The Diary

06 November 2003: A Byte Too Far?

I?ll start tonight?s instalment in a grand fit of high dudgeon by telling all you lot out there that right now, both Charles Babbage and Alan Turing must be desperately (and vigorously!) rubbing distinctly-smouldering ghostly ears deep in the fastness of whatever version of heaven it was they found for themselves the day they finally quit this mortal coil. (Just what is computer-nerd heaven, I ask myself? Unlimited on-line access, and no monthly bill? A facility to be as insulting as you like, on-line, to the deity owning said real-estate?) I would have been in full production mode last night had it not been for the fact that both my internet access and my email facility simultaneously went kaput, and it?s taken both the expertise of ?Im Indoors and a lengthy phone call to our ISP tonight to finally sort out the difficulty. The problem is, I?ve now missed over 24 hours worth of emails, so I?m not best pleased. If anyone sent me stuff yesterday expecting a reply, I?ll do my level best to get it sorted over the next couple of days, so bear with me for a bit.

Last night, as I mentioned the other day, we went to watch the LDV Vans Trophy encounter between Hereford and Northampton, so ? erm ? Cobblers to you lot! Seriously, though, it was a cracking game of football, and it could have gone either way quite easily, so close were both sides in terms of ability, skills, and commitment. Only nine quid admission, as well, for what turned out to be a nail-biting 120 minutes-worth of entertainment. Even Steve The Miser would have approved of that; he wasn?t there, sadly, but we did see Roy Haden, of Kiddy Albion Supporters? Club Branch trying to blend in with the locals outside the ground before the game! Although Hereford weren?t exactly stingy on the old goal-attempt front themselves, over the whole period of the encounter, The Cobblers struck the post/crossbar on no less than five occasions that I can recall, and their true near-miss tally might well have been more than that.

Despite some pretty spirited assaults on their goal by the home side, the visitors took the lead in the second half, slightly against the run of play at the time, I reckon. Until just before the final whistle, it seemed game, set and match for Northampton (who had in their ranks a certain Des Lyttle ? and his long experience at the back didn?t half show), but come what must have been the final minute, The Bulls managed to shove in a last-gap equaliser. Extra-time, then, and a totally-new concept for me, what?s called the ?Silver Goal?. No devaluation of striking-ability implied or intended; the idea is, both protagonists bludgeon it out for 15 minutes, and if one manages to find the net in that time, they?re in the next round. If not, the whole miserable business then goes on until the end of ?normal? extra-time, when it goes to penalties as per usual. Had that system been in operation at St James?s Park the other day, once Hughsie found the back of the net, it could have saved us all around 25 minutes-worth of teeth-grinding, ulcer-inducing, adrenalin-ridden, hankie-shredding bloody angst!

However, despite several more near-misses during both 15 minute periods, neither party could emulate their net-busting feats of normal time, so it was then a case of resorting to the ?penalty-shoot-out? scenario. And at first, things began to look promising for the non-Leaguers. About halfway through their set of five, The Cobblers ? erm ? made a right old cobblers of a couple of theirs, and defeat was staring them right in the face. Then, up stepped a Hereford lad to apply the killer blow ? I can?t remember his name, although ?Im Indoors assured me he was the bee?s knees as far as this sort of thing was concerned ? and he promptly skied his effort into the municipal car-park just behind the goal! Still, there was a remaining strike ?up the spout? still, so to speak, but, incredibly, the Cobblers keeper parried his also, so it was then down to ?sudden death?. Sadly, the first to crack were The Bulls, so Northampton progressed, and, as far as the general run of play over the whole period went, deservedly so, I suppose. Hitting the woodwork with that degree of regularity over 120 minutes (see above) deserves some reward, but it has to be said also that this tie totally underlined the fact that these days, there is very little disparity between the top of the Conference and the Third Division; the sooner the Conference is incorporated into the Football League structure proper, the better. Either that, or make the whole thing an automatic two-up/down plus a play-off place up for grabs thing, as per most of the League proper.

Another couple of issues emanating from this tie; with Hereford ? who aren?t exactly blessed with the large playing squad that we possess ? having two key players now out injured, it might well be their cue to seek loan players to keep them at the top of the Conference. At that level, entering the hallowed circle of the Football League is, in its own way, as financially-important as reaching The Prem is for us. And, knowing Richard O? Kelly?s extensive knowledge of our younger players, anybody want to discuss odds upon him venturing forth in the direction of The Shrine once more, and looking for reinforcements there?

Apparently, one of their more urgent requirements is for a wing-back type of bod. I wonder if Lloyd Dyer fancies a little rest and recuperation in cider-country, among like-minded company? After all, he, Tam Mkandawire and young Carey-Double-Barrel all go back quite a long way. Incidentally, for those of you who can remember our younger players around the time of Alan Buckley, Northampton fielded a lad whose name you might remember; Dean Craven. I have to admit, when ?Im Indoors mentioned him by name, I had to say, ?Who?? but according to my resident sage and husband, the 24 year-old is vintage Albion, and may well have even managed a 20-minute first-team cameo appearance in the stripes, although I?d have to check that one further. Unless someone reading this can confirm/deny and save me the bother, of course.

Tomorrow evening sees us all journeying to The Shrine, to witness what used to be popularly known among us Dick ?Eds as the ?Annual Bloodletting?, but now Jeremy Peace owns the club, in effect, we can now revert to its proper name of the club?s AGM. Most of the business discussed will be non-contentious, of course, but one resolution is of importance to supporters, and I have therefore taken the liberty of reproducing it below, courtesy of Dave Watkin, of ?Shareholders For Albion?. Read it, and if you happen to be a shareholder, and are going to attend (or have a proxy vote), make up you own mind.

?Resolution 8, however, authorises the Board to purchase up to 10% of the currently issued share capital and therefore takes money out of the Club. A number of members have already expressed their concern over this resolution, and have sought our comments on the matter. At our Forum in June 2003, Jeremy Peace made the statement that "although the Board has considered the possibility of buying some shares back, they felt it would be inappropriate to burden the club with the costs involved at the moment".

Consequently we wrote to Jeremy Peace, referring him to that statement, and asked if his thinking on the subject had changed. In his reply, he stated "I can confirm that there is no present intention to buy-in shares, however if circumstances change the Board will then be empowered to do so providing that such action is value enhancing for shareholders".

At a meeting today between S4A representatives and members of the Board of WBA plc, the matter was raised again. Jeremy reiterated the statement contained in the Directors Report that the exercise of the authority given by this resolution would only be taken by the Board after consideration of prevailing market conditions.

At the current share price, the exercise of this authority would cost the Club almost ?700,000. While we recognise that this resolution could have some benefit to shareholders, we believe that at present, and for the foreseeable future, the Club's financial resources should be directed towards establishing it as a Premiership side.

As a Special Resolution, Resolution 8 requires the approval of 75% of the voting shares. We believe that, for the reason given above, the interests of the Club are best served by a rejection of this resolution.?

What this is saying, in effect, is that Albion want permission from shareholders to buy up shares from supporters, etc. If the resolution is passed, the club will then have a mandate to buy-in shares from supporters, and use money from the club to pay for these shares. This will, of course, mean money going out of the club; as Dave pointed out, at current prices, we?re talking around three-quarters of a million quid. Money which could be put towards other, more worthwhile, purposes, like getting us back into the Prem once more. I had intended to give this topic an airing last night, but I was completely stymied by our internet and email problems. If you are going to the AGM tomorrow night, have a good think about it, then make up your own mind accordingly. Britain is a country where freedom of expression is (in theory) allowed, so you can either tell me to go to hell (and detail the itinerary, should you so desire), or agree wholeheartedly with what I?ve just said. It?s your choice.

And finally?. One down, one to go. PIN numbers, that is. Mine came yesterday, just before our system went down, but that of ?Im Indoors is still to materialise. To be fair, when I picked up our Forest tickets from The Shrine yesterday, I did ask about these, and was told the ticket-office staff were currently working their socks off trying to process all the emailed requests (and the lady did show me a great sheaf of the bloody things, as-yet undealt-wth, just to prove she was on the level!), and asked me to contact them should we not be sorted out today. As we?ve only just got our email facility back again, I?ll have to leave it until tomorrow, now. As the consensus on the list seems to be that Albion have been most efficient in processing everybody, I?m sure we?ll be brought up to speed before too many moons have waxed and waned.

 - Glynis Wright

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