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Are you looking for someone with football experience to oversee the operation of the club on a day-to-day basis ?
Tony Cuthbert's role has been expanded to serve as football administrator as well as football secretary, and Billy Dearden has taken full responsibility for all matters on the playing side. There doesn't seem to be a need for anyone with football experience beyond this. As for the administration of the rest of the operation, that is under review and will depend on the shape of the company when it emerges from administration.
Financially, what are your goals for the club over the next 2 years ?
We have to become self-sufficient to survive. There are no more sugar daddies about to subsidise the operation, so we will have to rely on a growing conference and banqueting business to underwrite the football operations until we can bring the wage bill down to a sustainable level.
What are the chances of the home fans getting what they want - the use of the Kop instead of giving away fans the vocal advantage ?
This is a question for Bob Davey, the stadium manager and safety officer. I'm told that the allocation of the Kop stand to away supporters was a police decision in 1995. Apparently, we could change that only by spending several hundred thousand pounds on alterations to either the family stand or the Jimmy Sirrell. We don't have the resources to do that, and even if we did, I doubt that this would be very high on the list of priorities.
Please can the Main Stand be renamed the Tommy Lawton Stand ?
This will depend in part on what sponsorship we are able to attract. We will review it when we come out of administration.
Is running a football club as difficult as you thought it would be ?
Not any more than running a small newspaper. And I'm not running it at the moment. I'm advising and working on areas in which I have some experience, but the administrator has full executive authority. He is following the advice of the board in certain situations, but the board's hands are tied until the administration ends. When it does, there will likely be changes to the board and the new board will then elect its chairman. So I will have had little more than three months in charge as chairman, up to June.
With hindsight, would you get involved with Notts County FC again ?
Nothing has diminished my enthusiasm for either Notts County or Nottingham. I would not get involved again on the same terms, but that is my mistake and I am working to undo that mistake at my own expense.
Do you feel, as many supporters do, that Peter Storrie must take a large portion of the blame for the poor state of the club's finances ?
It's easy to find scapegoats when you go hunting for them. Peter wasn't at the club for very long. He was the effective chief executive for 15 months, from November 2000 to February 2002. He never made a decision that wasn't fully supported by the board at the time. No doubt he shares some of the blame for things that went wrong. But he also deserves credit for many things that went right. He remains a friend of Notts County and will continue to do what he can from afar to be helpful.
Why has everything seemingly gone wrong since you took over ?
Really? Everything? Since March?
Why did you take over in the first place, given the fact that you appear to have little or no money to invest in the clubs' future ?
I've already invested £1.5 million and brought in another £1 million from friends and colleagues. Once we resolve the administration, there is a further £4 million waiting to go in to settle the club's old debts, and more to come along after that. If that is "no money to invest" then they must teach arithmetic differently across the Atlantic.
Could you please clarify the transfer embargo situation. Is it on or is it off ?
Are there two embargoes, one by the PFA and another by the FA ?
This is a question for Tony Cuthbert. As I understand the situation, clubs in administration are, as a matter of policy, barred from signing new players. However, Swindon and Bradford have both been allowed exceptions, as has Notts County. There is only one embargo procedure, but there are different parties who can trigger it for different reasons.
Do any of the outstanding severance payments, which are allegedly the reason for the embargo, relate to the contract of ex-Magpie Kevin Rapley ?
Unless I am mistaken, all severance payments, including those due to Kevin Rapley, were paid as of the early part of this month.
How close are you to a financial solution for the club, and will there be money to spend on the team if / when that solution is found ?
There are at least five parties who would have to be involved in a solution. All five are approaching the situation with good will and optimism. A solution could be achieved in a matter of weeks, if not days. As for money to spend, there is never again likely to be money to spend for any football club that aims to be self-sufficient. There will be plenty of money to invest, however, so long as the club meets its business plan.
Are you still looking to find a sponsorship for the stadium ? If a sponsor comes forward, will the stadium be renamed again ?
We'd be thrilled to find a sponsor willing to put £1 million into stadium sponsorship over 10 years.
Were you impressed with the amount of support the team got towards the end of last season ?
Impressed and grateful. I knew from the beginning that if we were able to lower the barriers by reducing prices and raising the quality of play, that there would be a wonderful response from the Nottingham community. To sustain our momentum, we need 8,000 Magpie family members at every match by next year. We're on target. Last winter, we were averaging only about 3,000 home supporters. By April, we had pulled the average for the year up to nearly 5,000 home supporters, and so far this season we are up on that by a further 10 percent or more. The support is out there, and with so many youngsters coming for the first time, we are building a very sound base for the future.
When you finally took over the club last season you said that you were looking to appoint a chairman as you were only going to be temporary. Is this still the case or are you controlling Notts fully for the foreseeable future ?
The administrators are in charge at the moment. When they leave, no doubt there will be changes to the board, and the board will then elect its chairman. As you know, it was never my intention to control Notts County. I expected to attract a number of partners to help move the club forward. We are getting there, with new partnerships with BBC Radio Nottingham and Paragon Interiors already announced. Last week we announced that the Football in the Community programme had become an independent charity with its own board. That will protect the programme as a community asset no matter what happens to the club, providing services to 25,000 youngsters in the Nottingham area and operating a pilot school for excluded students. These are not as glamourous as other club news, but they are indicative of the direction we are going, toward more community participation in -- and control of -- the club. There should be much more soon.
When are we likely to come out of administration ?
If all goes smoothly, we could be out of administration for all practical purposes by the middle of September, although the paperwork may take longer before the administrators are formally dismissed by the courts.
How much did we get from Aaron Scargill ? Will that sum need to be repaid to those acting for Scargill and their many creditors ?
We received a substantial initial payment from the Scargill deal, though a second payment was due before we actually incurred any significant costs. When that payment wasn't made, Scargill was in default to us and so we are a creditor along with others. We have no obligation in reverse, so in the event Scargill's creditors are able to obtain any payment, we will share in that payment. We sympathise with those who were stung by the company, not least because we were also stung.
A large number of supporters are very impressed with the design of the new away shirt. When can we buy it ?
We hope to have a good supply in the shop this week. Check with the shop first. Or order on-line. Hope they are also impressed by the price, a result of a very good deal we struck with a Nottinghamshire manufacturer.
What is your aim for the club this year ?
To come out of administration as quickly as possible, to win 89 more points, to achieve financial break-even on an operating basis, to attract at least 8,000 home supporters to Meadow Lane each match, to expand the conference and banqueting business by 50%, to launch a women's team. Come back to me in October for more.
How long do you intend to be at Notts for ?
Long as it takes.
How much would you sell Allsopp for ?
He's not for sale, Billy Dearden tells me. But I'd not want to stand in Danny's way if a club were to offer say £5 million.
How much in debt are we?
There is no football club, indeed no business that I know of, that can operate without debt. The question is how much is your debt in relationship to your assets. We expect to come out of administration with assets worth several million pounds more than our debts. We expect our debts to be structured, predictable and moderate. This will place us in the top third of English football clubs, according to Deloitte and Touche, the accounting firm that tracks the industry.
Would you support a restructured football league which was regionalized ?
I don't know enough about the proposals. In the US, some major league sports are regionalised, but the regions are so crazy that teams in Arizona play teams in Pennsylvania. We all seem to agree that football should be reformed and we all agree that we should maintain the traditions. How you achieve both of those ends is a mystery to me. I haven't yet seen a convincing economic case for regionalisation. I wouldn't like it as a matter of principal because we are in the centre of the country at the moment, and no matter which region we went into, we would be on the edge. So the elusive savings that are talked about through regionalisation would turn into increased costs for us. Travel costs represent one tenth of one percent of our budget. Even if we eliminated that item completely by playing all games at home, it wouldn't change our financial picture.
Do you wish you had never invested in Notts County ?
I'm very pleased that the opportunity came along. I wish I had done some things differently regarding terms of the deal, and I am correcting those mistakes, but I have found both the club and the community to be everything I had hoped.
Obviously we all applaud any schemes to encourage fans through the gate and the recent 4 for £28 is a good idea. However, season ticket holders lose out again. How are the club going to repay the true fans who bought their season tickets ? Some of us have lost £18 from the deal and that's just assuming they don't do any further offers during the season.
I don't follow the maths or the connection. How much further should we reduce season ticket prices? If the promotion of 4 for the price of 2 for a few games is a good idea, why does that diminish the value of the season ticket? If oranges are on special do you ask for a rebate on the sausages you bought earlier in the week at full price? Is this one of those "you just don't understand football" things? Give me another 10 years and maybe I'll catch on.
How long have you known about the waterside development ? What exactly is your involvement in the consultative committee ?
Three years. It's not a consultative committee, it's a board of directors of an independent company, Nottingham Waterside Limited. I'm a non-executive director.
Why was Notts County your second choice of club to invest money into, after you tried to buy Nottingham Forest?
Buying any business requires a willing seller and a willing buyer. Nottingham Forest was a willing seller in 1996 and it was good value at the time. I was a part (a small part) of a consortium that was interested. Had the consortium been successful, I would have served as a director of the club on behalf of one of the investment banks that was putting up the money. I would have owned about 6% of the company if all went well. The deal collapsed at the last minute, as you probably know. I wasn't aware that Notts County was for sale then, and if I had known it probably would not have attracted the interest of other investors because the size of the business was not great enough for the people who were interested in football at the time.
What are Notts County`s policy on the racial abuse of players by supporters at Meadow Lane?
Racism is unacceptable. We seek to keep it out of the game and out of the club. If we become aware of racist behaviour, we seek to take corrective action, ranging from issuing informal warnings to formal banning of supporters indulging in such activity.
How many people have to register a complaint about racism before it is taken seriously by the club?
One.
Is there any chance of signing new players, due to the current financial situation at the club?. We really cannot survive on just 17 outfield players during the course of the season!
Take a look at the size of other squads in the division. We will be competitive.
What's happening to the administrative side of the club at the moment? There appear to be too many mistakes, at present.
The administrator has full executive authority. The board and individual directors have advisory status. We have reduced annual overheads by some £200,000 on the administrative side, so there are bound to be mistakes and misunderstandings as we adjust to a leaner operation.
Instead of getting sponsors for the stadium, wouldn't it be better to sponsor a stand instead of the actual stadium?
The going rate for stadium sponsorship in the League is £100,000 a year. The value of a stand sponsorship is £5,000 to £25,000.
What is or isn't happening regarding formal backing of efforts to re-mortgage the debts and will Nottingham city and county councils be involved?
It will be a mortgage. It won't be a re-mortgage because there has never been a mortgage in the first instance. Nottingham City Council is working very hard with us and with the other parties involved to form a new partnership to provide long-term stability to the club. We hope to have something to announce shortly.
How have you seen the events over the last 6 months ? what's the future for you and Notts County in the next 5 years ?
The events of the last six months have been challenging and occasionally very rewarding. I expect to be heavily involved in the club for a long time to come, whether as chairman, as a director or a supporter with no official duties. If I can be helpful, I will.
Albert have you ever discussed Notts County with your wife? Have you thought about asking her to become a Director?
Albert's Wife
We discuss it frequently, but I have to be careful. Company law requires that directors not violate board confidences, even with their spouses. She offers very good advice on a range of subjects, including corporate governance. As for her becoming a director, I think we have enough representation from our family already, though she would be much better at it than I.
How do you expect to find cash to not only clear our debts and get out of administration but more immediately allow Billy to bring in much needed bodies?
The debts will be cleared by placing a mortgage on the property. Investment in new bodies will be done through a share placement. If we don't have the money, we won't be bring in the bodies. No more borrowing on the hope.
How long is Billy's current contract?
As a matter of policy, we don't disclose details of personnel matters.
Can you tell me about Notts' Holding company? Firstly what is it, and why have we got two new people on that holding company board, what are their duties?
It's a private company with three directors. It owns shares in the football club, among other things. The directors of that company have the same duties as any other company directors would have, to look after the interests of the shareholders and creditors of their company.
Do you consider it to be embarrassing that Notts cannot afford to sign Steve Foster, and he signs for a non league side?
That's not the reason he didn't sign for us, and he may yet sign for us in the future, but we don't comment on personnel matters.
Albert, What is your motivation for wanting to take over a football club when the evidence has shown over the last 10 years that they are almost always going to lose money ?
Hope springs...etc.
It appears that you have taken over the club with a lot of enthusiasm but very little money behind you when will the club benefit from any substantial investment ?
Appears to whom? Appears to me that there has already been substantial investment and there will soon be more.
And finally Albert, do you have a message for the fans of Notts County?
It's time for everyone in football, including those of us at Notts County, to stop looking to others to solve our problems. Can we do it on our own? Yes we can, as Bob the Builder would say. We're strong enough, we're smart enough and we're rich enough to do the job. Let's get on with it.