Richmond Spurs: Chairman's Address

Courtesy of Official Site-

The Chairman's address to the EGM at White Hart Lane at 2pm this afternoon,
Monday November 26.
Before we start on the official business I should like to
say a few words to the meeting.
We have much to be optimistic about going
forward and that is what I wish to concentrate on today. We have made changes
recently in order to strengthen our position in several areas. This is a dynamic
business and as such we have to constantly respond to changing circumstances,
some within, but many outside, of our control.
As a result, these last three
months have been testing times for us all. Both the Club and I personally have
endured much criticism. We have absorbed much blame – very little of which was
justified with facts. But we elected not to respond and rather to hold our
counsel. We took the clear decision that we would not discuss private matters in
public and we did this in the long-term interests of the Club and all parties
involved.
I should now like to take this opportunity to once again thank
Martin Jol, Chris Hughton and Hans Segers and wish them well in their future
careers.
We have a new and respected coaching team and I look forward to
introducing Juande to you after the formal proceedings today and for you to hear
his thoughts on the remainder of the season.
The performance of the business
means that we retain the ability to invest and, in respect of players on long
contracts, we have no need to sell. It is noteworthy that all key players are on
long-term contracts with the exception of Jermain Defoe, who has expressed
publicly that he wants to remain at the club and I put it on record that we want
him to stay.
I should also like to correct newspaper reports that have
existed, despite my denials, that ENIC has agreed to sell its shareholding in
the Club. For nearly 7 years we have, I believe, moved this Club forward, but
have had to endure constant speculation from those who would seek to detract
from what we are achieving. For the record yet again, no offer has been made for
the Club during my time here, not even by Roman Abramovich as was so incorrectly
reported.
This year sees us report record financial results. TV, sponsorship,
retail, ticket and corporate hospitality revenues have all contributed to an
increase of 39% in turnover and good management of the business has seen profits
rise to 31% of turnover. We have continued to upgrade the Ticket Office and this
has now been relocated to Paxton Road. Service levels are critical in this area
of the business and it is important that we continuously evaluate and raise
standards of delivery. We have centralised customer service and this has been
well received – we shall, however, continue to seek further
improvements.
Investment and work on valuable community-based projects
through the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation continues to go from strength to
strength. In conjunction with our application for the Training Centre at Bulls
Cross is a commitment to deliver a 10 year outreach programme within the local
community worth in excess of £2.3m.
We currently have a minimum of one player
per week attending a community event in areas local to the club and our
facilities. It is a tremendous commitment not only by your club, but also by the
First Team and Academy players who derive a genuine benefit and enjoyment from
this aspect of their footballing lives. It is also a much valued and appreciated
service to the communities.
Earlier this month we also launched our Spurs
Learning Zone – a dedicated state of the art facility located here at the
stadium, that will host daily classes of up to 30 local children, providing them
with access to cutting edge information, communication, podcasting and digital
editing technologies - a resource much welcomed by our local council.
Not
only as a football club, but as a business in general, the level, quality and
effect of our contribution to communities and good causes, is outstanding and
sets us apart. We should recognise this and be rightly proud.
Looking to our
capital expenditure projects - In respect of the stadium I can report, as
promised in January, that we have refined our options. At this stage, as I am
sure you will understand, it would be commercially inappropriate to discuss
these in further detail. To date, Matthew Collecott and I have directed the
project and we are making substantial progress. Last week we added to our
project team with the appointment of Paul Phillips, who will be the project
manager on a day-to-day basis. Paul has a proven track record in delivering
complex stadium solutions and was the project leader on the Emirates
Stadium.
We should all be conscious of the fact that we face significant
hurdles and disadvantages in our search for an optimum solution to increased
capacity. For example, with our current location, we do not have inherent land
values in Tottenham that could drive enabling development and regeneration.
Additionally, the Olympics is taking significant public funds out of the public
purse which could assist with any major schemes. There is no easy option for us
but we are determined to find a solution. We shall announce our preferred option
in the first half of 2008.
Please be assured that your Board is applying the
same vigour and determination towards achieving a successful outcome on this
capital project as we did for the Training facility and I am pleased to be able
to report good news on that now.
We achieved a terrific step forward with
future plans when earlier this month Enfield Council Planning Committee voted to
grant planning permission for our Football Training Centre – a combined First
Team and Academy facility - at Bulls Cross, Enfield. We were absolutely
delighted with this outcome, the culmination of years of hard work and
determination by a dedicated in house team and external consultants. The
application will now pass to the Mayor of London and the Government Office for
London for final approval.
I shall now ask James Budd of architects KSS to
make a brief presentation on an overview of the scheme.
Thank you
James.
As you can see it is an outstanding facility – the creation of a world
class First Team and Academy training facility set on over 60 acres and we have
now achieved an important first step towards realising this vital project for
the Club. It will be instrumental in attracting the best young talent and afford
our current squad state of the art facilities in which to train over the
season.
Our Academy is already home to some of the most outstanding young
talent in the country. When much has been said about the need to nurture young
home grown English talent, you can be proud that your Club boasts no fewer than
8 academy players in the England youth teams. Additional to this are a further 8
players who represent their countries at youth international level. The Club now
has a total of 34 international players and 7 full England internationals.
We
shall keep you informed as we progress the Training Centre project – our current
timetable aims for completion in the summer of 2010 but I would stress once
again that there are still further stages to be passed in the next few months
and we should also expect opposition to continue. I would ask that you continue
to give it your support as we progress through those stages.
In closing, I
should like to thank everyone at the Club for their contribution to last
season's success and to the Club's supporters for their magnificent support.
This year we celebrated our 125th Anniversary – a notable landmark for a great
football club – but equally important that we now look ahead with confidence and
ensure that glory is not a term used only to recall events from the past. We
have much happening now that will impact greatly on our future.
Thank you