What was said during the meeting between Preston North End bosses and supporters' groups

Director of football Peter Ridsdale revealed that he and Ryan Lowe appeared to have solved the problem position ahead of the new Championship season until a spanner was thrown into the works.

The club has come under fire from certain section of supporters who had been frustrated that the club had failed to bring in two extra players which were wanted by Ryan Lowe.

Ridsdale’s revelation was made to a group of supporters who had sat down with the club’s hierarchy to discuss a number of issues concerning the club.

At the start of the month 11 fan groups came together to pen an open letter to the club and its hierarchy to question the running of the club and other areas. PNE responded shortly after stating the meeting that did take place last week, would happen during the international break with games at the time still to be played prior to the World Cup.

Representatives from each supporters’ group were taken on a tour around the facilities at PNE’s Euxton training ground before sitting down with chairman Craig Hemmings and directors Peter Ridsdale and Kevin Abbott.

As was covered in the open letter the fans’ groups wrote to the club, a number of topics were covered during the meeting in response. These were: recruitment, the season card campaign, the academy, long-term strategy and recent changes, commercial, catering and other income, redistribution, training facilities and Ingol, fan zone and other business.

On the whole, North End defended their position on most things, such as the summer recruitment, the facilities at their Euxton training ground, the building of a new training ground on land in Ingol and their plans for a fan zone whilst thanking supporters for their efforts on the season card campaign in the summer and for getting permission for the proposed Ingol training ground.

The following are snippets from the minutes, which go across 13 pages online, with the full minutes available to read here.

Recruitment

The minutes read: “Craig Hemmings (CH) outlined that summer recruitment was not just about players “in” but also about an overhang of players in a squad after a change in manager and the need to get players “out” to free up places and budget.

“Peter Ridsdale (PR) then outlined the club’s recruitment process in the summer, stating he feels the squad is as balanced as it has been for a long time following the summer window. PR revealed that the first player the club was due to sign in the summer was a RWB and that the deal was done but he failed his medical.

“PR explained the process in identifying targets within the budget and that the manager Ryan Lowe ultimately decides which players are signed within the parameters set.

“PR reiterated that it is ultimately down to the manager to put the squad together and that every player signed in the summer was Ryan’s first choice in that position.

“CH explained that the budget was set well in advance of the summer transfer window and it was up to the manager how it was spent. So, while eight players may have been the manager’s ideal, circumstances change and some prices go up, some go down, and then it may be that with the money spent you can only afford six of those, not all eight, or some of your targets just aren’t available. CH explained that it doesn’t mean that anybody lied, or anyone misled or did anything wrong, just that circumstances changed throughout the transfer window which is often the case.”

“PR added that he felt the club was in the best position it has been for years regarding planning and lengths of contracts going into the summer. PR stated that he believed this coming summer wasn’t a problem, instead it is an opportunity.”

Season card campaign

“CH thanked supporters for their part in supporting the campaign and stated that he and the club didn’t know just how well it would go. CH also stated that, despite some 12,000 seasons tickets being sold, the club actually only made fractionally more, despite increased sales, due to the discount. It is a misconception that the club made much more from the campaign.”

Academy

“CH stated that the Category 3 Academy that the club currently runs costs the club £1.2million per year to run and that to move to Category 2, the operating costs would increase to around £2million per year. PR added that to achieve Category 2 status you need an indoor football facility which would cost between £4.5million to £5million to build. PR stated that it is unlikely to be regularly used by the academy or first team squad.”

“CH stated that the club’s strategy is to develop its own players and bring them through to the first team. CH stated it’s a difficult decision to decide where the funds come from to start the process of getting to Category 2 and improve the club’s chances of achieving that objective, especially when the majority of fans want the club to focus investment on the first team.

“CH explained that it would not be an instant change but there are a series of steps in place to get there and it is part of a longer term strategy.

“CH acknowledged that the club does not get a return on all of the £1.2million the club invests in to the Academy each year but felt that many clubs don’t but that there is a desire to bring young players through despite that.

“CH added that PR is in discussion with the EFL regarding the requirements for Category 2 Academy status as the club satisfies all other criteria other than the indoor facility.”

Long term plan and recent changes

“The question was raised about external investment should be looked at to increase the budget for the January transfer window as supporters feel the Championship is wide open this season. PR highlighted that it could breach FFP and highlighted the quality he felt was brought into the squad in the summer.

“CH stated that he understood fans ’frustrations and reiterated that it is not possible to just get outside investment within the rules. Firstly there isn’t anyone around to do that and secondly the club isn’t allowed to. CH explained that there is a maximum you can lose as a club over three years and that money the club loses each year puts us close to that ceiling.”

“CH stated that the amount of money the club needed to earn each season to mitigate the money put in by the owners can only really be achieved through selling a player for £8million to £10million, which currently won’t happen every year.”

Premier League redistribution

“PR stated that the club currently receives £3.1million from the EFL and £4.8million from the Premier League each year, the same as every club in the Championship other than those with parachute payments who get more.

“PR explained that the proposal would be that from the top of the Premier League down to the bottom of the Championship, they would redistribute the money based on position. For example, if the club finished 8th this season, the club could end up with an additional £XXmillion [NB: figs intentionally excluded]. The club wouldn’t be able to spend more than a certain percentage of its turnover, with the turnover including that extra money.

“PR stated that any changes made will make it easier rather than harder for PNE to compete in the future.”