First of all, the Trust would like to thank Les Gray, Brian Winter and Alex and Ross White of Chambers Catering for their support of this event
The evening kicked off with the business element, the AGM of the Accies Trust. The AGM was short, included a report be the Chair, a financial report and the election of the Board for the coming year. Minutes will be posted as soon as they are available. The Board for 2010 was elected as follows:
Donald Anderson, Alistair Brown, Graeme Brown, Paul Daly, Ken Fee, Alan Hutcheson, Darren Jameson, Tommy Jordan, Ian Kelly, Tom Marchbank, David Ogg, Craig Rankin, Euan Simpson.
Les Gray
Les was straight talking, honest and forthright. He covered a lot of ground in just over 1 hour. The following report is a mix of recollections from a number of those present. Thanks to those who allowed me to access their material!
Season ticket income pays for little more than the players wages over the summer. Factor in the wages for an expensive striker we may have had for the 2nd half of last season and you can imagine how little there is left. Gate income doesn’t go very far and the team is financed from other areas, such as the businesses using the stadium.
Les was aware of the problems with the stewarding, but was surprised to hear of problems at the car park a couple of weeks ago. The stewarding is much more removed from club control than when we were in the SFL.
The lack of any forwards coming in over January was discussed. Maguire apparently agreed to come then signed for Kilmarnock. There were a number of potential deals that fell through for one reason or another (not necessarily all in the January 2010 window). The Club is always trying to improve the squad and activity is certainly not confined to the transfer window. Some names, such as Kirk, were given by the audience as examples of players we could have signed. Les asked where people thought the money for these players was going to come from since we would have to pay for them and the club were not willing to pay out money they did not have. The answer was out of his, or Ronnie’s pocket because the Club cannot support such expense. As an example of the level at which we operate he talked about a match at Ibrox last season where we had three players on £100 per week and contrasted that to the wage bill for Pedro Mendes alone.
James McCarthy calls every Saturday to talk to Les and Frankie McAvoy and thank them. Both Les and Frankie thought that there would be more youngsters coming through. He highlighted the fact that we’ve used more players who have come through the ranks than any other team in the SPL. When asked why some come in for a couple of games then seemingly disappear he explained that Billy Reid likes to try them out and see how they react to the experience and also to see how they react when they drop back to the U19s.
He felt that while another 500 fans would be nice, it wouldn’t really make any great difference to the club finances.
Pressley’s press conference about Falkirk’s chances of staying up and hadn’t gone unnoticed by the manager and players.
The question of players being signed and subsequently released was raised and Les noted that this was never the plan! However, the situation is as a result of necessity in that we must unearth talent that others don’t or won’t. Supporters may not like the turnaround of players, the Club certainly don’t like it but what is the option? It wasn’t stated directly, but I suspect the Club management is canny enough to ensure that these players are not signed on lengthy contracts and when they go they are mostly actually released mutually (no ongoing cost) into another job.
Les does read the Accies World message board but has little sympathy for anonymous moaning. The players do hear some of the shouts from the stands and this can be very destructive. He encouraged supporters to support the team. Les acknowledged that the pre season programme had been far from ideal and promised that things would improve for summer 2010. He noted that many elements of the pre-season were already in place.
James McArthur will join Rangers over his dead body!
Club made an extra £21 or £22k selling their own away tickets to the OF.
Turnover in last season in the First was something like £550,000. It is now something over £2M. While that may seem a lot, contrast that with wage bills elsewhere in the SPL and we are still operating on a shoestring. Such a turnover does not allow us to have players (strikers?) at 2k per week!
Les is a naturally gifted speaker, and he didn’t disappoint. Thank you very much, Mr Vice Chairman!
Brian Winter
Brian Winter was very entertaining as well as educational. He came across as an ordinary guy and his love for the game shone through. His anecdotes about the Clyde fans, and sending off Barry Nicholson at Tynecastle were hilarious, and you could tell from what he was saying that he had a lot of time for guys at Accies such as big Marko and Alex Neil. Alex doesn’t moan at him to much!
A year or two ago he sent off a Dundee Utd player with 10 minutes left, upon which Kilmarnock promptly turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win. Apparently the guy didn’t deserve to go, and Craig Levein went absolutely mental (again). Dearie me.
Brian brought some videos with him and we were able to give our opinions on a variety of difficult refereeing calls. There was wide-ranging opinion on all of them, from no action to red card!
One other point to note, Brian thought we were certainties to avoid relegation – he knows how to work an audience!
This was a great night. The Trust hope to build up numbers on the back of such events so thanks to everyone who came along.
Just a quick reminder about this Thursday’s event in the Function Suite at New Douglas Park. The event starts at 7.30pm and is free for Trust members and £2 for non-Trust members. Why not save yourself £2 by 
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