success on the pitch. 

What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?  I do not think PCFC should be borrowing money especially in the near future, we should be living within our means. Football in general is in a terrible financial mess due to the amount being borrowed, with most clubs living well beyond their means and many very close to administration. At Pompey we need to be building a sustainable club going forward, not borrowing money.   

How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members?  With information on the website, email communication and news emails also with our page in the Sports Mail. Perhaps run some member only events. Roadshows in different areas outside Portsmouth have been suggested but these are historically not well attended. I know there are still a few people without email but sending out information by post is expensive so unfortunately we only send by post things like election and agm notification that we have to send. Members can help us by giving their correct email addresses and by reading emails sent to them. We answer queries by email and phone and the Trust bus is open from 12.30 to 14.40 on every home matchSaturday. I would like to ask members to tell us how they would like information passed to them.

What do you think should be done to increase PST membership?  History has shown us over the last 4 years that PST membership increases when there is a problem at the club and decreases when all is well.. All shareholders are now life members of PST, although some of them still wish to pay for membership as a donation. The higher the profile of the Trust the more members. 

How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?  It is not within the domain of PST to settle these debts as PST is not a Charitable Trust as defined under the Act/Regulations, so it is not really a decision for the Trust. I believe St Johns was paid in full, the other small creditors and local charities who were promised the money by Chainrai were, as far as I know, never paid. These debts were from the previous administration. I would suggest that as a gesture of goodwill perhaps they could be invited to free match day hospitality and match tickets for each group or free use of Club rooms and facilities for an event, but that would be a Club decision.  

Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?  This would be a decision for the Club not PST, although this could be a future possibility that is discussed with the TGFC ticketing group. For a home draw against our old rivals I assume that the whole of the Milton End would be for away supporters and even if not sold out it is unlikely that the police would allow the space to be split between rival supporters. (It is also likely it would again be a bubble match, but that is another and much longer discussion which I am sure we would again have with the clubs and police). There are currently around 11000 season ticket holders who would have first option to buy their seats. After that I would allocate the tickets to those who had attended the most home matches that season, or perhaps as has been done in the past, give out vouchers at a match which is likely to have low attendance and give voucher holders first chance with season ticket holders. Whatever method is chosen somebody will be disappointed.   

How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits?  Again this is a Club decision based on commercial reasons although supporter concerns should always be taken into account. The Club has to be run on a sound business footing. In an ideal world I would say not more than every second season, or when the sponsor changes. However please bear in mind that in April 2013 PCFC had to start from scratch with everything that needed doing at the Club and those that run the Club set up what they believed to be the best deal available at the time with Sondico, from which the Club has received good financial benefit.

Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors?  None whatsoever.

Pam is one of 6 candidates competing for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

PST Elections 2014: DAVID MAPLES

Many thanks to David Maples for providing the following answers to my questions. 

Are you a shareholder? Yes, I was in the fortunate position to be able to afford share ownership.
 
How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?  The Board should encourage an informed debate amongst the Trust membership about how we want the club to develop and what it would entail. We have to recognise that the Club has been left behind and our ground is now a generation out of date. Long term development of the Club will require a rebuilt ground. I am opposed to further dilution of the Trust’s shareholding.

As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months? The major success of the last year was that the club was run successfully within prudent budgets. This needs to be as high a priority for this year. If I am elected to the Trust Board I would want the key agreements with other shareholders and the football authorities shared with the membership so the membership can understand the constraints the Trust Board and Club Board are working within.

What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?  I would support planned borrowing from reputable sources for capital projects such as redevelopment of the ground. I would oppose it for day to day expenditure.

How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members?  See Q3. I would also like prompt updates published from Board meetings. I would like to see a wider layer involved in running the Trust. This could be through Board members convening working parties for their areas of responsibility.

What do you think should be done to increase PST membership?  Barcelona and Real Madrid have over 100,000 members. Could we have 10,000? I would like us to reach a situation where at least the majority of season ticket holders and other regular supporters are Trust members. A debate about the development of the club could enthuse more supporters to join. Although the Club has been saved much more needs to be done to reach its’ full potential.

How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes? The Club already does a lot to work with the local community but I would like to see the small creditors, such as youth players landladies, fully re-imbursed.

Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?  We should recognise that the Ticket Office staff do an excellent job in difficult circumstances. Some fans will be disappointed, but I would base eligibility on season ticket holders and then fans ticket purchase record.

How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits? Buying replica kit is not compulsory. The Club has to develop its’ commercial income. This is a legitimate source of revenue but three new kits a season is excessive.

Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors?  No, not beyond being a season ticket holder.

David is one of 6 candidates competing for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

PST Elections 2014: DAN FEARNLEY

Many thanks to Dan Fearnley for providing the following answers to my questions. 

Are you a shareholder?  Yes indeed I am.  As the previous board member responsible for the community share scheme I couldn't really not be!

How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?  Quite a complex question and as you can see from my statement, I try and keep things brief.  The number 1 priority will always be to ensure the football club remains sustainably run, this means that a rolling 3/5 year business plan should be managed by the Directors, with the PST rep's ensuring that it strikes a sensible balance between being competitive on the pitch versus long term sustainability.  I firmly believe that we should trust the PST Club directors to act on our behalf, however there should be accountability.  A set of accounts (may not include commercially sensitive details such as player wages, etc) should be published and each football club board member from PST should have to produce 6 monthly summary of progress - as any PLC or well run business should do.  I am standing on a pledge to improve the family experience, but also raise new revenue - there will also be other new revenue opportunities that the PST can help steer and support to ensure the community ethos is at our heart.

As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months? Can I have more than one? 1)  Getting to the dry land of cleared debt as fast as possible, 2) Remaining competitive on the pitch, after all if we don't do this our revenue will surely drop and 3) Improving family match day experience.

What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?  As part of a sustainable 3 year business plan it is perfectly fine.  My preference is always to borrow for capital expenditure that can demonstrate a return on investment.  This is not without risk, but is certainly a manageable.  E.g. improved stadium.  I would be against borrowing for buying players.

How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members? I think more open meetings, maybe around the area is the best way.  The reality is that unless you have someone working at least part time, communication will always have to fit in around other board members priorities such as family and work.  I'm not convinced the social media, online communication is hitting the spot.  I wouldn't suggest stopping it, but have more face to face events.

What do you think should be done to increase PST membership? I think we have to explore an "opt in" scheme at season ticket renewal. 

How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?  If the business plan can support it, e.g. make sure we remain competitive in our core business aim...football...then I'd support it. However I wouldn't simply support this for a small bit of PR or if it affected the business plan.  On the basis I don't think we are likely to be profitable for a long time, I think the most likely outcome is simply rebuild trust and ensure this never happens again.

Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?  Now you've got too much time Mr/Mrs Royal!!  The only fair way is based upon the number of games attended in the last 2 or 3 seasons (as long as we have the data).  You could argue that home games = 1 point and away 2 points.

How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits?  On a personal level I'd rather wear the same kit for 3 years.......however it comes back to our business plan.  If a new kit each year makes a significant impact on the clubs finances then it would be very hard to change the policy.  The challenge would be, what would the impact of a longer lifecycle of kits?  If it is marginal, then extend the life.

Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors? Nope.

Dan is one of 6 candidates competing for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

PST Elections 2014: ASHLEY BROWN

Many thanks to Ashley Brown for providing the following answers to my questions. 

Are you a shareholder?  Yes, as are my two children.

How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?  Key to this is representation on the PFC board and the right selection of candidates to fulfill this role. Furthermore it is up to these candidates to interact effectively with the PST board and its members utilizing the appropriate resources available.

As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months? We must continue to evolve the PST into an organization that can deal with the responsibilities that it now has as a part owner of PFC. Albeit we must be realistic in that we remain a body ran by volunteers. Modes of communication to members, presidents and both the executive management and board of PFC must all be improved. Finally we must look to ways to engage more Pompey fans and in turn increase the membership of the PST.

What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?  In the long term there may be a need for borrowing, albeit it should be for very clear tangible objectives and based on fair and affordable commercial terms from reputable lenders. At no time must the club chase a dream based on money from a source who requires terms that put the long term ownership and sustainability of the club at risk.

How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members?  Albeit a huge amount of work has been done in relation to communication there is always room for improvement. My personal view is that the way to best way to communicate to members must be through modern media such as email, internet and social as this is by far the most cost effective. However it is clear that a certain element of prospective members need to be engaged in person, either at matches, or organised meetings.

What do you think should be done to increase PST membership? The first area to tackle should be the thousands who attend matches but are yet to join. We should continue to do this through close alignment of PST to PFC media outlets. The PST must be seen by all to be as closely associated to PFC as it actually is.

How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?  The club is already doing this, each game has a different charity partner. Furthermore we respond to hundreds of charity request positively, supporting them in a whole host of different ways. In addition the company seeks to work with local business partners where possible and as opposed to before aims to pay all invoices on time. Our local business networking events are proving popular and we must continue to extend in  all of these areas.

Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?  The perfect allocation of tickets requires a calculation based on data that is not available, and as such we can only work with what we have. Therefore we should recognise season ticket holders, shareholders, supporters clubs and those who have bought tickets regularly in recent years.

How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits? The kit dilemma is hugely challenging, the present deal is extremely rewarding for the club, offering an excellent package to PFC in its newly formed state last year. However it does require that all three kits are changed each year. Once a new deal is signed I would like to see PFC move to a model where barring a shirt sponsor change a maximum of 2 new kits are released a year.

Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors? No, only as a customer of PFC as I regularly buy tickets, merchandise etc.

Ashley is one of 6 candidates competing for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

PST Board Elections - questions for candidates

The latest PST elections seem to be happening again without any debate or discussion, or any question and answer sessions with candidates.  The candidate statements, whilst helpful, don't really provide enough info to enable a fully informed decision about how to cast your votes, and as somebody who has never met or spoken to any of the candidates that leaves me struggling to know how best to vote.

What would help me are answers to the following questions and I invite each candidate to provide answers.  I'll be happy to post them on this blog if they wish.  You can email answers to me at pompeyroyal@gmail.com. I also hope other PST members and shareholders will ask questions and debate the issues facing the club.  Apathy about Board elections can only weaken the development of Pompey as a community club so let's make sure we all vote, and are as well informed as possible when voting.

So my questions are:

1. Are you a shareholder?
2. How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of Portsmouth Community Football Club?
3. As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months?
4. What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?
5. How would you like to see the Trust improve how it communicates with members and prospective members? 
6. What do you think should be done to increase PST membership? 
7. How do you think the Club can, once it has paid off its debts, give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?
8. Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?
9. How often do you think a community football club should be changing its kits?
10. Do you have any commercial relationships with PCFC or any of its sponsors?

There are 6 candidates for 5 places. Votes have to be cast by September 5th. More details about the election, including the election statements of each candidate, can be viewed at http://www.pompeytrust.com/pages/pst-election.

An exercise in futility? My 10 election questions

This blog is an exercise of the utmost futility. Possibly the most futile Pompey blog ever written.  It lists ten questions I'd like to ask each of the nine candidates seeking one of the six places on the Board of the Pompey Supporters Trust.

Questions to help me understand their views on issues important to me. Questions on issues they were unable to cover in their 400-word manifestos. Questions of candidates who will be Board members of the majority stakeholder in PCFC. Questions of people who are, or could soon become, a Director on the PCFC Board and have a very important and influential role in running the club. In short questions to help me use my vote wisely.

Futile questions, though, because the candidate aren't allowed to answer them. PST rules say we have to rely solely on their manifestos.  Rules clearly no longer fit for purpose.  Rules which, to be fair, have been rapidly overtaken by the astonishing and largely unforeseen events of the past couple of years.

So on with the futility.  Here are my ten questions:

1. Are you a shareholder?
2. How do you think the PST and its Board can most effectively support and influence the future growth and development of PCFC?
3. As a PST Board member what would be your top priority for the next 12 months?
4. What role do you think borrowing should play in Pompey's long-term financial strategy?
5. How do you see the respective future roles of the PST and the Fans Conference?
6. In what sorts of circumstances do you think it is appropriate for PCFC to be giving gifts to commercial partners and volunteers?
7. What are your views on the Club's participation in the workfare scheme?
8. How do you think the Club can give something back to the local charities and firms let down so badly by previous regimes?
9. Pompey have drawn local rivals at home in the quarter finals of the FA Cup. History tells us it will be a glorious 4-1 victory. Everybody on the PCFC database wants to be there. On what basis do you think PCFC should allocate tickets?
10. And last but certainly not least, Carling or Pompey Royal?       

You will have different and, in all likelihood, better questions. And you know, thinking about it, I don't think asking these questions is quite as futile as the start of this blog makes out. We may not be able to find out what the candidates think about these issues before we vote for them but they will at least know which issues we are interested in and concerned about. It will give those who are elected food for thought. It may influence how they act as Board members. So don't let a ridiculous rule stop you asking the questions you want to ask. Let's pretend it's a proper election and ask them anyway.

And one final thought.  It has proved impossible to organise a Q&A session for candidates before the vote closes but presumably there is no reason why the new Board shouldn't hold one soon after the election.  I think it should.