A summary of the Viking Supporters’ Co-operative AGM
The sixth annual meeting of the Viking Supporters’ Co-operative was held in front of a packed house in the Rovers Return at 11.00 am on Saturday (24 September).The official counter lost count after 320, although this magnificent turnout may have been more to do with the guests than the draw of the VSC business!
As promised in advance, the business was disposed of in less than 15 minutes, to allow plenty of time to hear from the principal guests, new management team of Sean O’Driscoll and Richard O’Kelly, and Director of Football Mickey Walker. Also present was Chief executive Dave Morris, newly elected to the Rovers’ board.
Sean and Richard had entered the room just as the meeting commenced, and were greeted with a massive ovation right until they reached their seats
Although Honorary VSC President John Ryan had asked the meeting date to be re-arranged specifically so he could attend, he had been obliged at the last minute to send his apologies. Andy Liney explained that this was due to other urgent Rovers’ business (although not player related!) which was hoped to have an important outcome to the future of the club, and thus had to take priority, even though John had been anxious to come along and introduce the new management team, and explain his thinking behind the appointment.
The formal business included the re-election of retiring directors Nicky Beech, Neil Tissington, and Ian Perkin, and the election of two new directors, Gareth Thomas and Roy Feris, who were welcomed to the board. Retiring director Graham Harris did not stand again due to pressure of other commitments, and was thanked for his service.
Company Secretary Ken Fear went through the accounts for the year ending March 2006, the highlight of which was the purchase of a further £30,000 in shares in the club. These share purchases represented 97% of the total annual income, a figure far in excess of any other trust, meaning that only 3% of income was absorbed by costs, which included the website, the popular VSC forum, printing of membership cards and other stationery, membership of the Football Supporters Federation, advertising, and the P.O. address. The low expenditure reflects the fact that none of the directors claim any expenses, such as telephone calls or travel, again unique among trusts. The high percentage converted to share purchases was greeted with a round of applause.
Andy Liney announced that a further cheque for £10,000 would be presented to John Ryan that afternoon by a junior member (later chosen to be Declan Wainer).This would take the VSC shareholding, held in trust on behalf of all members, to £95,800, and this also drew a round of applause.
Andy Liney then asked Dave Morris, standing in for John Ryan, to present Sean and Richard with certificates as honorary members of the VSC, which Sean and Richard appeared to appreciate greatly.
The formal business being completed, Dave Morris then introduced our new management team, and Sean and Richard then both addressed the meeting, followed by a question and answer session.
Sean said that he was generally happy with the squad, although he felt it was a little inflexible, both in terms of the ability to play in different positions, and the fact, for example, that we had five forwards and only three centre backs. Indeed, this was already causing problems due to injuries, and had led to Theo Streete being brought in as cover at short notice. He revealed that Theo had originally just been training with the club for a week, but the sudden opportunity had arisen and he had been happy to accept a month’s loan to have the possible chance of first team action. Sean was asked if he had considered one of our own juniors for the role (presumably Rob Pacey), but he said it had just worked out that Theo had been in the right place at the right time. Sean said he would consider new signings in the January window, and he felt that John, being a businessman, would be prepared to evaluate this on a business basis. In turn, Sean would only bring in players, whatever their cost, if it represented genuine value for money. One position he was considering was a utility type player who could cover several positions, although he was, not unexpectedly, pressed on the possibility of signing James Hayter, who both he and Richard said they admired, and with whom Sean had worked for many years. However, and despite possible concerns at Bournemouth about such matters, Sean said he would always do any dealings the right way by approaching the club first. Sean said he admired John’s approach in a similar way, especially the fact that, in the case of James O’Connor, he had offered a reasonable and acceptable price straight away, so the deal was done in days rather than protracted over weeks of silly price negotiations as so often happens. He was also inevitably asked about Brian Stock, who had made an immediate impact. Seam said that he couldn’t comment too much on a Preston player, but he was certainly happy with Brian in the team, and would consider looking to retain him if the opportunity arose, and assuming Preston would release him if he continued to perform so well.
Asked why he had come so far north to Doncaster, Sean told us that he had been head hunted by Rovers, rather than applying for the vacancy, so it was Rovers who came to him and Richard rather than the other way round. He had been offered other jobs over the summer, including Championship clubs, but felt that the Rovers job was right for him, and believed that sometimes you have to go with such instincts. He had been sold the dream by John Ryan, but felt that, in a genuine football town like Doncaster, and with the financial backing available, that dream could be turned into reality in due course. He confirmed that the new stadium was a significant factor in his decision, and both he and Richard said they were very excited to be moving in. The new stadium had lifted the team and the club at Bournemouth, despite it only being three-sided, and he expected the same at the Lakeside only even more so.
Sean said that, surprisingly, one of the happiest times of his life in football was when Bournemouth went into administration. Even though, sadly, some people lost their jobs, the upside was that the fans, players, and staff pulled together for perhaps the first time. He felt that the players and the fans WERE the club, and hoped for similar goal congruence at Rovers.
Sean explained his philosophy with regard to varying structures around fixed tactics. Formations such as 4:4:2, diamonds, or whatever, were not what was solely important, as long as the tactics were adhered to. He wanted players to be comfortable in different positions, and not rigidly fixed in their positional thinking. When one player moved another should be able and willing to fill that position. He clearly believed that James Coppinger was an excellent footballer who could play in several positions, whether that be his usual wing role, or “in the hole” behind the front two. He was the sort of intelligent player a team could be built around.
Several fans said they had been impressed by what they had seen so far in the first three games, and were very confident that we had got the management team to take us forward to the Championship. Particularly stressed were the apparent improvement in team spirit, the flexibility, passing, and movement, and the inventiveness of the formations in the three games under the new regime, culminating in a wonderful football display in the first half against Carling Cup victims Derby County.
Asked the inevitable question about Sean Thornton, both Sean and Richard said they thought he was a decent lad who was now living his life properly, and who had an undoubted huge footballing talent, and they would continue to assess whether he was ready for the first team. No player would ever play unless Sean knew what he was going to be able to deliver.
Richard was asked if he brought his scouting network with him, but greeted the question with a stonewall “no comment at this stage”.
A vote of thanks was proposed from the floor for Mickey Walker with regard to him taking over the manager’s job at such short notice. Mickey said how much he’d enjoyed his stint in charge, and would have liked the job on a permanent basis had Sean and Richard not been available. However, he said his job was now to support the new team which he would do 100%. He was very appreciative of the massive backing he had received from fans, but asked them to now turn that support towards the new management team. Some discussion took place about financing of the Youth Team, and Mickey spoke of the way it was being developed.
Rovers director David Morris presents manager Sean O'Driscoll with his honorary membership of the VSC
Mel Rothwell spoke emotionally from the floor about how well the club were now working with the local junior leagues, which he was also involved with, the first time this had ever happened in this way. He also stressed the importance of the VSC in fund raising for the Youth Team, which drew a round of applause. Andy Liney later pointed out that the Coin Trail, was specifically designed to raise funds for the Youth Team, which had been re-launched partly on the basis of a pledge from the VSC to raise £25,000 per annum. To date the total was £53,000, still some way short of reaching its target by having enough coins to cover the 2 km from Belle Vue to the new ground, by Christmas. He appealed for fans who believed in the Youth Team to donate to the Coin Trail when they saw Mel himself with his bucket coming round that afternoon, and when other opportunities arose.
Sean and Richard had indicated that they had to leave by 12.15 to attend to footballing matters, so the meeting was drawn to a close at that time, with many fans remaining in the bar to watch the live draw for the Carling Cup Third Round. Sean and Richard left to a spontaneous standing ovation which continued until they were well across the car park.
(Full minutes of the meeting will appear on this site in due course).
September 25, 2006
