WBA AGM: They don't come much easier!

04 October 2001

Cynics might argue that with the team reaching the playoffs last year, and just hitting the top three in time for the AGM this year, that the ease with which it passed was purely a matter of fortunate timing. But the truth is that the smooth and effortless way in which the meeting whizzed through its formal business was evidence of the immense satisfaction that the shareholders and fans have taken from their Club's turnaround under Paul Thompson.

Like last year, the settings were a far cry from the hothouse atmosphere of the Gala Baths in West Bromwich. After starting the meeting, Paul Thompson used the re-election of two of the Directors - Jeremy Peace and Clive Stapleton - to give a summary of the achievements made over the last twelve months; the purchase and construction of the Football Development Centre, the improvements in the team and the construction of the new East Stand - not just a replacement of the old Rainbow, as he put it, but the completion of the ground. Thompson's description of the ground as one of the best in the First Division, and one that was ready for the Premiership if we can get there, was met with generous approval from the floor - as was his description of one of the decisions that Peace and Stapleton had helped to make: the appointment of Gary Megson. The £3 million of investment brought in by Jeremy Peace had played a major part in the progress made over the last twelve months, as had the effort put in by all the Board members.

And with an introduction like that, it came as no suprise that not a single hand was raised in opposition to the re-elections of Peace and Stapleton, or - less noteworthy - to the reappoinment of the Club's auditors. Clive Stapleton made the particular point that matchdays had become matchdays again thanks to the pride being displayed by the team, and further murmurs of approval gave way to applause from the floor. Thompson wound up the formal business of the evening by paying particular tribute to the hard work put in by his Chief Executive, John Wile - and handed over to the man people had perhaps really come to hear.

And they weren't disappointed. Gary Megson was, again, highly entertaining as he talked about the last year on the pitch; how nice it was to hear fans clapping because players put effort in and how rare it was for us to be out-battled on the pitch (this had only happened once last season, at Wolves away, and he promised that it wouldn't happen again). He summed up our basic targets for the season; to get 50 points as soon as possible and reassess after that, to get a good start to the season - which we never do! - and to try and work out what's going to stop us from going further. Last year we were ten minutes away from the playoff finals - then snatched a draw from the jaws of victory.

In terms of improving the team, the difficulty now is that we have such a stronger squad that the number of suitable targets is so much smaller; last year, all we had to do was bring in someone who tried! This year, he expects the improved training facilities to have an effect on the performances - they're a major factor in the ability to train properly during the winter. Gary finished by asking for questions from the floor - and after a brief silence, they flowed in almost endless supply. Some of the better ones were:

"Frank Burrows?"

Is recovering well - the surgery went well and the subsequent tests have indicated a successful outcome. Frank said nothing about it in advance, as anyone who knew him would have expected, and will hopefully start getting back into things in three to four weeks time. Megson joked about one manager who asked "Is he gonna snuff it?", saying that he owed him twenty quid...

"Would you like a Board like the one at Birmingham?"

Gary laughed - "you do ask 'em..."

"What is the players view on a possible strike?"

Tongue firmly in cheek, Gary replied that they hadn't really discussed it - they just turn up, train and play... But they might think twice about it when push comes to shove.

"Does he feel under pressure to bring in more players?"

Not from outside, no. We've been unfortunate with strikers, losing Hughes and Roberts and then Dichio - but we're still 3rd despite that. What he doesn't want to do is make short term moves that will not be good in the long term as welll.

"Are we going to sign Dichio?"

"Don't ask me", he joked, smiling in Paul Thompson's direction. Dichio wants to join, and the important thing is that players join for the right reasons, not just for an easy ride or to further their careers.

"Are the midfield practising shooting??"

With Hughes gone, the whole team accepted that they'd have to chip in with goals, and the players set themselves targets - Dobie said 25, so Megson's holding him to that, while Des pitched in with his customary "one"! Megson is convinced that once Michael Appleton gets a goal, he'll score loads - just like he does in training. There's no predefined roles in midfield - they all have to run, tackle, pass and shoot.

"Like the rest of us, what are you doing for the next six Saturdays?"

Bleedin' shopping, I expect!

"Do you see your medium term future as being with this club?"

Medium term?? What happened to short term!

Joking aside, Megson clearly seemed happy with things at the moment. Asked about the obviously good relationship between himself, Thompson and Wile, he summed it up saying "I've never asked him for Ryan Giggs and he's never asked me to sell a player to buy a tractor for the training ground. Don't laugh - it happened to my Dad down at Bristol..."

But words really weren't necessary to confirm the excellent relationship between Chairman and Manager. On many occasions, there were the "in" jokes and windups that only come from people who get on well together - for instance, Megson talked about the signing of Darren Moore for 750K, who was being kept out by Tony Butler who cost... and looked at Thomspon, who smugly grinned and said "110 thousand". Anyone who believes the reports in the media of friction and frustration between the two should really have been there to judge for themselves.

Inevitably, the subject of our Dutch ex-midfielder came up, and his recent comments in the press about the dressing room atmosphere. Megson, clearly peeved about the way in which the player has made his comments, mentioned occasions such as Sneekes wanting four days off when everyone had been given three, and wanting to bring his wife and kids along when the squad was going off together for a few days away from the distractions of home life. "If you put a skunk in a room, the room will smell", he explained. Sneekes has ended up on a three month contract at Stockport - "they deserve each other".

"So was Sneekes the player famously reported as sitting reading the paper in the dressing room on the day of the crunch game against Walsall two years ago?"

No, it wasn't him...

"So who was it?"

Is that the lot? Good...

Previous Stories:

  28 September 2001:  Dobie for award?

  26 September 2001:  Dichio for a million?

  24 September 2001:  Portsmouth Team News

Back to the News Index