TiL and LLSC meet with John Mitchell on 30 May Liam Day's report I attended a meeting on the evening of 30th May 2007 with Kevin Lennon of Loyal Luton Supporters Club, John Mitchell, CEO of Luton Town FC and Andy Mackenzie of the Luton News.
The meeting lasted for four hours and, it has to be made clear, that frank exchanges of views were expressed and at times it became quite animated but things never crossed 'the line'. Also, some information that Mitchell shared with us was commercially sensitive and will remain 'off the record'.
At the start both KL and I stated that TiL and LL wanted clarity on issues surrounding the financial irregularities/illegalities and the existence of Jayten Stadium Ltd as well as seeking reassurances over David Pinkney's takeover.
The question was asked 'what is the point of Jayten Stadium Ltd?'
JM responded by giving a run down of the principles behind Jayten, which basically is there to act as an investment company and if Jayten went to the wall because a stadium wasn't built, it wouldn't take the club down with it. Jayten has only 'a nominal trading function'.
The point was made that fans think Jayten is syphoning transfer money away from the club into a Jayten bank account and the club will not see that cash. JM responded to say that there is no evidence that transfer funds have been filtered, although the illegal payments were made through Jayten and NOT LTFC. JM then invited the respective fans’ groups to go into the club and study both Jayten's and the football clubs accounts from year's ending 2006 and, although not published yet, 2007. Both KL and I accepted this invite and hope to look at the accounts before the end of June.
On irregular payments to agents, JM said that neither he nor Richard Bagehot had any knowledge of these transactions. In response to this the point was made that, as a director, it is his responsibility to ensure he knows about every penny coming in or going out of the football club/Jayten. JM accepted this but said that, as chairman, Bill Tomlins made the decision to pay agents off his own back and because of the relationship he had with Newell. I responded by saying that it was unforgivable for BT to take this risk over a personality clash.
On cash flow JM rejected claims that the club had a crisis in this area when the issue of emergency loans and unpaid bills was raised. KL specifically asked what the situation was regarding losses and JM said that this will be revealed when the books are opened. I said that some fans think that, because of the rumoured cash flow problems, we would have been in a parlous state if we hadn't sold players and that Newell was pressured to sell to balance the books. JM strongly refuted this claim and said that football clubs all over the country have to get in emergency loans here and there to cover short term costs and reiterated the point that the transfer money that has come in did NOT go to Jayten.
On David Pinkney's takeover, JM said that it will be completed on Friday or Monday of next week. The delay has been due to the continuing FA inquiry, as well as Mike Newell's wrongful dismissal claim. JM also stated that DP is looking to get people in as soon as the takeover is complete. KL made the point that DP's takeover is vital as it will give confidence to fans that the club's debt is manageable. I said that if there is further delay, expect the fans to react nervously.
JM admitted that he was mistaken by telling people that only 3 illegal payments were made. KL and I confirmed that he had told both LLSC and TiL reps this information. He apologised for this and said that he was aware it was more than 3 and that he made a mistake.
JM explained that the £3.7million that has been mentioned as going missing was never raised. £1.5million was raised to cover the initial period. He stated that the Club had to demonstrate to the Football League they could cover financing requirements for the first three years upon coming out of administration and this was initially a total of £3.7m. However, following revisions of the Business Plan, including cutting the operating cost base and football budget this funding requirement was reduced to just short of £1.5m. JM confirmed this money did come in.
In response to a question from JM about the best way forward for the club in the eyes of the fans, KL responded by suggesting that DP should start with a clean slate, which means ending Jayten's involvement in the club and considering the positions of those individuals, who are linked to Jayten. Both KL and I reiterated the point that fans deeply distrust anything linked with Jayten.
I pre-warned JM that the Trust could be in a difficult position should it ever come out that there was a suitable site for a stadium in Luton. I reminded JM that our referendum result meant that TiL will only back a move to J12 if all Luton-based sites were ruled out. We haven't ruled Luton borough sites out.
In a final statement, I repeated a point that I made at a meeting with JM a couple of months ago. I explained that Luton fans have been through a lot over the last 20 years or more and because of this, the fans take a more questioning line and are not prepared to take things at face value. I cited the proposed move to Milton Keynes in 83-84, and the Gurney saga as just two of many reasons why we take this approach and this should not be confused with being negative for the sake of it.
A final word to say thanks to Andy Mackenzie for arranging this meeting and to JM for giving up his time and being responsive to the constructive criticism that was aired. We hope this sort of healthy, open dialogue can continue when DP completes his takeover. Thanks also to KL for his input, which was invaluable. KL's recollection of the meeting is also on-line here.
Liam Day
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