Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries chairman Mitchell: We'll buck the trend
EDDIE Mitchell insists Cherries will live within their means under his stewardship and has sounded out a reassuring message to supporters: I'm not in this for profit.[LNB] Chairman and majority shareholder Mitchell is tonight due to provide an update on the club's finances when he addresses a fans' forum at Dean Court (7pm).[LNB] The Dorset-based businessman has been juggling the purse strings ever since he joined forces with the Murry Group to take a controlling interest in June.[LNB] And while Mitchell says he is determined to get the club back on an even keel, he is also adamant it must start to become self-sufficient.[LNB] Mitchell told the Daily Echo: The days of football clubs surviving on individuals are limited and, while I'm in charge, we're only going to go with what we can afford. We're going to try to buck the trend and get our house in order.[LNB] If the manager's ambition is bigger than what we can afford then he may go chasing that ambition. But, at this moment in time, he thinks exactly the same as me we've got to play with what we've got.[LNB] We've spoken about next season's budget and about what the club can and can't afford. We plan to take the club forward with what we can afford.[LNB] Mitchell has also reiterated his firm stance on refusing to inject further funds into the club and says it must learn to stand on its own two feet. He also said he had no plans to sell his shares.[LNB] At this moment in time, I wouldn't sell or give away my shares to anybody, he said. If somebody came in tomorrow and said they would give me £2m for my shares, I wouldn't sell them. The club isn't for sale, not my shares anyway.[LNB] I've probably laid out £500,000-plus and a lot of energy. I'm not going to put in any more money. I'm helping to build a business and I've got to manage it. My own business is probably suffering so for me to put in any more cash would be financial suicide.[LNB] Saying that, I wouldn't ask people to pay for their season tickets up front if I wasn't prepared to pay for my box up front and that's what I've done. I'm giving money to the club in other ways.[LNB] I've said before, it's not my club but somebody had to get hold of it and sort it out before it disappeared. That's what I'm planning to do and that's what I'm making great steps to do. I want people to enjoy coming and to support the club.[LNB] Mitchell has called a second fans' forum within a few weeks to provide a breakdown of the advance season ticket revenue, a sum he described as considerable.[LNB] These people have kindly given us their money early and I want them to know where it has gone, explained Mitchell. I want to be accountable to the supporters for where the money has gone, how much more we need and where the club is going.[LNB]
