FINANCIAL
Turnover                       £556K down £44K
Cost of Sales and
Admin expenses              ££659K up  £22K (EFFC to send details )

There was some other income which gave an operating loss of £81K
Cash at bank and in hand is £99K compared to £235K last year.
Tangible assets valued at £1.34m

The main item of discussion was the £135k spent on finalising and closing contracts initiated by Willie Gray. I criticised the board for failing to have the proper controls in place to manage what was happening.
SC explained that the board had accepted assurances from the Gray family that funds would continue to be made available but this support ceased when WG's business was affected by the economic downturn.
A pledge was made that controls would be tightened and a situation like this would not be allowed to happen again. As the Gray family's business is still trading the opportunity to make some recovery was still there.
I read the board an email the Trust had sent in Dec '05 highlighting failure to give adequate notice of the AGM and not having financial info available until the night of the event. This situation occurred last year and again on Monday. The board recognised that this was in breach of the club's M&A's of Assoc. and that this would not be repeated.
The club are being pursued by Kevin Fotheringham for £15K costs arising from the recent litigation. Liability is being denied by the club.

Steve Crawford and Scott Crabbe both recognised that results were not satisfactory but were insistent that there was a fine line between success and failure and that the continuing assessment of all players on and off field progress would pay dividends. both were pleased that fitness levels, discipline and team spirit had been improved. They praised the training facilities and are delighted with the progress being made by many younger players as well as the youth structure in general.

Finally and importantly Sid and Stevie Crawford both expressed their appreciation for the help given by the Trust and in particular Eugene,the Trust's representative on the board.