Leading your club to the Final at Wembley Does it get any better?
Brian, by any measure, led Ebbsfleet United FC to two major successes…
Whilst he was chairman the club won promotion in 2002 and achieved success in the F.A. Trophy Final at Wembley in 2008 in front of 40,000 spectators. This was a very unusual and rewarding experience for a Fractional CFO.
Background
In 1999 Brian became a 50% owner of a non-league football club, Gravesend & Northfleet FC (now called Ebbsfleet United FC). Living in the area and being a fan of the team, he felt there was untapped potential. The club already had a sizeable support, but there was the added future potential from being located in the development region of Ebbsfleet.
Brian was a director of the club for 11 years, until 2010, and for most of that time he was Executive Chairman. As well as using his financial skillset, he developed experience in commercial operations, people management, marketing & PR, relationship building, community involvement and property management & development. In short Brian was running a business.
Running a football club is more important than “business”
But what is unusual about this case study was that whilst the club needed to be run in a very business-like manner, the main objective was not to get a financial return on the investment.
The main objective was to keep the club sustainable in a sector where the cash flows are extremely tight, whilst having success on the pitch and developing the club off the pitch. It was to celebrate the ups and deal with the downs. To compete, have a lot of fun and make many new friends. It was to align decisions made with the heart (chasing success on the pitch) with those made with the head.
In this unpaid role that took up many hours a week, Brian and his fellow directors underpinned improvement on and off the pitch that contributed to that magic day at Wembley. In addition to the success on the pitch, Brian also directed the club as a business, delivering many improvements off the pitch that contributed to the success on the pitch.
Major Football Club Achievements:
Success on the pitch including promotion (2002) and FA Trophy win (2008)
Tripled annual turnover and realised threefold increase in match attendance
Grew the commercial activities including record sponsorship deal
Led and managed transition from part-time to full-time football.
Re-introduced youth structure that fed First Team
Implemented community outreach effort to strengthen relations with local people, businesses and government
Major Infrastructure Achievements:
Devised project for potential new stadium and maintained compliance with league stadium criteria on aged existing ground.
Ground and playing surface improvements, helped by obtaining grant funding.
Negotiated new lease agreement for club facilities and obtained one-off lump sum from a property transaction
Refurbishment of social club
Acquired lease on a training facility
Major Business Achievements:
Directed the acquisition of the club
Improved operational performance and introduced best business practice
Deployed new IT and reporting systems and detailed financial analysis
Developed a financial model to forecast and monitor player wages, the most important financial measurement in football
Reduced expenses by implementing strict budgeting and cost controls
Managed the sale of a majority stake in the club
Brian’s overall achievements were recognised by his peers as he was invited on to the Board of the Football Conference for a three-year term. Brian also had a lot of fun and has a lifetime memory of being the winning Chairman in the Royal Box at Wembley…
