CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
The overriding memory of the 2008/09 season was the moving scene at The Hawthorns at our final home game against Liverpool after our relegation had been confirmed.The standing ovation the capacity crowd gave the playing staff on their lap of honour quite rightly earned our supporters widespread acclaim. It is that kind of unstinting support we now need more than ever as we bid to bounce back to the Barclays Premier League, because we know from past experiences the huge challenge facing us.Our return to the Coca-Cola Championship looked a foregone conclusion heading into the final few months of last season but the playing staff deserve credit for taking the fight to the penultimate game. However, relegation is always a bitter pill to swallow and I, like everyone connected with the Club, was disappointed to see us lose our top-flight status by a margin of only three points.
In the Carling Cup, we fell at the first hurdle, losing a second-round tie at League One Hartlepool in extra-time. In the FA Cup, the Club needed a replay to overcome Peterborough in the third round before getting knocked out, after another rematch, at eventual Championship Play-Off winners Burnley.
Elsewhere, the reserve team finished bottom on goal difference in the Barclays Premier Reserve League (South) table.However, our Under-18s team enjoyed their best-ever season since the Club joined the FA Premier Academy League, finishing third in Group C behind Manchester City and Manchester United but ahead of Liverpool and Everton.
It proved a summer of change at the Club as our first-team coaching staff of Tony Mowbray,MarkVenus and Peter Grant moved to Celtic. Although the Club made it clear that it wanted them to stay, Tony was very keen to take up themanagerial vacancy at Parkhead andMark and Peter were eager to follow him.Once the requisite compensation for their services had been agreed, they departed with our best wishes.
We then faced the challenge of appointing a replacement who could take the club forward. After an intensive selection process, in whichmore than 40 names were considered,we were delighted to announce Roberto DiMatteo as our new Head Coach. He was the unanimous choice of the Board and brought with him from MK Dons both Eddie Newton andAdeMafe asAssistant Head and Conditioning coaches respectively whilst Michael Appleton was also promoted to First-Team Coach. It has proved a whirlwind few months for them but they have settled in well and, with the full backing of the Board, are working hard to achieve success.
Roberto, his staff and the players have made a very promising start to the 2009/10 season, staying unbeaten in the opening eight league matches. To date, after 20 games, the Club is in 2nd position in the Championship with 38 points.Meanwhile, the Club was knocked out of the Carling Cup at the third-round stage byArsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
With his personal and professional background, Roberto understands and has acclimatised to the structure of the football department.As Head Coach, Roberto reports directly to Dan Ashworth, our Sporting &Technical Director who also oversees the Academy,Medical Services and Recruitment departments. Under Dan's guidance, these four key areas are working ever more closely together and we are beginning to reap the benefits thereof.
During the summer transfer window, following the year-end, we tried to evolve and strengthen the squad to give ourselves the best possible chance of sustaining a promotion challenge this season whilst living within our means. We acquired the registrations of six players at an initial cost of £4.6m, having realised an initial £1.5m from the sale of the registrations of three players. In addition Jonathan Greening and Paul Robinson left the Club in the summer on loan, after more than five years service each. I would like to extend my grateful thanks to both for their valuable contributions whilst they were with us. The Club has made a determined effort to focus on the quality of the first-team squad by attempting to reduce its overall size to a target of 20 to 22 players.With a current first team player wage liability for the remainder of their contracts in excess of £33million, the Club has now fully invested its available resources in the playing squad over the next three years subject to the Club remaining in the Coca Cola Championship.
One of the key developments at the Club over the past 12 months has been the expansion of the Recruitment Department.The game is becomingmore global with each passing season and this is underlined by the fact the Club is set to be represented by five players at South Africa 2010 - a new club record. I congratulate Robert Koren,Marek Cech, ChrisWood,AbdoulayeMeite and Gonzalo Jara on helping Slovenia, Slovakia,New Zealand, Ivory Coast and Chile respectively qualify for the World Cup Finals. In total, across the first-team and Academy playing staff, the Club has been represented by 19 players at international level during the past year and this is a real feather in our cap.
Group turnover for the 12 months ended 30th June 2009 rose to £47.0m compared to £27.2m the previous year, due almost entirely to Premier Leaguemedia rights revenue.The return of top-flight football toThe Hawthorns resulted in gate receipts rising by £0.5m. Commercial revenues rose by £0.2m whilst Retail sales remained unchanged.
The Club made an Operating Profit before player trading of £7.8mplus a further profit of £7.7mon the sale of player registrations in the year ended 30th June 2009.However, as upon previous relegations, the Club has impaired player registrations, this time by £17.8m, to reflect their future economic value to the business.This, combined with player amortization of £11m, has resulted in a loss before taxation of £13.3m.
Net debt at the year-end stood at £6.6m, an improvement of £0.4m on the previous year aided by the cash subscription of £0.9m through the issue of new share capital to existing shareholders.
Following our relegation from the Premier League, the Club froze season ticket prices if purchased by 30th April, having cut prices by one third over the previous two years. Season ticket holders can now watch football at The Hawthorns at a weighted average cost across all categories of only £9.38 per match, excluding VAT.Our supporters have responded magnificently to our pricing structure with 18,000 season tickets sold to date.This is an increase of over 1,500 from our last season in the Championship.
Our away support continues to be a credit to the Club. As in the previous six seasons, we will be providing free coach travel to an away fixture in the New Year. For our home games, the Club is again providing subsidised transport on the 'Hawthorns Express' coach service which operates four routes. The 'Baggies Barge' continues to go from strength to strength, although in July everyone at the Club was saddened to hear of the passing of Richard Healey, who pioneered the service.
The Club continues to invest heavily in its infrastructure and is currently reviewing the facilities at the training ground in order to keep pace with the demands of themodern-day game.Meanwhile, following the extensive £3.5m refurbishment of theWest Stand during the previous close season, the Club invested a further £0.3m in upgrading the stadium's facilities during pre-season. This included improvement works to the pitch, installation of new seats in the Birmingham Road and Smethwick ends and the significant refurbishment of both the Birmingham Road End concourse and the East Stand's executive boxes. The stadium's concourse TVs have also been upgraded to HD format thanks to a new partnership with Sports Revolution, the largest media rights owner in UK football stadia advertising.
The Academy continues to flourish and Mark Harrison and his staff saw their efforts begin to bear fruit when Chris Wood made his Premier League debut last season. Chris,who went on to win full New Zealand honours at only 17, was also joined by two other Academy team-mates, Paul Downing and Romaine Sawyers, on the bench in our final Premier League game of the season at Blackburn. Eleven promising Under-16s were signed up on scholarship forms and as many as nine of our Academy players represented England,Wales and the Republic of Ireland in the past 12 months.
The Club's Community Programme remains committed to helping raise attainment levels in sport and education among local youngsters and has since rebranded as the Albion Foundation. This year has also seen the launch of Sporting Club Albion, the Foundation's umbrella for all sports outside the professional football department and Academy. This structure, believed to be unique in this country, already boasts disability and women's football plus a new basketball section. Other sports will be added in due course.
We are proud of the Albion Foundation's role in promoting health and physical activity in the local community and the Board decided to name it as the Club's nominated charity for last and this season with a total of £26,000 raised to date.The Club also helped raise more than £12,000 for the Royal British Legion thanks to the successful auction of match shirts, featuring embroidered poppies, worn during November's home game against Blackburn. Other local charities to benefit from Club donations included Sandwell Hospital and Sunfield.
The Sandwell Academy School continued tomake great strides forward in its third year of operation.Having worked on the project since the Club became involved, and having served as a Governor for the past three years, I have now been succeeded in this role by Mark Jenkins, as it fits perfectly with his role as a Director of the Football Club and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Albion Foundation.
The Club has continued to add to its memorabilia collection and is now completing displays within the refurbished West Stand. It also continues to work with and support the Former Players'Association.
With the influx of foreign investment into the English game, football is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace.Against this background, the Board is endeavouring to run the Club in a relatively prudent manner to safeguard its future whilst trying to establish it in the Premier League over time.As we strive towards this challenging goal, my grateful thanks go to everyone involved with the Club for their unstinting efforts during what turned out to be yet another demanding year.
Jeremy Peace
Chairman
9 December 2009
