TRUST NEWSLETTER - MARCH
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This is the tenth of our communications and the third of our monthly newsletters. Firstly, our thanks for the continued support. We are conscious that there are a lot of games over the next few weeks and have been considering how we make them accessible for as many fans as possible. We always welcome feedback and if you have any thoughts or views we would encourage you to share them with us, by emailing office@newport-county.co.uk. Elections Thank you to those of you that made contact on the above. Today (10th March) should have been the day we sent out voting forms and manifesto’s to members. Unfortunately, we only received one applicant in the first round for the above and as a result we are considering how we move forward. We have received feedback that some of the responsibilities could have turned candidates off applying and we will look at this as part of the next step. That said we must ensure that decision makers carry appropriate risk. We are clear the mistakes of the past must be learnt and we need to avoid the historic position of only having a couple of Directors or even worse, just one. The club cannot operate in this manner again. For the avoidance of doubt anyone who is a Director of the club will have parity irrelevant of whether they sit on the Football or Trust Board. Colin Everret (who a number of fans will know) is assisting in this process given his background as a European Elections Officer. In addition Supporters’ Direct are also engaged and we will be releasing a further statement next week setting out the next stage in the process. Review Given the recent departure of the CEO the Board has taken the time to reflect on the structure that is needed going forward. Following the review the structure will have three pillars:
The three pillars will report into the Board and have a Board sponsor as a point of contact The Board is delighted that Anthony has agreed to take on additional responsibilities associated with this role. Anthony joined us earlier this season on a consultancy basis, supporting the executive as part of the backroom team. Anthony has forged an esteemed career in the professional football industry as an operations manager at Cardiff City FC, and more recently in events management at The Premier League. A former player himself with Marine FC, Barry Town and a number of other Welsh League Clubs, he has been involved in football all his life and is an ideal candidate to lead the business as we look to establish ourselves in The Football League. Anthony’s father, Derek Redwood, is a former player who spent 3 years at the Club between 1972-1975, something which has provided Anthony with a close affinity for the Club over the years. Working closely with Warren and the Board, Anthony will now assume the role of Chief Operating Officer in a permanent capacity, taking control of the day-to-day management of the Football Club. His wealth of knowledge and experience has been welcomed by the Club and has already given rise to much-needed changes behind the scenes. We have already seen first-hand his enthusiasm and dedication towards his duties and he is fully-committed to driving the Club forward in all aspects of the business. Anthony is directly responsible to the Board of Directors, and he has our full support in succeeding in his new role, focussing on maintaining and improving our current standards. Ticket Issues There have been a number of instances recently where people have been buying tickets for categories they are not entitled. This is very disappointing and unfair to those fans who buy the correct tickets. In addition it also costs the club money. The club has recently put a number of measures in place to combat this growing problem. If you are in any doubt please contact the club or ask a member of the ticket office. Academy Well done to the Academy, who reached the FA Youth Semi-Final, but were knocked out by Swansea City on Wednesday evening. Whilst the team lost 2-0, it was a hard fought game and the team gave a good account of themselves. Well done to all concerned. Academy review We have commissioned a review of the Academy. The review will focus on a number of elements, not least the readiness to move from Category 4 to a category 3 Academy. We will share the headlines of the review when it is complete. Academy Manager We can confirm that Grant Kalahar (Academy Manager), will leave the Club at the end of the season and will look to explore new challenges and opportunities. His appointment at the beginning of the campaign has given rise to a new and improved Youth Development programme which continues to yield local, home-grown players for our first team. During his tenure the Academy have taken great strides forward which will serve us well for the future. We would like to thank Grant for his hard work and we will now look to continue building on the solid foundations that we have established. In light of the above, Grant will now be stepping back from the full-time programme to allow us to plan for next season’s campaign. With immediate effect, Byron Anthony will take charge of the Academy as an interim appointment until the end of the season, and the Club will now undertake a review of the position before making a permanent appointment. Charity Sponsorship for next season Thank you to those that voted in the above. St David’s Hospice were delighted to have been chosen as the winners of the vote. This move is an important step in our progression to put the community at the heart of our Club. We are grateful to our current sponsor HHF who fully supported our approach and are happy to support the club elsewhere - ensuring there has been no loss of income for the Club. Since the vote and following a suggestion from fans, we are pleased to say that Llamau will also feature on the back of the away shirt. This has now been confirmed with kit manufactures Macron. End of season 'Fun day' We can confirm that we will be hosting an end of season Fun Day at Rodney Parade on Sunday 1st May 2016. The day will consist of various events on site, to include a junior Club festival and a host of footballing activities for all. Further details will be confirmed in due course. Annual General Meeting We have for some time been preparing for the above event, which will mainly focus around the Club’s accounts. The intention is to hold the event at the end of April. We hope to launch the business plan for next season at the same time. Accounts – FY 14/15 We have put transparency as one of our key principles and we intend to follow this when we release the accounts for FY 14/15. Whilst the current Board were not in place during this period we feel it is important that supporters’ should be able to see a full set of audited accounts and how the company was trading during that period. Again these will be tabled at the AGM and will have an increased level of detail. Junior Chairman Again following the community theme, the Junior Chairman scheme has proved really successful. Those who have applied have met the manager, players, media, and Directors at home games. It is a great experience and I am sure something they will remember for a very long time. If you are interested in this please email the club on office@newport-county.co.uk. Community The community side of the Club undertakes some excellent work promoting the Club in the local community and below is some of the things they are currently involved in.
Yorkshire to Amsterdam Bike Ride Currently we have eight people signed up to represent Newport County AFC cycling from Yorkshire to Amsterdam Oakwell to Ajax from June 3rd-5th 2016. This is for Prostate Cancer-Men United(prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam) . Last years team Dan Harvey, Norman Parselle, Deiniol Parselle & Danielle Seivwright will be joined by Dave Lewis, Dan Williams, Mike Pratt & Nathan Blake with James Hayhoe, Liam Jenkins & Warren Feeney also promising to sign up this month. We need to raise £1000 per rider and will raise our funds as a team. We have 5 or 6 fundraising initiatives coming up, starting with a bucket collection at the Bristol Rovers match. We are also hosting a quiz night on Wednesday 23rd March, starting at 8pm in Rodney Hall. Entry is £10 per team (max. 5 people per team). You can also donate via https://www.justgiving.com/County-in-the-Community-London-to-Amsterdam-Cycle-Challenge Shop – clearance sale There are a number of items in the shop that are currently on sale. Please pop in and have a look or alternatively have a look online. Hospitality review We have had a lot of feedback in relation to the above and as a result we have commissioned a formal review. If you have experience of hospitality and have any views or thoughts feel free to share them with the club by emailing office@newport-county.co.uk Fans Behaviour There have been a number of instances of Club officials being verbally abused. Whilst it is appreciated that passions run high, this behaviour is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. The Board has a duty of care to the employees ensuring they work in a comfortable environment. Any instance of this will lead to an automatic ban. Two for Tuesday With the club having five home games during the month of March, we’ve made tickets for the visit of Hartlepool United two for one. Tickets can be purchased from just £7.50 each, full prices are as follows: Bisley/Hazell Stand – 2 for £19 Hazell Terrace/Family Enclosure – 2 for £17 North Terrace – 2 for £15 Premium Amber Seats – 2 for £22 Tickets are available online by selecting the quantity of 2 tickets and choosing the ‘Two for Tuesday’ option. Ticket office opening hours up until the game are as follows: Friday 10am – 3pm Monday 10am – 7pm Tuesday 10am – Kick off Those who have already purchased tickets or season ticket holders in general sale areas can claim an additional ticket at no extra cost by visiting the ticket office during office opening hours. Due to the potential walk up on Tuesday this offer for purchased tickets or season ticket holders can only be applied up until 4pm. New purchases for the ‘Two for Tuesday’ can be made right up until kick off on Tuesday evening. Loan Players Due to Football League regulations, sometimes it is not possible for us to keep a player on loan for the whole season. There are three types of loans that we’ve used so far this season and a brief outline of each is detailed below: Emergency Loans Emergency Loans can be utilised to bring in players at any time up until the fourth Thursday in March, apart from a seven day period at the end of each transfer window. These loans are predominantly for players over the age of 21 and can only last for a maximum of 93 days, they must last for 28 days as a minimum and any breaks in the loan will mean a further minimum period of 28 days, should we use 66 days of an Emergency Loan, we would be unable to extend it if the loan is not continuous. It’s important as a club we use the dates wisely to maximise the loan. Youth Loans Youth Loans can be used at the same times as Emergency Loans, however they’re only available to bring in players under the age of 21. There is no maximum length of loan for a Youth Loan, but it must end prior to the players 21st birthday. A good example of this is the resigning of Tommy O’Sullivan, we took Tommy on an initial Youth Loan prior to his 21st birthday, now that Tommy is 21 we can take him on an Emergency Loan for a period of 59 days that will cover us until the end of the season. Both Emergency and Youth Loans can be recalled by the parent clubs following the initial period of 28 days. Standard Loans Standard loans are used between transfer windows and this is something we have utilised for Janoi Donacien this season, we took Janoi on an initial 93 day Emergency Loan and converted the loan to a standard loan in January through until the end of the season. Standard loans allow for players to remain with the club for the duration of the loan as clubs are not entitled to a call back a player, unless the player is a goalkeeper. DSA hosting Level Playing Field Forum The Newport County DSA will be hosting the inaugural Welsh Regional Forum for Level Playing Field. The event will take place on Wednesday 6th April, with objectives of the forum to provide a medium where individual DSAs and club representatives can exchange views, policies and practices concerning their respective clubs and associations. The event has been organised to coincide with Level Playing Field Weeks of Action 2016. Thanks for your support.
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