The board of directors at North Shields have unanimously elected Sean Redford and Sean Mulligan as the club’s interim co-chairmen.
North Shields held a board meeting at the weekend (Saturday 10th December) following the notice of the retirement of Club Chairman Alan Matthews.
The club will now be under the direction of Sean Redford and Sean Mulligan in the interim basis. Both will continue in their roles as Club Secretary and Head of Media alongside their duties as interim chairman.
The clubs search for a permanent chairman remains paramount however the directors recognise the importance of having to move forward and keep the club thriving.
We would like to fully and wholeheartedly thank Alan Matthews for all of his efforts, hard work, sweat, blood and tears he has put into the club over the last 26 years – this is no easy task! we will be releasing more information around a ‘Retirement Do’ for Alan very shortly!
What’s going to happen in the interim basis??
We want to invest in our facilities, however this investment must be proportionate and appropriate. The club will NOT pay excessive monies quoted by companies where clubs further south pay a fraction of the price. We remain in constant discussion with ground developers and companies for affordable adaptations. We know the subject of crowd funding is always on the mind. We can confirm that this amazing fund donated by our supporters is ring fenced and remains untouched for when we are able to carry out these improvements.
North Shields FCs last home game came on 18th October 2023. 2 months since the last home game which has been met with no revenue from matchdays coming in and has put us in a bad situation financially. Non-league clubs need money from matchdays to survive and without that, they are just about keeping their head above water. Players still get paid during weeks where no football is paid, electricity, gas, water bills are still paid and are still rising. These are incredibly unprecedented times, to go over 2 months with no income is crippling the club financially. The club are asking those who are in a financially sound position and are able to donate any funds to get in touch. Info@northshieldsfc.co.uk
We want to continue to develop our commercial partnerships and make the club a valued and respected part of the community.
We will continue to speak to people who might be willing to invest in the club or support our progress in whatever way they can. We remain in the process of speaking to potential investors however this is proving to be a lengthy process.
We want to maintain our competitive budget like most clubs at our level, we need to use that budget wisely and attract the right profile of player. However this needs to be achievable and in line with rising costs, lower crowds and financial struggles it again can’t be of the highest level.
We want to improve communications from the Board to help ensure that supporters remain engaged and it feels like we’re all pulling in the same direction.
The Board believe that it should be viewed as an honour and a privilege to be a Director of North Shields FC and everything we do should be in service of this great club, with its proud history and some of the best fans in non-league football.
Each Board member will have a clear areas of responsibility.
Rest assured that this Board has ambitions to grow the club and progress back to the next level and beyond, however this will take time and in football not every club can achieve its goals. What is important is that we don’t lose the ambition and energy to keep trying.
Every decision we make will be aimed at giving the club the best chance of being both successful in the short-term but also existing in a meaningful form for future generations.
There will be inevitable decisions that supporters do not fully agree with or understand, and it won’t always be possible to share the full context behind some decisions more widely, it is also not possible to make decisions that please everyone.
No other changes were made to directors’ responsibilities at this point in time.
The above statement is only words and it will take time to fully define our plan and put it into action. There are also a number of short-term issues which need addressing before we can truly start to make changes.
The club have decided to turn comments off on this post once again to stop negative and damaging comments being made by so called supporters who don’t even turn up and support the club. We thank all those amazing, loyal supporters for their understanding and loyalty. However, as we stated above, you can never please everyone!!
Thank you for your continued support,
The Board of Directors North Shields FC
