Summary of Sale Sharks Supporters Club Meeting with James Jennings, CEO, Sale Sharks on Wednesday 30 th January, 2008
This is intended as a summary not a detailed report. James' replies will be shorter than those given on the night as I only noted the salient points not the full reply.
Graeme Bowers introduced James Jennings to those present and asked James to tell us a little about his background.
James played rugby from the age of 12 firstly at school then with Davenport (now Stockport), Manchester and Macclesfield Rugby Clubs. Originally an inside centre with a reasonable turn of speed and fairly flat pass, he moved to outside centre and then to the wing. He confessed to never reaching any great heights and played mostly for the seconds and thirds. He retired from playing at 19 and took up supporting instead. He's been a Sale fan and an England fan for 30 years, has followed Sale both at Heywood Road and Edgeley Park and has also been on England and Lions tours. As a youngster he was also a frequent visitor to Edgeley Park to watch Stockport County play.
He qualified as a Chartered Accountant specialising in corporate finance dealing with flotations, rights issues, mergers and acquisitions. He worked mostly in the leisure industry. In 1996 he joined Airtours as Group Mergers and Acquisitions Director. Airtours eventually became My Travel which merged with Thomas Cook. James was responsible for corporate strategy. Around the time of the merger James saw an advertisement for the job of CEO at Sale Sharks and couldn't resist applying for the opportunity to lead the club he has always loved.
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Is Edgeley Park going to be our long term home? Are there any plans for re-development of the ground?
Don't know and yes, I will be looking closely at how we can improve facilities at Edgeley Park , however, improvements need to be both feasible and affordable. It's not likely there will be any immediate change but we will be working hard to investigate all possibilities.
As a supplementary question James was asked if there was any further word about plans for the Booth Street car park land. He replied this was still for the council to decide.
Two questions:
- The ability to meet and talk to the players is a fundamental part of the ethos of rugby. Can you confirm your commitment to ensuring ordinary supporters continue to have access to the players and we don't become like premiership football clubs where only those prepared to pay high prices for corporate events get access?
- The Focus Group was given a commitment that a mixture of senior and junior players would come to the marquee, increasingly only the Jets appear on a regular basis while seniors are syphoned off to the corporates. Is this right?
There are ever increasing demands on the players' time and this is not always easy to manage but yes, we have his commitment to ensuring access to the players for supporters. Senior players often have responsibilities to those who sponsor them on match night but he would make sure their time was more evenly split between corporates and supporters and that senior players would spend time in the marquee when it was possible for them to do so.
As an original member of the focus group can I ask if you think the views of the supporters are important? It seems little of what has been discussed at the focus group has actually been translated into action. For example, those in corporate hospitality still arrive to their seats after the game has kicked off despite some simple suggestions for how this might be corrected. Also despite repeated requests the Junior Fins has not yet been resurrected. Is there any point to the focus group or is it just an exercise in keeping the speccies quiet while you carry on ignoring us in the same old, same old way?
No absolutely not, we are not ignoring the views of the focus group, the club are very aware of the problem with the corporates and very conscious of the disruption to those non-corporate fans sitting in the lower tier of the McAfee Stand. The pre-match meal has been cut from 3 courses to 2 course pre kick-off in order to reduce the time taken to serve and eat. As some corporate guests are new to Edgeley Park and uncertain of the seating better signage is planned, also further training for stewards to ensure they can get people to the correct seat as quickly as possible. Some schemes will be successful and some will fail, but he would ensure the club keep trying and remain focussed on finding a solution.
On the question of the Junior Fins, James said he is aware of a proposition which had been put forward and would be looking at it. He agreed to come back to the SSSC with a response.
Several questions referred to the lack of post-match facilities for supporters, the poor atmosphere post-match and lack of access to the Insider Suite to supporters post-match.
Lack of access to the Insider Suite is the result of the room only being licensed to hold 480 people. Although some corporate guests leave early, players, coaches and staff enter so the limit is soon reached. It was mooted the Marquee could be improved to cater for supporters post match. James requested suggestions from those present and said he would consider any ideas we might have.
Supplementary to this it was suggested there should be an area in the marquee where it was safe to leave children while a parent went to the bar/food counter. It was also pointed out there were no soft drinks available at the bar in the marquee. James promised to follow both these up and ensure both can be made available.
It was also suggested players should also be available in the marquee post match. The SSSC reported they had previously been approached with the suggestion we provide a PA system which could be used pre-match to introduce the players and do a brief question and answer session with them. The system could then also be used post-match to discuss game with players, hold a supporters Man of the Match award and similar. However, the SSSC were reluctant to commit members' subscriptions to paying for a PA system unless we could be certain there would be long term benefit to our members in doing so.
Why has the Guinness Bar in the Printerland stand been closed this season?
James not aware it had been closed, he will follow up and report back.
Had James had a chance to visit other premiership grounds to see what they provide for their supporters?
Unfortunately his visits so far had involved meeting with the directors of other clubs as it was important he got to know them and they got to know him. However, he would love the chance to visit just as a supporter and would try to do so when he gets time.
As a supplementary he was asked if he would consider a trip on the Fun Bus run by the Sale Sharks Supporters Club. James agreed he would do this on a future date.
Who is responsible for contract negotiations particularly in relation to Jason Robinson, Ben Foden and Nick Johnson?
James is responsible for contract negotiations, however these are private and the details must be kept confidential between the club and the player and so it was only right he did not comment on them detail.
He could make no comment on Jason Robinson as he was not at the club at the time.
We are currently in negotiation with Ben Foden. He described Ben as a very exciting player who was much sought after by other clubs and he would be delighted if Ben were to stay at Sale .
On Nick Johnson, James reported his admiration for all Nick had achieved at Sale, he was aware of remarks which had been made but could only say all his discussions with Nick had been friendly and he wished him well for the future.
Where are the next Hodgson, Cueto, Jones and Lund ? We seem to have a few good players however they will never be good enough until they are given their chance in the first team. My greatest satisfaction is to watch players coming up through the Jets into the first team and making a mark with Sale and England . That was what supporting Sale provided but not any more it seems.
James declared his firm belief in the young and stated as a club we are totally committed to bringing young players through, they are vital to our future and one of our highest priorities. He hopes this is an issue which will be addressed over the next couple of years. There is certainly no policy to build through external recruitment.
The new agreement with the RFU which will replace the Long Form Agreement will include compensation for teams who meet percentage targets for playing England Qualified Players in the match day XXII. However, it remains to be seen how this will work in practice. If the bigger clubs continue current recruitment policies then we have to remain competitive. Asked if a cynic might perceive the RFU's incentive plan as a means of turning premiership club's into "feeder clubs" for England , James replied the suggestion could certainly be made. Certainly the scheme would have to be evaluated in terms of how it would affect our ability to compete in European competitions where such incentives would not be applied.
I had an email tonight offering a deal in the Crownford Suite at the Leeds match. Why do we only get these offers for the less popular games or in other words, when you are desperate to fill the tables?
James said he fully understood and believed there should be some access for supporters which was not simply about making up the numbers. He promised to follow this up and report back.
Brian Kennedy has gone on record saying he would personally open the door to people wishing to play drums and musical instruments at matches. Can you explain why our own drummer has been told to move on by stewards? Will the club have a proper strategy in place next to help provide the match day atmosphere which BK extols?
The simple answer is yes, we will have a strategy in place for next season. James is in favour of anything which adds to the atmosphere which includes drums and flags. He will look into the possibility of getting a sponsor to provide free flags.
There have been concerns recently about a lack of team spirit on the pitch, could you say the same is true off the pitch and are they related?
Two disappointing performances don't detract from our results since last November and our home record is really very good. However, no home semi-final in the ECC will have a big impact on the club. Off the pitch, it's true that working at Edgeley Park is full on all the time and often staff have almost too many things to do. However, James has been impressed by the enthusiasm of his staff and their commitment is to be commended.
Two questions:
- What has happened to the cheer leaders?
- What has happened to the half time entertainment? It may not be possible to recreate the Stade Francais experience but at the Quins game it had degenerated to 2 people replacing the divas.
Concern had been expressed over how young some of the girls in Independence were. James would ask for the half time entertainment to be looked at again and asked for any suggestions be put to him. One suggestion was a brass band and it was also suggested we look at what happens at other grounds for instance getting fans on the pitch for a kicking competition.
What are your future plans for the community efforts - will schools and clubs still get access to players?
James explained Chris Chudleigh had left the position of Community Manager last November. John Acheson had been doing a tremendous job since. However James would like to develop our relationship with the community and intends more resources will be put into this. We certainly want to get back to a stronger relationship with schools and clubs.
My family sit in the main stand. This year my daughter turned 16 and although she is still at school and has no income, I have been told I must pay the full adult price for her. This will add £500 to the cost of our season tickets simply because of a birthday. Why are there no Student concessions in the main stand?
James admitted he was not aware there were no student concessions in this stand. He will investigate and report back.
As 25% of the population are smokers, what are your views regarding provision of smoking areas at Edgeley Park ? 10 out of the 12 premiership grounds manage to do this successfully, why does it seem to be beyond us?
James has already asked for a feasibility study to be undertaken with a view to possibly trialling a scheme toward the end of the season. If successful it could be introduced. However, to be fair to everyone it had to be a scheme which covered the whole ground. The current situation with corporate guests in the Insider Suite being allowed to exit the suite and re-enter to use the car park for smoking when those in the Gold/Platinum bar are not allowed to exit and re-enter comes about because the car park is neither "ground" nor "public road". However, if we are to have an exit/re-entry scheme it must be available to all. We also have to look at a scheme which will work for football fans as we don't want a situation where it pressure is put on SCFC to provide something because it is available to rugby supporters but which is not workable for them.
It has been suggested the salary cap will rise to £4 million. Will we spend up to the new salary cap with Brian Kennedy's avowed intent to take us to the top? If we do, where will the money come from and how will this affect the supporter?
Simple answer is no one knows. The new salary cap has not yet been formally adopted but it has been suggested for next season. The PRL have not yet set out how it will work and the clubs have not seen any detail. The idea is to put in place a simpler arrangement than we currently have as it is intended to be in place for many years. Whatever the cap it has to be something we can afford. This year has been severely affected by the World Cup, during which attendances were down initially and are still down 9%, even with better gates for the rest of the season we could end with attendances down 5% overall. Our aim is to have a competitive squad while balancing the books.
Do you sit in various parts of the ground during a match and check the half time availability of refreshments? My view is the queuing system needs to be looked at.
At the Quins game James said he spent time with Blair Glen (Conference & Banqueting Manager) and is aware the kiosks are limited. The problem is the volume of people waiting to be served and the limited space available. He is also aware there are not enough kiosks and will look to see if there are any temporary options which could be considered.
As a supplementary there were complaints of a lack of discipline in the queuing with people pushing to the front. James agreed to look at this.
In your brief period with the club have you identified any areas "ripe" for improvement?
"Ripe" is maybe too strong but yes, lots of areas have been identified where improvement is possible. Interestingly, most of these areas had been pointed out by people already working at the club. Improvement will be possible with more time, more funding and better resources. We need to identify what we can do and what is affordable. Dramatic change may not be immediately possible but many small things can be done to improve the general ambiance. The hope is we will see gradual improvements over the coming months.
How does it feel following in the footsteps of Niels de Vos?
It's an honour and a privilege.
Although I have a pass to park on the Booth Street car park I was unable to get in on Friday. What is the problem?
Stockport Council has recently agreed a lease with Stockport College which allows them to use the car park until 9.30 pm every evening. This conflicts with the agreement we have with them and we are currently working with the Council to resolve this.
I understand there is pressure on grounds to increase capacity by a certain date. If this is the case would we be able to comply?
PRL would like all grounds to reach minimum standards for capacity but this is currently a guideline rather than a regulation, it is not a minimum standard yet, more a desire on the part of PRL than a requirement.
What would be the effect on Sale if County were to be relegated or put into administration?
Relegation would alter nothing, it wouldn't change the ground share arrangements in any way. Administration would mean we lost a valuable partner who shares many of the ground costs with us.
Supplementary: Would a change in the status of SCFC mean we could increase capacity by replacing seated areas with terracing?
Unfortunately Edgeley Park is licensed as a "football ground" no change would be possible unless the ground could be re-classified. Although the all seater requirement only applies to football teams in the first and second division, once a ground has become all seater it cannot revert. It might be possible to convert one area of the ground and restrict it to rugby only but we would need to determine if there was sufficient demand for standing before we look at that possibility.
How can we make the team aware how much trouble supporters go to in order to follow them away, particularly to Europe , and how much a simple thank you means to us? Can we borrow a couple of players and put them in front of a computer? The draw in Montpellier felt more like a loss because the players couldn't take a minute to walk across the pitch and wave to the fans.
Not sure about the computer idea but the team should always say thank the travelling supporters. It may be the players felt a little introverted after the game in Montpellier but nonetheless they should acknowledge the travelling fans.
Given the breakdown in the team's travel arrangements to Montpellier and given your contacts in the trade, are you looking at other possibilities for travel? Shouldn't the club be working with supporters to make travel easier?
James has already looked at the economics of charter airlines. There are certainly deals to be had especially in winter. However, to make it viable we would need to have 250-300 people travelling. The cheapest option is to fly in and out on the same day which works for football but wouldn't work for rugby where the supporters like to enjoy some time in the place they are visiting. In addition, supporters are reluctant to wait for the club or Your Sporting Challenge to put arrangements in place as it can mean they have lost the chance of the cheap Ryanair/Easyjet deals available for early booking.
If we were in the situation of Munster or Gloucester where several thousand fans follow then we would certainly look to work together. At the moment we can't commit to chartering a jet, finding we couldn't fill it and landing the club with a bill which could be over £60,000.
In relation to the recent Montpellier trip the transfer time in Paris was too tight, only 50 minutes whereas the recommended minimum is normally 2 hours. In hindsight we would have been better to travel out a day earlier, at least then had problems occurred we would have had an additional 24 hours to recover. The club will be focussing on better travel arrangements for the team in future and if this can include supporters we will certainly look at it but we can't afford to take risks.
What are the implications of the new salary cap? Won't it just benefit clubs who have a lot of money to spend and disadvantage those who don't?
PRL are very keen to keep a level playing field. One suggestion is to re-distribute the money paid under the new RFU deal for England players in such a way the share of revenue is increased for those clubs who need it and reduced for those with more.
Supplementary question: what would happen if the salary cap was reduced to £280,000 or less and everything else was made up from EQP payments and do you have any influence with PRL?
The PRL is very much run by consensus, and by majority vote, I don't have any greater influence than anyone else. I will work very hard to gain the support of other clubs and I hope to have a good relationship with them. Rest assured, I will be fighting Sale 's corner as hard as I can.
Next season, will the club respect our heritage and return 1861 to the shirts?
James agreed to look into it and report back.
On behalf of the SSSC, Graeme thanked James for giving up his evening to answer our questions. |
