I was at the meeting today and, although I did not do a headcount, I reckon there were about 50 - 60 people there; a pretty good turnout considering it was a Saturday morning. The meeting didn't always stick to the agenda as there a couple of people who seemed to like the sound of their own voices.

I don't recall anyone saying that this information couldn't be posted on this forum, but I hope I'm not doing the wrong thing by posting this information. I came away from the meeting feeling quite positive about the future of WUFC and hopeful that, should we get ourselves out of the immediate mire (and I think we will), there will be much more transparency and fan involvement in future.

Barrie gave an overview of the current big issue: the HMRC debt. Its no secret that the winding up petition was for £59,411.75. In terms of money that has already been raised to pay this debt, there is currently c. £       in our solicitors account and the supporters appeal account stands at £4517.06. We were also advised that there was c. £2k in the main WSU account; it was not specified whether this £2k would go to the HMRC, but I assume that it could go towards that if needed. If all these monies are taken into account, this leaves us with c. £      still to raise.

Edited by Bruno

It was requested at an early point in the meeting that certain information was not published until there had been some discussion with the solicitor handling the matter.

The £20k PAYE referred to in the clubs statement is not yet due to be paid and will only become due when the club files its next tax return, which will be done by 19 May 2011. It was also pointed out that, although there are a number of soft creditors of the club, the club is also owed money from various people; therefore the net debt is £118k (including the HMRC debt).

There is no truth in the rumour that the players have not been paid; their salaries are up to date. It is also misleading to suggest that E&B give the club nothing for the use of its facilities. E&B provided the majority of the cash for the new stand and, in exchange for this payment, WUFC granted E&B a long-lease for which they did not have to pay for maintenance of the facilities. So, E&B are merely sticking to the original agreement. Under the agreement, however, E&B do have to pay a share of the utility bills.

The question was asked what the timeframe was for getting our share of the gate receipts from the Luton match. Barrie advised that Luton have up to 14 days to pay the money, although they may do it more quickly. We cannot rely on this money for 15 December.

Barrie also advised that there had been contact with Bexley Council, who have offered the club assistance. They cannot just hand over money to the club as they themselves are pretty stretched for cash, too. However, they are looking at how they can reduce our outgoings such as business rates, etc.

After long discussion, we then moved on to the loan agreement that was publicised on the main site yesterday. The specifics of the agreement were explained and questions answered. For us fans, this loan agreement effectively acts as a long-term season ticket, as we can choose to receive repayment in the form of a season ticket each year. Had the club gone for the pure long-term season ticket option, they would have been immediately liable for VAT on those tickets. I was surprised (and pleased) that, when asked for a show of hands on who would be giving the club a loan, 31 hands went up. Russ and Barrie had also had two people contact each of them on this matter, so that gives us at least 35 people who are willing to loan money to the club. Even if each person loaned £500 (and I suspect a lot will loan more) thisll give the club £17.5k. I dont know whether all of the 31 handed in their loan forms today, but I reckon I saw at least 20 forms being handed in.

In terms of the longer-term future of the club, there were a number of proposals put forward for ways to make the club more commercially viable. The most immediate of those is a raffle for local businesses to be our main shirt sponsor for the rest of the season (I know a lot of posters on this board will ask why this wasnt done ages ago, but we have to accept that it was not done then and is being done now. We cant change the past, but we need to move on, stop bleating about things that havent been done and make this work). The idea is that a business can buy a ticket for £50 plus VAT; the reason why this is a relatively low price is in order to make it a no-brainer for the businesses. On purchasing this ticket, they will automatically receive two tickets to a home match. The aim is to sell at least 100 and no more than 240 tickets for this raffle, which will take place at the Bromley match. When the business is sold the ticket(s), they will also be asked if theyd like to have their business advertised on our website, which could bring in more money. Another part of the reason for doing this is to have a database of local businesses that may be approached for sponsorship in future. The Commercial Manager is not involved is this particular venture.

If you would like to go out and get local businesses signed up for the shirt sponsorship raffle, I suggest you contact the club as I think some help will be needed. Something I thought of after todays meeting was whether this raffle is also open to individuals and not just businesses (can anyone confirm?). Im sure there are some people narcissistic enough to want their name on the front of Wellings shirts, but I was thinking that people may want to go for some kind of slogan. If I were allowed to enter and was lucky enough to win, Id probably come up with something like I LOVE CRISPS on the front of their shirts.

There was also an agreement to have a proper, constituted, supporters association and for whoever chairs this to be on the Board of WUFC, hence giving the fans greater insight of the running of the club. There is a meeting planned for next Saturday morning (11am I think) initiate the association.

I hope I havent done the wrong thing by posting all this information. I just hope that this creates a positive warm and fluffy feeling among the people who werent able to attend today.

There has been no request for me to edit Moos post and there is no sinister motive in the editing, I am merely respecting the request made at the meeting by the provider of the information that there was some discussion with the solicitor before the information was published. bruno

-- Edited by bruno on Sunday 5th of December 2010 12:05:15 AM

The investors that were in talks for the last few weeks wanted the HMRC debt settled before they invested. However, all is not dead with them and Barrie is also in talks with other parties.

Thanks for that. I feel completely warm and fluffy. I will definitely enter the raffle even if I have to turn myslef into a limited company to do so. I want Andrew Nicholson of Epsom on the shirts with a picture of me underneath.

how about "Too taxing to find a slogan"

Cheers for the updates, appreciated as i couldn't make the meeting.

One thing to consider is the shirt sponsor raffle. Make sure it's within the Lotteries/Gaming commission rules. You might have to get businesses buying a 'special' match ticket that you then get entered into a free draw for shirt sponsorship.

I nearly got caught out a few years back.

"The meeting didn't always stick to the agenda as there a couple of people who seemed to like the sound of their own voices".

Correct-but I would also like to thank the likes of Dogkilla who tried to keep matters on track by asking the chair questions which returned points to the agenda.

If this hadn't have happened we could still be there now

If day and healy are suspended can we bring forward the whitstable game and play the academy?

JOHN wrote:

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1. I see that the Club's solicitors have opened a bank account into which the loan money can be paid. Couldn't they accept amounts below £500 as donations, possibly having another account for these.

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 Yes, this question was also asked at the meeting.  It was deemed that a £250 donation would be fine, I believe.  I'm sure that if people can only afford to contribute smaller amounts, they can contact the club / solicitor and check whether it's feasible.

Well done moo a brilliant summary.

Jgfc when welling renewed lease agreement with bexley council for another 50 years couple of years ago i think e&b was involved in signing the agreement .
Would it be for same amount of time ? if so were stuck with them.

Was the commercial manager in attendance and did he contribute, many thanks and allthough i could not attend im feeling a little more positive this morning.

Cj commercial manager was not present he quit making excuses i believe.

Doesnt mean that any of us need to like them, they do the minimum. When they do extra or do things that benefit us and they help us i might change my mind. When we needed help they ****ed a deafun with the flood lights , floodlights that they use too. They have a very good deal at PVR. The good thing is they sub lease from us so its our ground if we ever get straight.

I would hope he hasn't quit - if we get out of jail on the 15th - then he could really kick on as the shackles will be released, we will be an on going concern. The governemnt tell me that the private market is recovering, so they will want to advertsie won't they?

Hi Guys & Girls - once we know how much has been pledged over the weekend if there is a substantial amount, would it not be in our interests to contact the FA about our scheme to see if they will loan the money in full and we pay back the FA interest free - with a down payment of what as been pledged thus giving us as a supporters group more time to organise ourselves and raise funds and the agreement still of any new investor returns the money to the loanees first.

Does anyone know if this is a viable option or any obvious pitfall or legal issues with the idea or if any one is in a position to ask the FA?

I also think when we get through this, lessons have to be learnt we have supporters with expertise we need to get them involved with the club probally via the fans forum, we need to give our appriecations to the fans who have been a position to loan the club some cash - personally I like to see a framed photo with their signatures in the board room as a perminent reminder of this gesture for future boards.

We need to look at positive ways of increasing our fan base - note we hosted a cup final with our club in the final and we still managed a crowd of less than 1000 people Why?

We have the best team Welling has had in recent years yet we attract around 400 - 600 home suppporters per game Why? I am not convienced it would grow in the premier division unless the club moves forward off the pitch as well. My personal view is if we can start by somehow finding out why people do not come through the turn styles then we can start looking at those reasons and try and address those issues to increase our fan base by 150 -200 per home support.

Besides the obvious professional clubs play on Saturday, any suggestions on the topic.

-- Edited by morph on Sunday 5th of December 2010 05:03:00 PM

-- Edited by morph on Sunday 5th of December 2010 05:06:13 PM

-- Edited by morph on Sunday 5th of December 2010 05:12:13 PM

According to this Welling's gates are up on last year. You are listed as number 48.

http://www.thelinnets.co.uk/turnstile.php?s=2009

Kevin wrote:

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I agree, and I see other clubs in our league attracting over 1000 regularly, and its not because of the football as we are playing some of our best for years ... why do Chelmsford and Dover regularly get over 1000 and we cant ?? its the off field that needs addressing.

There are people I know that live in Welling that dont even know we have a team !!!!

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I am sure that lack of publicity is a factor but you would have to be pretty thick not to notice a footaball ground as you drive along the main road.

Charlton and Millwall both near by. Five premiership clubs in London.

Our ground isn't the greatest. Both ends uncovered and the main stand is past its best. The new stand is however one of the best stands in the league imo. If you have a decent ground, especialy if your Council builds it (Dartford) - then that can only help.

Its tough to get the crowds in as it has proved in recent times.

 

-- Edited by chelwing on Sunday 5th of December 2010 06:29:32 PM

-- Edited by chelwing on Sunday 5th of December 2010 06:30:30 PM

No argument with you JGFC, but until such time it will be tough to increase the crowds dramatically.

Yesterday Newcross Turnpike were supposed to be doing a pre match meal, match ticket and after match pint deal. It's a shame the game was off as it may have attracted new supporters.