Please find attached a list of the questions and answers from May's Fans Forum

Q. Can we look to hold more regular forums?

A. we always look to schedule when we have something to say. Will look at giving more notice, think about holding more regular forums and what is the right time to hold them

Q. The reasons for not installing "temporary" cover behind the goals was previously linked to the planning applications and potential negative impact on them. Now approvals are in place, can a cover similar to the outside bar (or smaller) be added to at least one end, if not both, given we will have another two seasons here?

A. We will look at adding cover, 2 year build process, ‘CH is worth investing in’. Park the scaffolding option but to look at options, be more innovative on how we do it.

Q. Now that the planning application has cleared the final planning hurdle, is there an estimated timescale for the start of works to construct the new stadium?

A. Vodaphone phone mast has to be moved first, moving to the can bar or may move to another temporary position, council to advise.

Q. Can the Club confirm the current position as to ownership of the existing stadium and who the developer is that will be taking forward the new scheme?

A. Meadow are handing over ownership to a builder, documents due to be signed and completed the next few weeks.

Q. Which season will we start playing in the new stadium?

A. Looking at original phasing, one year to build the pitch and three sides, another year to build the front of the stadium, one season is too ambitious. Two years is realistic to do it right

Q How sympathetic are the new owners?

A. We have talked about what we want, plans are 5 years out of date.

Q. Current plans, do we have covered terracing?

A. 1400 in attendance when we played here previously. There are instructions in place but there needs to be removed on club and fan needs, discussions to be had.

Q. Is there any flexibility on capacity with the new ground?

A. I’d rather we had a stadium size on what the community needs.

Q. What is the feeling about those locked out of games?

A. It’s disappointing, but it has taken 5 years to get here

Q. Tickets for people who don’t have smart phones or access. They have to take a chance on arriving early.

A. It does not happen at many games, but it’s an issue that we need to look at. No cash also locking out another demographic. We need to look at ways to get around this.

Q. Will Hakan be staying? Will there be a budget that means automatic promotion (champions) is possible?

A. Terry in attendance, we want them to stay, and they want to stay. Agreement already in place from last year but this season still to be finalised. A meeting last night and planning for next season.

Q. Budget?

A. We are not dropping or cutting, we will deliver to our means and continue to invest on the football side. We need to be better on the pitch. There is a commitment to bounce back.

Q. Average wage bill for the NL and the Isthmian league?

A. Hard to give but been told £6K/£7K a week. We would not have been in the top 6 or 7 last season. Top clubs in the division spending a lot, which doesn’t reflect a sustainable club. Our budget won’t be in the top 3 of the Isthmian last season.

Q. Why is our budget lower that other clubs given our crowds?

A. We make sure we pay all HRMC payments and others have rich owners who pump money in. We invest to grow and bring in staff.

Q. Playing budget, what extend is there to invest the academy and youth pathway?

A. Ben Clasper - Club has a 3 year plan, no secret from past forums that Aspire didn’t want to make the leap to be fully affiliated. We have to start over and have three equal areas, men, women and academy. We need a pathway to our first teams. We need to look at what we can achieve in the next year, we have a plan.

Dumebi Dumaka - Catchment and academy needs to be done right. It takes time and effort to plan teams and education with resources and staff. The TG will provide a platform to build our foundations, we want to keep inhouse. We have a pathway planned but we need to be able to deliver it and we need a tiered approach with staffing.

Q. where are we with the new training facilities?

A. Heavy investment on the TG, installation of floodlights and working with SSSO to manage the buildings, we haven’t used to the level we wanted.

2/10 for delivering the level we wanted. Both pitches could have been better. Facility is capable with investment for first teams and youth teams. Logistically we can have 2 teams train there 5 nights a week, still issues with power which needs addressing.

Q. Will we invest in a women’s academy?

A. Yes, all treated equal and it is including in the 3-year plan. Need to review where the women’s team wish to go. Do we look run at reserve or youth side?

Q. Will there be a path to pay expenses to the women’s team?

A. The women’s game at this level is not a paid level. If waged then the players will have the same rules as the men’s team, which completely flips where that team is now.

We need a balance to be strike, we do more than others than other clubs. Travel expenses have been discussed previously; men pay their own travel.

If the women’s team need a coach, they get one. Treated the same as the men’s team, if there is no coach then the men do not get expenses.

Q. I was disappointed to learn that members of the Women's team had to pay admission to attend the men's match on the last day of the season. Would the club be willing to waive this, encouraging cohesion between the squads regardless of gender?

A. The women’s team were offered the opportunity to sign up to Fanbase and apply for a season ticket, not all the squad took up the offer. Some of the squad asked on Friday night, before the last game of the season if they could be added to the guest list but the list had already been shut due to high demand to the last game and expected sell out.

Q. If more income for women’s attendance, would they have a bigger budget?

A. Ben Clasper - We have a central pot and the budgets are set on overall attendance. We do not have or will have a separate P&L for each team. All one club when it comes to the budget.

Dumebi Dumaka - it is a We, not separate teams. It’s not a case that if we sell more drinks, we get more players. We need to be sustainable across the board and all funds are spread across the club.

Q. What’s the agreement on the TG pitches?

A. Owned by SSSO Foundation, we wish to secure a longtime lease, currently we have an annual lease. Genuine commitment to work with us and develop. We both have big plans for sport provision, we would like the one year, extended to have funding and have 3G pitch.

Q. Myth that the women’s team don’t get anything.

A. The differences are the need for the two teams, can’t always be the same. Some women players like the flexibility of when to train and play. They need to decide what they want.

Q. Do Sunday games make a loss?

A. We are breaking even with current attendances. We don’t look at previous games as financial losses, we see it as an investment to get where we are.

Q. World Cup this year, will the club promote/invest in advertising for the women’s team

A. We do equal number of social media.

Q. Could the world cup bring in bigger crowds next year?

A. Crowds at women’s football already growing rapidly, however this seems to be at the higher level such as in the Super League

Q. Is there a chance we have double headers?

A. Building infrastructure, women’s team time commitments and Altona couldn’t afford to bring their women’s team here.

Q. 20% HRMC, did we lobby for change?

A. We continue to support the Fan led review and challenge the National League. We were an unwanted voice in the NL, aggressive responses from other clubs.

Q. What are the naming rights on the new stadium?

A. It’s not that common in the UK, giving our cache as a club like Dulwich, we would go out for tender and find someone who matched our values and the worth. A revenue stream for multiply years. DD would like it to be considered, good or bad and financially and why a more Europe concept than a UK one.

Q. Whilst the Club has improved its quota of full-time staff to help manage operations e.g. secretary, media, ground, bar, it does feel like the Club needs a CEO / COO role to (a) help manage the aforementioned roles, and (b) take the pressure off the Chairman who is effectively doing this alongside a full-time job outside of the club. Is this something the Club are considering?

A. Yes, Ben has had conversations with trust and board….It’s funding and availability.

Q. With the departure of Gavin and Junior, the link with the Aspire Academy seemed to disappear completely and, as we saw at times last season, could have helped provide support to the first team when required. That situation can't be allowed to continue. What plans are in place to combat this for next season? We understood that Paul Barnes was initially being lined up to assist with the youth set up. Is this still viable, and if not, has anyone been identified to take on this role?

A, We haven’t committed on who will take over academy.

Q. At previous fans' forums, the question has been asked around whether the club's vision / 3 year plan can be made public (even if redacted in places). There was an acknowledgement that this would be possible, but nothing has been published yet. Whilst acknowledging that some amendments may need to be made following this season, will the Club commit to publishing something over the summer which sets out the aims and objectives for a set period?

A. Yes, it will be published.

Q. As the Club's Director of Football, does Dumebi Dumaka's role include oversight of the women's team too?

A. Yes, and with youth set up.

Q. The existing PA system is pretty ineffective on matchdays with large crowds which is both an annoyance and safety issue. Will the Club commit to exploring the installation of a new PA system in the ground (possibly funded by DHST), that can be taken to the new ground?

A. Yes, we will review with annual inspections.

Q. What is the current position with the second floor space? There have been numerous suggestions of something being done to refurbish the existing second floor space as an event space and use on matchdays. With the planning hurdles for the new stadium now cleared, is this still a viable option, or will we just be sinking money into something that won't get a return?

A. Yes. If we want it accessible, then we need to fund the lift refurb at a cost of £30K

Q. Where would you like the club to be in league terms

A. As long as sustainable, we aim to achieve as high as we can

Q. Will access be retained from local estates to the stadium during the building works?

A. Yes.

Q. What level do we want this football club to be?

A. The levels of football are changing so rapidly. Established ex-league clubs dropping down divisions, we want to be sustainable and the highest league possible. We can be successful in NLS but we misunderstood it.

Q. What went wrong with recruitment last summer? Who ultimately decides if we get 20-22 good players on good wages Vs 30 average players on average wages?

A. Terry. We’ve worked together for 25 plus years, we got out of Dagenham out of League 2 into League 1 – we went down by one point on the last game of the season. We know what it takes to get out of the leagues, we need a winning mentality.

Q. If Southend and/or Yeovil are expelled from the National League, would we welcome a reprieve from relegation were it to be forthcoming?

A. We wouldn’t earn it.

Q. What about scouting set up in kids football, I was a scout for Millwall's academy for a few years, and I work in a primary school, us that something the club looking at?

A. Yes.

Q. The ground - Securing the planning consent is a fantastic and positive achievement, however I am deeply concerned as to our tenure and future (as I'm sure all are). The development was conceived in a different economic time. I do not believe it's currently viable, and understand the current owners have been seeking to sell the site on for some time. There appear to be no buyers in current market at the current price. Do we have a disaster plan in case we become homeless again?

A. We have plans up our sleeve, if we need to use them….

Q. Reusable cups? There's a lot of plastic single use waste on match days, anything we can do about this?

A. Yes, Sustainable group in work and will report back their findings.

Q. Does the current board believe there is appropriate footballing expertise at the board level? Is DoF Dumebi Dumaka being given appropriate support and resources for running the football operations?

He is not someone we hear from on official channels at all, I think it may help some fans to understand more of what is happening in that department.

Q. Having watched the highlights of the recent Clunis testimonial, the quality was notable. It's been an improvement on other points this season, where often it has been hard to see important action happening in the goalmouths. Are the improvements from the testimonial something we can continue to enjoy going into next season?

A. Tom Bale – opening to get volunteers to do cameras. This was filmed, games previously records by Veo

Q. Are we looking down the leagues to recruit for next season, look at younger players who are hungry?

A. Terry – We are talking to lots of club academies, and we know the younger players coming through. We need to have a certain about of experienced players in the squad. We don’t have a pathway but we have scouts all over the place within the SE.

Q. Season tickets: The prices are too low. You needed to increase these last year, and you also need to this year, and invest the money in the team. The fans will accept an increase if they can see the players benefit.

A. We discussed increasing last year and we had no desire to add to the national crisis. We are reviewing the prices in the new league and we are low in that division too. Not currently looking to increase for next season.

Q. Can we sponsor women’s matches?

A. Yes, it is advertised equally like men’s matches.

Q. Board: The strategy / on-field decisions that were made this season have been at times, bewildering. Paul Barnes’ appointment was a mis-step which should have been obvious to anyone involved before the decision was taken, I would like to suggest that you look at the people making these decisions carefully, and ask if they are the right people to be in charge of this process. There does not appear to be a strategy for the team, and the focus is too much on the development of the ground. Perhaps, these responsibilities should be separated further.

A. Yes, a fair point and we are looking at splitting these going forward.

Q. Why was Gav allowed to overspend the budget when there were doubts about his long term future at the club? Why was Paul Barnes asked to reduce the budget? Where did the budget end up under Hak? Was it a good strategy/the best approach to keep adding and cutting?

A. Gavin was given continued backing. We had bought in new players, Jayden Clarke wasn’t under budget. Manager owns and is accountable for their budgets. Barnes had the same budget as Gavin. All players were under contract, some were injured or being shipped out so at times we were overbudget and he had to bring it back down to the agreed budget.

Q. Why did we persist with Gavin after the previous 4 seasons?

A. Ben takes responsibility, a lot of discussion made re the change and a lot of reservations that we made the change. Ben’s loyalty may not have been the best decision he ever made.

Q. What is the optimum type of squad? Size or cost?

A. Terry - 20 to 24 man squad.

Q. Will we aim for a good cup run?

A. We always work hard for cup runs.

Q. What analytics will we have for next season?

A. We won’t have access to the NL away game analysis.