BBSU Q&A WITH ALASTAIR SAVERIMUTTO

BBSU - At your first press conference you were at pains to say you were not interested in building at the South End. Why the change of heart?

Savi - Before our 11th hour, 15 minutes-to-go ‘saviour’ bid to buy the club, there were four bids which were all just interested in the land. I’d been here behind the scenes since February and in that time the land had been secondary to me. You couldn’t go in for the land without putting the football club first. If we were just interested in the land, the club would be playing cricket now. We’ve gone in as footballing experts and secured its existence, let alone already operationally delivering difficult but significant changes. We had basic objectives and every week so far has been the equivalent of a month in real terms. Every week we had a sizeable objective to meet (A - the team, B - the staff, C - the catering, D - the retail, E - the credit card situation and so on...), and where we are now is that we have a rejuvenated exciting team in place, new team management, comprehensive retail operation up and running and an expert corporate day-to-day team. We continue to strive for the right AFCB credit card solution, which is especially tough given the obstacles - both administration and the prevailing global economic environment set down. All this and more is being strategically worked on allowing a little time for my exploration of longer-term projects. It is vitally important that we don't just focus on the 25 match days at Dean Court, but look to the future and that's where the land comes in. I can tell you now that the rumours are absolutely correct. I am out there and I'm talking to key individuals, companies and public potential stakeholders. I have met with the council on several occasions and all parties have come away in a very positive way. My overall focus is to deliver a future for the club based on the financial longevity of a club that attracts revenues from ‘out of the box’.

The land subject to Richard Kingham’s application is nothing to do with us. I’ve met Richard because I’ve explained to him what we’re trying to do. I had to understand what his land was, who he was, what he was about and I came out of that meeting very positive that he’s a nice fella. He intercepted a land deal that a chairman had done previously, intercepted it to try and save the land. And now he’s got a piece of land that he and I both feel has a potential to assist the club in its longer-term master plan and one that has the potential of deriving a return on his investment. Of course I am aware of Richard’s current planning application for houses.

BBSU - Is it completely separate?

Savi - Richard's application has nothing to do with AFCB.

BBSU - The development you’re talking about is the South End?

Savi - Yes. That’s why the end is empty.

BBSU - Do you see a successful outcome to the plans?

Savi - Absolutely. The masterplan will be a considered and informed strategic vision of where we believe the club needs to be, and clearly this will not take the form of a quick-fix nor indeed an overnight decision. It’s very important to understand that this club outsourced / sold the majority of its assets and consequently lost brand control, and ultimately longer-term revenues. As far as I can see all decisions were influenced by the short-term needs of the club. When you take the commercial implications of having no control of the core elements of your business, the future doesn’t exactly look to rosy. A concern for me is the conveyor belt of kids through our Centre of Excellence. In the past perhaps things may have appeared to be ticking along nicely. However, to my naked eye and that of my experts, we appear to be fighting a diminishing cause. One handicap is having to train on four different sites, many miles apart. I’ve just appointed Eddie, who exhales elite football. However, he spends half of time in the car travelling to and from different locations. That’s no good to Eddie nor to AFCB. To have a COE on-site facility at L2 level is somewhat a luxury, however I believe I can make a huge difference to the environment our young future stars train in, by bringing this environment to Dean Court. If we want to achieve some of the ambitious goals I have set, then this part of the plan will be essential.

BBSU - How much are the club liable to benefit from the development?

Savi - In terms of elite development and facilities, the benefit will be priceless (especially if a Wayne Rooney is developed). In terms of cash then that’s a little way off, but that said, the going rate of a couple of prime acres will be worth something. More importantly to the couple of acres currently positioned on the Dean Court footprint that belongs to AFCB, it’s the fact that our plans could unlock the gate to many others. So when you work with like minded commercial business people, mutually interested council and government bodies, partnership and stakeholding become the flavour of all. Essentially no one person, company nor public organisation, will accumulate isolated gain. Paul and I have said from the beginning that we saw AFCB as a football club with huge potential. Ultimately had we not stepped in at the 11th hour, Dean Court may well have been a cricket club. If we can set something up for the next 5-10 years as a result of strictly managing all the integral AFCB components and return the club some stability, then I believe our objectives would be complete and the challenge achieved.

BBSU - Are there any plans to complete the disabled supporter’s platform?

Savi - Absolutely, Liz is doing that. However, if we do that now it’s like someone has a good idea, so you build on the stand. Then someone else has a brilliant idea so you build on the building. Then again and you build on the building on the building and before you know it your stadium is knackered, your whole business is knackered. So what we're doing is building solid foundations. What you're talking about may sound small but it's not. The development that I'm talking about actually goes into the whole East stand.

So the people that I'm talking to, including the council, have an interest in the thing that you're talking about. So if race ahead and get that done, it's going against all we're talking about. It's about one master plan for Bournemouth. It isn't just a football club, it's Bournemouth. Speak to the council. They have an agenda.

BBSU - Is the learning centre still over there?

Savi- Yes and it's going really well. I've been over there several times and as I understand it, several times more than previous senior execs.

BBSU - Will the club provide regular travel for Away supporters at sensible prices, not profiteering on coach prices as previous owners have done? Or would you rather the Supporters groups organise this?

Savi - We've set up coach travel, I've done a deal with Excelsior Coaches. I'll engage with anybody who can make it better or cheaper. I'm negotiating coach travel because I'm giving them volume business and I'm saying 'I want this for our away supporters because they're very important to us' and they do us a great deal. The deal we get we're passing on as long as the coaches are used.

BBSU – It is normal practice for directors at other clubs to pay their own hotel expenses, why are AFCB different?

Savi - I can't tell you the travel and accommodation policies of other clubs, but I can enlighten you on AFCB's. I have secured a vitally important partnership with the Royal Bath Hotel and in particular partnerships that incorporate the De Vere’s national network of hotels and facilities. Not only has our deal proven to be cost effective for myself and my fellow senior directors’ re-location/housing costs, the partnership has also reduced our first-team pre-match and overnight travel requirements.

BBSU - Does the money exist to take the club forward as it is undoubtedly spending more than it makes at the moment?

Savi - Undoubtedly? Give some substance to that.

BBSU - Paul Baker’s words Savi - When?

BBSU - He told us earlier this season. What we're asking is are the funds in place to cover the losses?

Savi - Yes, absolutely.

BBSU - What plans have you got in place to reduce expenditure and increase income?

Savi - Loads!

BBSU - Could you specify any?

Savi - No! I've got hundreds in that there (points to computer). It's another meeting for that. You haven't got enough space on that sheet, not enough tape in that machine. I've got some great people doing some great work and the end result is when I announce it. I said at the very beginning I'm not going to speculate on what I might or might not have in the box.I'll only tell you exactly black and white fact when I've delivered. I'm not going to speculate on things I might deliver because I've got hundreds of projects that I can pick out but I'm only picking ones that are relevant to his football club so I can't wait to make my next announcement. I think you all know that when I do announce something it's when I've actually done it as opposed to what we'd like to do. I'm not trying to get around the question. The expenditure I'm driving down, in business you've got to while making sure you've got value. There's no point in driving it down if it's nailing certain parts of your business. You’re driving it down while increasing revenues but you can't grow revenues on quick fixes. There's no point me going to Sodexho and taking their (£250k) money which may or may not have been on offer because I couldn't have sat in front of you guys defending how good our food was, how good quality our service was because I'm not in control. So I'm not taking quick fixes, I'm looking at the long-term gains of the football club.

BBSU - How long before the club breaks even if all goes to plan?

Savi - You have to go backwards to go forwards. It's a shame I had to let Kevin Bond go. I liked Kevin. He was a very respectful guy. He and I communicated very well and after four games it was harsh. But, I had to go backwards to go forwards. When you get rid of a manager, you have to pay.

Was I going to think ‘we have to watch the money that badly that I have to stick with the manager and then we'll have an issue at eight games’? As regards to where we break even, that's obviously imposing on that because it's monies that weren't planned for. The CVA that was thrown in with getting the share back was another issue which we had to deal with. I'd hope we'd break even as soon as we can. If I did the stadium naming rights tomorrow and someone paid me a million quid, I'd say we'll break even very soon. The sooner we announce some success with the projects we're working on, the sooner we break even. But to break even isn't the be-all and end-all. At the moment it's about making sure that we have the best project out there and the best people in here so at least we're in the game. If we're not in the game, we're not going to break even. With good people around us, with a good manager in place we've got a real chip in the game. We're not in control of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy but wouldn't it be nice if progressed through the rounds and then you could ask how close we are to breaking even. I could say we've just done this deal with a brewery (Scottish and Newcastle) and we've just got £30k from this (JPT), then we'll have an idea where we are.

BBSU - Has Sport 6 really invested a seven figure sum or is it being drip-fed?

Savi - What's seven figures?

BBSU - They were your words.

Savi - Yes we have, yes.

BBSU - So it's not being drip-fed? It's all gone in?

Savi - Seven figures have been invested in this football club, set aside for this football club.

BBSU - There's a difference there.

Savi - To me there's no difference. You don't just phone your mate up and say can I have £20 today. You have a reserve, a contingency plan in place. What Paul's done is pay a significant sum to the administrators. Jeff Mostyn, while he was trying to sell the club was the only one funding the administrator throughout the whole process. The deal that we had to do repays Jeff every single penny he's put into the administration.

BBSU - How much has Paul Baker put in so far, that's his or his company's money only?

Savi- Billions! Have you asked Paul that?

BBSU - No. Obviously there’ve been new questions from our members since the PB Q&A Savi - I won’t speak for Paul but it's not far off that seven figure sum. You've asked about drip-feeding. The best way of understanding that is go and find out what it cost to run this football club during admin because it's the most hurtful, horrible scenario you'd ever want to see- because if that money didn't have to go to the administrators, there would be no issues. Because somebody built up debts previously and went up and up and then went tits-up. That money is dead money that has gone to the administrator. The money that Paul has put in has covered the entire administration, it's covered the removal of the manager, and it’s covering the deficit that we faced. We're in a brand new business here. We've rebranded everything, we've spent money in bringing people in, and we’ve spent money in the transfer market on loan players. You don't spend money willy-nilly. We've spent on speculating to give a return whether it's short, medium or long term. And the land fits in between medium and long term.

Short term deals are naming rights, brewery deals and so forth.

BBSU - You may find this unfair but this question was based on past history of the club. Were HMR&C paid on time this month?

Savi - Absolutely. Everyone was paid on time this month. Remember that this is a new company. New companies have a lot of obligations across all sorts of things, both legally and ethically. All our lines that we had to cover are covered. With regard to HMR&C, they are in communication with us with regards to needing certain reference numbers over certain things, VAT we need certain quarterly returns. We have appointed a head of finance, a consulting Financial Director. He is highly skilled and is dealing with all HMR&C bills and issues and, of course, the football league requirements.

BBSU - What percentage of the club does Jeff Mostyn still own?

Savi - None.

BBSU - Are payments to JM up to date and in accordance with S6's agreement?

Savi - Absolutely, totally 100 per cent.

BBSU - Hypothetically, were you to default on payments to Jeff, would he revert to owning the club?

Savi - No BBSU - What would happen then?

Savi - You'd have to ask Jeff.

BBSU - He has a debenture, therefore he's a creditor.

Savi - Let's get this absolutely straight. Jeff has no comeback on the football club. Absolutely none.

BBSU - So is his deal with the administrator?

Savi- How do you mean? The football club is secure because of Paul Baker.

BBSU - People always see Jeff listed as chairman, in the programme, in his interview on Sky Sports. His role isn't defined.

Savi – Let's define it. He's a non-executive chairman. He's a chairman in name only.

BBSU - What is his role? It's stated that he's non-exec yet he voted on Bond's sacking and PB states he is in an active role?

Savi - He didn’t vote, it was Paul and I. He had his opinions.

BBSU - Non-exec just means not paid, not that you don't have a vote- am I right?

Savi - Correct, he is not paid. He is just there in an advisory capacity. Kevin's sacking was mine and Paul's decision entirely. Jeff is the chairman.

He's the chairman because the day Paul and I agreed the deal with the administrators to purchase the club and we got our FL share back, prior to that the FL needed a 21 point document submitted to get the share back. When we got the call to ask if we were interested because four people had gone and it was going to become a cricket club, there was little time. He had to remain as a director, all be it non-exec, to stand in front of the FL and say things on our behalf because if Paul and I had to it there was a real chance we wouldn't have got that FL share back. It took months to put that document together. It was being put together the whole length of the process of admin in bits and parts. And they just left blanks for the owners and what the finances were. Likewise with Steve Sly, he's non-exec, they don't own any of the club. People, even my staff have asked me why Jeff is still at the club. It doesn't affect me, I'm here to do my job and I'm doing it.If Jeff has annoyed people in the past or people really like him, fine, get on with it. Unfortunately for me, certain issues have come about due to previous history. That's why it's very important that people now exactly his position at this club.

BBSU - Does that mean when payments are complete, he'll leave the board?

Savi - He could leave the board well before that. He could leave the board tomorrow if we choose to.

BBSU - Do you have any plans for your own chairman?

Savi - We do, yes. It may be Jeff, it may not. I'm not saying now that Jeff won't be chairman for the next league game but I'm not saying he will either. We have got past the critical stage of putting the football team back on the map. We're now in a position of (a) how we can improve the club and its facilities and (b) how do Jeff and Steve fit into the long term plans of this club. It's only now that we've got any time. If we'd looked into this four weeks ago, we wouldn't have a football club.

BBSU - What's the latest regarding the renegotiating of the stadium lease?

Savi - The lawyers are dealing with it. I can’t tell you any more than that.

BBSU - Would it be fair to say that attendances have been lower than expected this season?

Savi - Not given the environment that we've had. Admin. Drawn two, lost two and other damaging factors.

BBSU - It was quoted that you were working on a 4800 average.

Savi - 4800 is a benchmark over the season. Ask me that question at the end of the season and we'll get the average then. It's just a benchmark. You've got to work on Exeter bringing hundreds and maybe Chester bringing three!

BBSU - People were concerned that the projections wouldn't track.

Savi - It takes time to build a brand which we've been doing since day one. It will take time for people to understand that. What we're doing with the new brand, the new management, takes time. As it progresses, and we do well as a club, the attendances will grow and grow. Why were there 8000 here against Crewe last year?

BBSU- It was a massive game!

Savi - Why were there only 6-7000 the game before? I'm talking from a business background here. They were hit and miss. There was no work done to get the higher crowds for those games, it was the hit and miss of the situation. What we're doing is some scientific work on growing the gates not based on results, all be it that results are massive.

BBSU - Have you profiled the attendance figures for the last few seasons?

Savi- Yes we have. We know exactly the numbers and peaks and troughs BBSU - Then you'll know that it follows a pattern over the season.

BBSU - Christmas, blokes dragged shopping!

BBSU - They gradually go up towards the second half of the season as long we're still involved, either at the top or bottom.

BBSU - What is the latest with credit card situation?

Savi - The FD is now dealing with six companies.

BBSU - So it's ongoing?

Savi - We're not going to have a gun put to our heads to the detriment of the football club. We've got a specialist involved now and we hope to have a conclusion very soon.

BBSU - Do you feel the club's current wage bill for backroom staff is excessive?

Savi - No.

BBSU - Can you see why people question S6's ability to fund the club with the qualms over Structadene and the CC facilities?

Savi - If we run this club recklessly we'll be bust in two months. If the supporters feel it would be good to put £1m on the table to Structadene as a deposit and £500k to the CC companies then sit in my seat for a day and see if it works. I'm very pleased that supporters are concerned and I'm concerned myself. The good news is that I'm the right person to do the best by the football club. This needs to be run with an iron fist and I'm ready for action. I come from a background of sport, intelligence, academic and business and I think you need all those qualities to sit in the chair that I'm sat in. Especially in a club that's so passionate about its football team.

BBSU - You recently became a director of UK Sameday. Is this part of the AFCB deal and is it true that UKS is up for sale?

Savi - Paul had a meeting with me 6 months prior to coming into this club where he was a major sponsor of Chester City. One of our targets was to buy Chester with another investor and that didn't go ahead for several reasons. Paul liked intensely the presentation and plans I had for Chester and Paul, being a genuine man, asked to meet me. At that point in time, he was looking for a new challenge in his life and we talked about this new challenge and how S6 was a vehicle set up to do the very things that we'd talked about.

BBSU - So it's not part of the AFCB deal?

Savi - No, my appointment as a UK Sameday director was simply as a convenience.

BBSU - Was it S6's offer, to buy Chester from Stephen Vaughan, that was to be paid at £20k a month?

Savi - No.

Paul Baker then entered to say hello. Makes comment about the new carpet and decor!

BBSU - How much money is being made available to JQ for new players?

Savi - As much as there was to Kevin. I say that because every player that Kevin wanted, he got. And every player Jimmy has wanted, we've supplied. We're not going to be taking players that JQ doesn't want. However, we've got to work within the FL guidelines.

BBSU - The salary cap?

Savi - Yes and there were extra caps / limits put on us by the FL to get the share back. It's not just wage capping. They asked what the club wages would be, we said 'x' and they said that we're not allowed to go above 'x' until 2011-2012.

BBSU - So, regardless of what the turnover is, the 60% rule doesn't apply.

Savi - It does apply however we also have a greater handicap as per the restrictions under the return of the FL Share BBSU - How would that work if we got two successive promotions in the next two seasons? We couldn't still be capped to League 2 level?

Savi - It works on a sliding scale. These figures are for the situation we're in now. If we were to put another seven figure sum into the club, that would go up.

BBSU - Regarding 20/20, it was advertised as a John Crawley benefit game, yet the benefit committee knew nothing of it in the week running up to the game. Was it a benefit game and if so, how much did he benefit by?

Savi - My involvement was towards the end. It was our catering team who were pulling that together and I found out from this office that Hampshire CC and JC testimonial team were promoting it. We would do every thing we could. It was a nightmare. I got Anthony Whitehouse in (Director of Catering) and asked him to clarify what was going on. We made a phone call to Hampshire CC to ask how many of their season ticket holders would be turning up. He said they knew nothing about it. The PCA ended up asking JC what was going on. He'd told them he'd sorted it but hadn't. We were very unhappy about the scenario.

BBSU - A question raised was that seeing as you're from a marketing background, this side of it was seen to be pretty awful.

Savi - The PCA and JC's benefit were supposed to be marketing it. Our benefit was to have something unique in cricket on a football pitch.

BBSU - There have been numerous complaints about heavy handed stewarding at the club (people getting ejected for celebrating). Were you aware of the problem and how do you plan to combat it.

BBSU - I have to say it has been a lot better the last few games, whether that is intentional or not.

Savi - I'm not aware of it but that is because I have a very good general manager in Liz Finney and Liz deals with all the stadium issues. That's why I've got good generals all around me. If I had to deal with everything myself I'd be inundated.

BBSU - Why are the supporters not allowed out of the ground for a smoke at half-time but directors / VPs are?

Savi- I have heard about this problem, It has been raised and I'm speaking to Liz about how we can sort this out. There are certain things we have to do; we have to meet turnstile standards and all sorts of things.

BBSU - It happened last season. They just opened the gates and let you out at half-time, re-entry with your ticket.

Savi - Did they? I wonder why they don't do that now? I'll ask the question.

BBSU - Given Ted Sutton's role as community officer at Everton, how qualified is he for the Director of Football role here?

Savi - Highly qualified. He wasn't community officer; he was head of football in the community. Previous to that he was head of the academy. Ted Sutton is one of the most qualified people in football, he's got every licence you need in football, and he’s highly, highly qualified. So if you go on certificates and licences, he is fully licensed. You only have to see his relationship with JQ. Ted took the Football in the community staff at Everton from two to 15 whilst competing with Liverpool and other big clubs around the area; he's highly respected across the business, but at Man City in particular. Jim Cass, who's the head of the academy there and is the most respected academy director in the country, rates Ted as one of the best in the business. Ted had the ability and the eye for Wayne Rooney as an eight-year-old while he was running the academy there, brought him through to the age 11, when he was then asked to develop the community side. I'm not going to employ muppets. When I did the Chiang deal, Ted developed the entire international strategy I had in Thailand. He worked with the Malaysian government developing football programmes. Ted is highly intelligent, highly intelligent...

BBSU - The club is AFC Bournemouth, the company is AFC Bournemouth, and people still go round still saying Bournemouth FC including footballing staff.

Savi - I don't I think I did at first until I found out the difference. I couldn't understand at first why not Bournemouth FC, then it was explained.

BBSU- There have been notices around the ground saying it as well.

Savi - I've spent a lot of time on rebranding (digs out some stationery); Bournemouth FC is absolutely not acceptable.

BBSU - If you buy the kit from JD Sports shops or online, does the club still get the same cut?

Savi - It is a slightly smaller cut but it’s still a substantial cut.

BBSU - Is it safe to assume that the club is running the shop and not JD Sports then?

Savi - Oh yes. We're running everything.

BBSU - When do you expect it to be fully stocked?

Savi- We're getting stuff in all the time. There's some new stock there (points to boxes of merchandise in corner). That's samples for the players. We're picking the ranges. JD have put an emphasis on AFCB more than any other club. The chief exec Barry Bown is 100% behind this club. This is his favourite club you could say to the extent that there is something going on with us and Barry Bown that we'll be announcing very soon. We went with JD because it represents quality; they're 54% up on pre-tax profits whereas JJB are down. Whatever people buy in the shop, you know you're getting quality.

Meeting delayed for 20 minutes for Savi doing his Sky interview.

BBSU - What areas of the business are doing well?

Savi - The 'Cherry Orchard' that we're launching basically puts us in charge of all our catering. The football club has, let's say, 26 home matchdays out of 365 days. In any business, that is a very small percentage of the potential it has. If you have a catering arm to your business and a facility like we have here at Bournemouth for non-matchdays, that's 300 odd days for non-matchday use. What I've said is football often carries a perception, a stigma if you like, with (a) what football represents and (b) what facilities it has. So people often stay from football clubs when really they don't know what it actually about. You walk into our facility, it can house parties, weddings, it's the best venue for parking that you have in Dorset in my opinion. So what we're doing is launching 'Cherry Orchard - Dorset's finest banqueting and hospitality' but it will be not connected to the football club to an extent, so people will think, perhaps, that it's even a glorified hotel. We're driving that there so people will use our facilities on non-matchdays. And when they come in they'll say 'Wow, look at that fantastic stadium'. They didn't know it was a stadium. We're putting a lot of emphasis on that part of the business, we have to grow that. But it'll take time to grow it. Also, the internal work we've done is going well. The commercial side has some very exciting plans and we're developing the JD partnership particularly well. We've got Sewards who we'll announce possibly next week and before the next home game as the major regional partner. John Saunders is a great guy. Really nice guy, I've engaged with John since I've been here because I talk to everybody who wants to talk to me and I've gone out of my way to talk to people who've had issues. We've JD at the top and we're fortunate because that's a national blue-chip sponsor but underneath that there will be regional sponsors / partners to add value to the football club and I see Sewards as a major contributor to that.

BBSU - Does that mean they'll be supplying the club with cars again?

Savi - Correct. We've got cars but we've also got cash and we're doing a lot with Sewards. We want to do work in this car park to help develop it. You could have Sewards having a showroom on site for a matchday, you know, all sorts of things. Hit the bar at half time, I did that at Everton. 'Hit the bar with Kia' and you'd walk away with the car. So generally I don't want to say any one thing is flying, we're pleased with how things are going across the board.

BBSU- Do I assume that you don't want us to say anything about Seward?

Savi - No, say it. No problem. At the end of the day, any publicity is good publicity for us and them. You can say you 'understand'.

BBSU - Are there any areas of the business that you feel are running worse than expected and how do expect to fix them?

Savi - I must say that it took an awful long time to get under the skin of the commercial and corporate sponsors of the football club. When we took over, I could not believe the hostility from corporate sponsors. It got to an extent where there just wouldn't have been enough time to speak to everybody individually to get across what you're doing. So I called a meeting here and I had about 40 box holders and perimeter sponsors and for the first hour I must have had 3000 bullets. That's fine, that's what I'm about. I've got to understand that they weren't aimed at me; they were aimed at the scenario. I had to take that on board but I'm running a commercial business here so as much as you guys are hurting now if I can help you and add value to you, I will. To give you an example with the boxes, there are some very loyal people here who'd become a bit disillusioned, for whatever reason, with the football club. I know you don't buy respect so I said this is what I'm going to do - A, B, C, D - and I'll give it my best shot, these are my objectives. I'll do a deal with you, you pay a sum of money to guarantee your box for the season and if you don't like what's happening, if I don't deliver these promises, then you can walk away. I'm doing because I'm not undercutting our commercial business, I'm not making any assumptions of quick fixes, I'm saying that if I don't deliver you can walk away. End of story. And as a result of that meeting, I had 6 calls the following day booking boxes and being very complimentary to the way I was open and honest with them. I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to do a job and I'll do it my way in collaboration and consultation with my generals. What was happening in previous ownerships, they were trying to make everybody happy as best they can. If you do that, you get fudged decisions. And at the end of the day they said' What have I said to him, and what have I said to him?'. You might as well be absolutely straight down the line, iron fist, in or out. If you're in, fantastic and if you're out, I'm still going to be nice to you. It doesn't cost to be nice.

BBSU - You will have undoubtedly have run into some of the club's more colourful characters.

Savi - I have.

BBSU - John Piper was supposed to be sponsoring the match today I understand.

Savi - Yes BBSU - John's a very forthright bloke.

Savi - Like anybody, you've just got to be nice to people and be honest. If you do that, whether you're right or wrong, what else can you say? I've had meetings with John because he happens to be a supporter of the football club. And whatever issues John has had with Jeff Mostyn or anybody else, that's not for me to get involved with. I go with the now.

BBSU - Going back to the contingency fund, does PB have the funds to increase it and how big is it?

Savi - You'd have to ask Paul that. All I know is what I've got to do ahead of me and what I've already done.

BBSU - Are you confident that there is enough to cope with unexpected losses?

Savi - Unexpected losses? Yes, definitely.

BBSU - Why did you leave Everton and how long were you there?

Savi - I was there for a couple of years. I went in as commercial manager and came as head of Commercial and Marketing Operations. I controlled the commercial side of the football club with Keith Wyness. I was responsible for restructuring the whole of the commercial operation. At that time, the retail business was losing money and when you sell 100k replica shirts every year, that shouldn't happen and becomes a bit of a worry. The club had one football shop in the stadium, it was a small shop and it was destination only. I couldn't understand with the supporter base of 500k people that Everton had, why we didn't have shops on the Wirral, where I live, why not in the city centre. My predecessor was a fan of the football club and I think fans of football clubs don't work that well when they're running football clubs. I think you've got to be aside of that. You can a passion for the team but the minute you stop worrying about the tickets and hospitality and start worrying about how about it will affect you and your peers, you lose sight of what you're there for. I opened up all the shops and eventually I said that retail was taking too much of my time, I've got too many staff, it's about time we let the experts do it and I outsourced it to JJB. Huge deal, massive deal. It turned it from a loss making position to a very rosy retail outlet. I also understood that there were pockets of Everton fans in London and other places and because the e-commerce position at Everton was poor, these people couldn't get shirts, shorts, anything. They had to travel to the club to get them. By using JJB, who had 450 stores over the country of which 84 were going to be prime Everton stores, I had 84 stores which were overstocked with Everton stuff so the pockets of supporters in London, where ever, could get medium shorts if they wanted off of the shelf. It enabled to get the brand of Everton out there. We did a brand audit when I first started there and we found loads of different versions of the logo over the town and country, in magazines and papers. We put a brand police out there, making sure that everything was correct. I was also responsible for the Chiang deal, I did that, and I secured it. Ted Sutton executed out in Thailand with the football coaching. I put an international strategic plan in place, I was responsible for the commercial team at Everton. I was responsible for a lot at Everton. And I left to go into the online gaming industry. At the time, online gaming was massive in this country and the VAT and customs weren't allowing online gaming to come into the country. So all the people who wanted to put their money in football had to put their strategies on hold. I engaged with these people in order to take their strategic plan out to all the football clubs and I went to work for them.

BBSU - The fact that you don't seem to stay anywhere very long has been a cause for concern among some supporters.

Savi - Why is that?

BBSU - It's just that a question has been raised; I haven’t got full details here.

Savi - I don't know...how did they get that?

BBSU - I think it's kind of a reassurance - how long are you planning on staying here?

Savi - Just go back to the question - I don't understand.

BBSU - Repeats original question Savi - I've been in places for a long long time - are they talking about Everton?

BBSU - Perhaps?

Savi - Two years?

BBSU – Two years is hardly long term is it?

Savi - What I'm saying is that Everton was the shortest time I've ever stayed with anybody. I can only answer things that are correct. I was there for two years and I've been in the online gaming business for a fair few years since then.

BBSU - How long are you planning on staying here then?

Savi - Indefinitely.

BBSU - What online gaming company was it that you worked for?

Savi - Netsurf Media who were based in Costa Rica. Nice coffee beans. And then I did a lot of work for Gala Coral. I was responsible for a lot of their sponsorships.

BBSU - What are the differences between your job at Everton and your role at AFCB?

Savi - They are very similar. There are very few differences. Keith (Wyness) dealt with the football at Everton, I had no involvement with that.

BBSU - Has the season ticket money all gone now?

Savi - Depends on how you look at it. It's gone into the budget. You could say that we've saved the season ticket money and spent the rest. It's just gone into the business.

BBSU - Three more pretty standard ones. How many boxes are unsold?

Savi - Two. We've sold nine and we keep two for match to match so there are two available. Also, caveated to that, we've kept two aside for two new deals we're negotiating. We've kept an eye on the fact that's there is a brewery rights deal we're about secure shortly and A N Other deal that we'll conclude shortly. Some of these deals refer to having a box; some don't want one in which case we can sell them.

BBSU - How many VPs are there?

Savi - 55-60. I'm not too sure in all honesty.

BBSU - How many unsold sponsorships for the season are there?

Savi - We're now working almost two matches in advance when six weeks ago we were working days and hours ahead of the game. We're doing well now, well we're at least 1 game ahead of it. There are lots available still but at this point we don't expect any match to go by without a sponsor. Whereas six weeks ago we were struggling as a result of everything that happened.