Wilde answers your questions

As expected, we have received an overwhelming response as supporters clamour to get their points raised and questions asked in a public forum.

Due to the vast numbers we have received, we have had to carefully select questions covering a wide range of topics, from transfers to finances to the beer at the stadium to the PA system.

Wilde has agreed to answer as many questions as were feasible and has given an answer to every question we have put to him on your behalf.

There were repetitions of many of the most pressing questions so hopefully if yours hasn’t been asked directly it will have been by somebody else.

Whether your question is in or not, hopefully ‘Ask the Chairman’ will give Saints fans a unique insight into their club.

These questions and answers were printed in yesterday’s paper. There is another huge spread of question in today’s Daily Echo which is on sale now.

Q: This season both you and Rupert Lowe have decided to give the youngsters a chance and you have brought in Jan Poortvliet to turn them into a winning side and give the fans “total football”. As a season ticket holder can you Mr Wilde, give me your assurances that if (or hopefully when), we get a side that has gelled and we begin to start putting some wins together, we wont see our best players sold to the first buyer that comes along?

Paul Williams, season ticket holder Northam Stand.

A: Our priority is to develop a squad that is capable of securing promotion to the Premiership.

Our belief is that our youngsters provide the key to this, building on the success of our own academy structure.

Clearly the sale of our best young players would not assist us in achieving this objective.

Indeed, we have recently rejected approaches for two of our young players from other clubs, i.e. Drew Surman from Reading and Adam Lallana from Fulham.

However, given our current financial situation it is not beyond the realms of possibility that at some stage in the future we will be required to dispose of some of our better young players in order for the club to satisfy its banking covenants.

Like yourself, the Board will be extremely disappointed should this happen, and in the meantime we are making every effort to ensure that this does not become necessary by making all appropriate cost savings we can.

However, because it is always a possibility, it is important that we continue to identify and develop young talent at this club so that the impact of such an eventuality on the quality of the squad can be minimised.

Unfortunately, owing to the financial imbalances that exist within the football industry, this is likely to remain the situation until such time that promotion back to the Premiership can be secured.

Q: Lots of fans are questioning who is really in charge of selling/buying players. Could you please tell us who is responsible for selling players and the reasons why? Could we also know how our scouting system works, just how involved scouts and agents are in player acquisitions?

Mark Davidson

A: After his appointment, Jan’s first job was to review the squad we inherited.

Once this review was completed we looked closely at our available resources and the whole management team agreed the transactions subsequently effected.

Regular discussions are held between myself, Rupert and Jan regarding potential player transactions, although Rupert, as the chief executive, will negotiate and make recommendations on the final terms.

The reasons for any particular transaction may be many and varied, however, all parties will be consulted before a transaction is finally agreed.

It is important the club achieves the best value for money it can from the playing squad and it is incumbent on the board and coaching team to continually monitor the position in this regard.

Scouts representing the club are distributed throughout the country on a regional basis and are remunerated on the basis of their expenses plus bonuses in the event of potential players being identified.

The club does not at present retain any overseas scouts but does take advantage of its extensive overseas contacts, particularly within Europe.

The level of a scout’s involvement will depend upon the age of the player and whether another club is involved.

As far as agents are concerned the club deals with players’ agents on a regular basis although it does not encourage the use of agents for our own players who have developed through the academy, as we believe the club is in the best position to look after the interests of our own players in conjunction with the player concerned and his immediate family.

Agents fees have been extremely high in the past and is an area where we are seeking to cut back dramatically in the level of costs incurred.

Q: Most clubs and many large businesses offer loyalty benefits to preferred customers, do you have any plans to change member benefits?

A: In effect we do offer loyalty benefits by access to early bird renewal discounts (only available for renewals, not new purchasers) and also through the discount over aggregated day ticket prices that we use to price season tickets.

Season Ticket holders also get a range of discount vouchers and access to discounted hospitality on specified fixtures during the season.

As far as membership goes, we have no plans to change the format of the membership at the present time although this could be reviewed in the future.

Q: The beer on sale is appalling. Most smaller sports grounds I have visited have better choice and standard. Can we have some from one of the local breweries on sale?

A: The beer sold is a result of a pouring rights deal that is an important component of club financing.

This means that in exchange for a proportion of the likely beer sales paid to the club up front, the club is tied to selling beer from that provider.

A 10-year deal was done at the time that the stadium was built.

The position will be reviewed at the end of this period when other beer suppliers, such as Carling, will be considered.

Q: Queuing is an awful experience inside the ground; can you add some screens to behind the bars so I don’t miss any of the game?

A: Queuing at half-time is bad as everyone wants to be served in a small time window.

The staff do all they can to make sure that as many people get served as quickly as possible but there is inevitably some queuing.

We do not put screens in sight of queues as if we do, then all that happens is that people who have been served remain in the serving or queuing areas drinking and eating, therefore further compounding the problems.

Q: As a supporter of the Saints for nearly 50 years I have seen the highs and the lows and fully expect with the new regime the club to progress.

However, does Mr Wilde think that lots of fans are very impatient and want an immediate return to the Premiership and therefore it is very difficult to run a club with high expectations?

I would like to pass on to him thanks for taking time money and effort running the club despite all the personal abuse he has taken over the last few months

John F Bacon, Bracknell

A: I am as impatient as any fan. If you are passionate about something and you are hungry for success this will inevitably lead to impatience.

I do not believe that Southampton supporters are any different from any other supporters throughout the country who crave for the success of their local team. I do not believe you can be involved in the management of a football club if you do not understand this.

However, the management of expectations can be very difficult as the level of expectation can vary wildly from week to week depending upon the performances of the team and other factors both on and off the field.

Consequently it is important to remain focussed on the business in hand and whilst supporter feedback is an important tool in the running of the club, in some ways you have to be careful about attaching too much significance to views and opinions made on the back of fluctuating expectations and imperfect knowledge.

It is a difficult balance but an important one and is difficult to get right all of the time.

My own priority has always been what is in the best interests of Southampton FC rather than how do I satisfy supporter expectations.

Hopefully the two go hand in hand but this is not always the case.

Tough decisions need to be made and positions and views need to be changed depending upon the circumstances at the time – football is such a variable, unpredictable and uncertain sport that sometimes adopting a pragmatic approach is the only way you can move forward towards your long-term objective.

Q: The Olympics has been a massive success. Do you have any plans to aid local sports professionals by opening up some of your facilities to them?

A: We are working with Southampton City Council to attract Olympic business to the City. As a professional football club there is little that we can do to encourage local sportsmen and women in other sports as our facilities are not directly relevant to other sports.

Q: Both the plc board and the football board comprise just four people – yourself, Dave Jones, Andrew Cowen and Rupert Lowe. 99 per cent (by number) of shareholders have no representation in the running of the club and there are no independent non-executive directors. Do you believe this is good business practice?

Robin Howard

A: I believe that the present structure is the optimum for taking the club forward at the present time.

Whilst you may think it desirable to have a large a number of shareholders by number represented on the board, this is not how a company limited by shares operates, nor is it desirable in my view.

I am content with the situation as it presently is as not only is just under 50 per cent of the shareholding directly represented on the board, we have a small board which is efficient and able to make decisions quickly and decisively.

This is particularly important at this time due to the need to adapt quickly to our rapidly changing circumstances.

There have been significantly larger Boards in the past, which, in my view, have proved cumbersome, expensive, and ultimately incapable of making timely decisions – with potentially disastrous repercussions.

Once stability is returned and our immediate objectives secured, the board structure may be reviewed.

Q: I am having trouble reconciling your comments about change, and football first, to your recent partnership with Rupert Lowe.

You talk about financial prudence, yet it was you who gave George Burley £7m to spend, and it was you who hired executives Hone, Dulieu and Oldknow on big wages.

It was you who spoke about moving the club forward after all four sides of the ground stood up and told Lowe to go.

It was also you who previously resigned the chairman’s position.

Now miraculously, it is you and Rupert Lowe who can save the club (your opinion, not mine).

Personally, I would say it was you and Lowe that got us in this position.

How do you reconcile your comments of the past with what you are saying and doing now?

Steven Squibb

A: I am surprised that you feel that the present board are not pursuing a philosophy of football first – albeit that this philosophy has to be tempered by the financial situation we currently find ourselves in.

Our approach this season has seen a dramatic change to the approach of last season in respect to team management, coaching, youth, and the commitment to an exciting brand of fast and exciting football – I would have thought these changes were a more than adequate testament to our current football first policy.

As far as my partnership with Rupert is concerned, I see nothing inconsistent with this – we are both fully committed to securing a successful football club and are both passionate about achieving this – despite the difficulties we currently face.

Q: After the off-loading of a significant number of high wage earners during the close season what is the financial prognosis for this season and for next?

Steve Morrison

A: Even with the reductions we have seen in player wage levels and other costs, we remain in a financially very difficult position.

However, a lot will depend on the sustainability of our revenue streams, particularly gate receipts, which can have a significant impact on cash flow.

The board continues to review costs and will make further overhead and wage cuts where possible and where appropriate.

In my mind, it is virtually impossible for any significantly sized club with a modern stadium to survive outside the Premiership on normal operational revenue streams, irrespective of how well they are run – certainly if they are to remain competitive at this level.

Player trading is a vital revenue stream for any club in this position, and to this end, I believe that Southampton FC has now got it right with its emphasis on youth and the academy.

We have one of the best academies in the country and, combined with our integrated coaching set-up, we are now in position to achieve the twin goals of competing for promotion whilst improving our potential revenue stream from player trading - thereby making us financially more stable and self-sufficient.

With a young, developing team blended with a number of experienced and committed players as role models, I believe we have an approach capable of getting the very best possible outcome for Southampton FC over the next few years.