Conflict? What Conflict

Tory Goon

It’s a little under two months now since Steve Hayes announced that he had become an 11% shareholder in our tenants at Adams Park, London Wasps. Yet, like his horse ‘Up the Wycombe’, Hayes has come a cropper at the first fence.

The decision by the club, announced this morning, to reschedule Wanderers’s game against Morecambe on Saturday 15 December to the Friday night to enable Wasps to play their Heineken Cup fixture against Clermont Auvergne, represents exactly the sort of conflict of interests for Hayes about which the Trusts warned and which the club maintained plans were in place for.

It is no surprise that Hayes, via the PLC, has chosen to protect the interests of his new friends at Wasps at the expense of Wanderers. One can imagine the stony silence that might have greeted him as he walked into the Wasps Boardroom in the knowledge that his actions as Wanderers MD in refusing to reschedule the game had led to Wasps’ exit from the European competition. Apparently, contractual requirements with Sky as broadcasters prevented the rescheduling of the match and would have led to elimination if the fixture could not have been fulfilled.

Hayes had an opportunity to demonstrate his strength of resolve as Wanderers MD and to prove, beyond any doubt, that he had Wanderers uppermost in his mind. Yet, like Gordon Brown, he bottled it.

What is galling, however, is the array of forces Hayes has mobilised to justify his decision. The club’s own statement, penned by Head of PR and Sky Sports commentator Alan Parry (no conflict of interests there then), lists a series of reasons as to why the decision was taken. All, however, have the consistency of a feather when subjected to scrutiny.

Parry screams, in his defence of Hayes, that Paul Lambert was ‘delighted’ by the change as it would give his players an extra day’s rest before the Christmas period. It would also allow more families to attend so that they could do the Christmas shopping on the Saturday. Dubious statistics are referred to in support to show that the Saturday before Christmas (well two to be precise) show a downturn in attendances. The argument is straw-filled. It may be a corollary of the decision to give an extra day’s rest, albeit that the benefit is doubtless barely tangible, but it is not an argument in support. Otherwise, why not reschedule anyway, irrespective of any fixture clash. Meanwhile, the impact of Christmas on attendances has little to do with a 3pm kick-off and far more to do with fans having to save up for Christmas presents – moving the game to the Friday will therefore have a negligible impact.

Amazingly, the article then cites Hayes directly: “We have canvassed the views of many supporters and the majority agree [with the decision to reschedule]”. This is frankly laughable. Name them, then, is my response. The fact is that the Board consulted with both Trusts on the decision, and both gave unequivocal responses that they opposed any decision to reschedule. Even if the Board contacted any supporters to canvas their views on a switch (which I strongly doubt), these were clearly hand-picked individuals who could be relied upon to give ‘the right answer’. Hardly democracy in action, is it?

Hayes has, over the years since his investiture as MD, sought at each juncture to reassure supporters that their views are being taken into account. He has publicly endorsed the Trusts as the bodies to which the club will turn when it wishes to undertake consultation (except when they disagree with him it seems). He has also strongly backed the club’s CRM as a resource whereby feedback can be quickly obtained and used. I’m on the CRM and I wasn’t consulted. Was anyone? I doubt that ICM or Mori would be taken in by such polling.

Worst of all in the official spin produced is talk of Wanderers and Wasps as a ‘partnership’. Friends help themselves out in difficult positions is the message being communicated. Firstly, it’s not a partnership; rather a simple case of Landlord and Tenant. Are you in a partnership with your Landlord? Even if we are to be duped into considering the relationship to be a partnership, it is rather a one-sided partnership. On two previous occasions Wasps have decided that Adams Park is too small for their needs and have relocated games to Coventry. So for the Board to talk about the loss of revenue is particularly short-sighted. We have already lost out financially this season. It’s hardly a partnership when one partner decides whether or not it is going to give you a share of the lucre, is it?

It all comes back to the issue of a conflict of interests. This decision has confirmed once and for all that (a) there is a conflict of interests with Steve Hayes being both Managing Director at Wycombe Wanderers and a Shareholder and Board Member at London Wasps; (b) in the event of a potential conflict of interests - as if there was ever any doubt - which quarter he would side with; and (c) that the systems in place to deal with such a conflict have proved ineffective.

The danger in all this, of course, is that it is Wanderers fans who are seen to suffer; both those who are now unable to attend an evening fixture due to work commitments or due to the distance to travel to Adams Park; and those who travel away as the club has just shot themselves in the foot for the next time an opposition club may wish to reschedule a fixture, thereby causing difficulties for fans getting to the rescheduled game. After all, this is exactly what the club has just done to Morecambe fans. Thanks Steve.

12.10.2007. 18:10

Write a comment