Fans' Forum
Vere Suite, Adams Park
Monday 10th July 2006 7:30 p.m.

Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Trust and Wycombe Wanderers Founders Trust in conjunction with Wycombe Wanderers Football Club hosted a Fans Forum on Monday 10th July 2006 in the Vere Suite, Adams Park. The event consisted of two sessions.

On the panel for the first session were: Ivor Beeks (Club Chairman), Steve Hayes (Club Managing Director), Brian Kane (Club Director), Francis Glenister (Chairman, Supporters Trust), Ian Mather (Club Director & Founders Trust Representative), Keith Blagbrough (Club Director & Supporters Trust Representative) and Garry Adamson (Club General Manager).

On the panel for the second session were: Ivor Beeks, Steve Hayes, Ian Mather, Paul Lambert (the Club's new Manager) and Steve Brown. Over 300 supporters attended the event.

Session 1
Ian Mather opened the meeting by welcoming attendees, introducing the panel and outlining the agenda.

Update on Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Trust
Mr. Francis Glenister, Chairman of Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Trust, reported that the Supporters Trust has 270 members, an increase of nearly 30% on the year. The combined membership of the Supporters Trust and the Founders Trust is 387. Glenister noted that his target for the combined membership is 500, the significance being that this was the membership of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club Limited prior to the conversion of the Club to a PLC. Glenister noted that the Trusts are progressing towards this target. A significant development for the Supporters Trust has been the launch of a Life Membership scheme. The Supporters Trust currently has 98 Life Members, one of whom is Karen Adams, the granddaughter of the Club's benefactor, Frank Adams, which Glenister noted as being a welcome continuation of the Adams family investing in Wycombe Wanderers. The success of the Life Membership scheme was the major factor that enabled the Trust to complete the purchase of its holding of 100,000 shares in Wycombe Wanderers Football Club PLC. Glenister noted that not only is this holding required to guarantee the Trust's PLC representative but also the Supporters Trust remains the largest net new cash investor in the Club after the Club's three major individual investors (Messrs. Beeks, Hayes and Kane) and the Trust's investment reduces the Club's debts by £400,000 due to the 3:1 matching investment that it has permitted from Messrs. Beeks, Hayes and Kane. It was reported that the Trust has recently repaid £5,000 of the £35,000 loan that was taken out to fund the initial £50,000 investment in 2005. This first repayment is a significant development for the Trust.

The Trusts supported Team WWFC (Steve Brown, Keirina Rowland, and Murray Moore), who ran in the Flora London Marathon on 23rd April. Sponsorship of Team WWFC raised over £10,000 for UK Cancer Research. This announcement was greeted with loud applause.

The Supporters Trust and Founders Trust continue to work together closely. The survey to canvass supporters' opinions on the subject of Stadium Sponsorship was cited as a recent example. Glenister reiterated his wish that in time the two Trusts will merge as he had stated at the recent AGM of the Supporters Trust in June.

Update on Wycombe Wanderers Founders Trust
Mr. Ian Mather, Club Director and Founders Trust Representative, reported that the Founders Trust's membership totals 243. The Founders Trust holds 84 Founder Shares. These have been acquired from former Trust members who have either passed away or who have decided, for various reasons, to discontinue being season ticket holders. Mather reminded supporters that season tickets must be renewed before the first home fixture in October to remain valid for membership of the Founders Trust and that membership is open to all current Founder Shareholders who have renewed their season ticket and all current adult or senior season ticket holders in their 4th consecutive season.

Mather summarised the enshrined rights in the PLC Articles of Association to emphasise the importance of the role of the Founders Trust.
Without a majority vote of the 500 Founder Shares, the PLC cannot:
- Propose any resolution to sell Adams Park;
- Take any action to sell a substantial part of the Club's property or assets;
- Take any action to change the nature of the business from a professional football club;
- Convene a meeting to consider changes to the rights attached to Founder Shares;
- Voluntarily wind up or dissolve the PLC;
- Relocate the business and playing activities outside a 5 mile radius of Adams Park;
- Allow any single shareholder to acquire a stake in the PLC greater than 25%

Update on Customer Relationship Management & Supporter Communication and Consultation
Mr. Garry Adamson updated supporters on the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system introduced by the Club. He likened it to Tesco's Clubcard in the sense that, while providing supporters with incentives, through offers, events, etc., the CRM, through the gathering of supporters' profiles in a central database, can target specific supporter requirements and interests in a more timely and cost-effective way. Adamson reported that the staff had been trained in basic customer service skills. The central database enables staff from all areas - ticketing, merchandising, sales, promotions, conferencing, etc. - to target their customers through better understanding of their overall needs. Staff can provide a more consistent service through access to the same information. It can also be used for measuring the success of any campaigns, e.g. Kid for Free, as well as canvassing fans for their opinions on particular issues, e.g. Stadium Sponsorship. Fans receive reminders of events (this one, for instance), notices, news, season ticket renewal reminders, etc., via emails and text messages.

Adamson stressed that customer information stored in the CRM database will always be used with respect and never sold on to third parties.

General Update on Wycombe Wanderers Football Club
Mr. Steve Hayes updated fans on recent developments at the Club.
Hayes reported that new members of staff have been appointed to streamline the efficiency of the running of the Club and contribute to it's ultimate success. Within the Commercial Department, Karen Ellis and Chris Pope have been brought in as well as John Farrington in Food & Beverage. Plans are being drawn up for a new substantial Club shop to be sited in front of the existing Commercial Office. Hayes indicated that the Club is open to sponsorship proposals although he stressed that no sponsorship deals would be entered into regarding the stadium name until the results of the ongoing survey have been fully analysed. He indicated that the opinion of supporters on this issue matters. Hayes stated that if the conferencing facilities at Adams Park were booked out for hire on non-match days that this would greatly increase the revenue of the Club.

Mr Hayes also noted that London Wasps had now submitted plans to the PLC for the redevelopment of the existing Valley End Terrace. In accordance with promises at previous fans forums, the terracing was being retained, but a second tier was planned which would incorporate further seating to increase the overall stadium capacity. The WWFC Board would be carefully considering these plans at their next Board Meeting and would be making a decision as to whether the plans should be approved, or whether changes would be asked for.

As previously announced, Hayes added that the Club were in the process of selecting a Charity of the Year, to be supported by the Football Club. Further details of this would be made available once the final selection had been made from amongst those charities nominated.

Hayes spoke of John Gorman's departure as a tough but unanimous Board decision. He expressed his regret that it had been necessary but that they all felt it was for the good of John's health in the wake of his bereavement, and ultimately the success of the Club. Hayes stated that the failure of the Club to gain promotion had nothing to do with the decision.

The announcement that Steve Brown and Keith Ryan had decided to stay with the Club was greeted with loud applause. Roger Johnson's departure was described as inevitable for such a professional player wishing to further his career. Hayes expressed his gratitude for Johnson's past contributions and his respect for Johnson as a person and his decision to move on. The audience endorsed this view with further applause.

Question & Answer Session
The question and answer session generated a variety of questions relating to the Club, the players, the stadium and Wasps.

The pros and cons of the joint venture with Wasps were queried. Hayes responded, saying that first and foremost, WWFC owns the ground. He stated that Wasps are not going to take over but their presence is financially beneficial. "The money coming in through Wasps is not insignificant - they drink a lot of beer", he quipped!

The damage that playing rugby does to the pitch was commented upon. Mr. Ivor Beeks agreed that in 2005/06 the pitch had ended up in a bad state but he observed that in previous seasons had been one of the best in the league. He noted that the PLC have spent a considerable amount of money in the close season to restore the pitch. Beeks reported that the pitch is looking good after having it's top taken off and areas re-sown.

Mr. Beeks was asked if he thought it was had been a mistake to have agreed to the stadium sponsorship deal with Causeway Technologies. Beeks responded by saying that the majority of the Board thought it was right at the time. Hayes supported this by saying that the Club simply needed the money at the time. He went on to reiterate that this question should this time be directed to the fans and that the Board are not working on seeking sponsorship until the decision of the ongoing survey is known.

A supporter asked if reaching the Championship is realistic if the best players are sold. Hayes said that it is unfair to say that the best have been sold, and stated that the aim is to retain the best players and allow more good players to come in.

The PLC Board was asked if John Gorman's departure was because Wycombe failed to achieve promotion and if the new manager will be facing the same fate. Hayes restated that the PLC Board felt that John needed more time to rest and recover. They didn't want to contribute to his bad health by putting him under pressure and were confident that the decision was right for John. Hayes stated that the decision was nothing to do with the lack of promotion. Hayes concluded by wishing John good health and a speedy recovery. The audience signalled their agreement with these sentiments by applauding.

Session 2

New Manager and the Recruitment Process
Hayes opened the second session by discussing the recruitment process for a new manager. He explained that the Board hadn't wanted to rush in to choosing a new manager. Several strong candidates had been considered but Paul Lambert was the "outstanding" candidate.

After a welcoming applause from the audience, Paul Lambert said that he was delighted to come to Wycombe and will do all that he can to get the team out of the division. "I just want to win" he said, adding that he felt that the fans must play a big part in their team winning also.

Questions and Answers
Lambert was asked what style of football he would promote and what positions will be filled. He responded by saying that he wants to win matches and observed that is a job and not a hobby for him. Lambert stated that if the team can win more games than they lose then they stand a good chance of promotion. Both Lambert and Steve Brown stressed that the team needs a strong defence and they will try their utmost to get the right people in. Lambert also said that he's glad that Steve Brown is staying as he is well respected by the players and Lambert also trusts him. A question was raised regarding Lambert's view of players out-of-contract at the end of 2006/07. Lambert said they must earn the right to stay. Lambert stated that players must respect the referees' decisions, as the Club cannot afford to have players sitting in the stand. He said that a target of 21 players in the squad should carry them through. Lambert stated that he is in favour of young players as they are 'hungry' and that he will be looking at the youth team and bringing them through if they are considered good enough.

The meeting was closed and fans offered the opportunity to speak personally with the panel members.

The draw to win a framed, autographed shirt was won by Mr. Philip Page.

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