The John Mac interview

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Edmundo

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The John Mac interview

John, thank you for agreeing to do this interview with the Griffin Park Grapevine. We have a lot of questions for you, but I will try and group them together by topic, so that you don't have to repeat yourself.

The first question comes from Simon C, who asks:

Does this interview mean you've changed your position on reading the GPG?
 

The John Mac interview

The next question is from Gee Bee.

Could you please tell us your three biggest achievements that you have overseen in your time as director of BFC?
 

The John Mac interview

The fact the club is still in business; we've seen the start of improvement to the facilities at Griffin Park (obviously this is a long-term project); and the improvements to the playing side.
 

The John Mac interview

We have received a lot of questions that relate to the ticketing problems for the Southampton FA Cup tie last season. The first is from Bee H.

Would you care to run through the Southampton ticket fiasco with us;

a. why we didn't accept the initial higher allocation when everyone knew that we'd sell them all?
b. why were the ticket sales not previously discussed and arranged to avoid what appeared to be panic "get it out of the door" mayhem?
c. why did a Director not appear in front of the fans that day to explain the situation instead of leaving it to an employee?
 

The John Mac interview

a. We were never offered a higher allocation initially. We requested additional tickets and told we would have to give a financial guarantee at the adult price of £25 for each ticket. But we were never offered our full allocation.
b. The club did not believe that we would sell our full allocation of 3,500 therefore we didn't offer to Season Ticket holders first.
c. That's not true - I did. i went down and got everyone off the street and into the ground and closed the gates and guaranteed that everyone inside the ground would get a ticket for the game which they did.
 
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The John Mac interview

Still on Southampton, jmcp asks ...

Did you attend the Southampton game at St Marys or give up any tickets you had on principle? How many members of Bees United Board if any did this?
 

The John Mac interview

abee asks ...

When did it come to the attention of the BFC directors and the BU board that a BU nominated director to the BFC board amended and added untrue statements to a post on the official website over the name of the BFC chairman and without his approval or authority during Southampton week. The amended statements were subsequently removed. Why was no action taken against this director and do you as a BFC executive director and BU CEO believe that this conduct is acceptable? If so could you explain why and if not why as the BU CEO did you not demand the resignation of this BU nominated director whose conduct reportedly fell well below the high standards that should be expected?

and eghambee asks ...

What is your view on what should have been done to individuals involved in the Southampton lies ...?
 

The John Mac interview

Picking up on a supplementary question from eghambee ...

Southampton: Why did we ask for more tickets if we knew we wouldnt sell our allocation?
 

The John Mac interview

The FA Cup rules are that away teams are entitled to 15% of the stadium capacity. Southampton asked us how many tickets we wanted - we said "as many as possible" and they siad that we could have 10% - when we asked for more they said they we would have to guarantee that we would have to sell every single one of them at the Adult price and FA said that they were entitled to do that - although I would argue that is an incorrect interpretation of the FA Cup rules in my opinion.
 

The John Mac interview

Moving onto what happens when / if the option is exercised, eghambee has asked ...

I and most supporters admire the stand taken by yourself and others in BIAS and then BU to move Ron Noades farther away from this club. But you were all keen Brentford fans, with very limited knowledge of running a professional club, and things have moved on.

If the club manages to exercise its option from Altonwood, who if any of the current Board and Management should remain to move the club into a professionally run football club?
 

The John Mac interview

The Bees United philospohy has been that the Board should be made up from supporters that have appropriate skills and others that can offer benefits to the future of the business.
 

The John Mac interview

It allowed me to represent BU at Executive level on the BFC Board - the day to day running of BU is carried by the Chairman and the Secretary. It is a hangover from when I was Chairman and Chief Executive of BU.
 

The John Mac interview

And another question from abee ...

You have been muted in respect of the exercising of the option and the hoped for raising of the £1million to enable BU to negotiate with Altonwood. It seemed that at one time you were the preferred contact (if you like) between BU and Altonwood. Was that true and does it still apply? If so why are you not playing an active role in the current negotiations and if it is not what happened (if anything) between you and Altonwood?
 

The John Mac interview

We are now discussing financial arrangements and I am not a financial expert and those people talking to Altonwood and the banks now are financial experts.
 

The John Mac interview

eghambee asks ...

What is your view on what should have been done to individuals involved in ... the Tranmere race cock up?
 

The John Mac interview

I don't have a view about that - I do think we should be more careful about the process by which we release statements and the club has put in place such procedures.
 

The John Mac interview

Some questions on Brentford's new CEO. eghambee asks ...

Do you think the new CEO is up to the job in front of him, and what has he added to the club?
 

The John Mac interview

It's too early to make any comment and he is serving a probationary period and he has targets to meet and the board expectancy is that he will exceed those targets and prove to be an valuable asset.
 

The John Mac interview

... and abee asks ...

According to the BFC organisation chart published on the official web site you are the BFC Projects Director reporting to Andy Finch the BFC CEO. Can you describe how this arrangement works in practice and what element of control and supervision Finch exercises over your work? Do you consider it unusual that an executive director reports to a CEO who is not on the main board because I find it extraordinary and would never have accepted the situation were I in your position?
 

The John Mac interview

eghambee asks ...

Was the current structure of Board and Management put in place mainly to show the Banks that the club could manage a fairly small concern, before it embarked on a bigger issue at a potentially new ground?
 

The John Mac interview

abee asks about the brief directorship last season of Greville Waterman.

What was your reaction upon hearing that Greville Waterman was to be offered a seat on the main BFC board and were you surprised and disappointed when he felt obliged to resign or did things turn out much as you expected?
 

The John Mac interview

I hoped that GW would help to improve the relationship between the club and the supporters. I was disappointed when he felt that he could no longer continue his association with the football club.
 

The John Mac interview

On a fundraising issue, Old B asks ...

In view of the fantastic offer by a Bees supporter in the USA agreeing to match Saturdays bucket collection pound for pound - are any of the BU nominated Directors of the Football Club planning to stand outside the ground before and after the game with a bucket.

Can they also please tell us in advance on THEIR WEBSITE which Directors will be and where they will be located?

It is NOT a National Secret or Security threat!!!!

If not WHY NOT?
 

The John Mac interview

Not as far as I know - I don't believe anyone is planning to do that.

I can't answer for other people but I have been working every Saturday until 3pm and that may be the case this week as well.
 

The John Mac interview

graham ball asks ...

What qualifications or business experience can you point to , in terms of your suitability to contribute to the running of a £1M plus turnover business?

And jmcp asks ...

Do you genuinely believe you offer value for money and have the skills required for your current post at Brentford? As a fan do you not sometimes think stepping aside and letting someone better equipped to take your position would be a better way to take the club forward?
 

The John Mac interview

My qualification and experience are as a supporter. The Government and Supporters' Direct believe that football clubs are better run with the involvement of supporters. The record of the previous regimes are that they have plenty of experience of running football clubs but they are the ones that have left us in the mess we're in right now.

Up until now there hasn't been anyone available to work under the conditions imposed upon us because of our financial situation.
 

The John Mac interview

graham ball asks ...

Why was the £1million appeal launched so late? The PR opportunities of the cup run and end of season finish were both missed.
 

The John Mac interview

The million-pound appeal was launched in response to an offer in April of a financial package to refinance the business.
 

The John Mac interview

Nigel Brooks asks about the projects that you are reported to be working on.

What are the EXACT completion dates of the following projects?

IT upgrade
Telephone system upgrade
Ticketing system installation
CRM system

Are you working on any other projects, new stadium aside?


And Ace Face asks ...

If you were to resign tomorrow, do you honestly think the club would be able to operate and the projects you are leading on be completed to the project plans? If the answer is yes, why are you taking a wage at BFC?
 

The John Mac interview

It's a long-term project and it will take some time before it's complete. There are several milestones along the way, but it will take at least the whole of this season in my opinion.

There is no exact completion date as they are long-term projects. The ticketing system and the CRM system are the same thing.
 

The John Mac interview

Ace Face has asked some questions that all relate in some way to the future of Griffin Park:

Would you support selling GP with no new ground identified, funding agreed and construction contracts signed?

What is your view on the Barratts offer?

How do you see C & M fitting into the grand schemes of GP sale and or redevelopment?
 

The John Mac interview

First Question: No
Barretts: interesting
C&M: waiting for C&M to come up with a full proposal for us to consider but their current proposals are also interesting.
 

The John Mac interview

Ace Face has also asked some questions about budgets ...

Do you think BFC can afford the current admin budget it has per annum?

What is the average attendance figure needed at GP for BFC to break even, excluding cup revenue?

What is the net-profit % increase in merchandise sales since the new clup shop opened?
 

The John Mac interview

Admin Budget: yes
Average Attendance: 6,300 is in the budget
Net Profit increase: too early to give precise figures but income is well above expectation.
 

The John Mac interview

In fact Ace Face has asked lots of questions ...

How did you feel about Gary Hargraves being a guest of the club at games towards the end of last season?
 

The John Mac interview

And a few more questions from the one and only Ace Face ...


Do you and all other Directors pay for your season tickets?
 

The John Mac interview

I don't have a season ticket - if I'm not working on a match day I pay the normal turnstile admission prices. As far as I know most of the Directors that have season tickets pay for them themselves.
 
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