MITCHELL: I'M A WINNER (From Bournemouth Echo)

MITCHELL: I'M A WINNER

7:00am Wednesday 24th June 2009

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FOOTBALL fans are notoriously hard to please, but after receiving a death threat in the post while chairman of Cherries’ neighbours Dorchester Town, sorting out the ongoing issues at Dean Court should be a breeze for Eddie Mitchell.

Cherries’ new chairman certainly talks the talk – telling this newspaper yesterday that his main priority, just hours after taking the reins, was to ensure that the club’s long-suffering staff had their wages brought up to date.

But the Dean Court fan base, quite rightly a sceptical bunch themselves following years of broken promises, false dawns and downright bad management, will only take Mitchell to their hearts when he walks the walk.

While Adam Murry is an unblemished newcomer, the presence of Jeff Mostyn and Steve Sly on the latest Dean Court board make-up has also caused concern among the supporters after the duo put the club into administration just over a year ago.

So while paying those who were so badly let down by previous owners Paul Baker and Alastair Saverimutto will certainly go some way to restoring faith in those who boss the corridors of Dean Court, Mitchell knows it will take a whole lot more than that to win over the majority of fans.

“I won’t give any guarantees but I can say the board is very enthused and will give 120 per cent,” says Mitchell, who owns a 50 per cent shareholding at Dean Court with an option to buy a further one per cent for just £1.

“It’s fantastic to see Jeff, Steve and Adam so keen and so charming at the same time and I think we have a winning team off the field.

“So if we can get the support of the fans and capture Eddie Howe, hopefully we’ll have a winning team on the field.

“Having spoken to Adam, Jeff and Steve, they sold me the idea that if we got a team together, we could offer some stability and I could take on a challenge. I like challenges and I believe this is one I can win.

“If I am given time, support and, God willing, good health, I can achieve something here.

“I’ve always felt I couldn’t work with other people and I had always gone in on my own in the past, but when you meet people who are as enthusiastic as you and probably in some cases younger and more energetic, it’s great to see. I think we can work together for some time and get the club stable.

“I would like to think I would never take up the option on the one share. I would like to think that it will remain as a board and I would have no privileges over that board. That’s the way I would like to keep it.

“But if I feel strongly on something or think the board is going in the wrong direction, I might take that up. It’s not about who’s in charge though. It’s about a communicative effort and at the moment we are all going in the same direction.”

While Mitchell is best known in football circles for his work down the road at the Jewson Stadium, the property developer is also renowned locally for his glamorous homes on the Sandbanks peninsular.

Houses like Bowie, Moonraker and Utopia certainly catch the eye when glancing at the Seven Developments ‘Superhome’ brochure, although any potential buyers would need a cool £4.2m to move their sofa into Mitchell’s best-known asset, the Thunderbird in Branksome Park.

For now, though, Seven’s portfolio may have to take a back seat as Mitchell, son-in-law Neill Blake, Murry, Mostyn and Sly start putting some much-needed ticks in boxes at Dean Court.

As well as opening contract talks with boss Howe and paying the staff, there are also the small matters of HM Revenue and Customs trying to wind the club up, getting a Football League transfer embargo lifted and renegotiating the stadium rent with landlords Structadene.

“Hopefully we can get the embargo lifted,” says Mitchell.

“I don’t want to be over ambitious though – our main aim is to get the club on a sound footing off the field. We don’t want to see the people who work for the club living in the uncertainty they have been and I include the fans in that.

“To go steaming in talking about how far we can go with it all and what players we can get would be very unwise. We have to be level-headed and sensible about our approach. It will be hands-on, but it’s new to me at this level and I don’t want to get it wrong.

“I haven’t really looked at the stadium rent. It’s a pressing issue, though, and we will be delegating it to one member of the board to try to get to grips with, but it’s too early to say more.

“I know it’s a headache for the club and it would be great to get the stadium back, but our most important issue is to get wages to those people who work at the club who haven’t been paid. That is the number one priority.”

Born in Bournemouth, 55-year-old Mitchell has four children and seven grandchildren, although he admits football was never on his agenda in the early days.

“Seeing the fans queue for their season tickets on Monday was fantastic and a real eye-opener for me,” he says.

“I’ve followed the club being local and being born in Bournemouth but I never imagined myself being this involved in the club.

“But my opinion was that there was nobody else out there. I’m not a passionate football fan – my son plays and that’s what drew me into football. But I am local and I am ambitious and nobody else wanted the club.”

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mightyreds, Christchurch says...
7:31am Wed 24 Jun 09

I think it would be a good gesture from the new onwers to have a question and answer session for the fans, best for everyone to know what they all feel so there is no room for mistakes.
Worst problem we have seen in recent times has been a poor communication with the fans, Mostyn being a big culprate so it's good to see Mitchell speaking already, so if Mitchell wants this all to work use the fans they have been with the club a long time in some cases.