BEEKS SPEAKS

Wycombe Wanderers Football Club Chairman Ivor Beeks kindly agreed to speak at a forum organised by WWISC on Thursday 3rd April 1997 in the Vere Suite. Supporters from both Wycombe Wanderers supporters groups were admitted free of charge - thus continuing the reciprocal agreements that had been built up in the months before the forum.

EARLY DAYS
The Chairman began the informal evening by going back to his first memories of Wycombe Wanderers. He recalled going to the 1957 Amateur Cup Final and before that travelling up to Doncaster for the Amateur Cup Semi-Final with Bishop Auckland.

INVITATION
He went on to say that his first real involvement with Wycombe Wanderers followed being asked to join the Committee during a golf trip to Portugal in 1985 with Brian Lee, Monty Seymour and other Club members. After seeing the Balance Sheets he accepted the invitation with the proviso that he could be joined by friends Graham Peart and Gordon Richards - these later became Directors when the Club was activated as a Limited Company in 1986.

MARTIN O'NEILL
Beeks talked through his early days as Club Director and later Chairman. He recalled the day Wycombe lost to the Met.Police in the FA Trophy under Jim Kelman and the subsequent appointment of Martin O'Neill. Talking of O'Neill he said "He was probably the most difficult person I've ever managed in 32 years of business... but he was certainly one of the best Football Managers that I in my short 10 years as being Chairman have known" He went on to add "I think we have a Manager at the moment who mirrors him very well - except in his temperament"

ALAN SMITH
Following O'Neill's move to Norwich City in the summer of 1995, the appointment of Alan Smith was initially greeted with enthusiasm but the sorry circumstances of his departure have left many with unhappy memories. Beeks said of Smith though, "To me he was excellent.. no question about it. He treated me with respect and I never had a problem with him. Unfortunately everybody else did and unfortunately we didn't get the results" On his departure he added "We left on first class terms".

JOHN GREGORY
Beeks praised Smith's successor, John Gregory, for his attitude and the new commitment shown from the players. A hopeful Beeks went on to say "I think I've seen a Manager like him before"

ADAMS PARK
Beeks revealed that the Club had been awarded the 'Most improved stadium in 1996/97' out of the 72 clubs in the Football League. This had been awarded due to the combined improvements from the new Woodlands Stand and the pricing structure for children and OAP's. He emphasised the importance of building the new stand when we did, pointing out that the Football Trust money is drying up. The initial tenders for the Woodlands Stand were apparently £1m over budget but after reassessing the plans, The Board went ahead and the stand was eventually built for £1.57m, with £1m coming from the Football Trust. Beeks added "Our timing was just right".

SEATS
Many supporters fear that the Club will soon be seating the Valley End. Legislation dictates that seating is only necessary after a Club has been in Division One for three seasons. Beeks wouldn't confirm either way, however, by stating "We will do it when it is best for the Football Club" The seating of the away end was also defended as not being a mistake despite problems during the visits of Reading, Plymouth and especially Watford. Beeks confirmed that "financially it had been a success" The Watford game involved moving the entire Family Stand to the old Main Stand. Beeks apologised for this fiasco but claimed that the Club had made £40,000 from this decision. Without giving too much away, Beeks hinted that the Club were looking at the prices in the old Main Stand, adding "You've got to price people in football, not out of football".

MICKEY BELL
Beeks denied rumours that Mickey Bell had already been sold to Leicester City to enable the funding of recent signings. Beeks confirmed "Mickey Bell is out of contract at the end of the season but has not yet agreed terms". The Chairman said an "excellent" offer had been made by Wycombe but he could not force Bell to sign it.

SHARE STRUCTURE
Wycombe's share structure is now unique in the Football and Premier League leading to speculation that Wycombe may soon change. Beeks stated "I do see at sometime, I have no idea when, that the constitution will need to change" He added "Personally I would only want to do it if it was for the benefit of the Football Club not for the benefit of an individual"

DIVISION ONE
Talking of future ambitions he said "I believe we can sustain being in Division One". The Chairman talked of the financial benefits of being in a higher division, stating "The difference between being in the Second Division and the First is over £0.5m plus TV rights"

THE QUARTERS
Beeks was asked if changing from the traditional quartered shirts had been a mistake. He responded by saying "The way sales have gone.. yes" He added "I don't mind it (the stripes) too much. John Gregory has already gone on record that we're bringing them (the quarters) back want it or not" The Chairman wouldn't confirm if the light and dark blue quarters would return next season by revealing "We've got so many (the stripes) at the moment we've got to get rid of some stock".

PITCH INVASIONS
Concern was raised at an incident earlier in the season when a spectator encroached on to the pitch from the Valley End with the possible intention of assaulting the referee. The Chairman stated that "Anybody that has been on our football pitch has been charged - we've not missed one - that's the beauty of CCTV" It was pointed out that there were signs in front of the Woodlands Stand and Away End to remind people of the consequences of going on the pitch. The Valley End still had no prominent signage. Hopefully the Club will rectify this situation, as pointed out during the evening, there is no account for some people's stupidity.

CLUB SHOP
The Club Shop was criticised for not catering for children who want to buy small items. The suggestion of a "Pocket-Money corner" was taken on board by Beeks for future implementation. The Chairman also hinted at moves to expand the Club Shop at Adams Park to try and give this more of a presence on match days. He added that ticket sales through the Wanderers in Town Shop in the Octagon had been very good.

THE MEDIA
An opinion on the level of local media coverage was asked for. Beeks, talking specifically about the Bucks Free Press responded by saying "I think we do very well" but added "We're always on the back page and so we should be, we're the premier club in the area" After referring back to the time when the BFP dropped coverage of the Wanderers following an unnecessary fallout between both parties, Beeks concluded "I think the Bucks Free Press needs the Wanderers and the Wanderers needs the Bucks Free Press". Moving on to the radio coverage on 1170AM, he bemoaned the fact that Alan Hutchinson's Thursday night programme had been dropped due to lack of sponsorship and that no commentary was being relayed of the away games. He touched on the subject of Cable TV but added that "We are a great media puller in this area", emphasising that the Club were not prepared to sell the rights for nothing.