The John Mac interview discussion thread

[Edmundo]

Please use this thread to discuss the interview. If time allows, we will look into this thread to pick up on supplementary questions.

 

[Nurse Betty]

Ed, I haven't logged in to one of these before. Do I stay on this screen and refresh?

 

[Luton Bee]

Have a look at this thread for the interview and John's answers, post further questions in here

https://griffinpark.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35823

 

[eghambee]

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

 

[B2B]

whitewash to abees question - what is your opinion of how the chairman handled the southampton lies fiasco? why, in your various roles within the organisation(s) did you not feel it neccesary to intervene?

 

[eghambee]

I asked for a view of what should have been done. Either give it or say i have no view, please dont ignore it.

 

[Luton Bee]

If potential new investors are making conditional offers dependant on your resignation, will you stand down for the greater good of the Football Club?

 

[keefor]

Why do you think that a number of BU members perceive that there is a growing gap between the BU appointed directors and the BU 'rank and file"?

 

[eghambee]

The FA rules state that the away team is entitled to UPTO 15%, Southampton's fault was not offering them at sale or return.

But why did we ask if the board thought we wouldnt sell our allocation?

 

[eghambee]

Im going to watch TV, no questions are being answered.

 

[Nurse Betty]

Why have you continued to occupy two positions - BU CEO and BFC Director - when you made a public statemement saying that this should not happen?

 

[Nurse Betty]

You say that the BU philosophy is for the Board Directors to be appropriately skilled and to have something to offer the Club. Can you give one example of the expertise Graham Hall has brought to the Club's Communication strategy?

 

[Luton Bee]

Im going to watch TV, no questions are being answered.

I have to say I agree with this, although it needs to be remembered that this is not Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman, and we (Ed) can't simply ask the same question over and over again until John deigns to answer it.

 

[Luton Bee]

I have to say reading the interview the list of what John doesn't do is growing, makes you wonder what he does do all day? :scratch:

 

[eghambee]

Nothing on TV

What about the big one? Who is going to tell Finch to go, after the option is achieved?

 

[eghambee]

ED - What has the CEO added to the club? it wasn't answered?

 

[eghambee]

Ahead of time - that means Finch will get put on the Board!!!!


Anyway ED - What are the CEO's targets?

 

[Nurse Betty]

It sounds as though you think the management structure should have been thought through more clearly so can you explain how you are managing your relationship with the CEO on a day-to-day basis at the moment? I can see how the unusual reporting structure could cause confusion about who was the decision maker.

 

[Luton Bee]

I mis-read Graham Ball for a second there.......

 

[AshfordBee]

Has he just fallen asleep?

 

[Nurse Betty]

There must be end-dates for all of these projects. They are not going to be allowed to run on into infinity. Why would the ticketing system and the training of staff take until the end of this season when Eddie Rogers said it would be up and running for the beginning of the season with all staff members trained on it? Please comment.

 

[eghambee]

Nurse you mis understand - Most if not all other companies have targeted end dates for projects - it is part of understanding how much the project will cost.

But this is Brentford init!

 

[Luton Bee]

The season ticket question sweepstake:

Will John:-
a) answer a different question.
b) say he doesn't know
c) claim he is entitled to a free-bee as he works at the game or
d) all of the above.

 

[eghambee]

The season ticket question sweepstake:

Will John:-
a) answer a different question.
b) say he doesn't know
c) claim he is entitled to a free-bee as he works at the game or
d) all of the above.

or e) not answer the question and say most! Which means No to the actual question in my books.

 

[Luton Bee]

I have heard these rumours and I don't believe that BU will fall short of their fundraising target just because a few people object to my continued involvement in the football club. If Brian Burgess also hold the view that I need to stand down in order to raise the funds it needs then he would have told me so and he hasn't.

So I presume anyone who was witholding funds will continue to withold them, seems that John was playing for time all along?

 

[eghambee]

What i dont understand is why the £1m is the be all and end all!

Surely BU's negotiations would be stronger if we had £1.5m or £1.2m.

So if these investors are witholding money due to JM not standing down, then BU will have a weaker negotiating stance.

Or have i missed something?

 

[Luton Bee]

Thanks to John McGlashan and Edmundo for their time on this interview.

 

[Ronan]

Just got home and read it, interesting. JM is a bigger fool than you lot made out. Now I'm no biggie in football finance but the amount of blunt, unconstructive answers like 'No' and 'I didn't know' were alarming. By the way he runs things, I think he was being honest about having Brentford still running being his best acheivement...

 

[eghambee]

Can i just add my thankyou for John coming on to go through some questions.

Some have been answered and many haven't , left with more questions as a result.

There are things that are at odds with what has been said in the past and finally i guess the' what does JM earn?' can be closed.(why did it take this long )

I like JM as a person, and am happy to talk with him. But i think he has allowed the situation to get deeper and deeper, and is made to look worse by the other dickheads that have caused the cockups.

Im sure there is plenty to disect here that throw a shadow over other individuals.

 

[Old B]

Great work by Edmundo keeping that killer question until last, I bet JM thought he had escaped that one.

Anyway, sounds like we need Brian Burgess on here tomorrow to answer how he feels the final £290,000 will be raised without JM standing down. Oh I get it, smiffy will be organising another 193,334 texts

Getting back to the bucket rattling what mightily important work will the 4 BU nominated Directors be doing on Saturday between 1pm and 3pm which cannot be put in abeyance for a bit of leading by example. They should be totally ashamed of themselves. Another G&T by any chance.

 

[eghambee]

Great work by Edmundo keeping that killer question until last, I bet JM thought he had escaped that one.

Anyway, sounds like we need Brian Burgess on here tomorrow to answer how he feels the final £290,000 will be raised without JM standing down. Oh I get it, smiffy will be organising another 193,334 texts

Getting back to the bucket rattling what mightily important work will the 4 BU nominated Directors be doing on Saturday between 1pm and 3pm which cannot be put in abeyance for a bit of leading by example. They should be totally ashamed of themselves. Another G&T by any chance.

I have to say that as they will be staying out of the Directors lounge, that might give them the reason to hold a bucket!

 

[abee]

rofl

Well in US parlance he took the 5th did he not.

But what do we know now that we didn't this afternoon. abee's incisive comments in italics.......

1) JM describes the Barratts offer as "interesting"....... rofl

When I mentioned it on the GPG in response to a Gee Bee post I said that I thought that like just about everything else at BFC it was secret..... (Joe Bourke then posted that he knew of no offer so perhaps he should ask the Bees United CEO at the next BU meeting if he can have a look at it. If JM refuses then maybe we can run him off a copy eh???).

2) The C&M offer is "interesting".......

I have a copy in my files and you can say that again........ rofl

3) Average attendance to break even........JM says 6300 is in the budget.

Absolute codswallop...... that is NOT the "break-even" figure...if JM as an executive director finds it "interesting" the break-even figure for "profitability" not a break even cash flow is 7,750. I assume that they don't discuss these things at board meetings.

4) JM didn't know that Gary Hargraves had ever been a guest of the club.

Don't they ever discuss these things at Bees United meetings??

5) Brian Burgess has not discussed with JM that he needs to stand down in order to guarantee the reaching of the fund raising targets.

Words fail me. I am in despair.

6) My question "Are you terminating your paid employment at BFC" was not answered

Indeed JM stated elsewhere that if he went then someone else would have to continue his projects which he sees as taking through to the end of the season.

Pithy conclusion Didn't sound like a bloke who has his black sack ready to toss his belongings in any day now.

 

[SamBee]

his last answer sounds like everything is ok for the £1m deadline so thats :bound:

"I don't believe that BU will fall short of their fundraising target just because a few people object to my continued involvement in the football club"

or isit going to fall short whatever ?

 

[eghambee]

Is it worth sending all the unanswered questions and the ones that now spring up from this discussion to Q&A this week?

What are the CEO's targets? (as he is looking likely to do better, WTF are they? P@@s 2 supporters off with rude e-mails? TICK)

As only 'most' of the directors have paid for their season tickets, which ones haven't?

WTF is the definitive on Southampton? "give us as many as you can", " we didnt think we would sell our allocation", "we requested extra tickets"....

Who do you think should remain after the option is exercised?

Why was the £1m appeal dependent on some financial package in April? Shouldnt we have been aiming for it anyway, earlier?

Why are there no Project completion target dates?

Are BU in a better negotiating position with £1.5m raised than £1m?

 

[Aberdeen flyer]

As usual we got what we really expected from JM - NOTHING !!
If anybody deluded themselves that he would come on here and say anything constructive then they don't know the man...some questions were very good - others a bit personal....but at the end of the day JM did what JM always does....looks after numero uno !!!

 

[Nigel Brooks]

Well, I am still shaking my head in disbelief.

A 'Projects Director' who does not know when the projects he is working on will end.

The ticketing system (already in) and the CRM system may be coming from the same supplier but they are NOT the same thing, as any 'Projects Director' even one earning as little as £28,000 (real ones earn three-four times this amount) would know.

So, we are no wiser as to what John does in his role, which projects he is actually 'directing' and when, if ever, these projects will end.

So, we need a Projects Director ..........do we?

How much longer will this nonsense go on?

 

[ChinaBee]

Sorry just got in from the grind and didn't have a chance to send any questions to Ed

I would like to say 3 things

1. Well done to John for having the courage to come on and face the questions

2. Well done to Ed for organising and putting the questions (some were his) across, and also thanks to those who raised the questions

3. I thought it was the worst ever publicity a BFC director can give himself, his answers were sometimes so blunt it was untrue. Most of the time the answers were not even answers. John you came across as someone who has been voted into a position but who has forgotten who voted you there - SUPPORTERS
A typical example of a person who always attacks from the back - those in front will get hurt first.
VERY VERY SAD INTERVIEW

I will now go back and read the last two GPG interviews with MA to restore my confidence in BFC "top of the league" - ON THE PITCH

 

[ChinaBee]

As usual we got what we really expected from JM - NOTHING !!
If anybody deluded themselves that he would come on here and say anything constructive then they don't know the man...some questions were very good - others a bit personal....but at the end of the day JM did what JM always does....looks after numero uno !!!

 

[ChinaBee]

rofl

Well in US parlance he took the 5th did he not.

But what do we know now that we didn't this afternoon. abee's incisive comments in italics.......

1) JM describes the Barratts offer as "interesting"....... rofl

When I mentioned it on the GPG in response to a Gee Bee post I said that I thought that like just about everything else at BFC it was secret..... (Joe Bourke then posted that he knew of no offer so perhaps he should ask the Bees United CEO at the next BU meeting if he can have a look at it. If JM refuses then maybe we can run him off a copy eh???).

2) The C&M offer is "interesting".......

I have a copy in my files and you can say that again........ rofl

Two of the many that made him sound like an ex supporter - NOT FUNNY

 

[TOMOGP]

Copied this from the interview which I think sums up just how deep JM's head is in the sand and words fail me

The next set of questions relate to a story that has been doing the rounds on the GPG for a little while and essentially the same question has been asked by several people, as follows:

Old B asks ...

Is Mr McGlashan aware of the allegations that certain benefactors will not pledge/donate or provide any financial support to the backthebees campaign whilst he remains in office at both Brentford Football Club and Bees United.

Yes

If he is aware of them will he stand down from his positions in order to help save Brentford Football Club.

[I]Not answered[/I]

If he has not heard of the allegations why does he feel that Brian Burgess and the committee of BU would not have told him about them as I know for a fact that all of the BU committee other than Graham Hall have been directly notified of the allegations.

No Comment
beeware says ...

John, I'm sure you are aware that there are people on the GPG who would donate significient funds to the Back The Bees campaign with the proviso of you retiring from the board of BFC. I understand that you are a true Bees supporter and that you would be welcomed back onto the terraces by old friends, if only you gave the campaign a chance by stepping down. My question is: Do you have any intention of retiring before the September deadline?

Ignored
Ace Face asks ...

If you were aware that investors were not willing to invest in Back The Bees whilst you were an employee, would you resign immediately?

[I]Ignored[/I]
jmcp asks ...

Do you not feel as a Brentford Fan, the strong opposition towards yourself in your current role by a large number of fellow fans makes your position untenable?

Ignored

graham ball asks ...

Please answer yes or no. If Bees fans offered £25,000 of loan notes to Back the Bees on the condition that you stepped down upon its receipt would you accept this offer?

IGNORED[/I]

And abee asks ...

“Is it true that you are terminating your paid employment at BFC. If so will you continue on the BFC and Bees United boards given that you seemingly enjoy the full confidence and backing of both boards. If the answer is “yes” then do you personally believe that this could have an effect on the fundraising capability of the “backthebees” campaign.

Ignored[/I]

He would go far in politics

 

[Banana]

To be fair to John and to be fair to Edmundo (and Banana). There's little point in asking hypothetical questions like "if someone offered £25,000,000.............if the Martians were to land tomorrow......." etc. etc. These are questions that anyone in their right mind wouldn't answer. There were a lot of questions tonight and, with the best will in the world, some were going to be skimmed over if they weren't immediately clear. Edmundo acts as a proxy for *your* questions - we don't ask any from ourselves although we may occassionally push on certain questions which is how you all know JM's salary.

It's very hard to keep the pace up in this type of interview and it's very difficult to read the supplementary questions whilst also organising the online interview as goes on. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed with some of the answers and that some supplementaries were unanswered, At the end we were pressed for time and priority goes to those that asked questions in advance. I and Ed are more than happy to send John follow-up questions.

 

[ChinaBee]

Let me answer one of the questions for John - honestly

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?

Honest answer.............
social secretary for a sunday league club.............ooopps first function over ran by several hours - New Ground, well soon

Egham, I know you like him but.............................

 

[ChinaBee]

To be fair to John and to be fair to Edmundo (and Banana). There's little point in asking hypothetical questions like "if someone offered £25,000,000.............if the Martians were to land tomorrow......." etc. etc. These are questions that anyone in their right mind wouldn't answer. There were a lot of questions tonight and, with the best will in the world, some were going to be skimmed over if they weren't immediately clear. Edmundo acts as a proxy for *your* questions - we don't ask any from ourselves although we may occassionally push on certain questions which is how you all know JM's salary.

It's very hard to keep the pace up in this type of interview and it's very difficult to read the supplementary questions whilst also organising the online interview as goes on. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed with some of the answers and that some supplementaries were unanswered, At the end we were pressed for time and priority goes to those that asked questions in advance. I and Ed are more than happy to send John follow-up questions.

Nana - Nobody (I hope) is blaming you or Ed, I for one think it is great that this was organised, however I for one think John's answers samacked of not given a damn for the supporters... sorry thats my honest opinion

And yes I agree some questions a) should not have been asked, b) could not have been answered on line...........................BUT

 

[Aberdeen flyer]

Honest answer.............
social secretary for a sunday league club.............ooopps first function over ran by several hours

Anybody got a dart board at home ???? rofl rofl rofl rofl

 

[ChinaBee]

Anybody got a dart board at home ???? rofl rofl rofl rofl

but didn't he win the table tennis...............it's my ball if you don't let me win rofl rofl

 

[TOMOGP]

To be fair to John and to be fair to Edmundo (and Banana). There's little point in asking hypothetical questions like "if someone offered £25,000,000.............if the Martians were to land tomorrow......." etc. etc. These are questions that anyone in their right mind wouldn't answer. There were a lot of questions tonight and, with the best will in the world, some were going to be skimmed over if they weren't immediately clear. Edmundo acts as a proxy for *your* questions - we don't ask any from ourselves although we may occassionally push on certain questions which is how you all know JM's salary.

It's very hard to keep the pace up in this type of interview and it's very difficult to read the supplementary questions whilst also organising the online interview as goes on. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed with some of the answers and that some supplementaries were unanswered, At the end we were pressed for time and priority goes to those that asked questions in advance. I and Ed are more than happy to send John follow-up questions.

I fully appreciate the above and in no way am I belittling the work put in But at least a yes or when asked for would have been clarification instead all he has done is stoke up more fuel against him

 

[TOMOGP]

Oh and by the way Banana was it not you who posted that he told you after the Scunthorpe Game that he would be resigning from both boards

 

[ChinaBee]

I have to say that as they will be staying out of the Directors lounge, that might give them the reason to hold a bucket!

Didnt you read some of them work until 3.00 on match days, also if they are not working (directors of football clubs) then the pay to get in.

 

[Aberdeen flyer]

The one thing that is clear from tonight is that JM's position is now totally untenable and he has become a laughing stock - does the man have no pride or is he just a stubborn individual who cares not a jot for the supporters he is supposed to represent...... :grey: :grey:

 

[Simon T]

BTW another gem for abee from the interview Just as we know that easily achievable and extremely difficult are pretty much the same thing, we also now know that "short term projects" ((c) Joe Bourke) are pretty much the same as long term projects with no end date ((c) John McGlashan).