The DTB should be in oversight mode on finances as in other things. Just setting the framework for reporting etc. Do any of the DTB, having lost Ian and Simon, possess experience of being an owner or a main board director of a medium sized company? I know we have some such experience on the plc board but the DTB needs to have the skillset to oversee effectively.

I personally doubt that there is anything particularly nefarious about our finances or controls - I think that it is more a matter of people trying their best but being out of their depth in terms of the complexities of what is going on with a complex (albeit not that large) business which is in financial difficulties, perhaps that's just me being naiive. In any case if there is anything being hidden it will come to light when we have a change of control, either voluntarily or post-administration, assuming that any buyer will do proper due diligence.

Quite right about corporate manslaughter in the Post Office scandal - those people were bullied into their suicides by the management, and by the top brass at Fujitsu - Paula Vennells didn’t come out of it too well, having her CBE revoked…. 😯

This would have been high on my priority list if elected. Makes me wonder whether this is the real reason I have been blocked from standing for two years running.

Scary, NickW. With that amount and the unjustified increase in wages it does raise concerns about our financial controls and transparency.

Agreed. The silence on this matter compared with the amount if money involved is of major concern.

Trigger - I suspect that the legal costs are being accounted for, they will just be hidden somewhere within the £5.6M of "Administrative Expenses", for which no proper breakdown or analysis is provided (which is just one aspect of the way in which the accounts are treated as a compliance document rather than as a communication tool)

Somebody at the sgm knew a LOT about the £400k but was very restrained and didn’t give away the details. Seems a bit unfair that some members know the story behind the missing money but not others

But as of Monday 15th December you and I won’t be able to raise resolutions anymore.

If you state the truth then there’s no legal come back on anything. The “legal reasons” excuse is weak. There’s no update on it. No legal costs accounted for. No action at all. Just the traditional DTB silence.

Sir Ed too?

Yes, Trig, saw that, Excellent news. (For a change)

In a subject shift I see that the police are said to be considering corporate manslaughter charges in the Post Office scandal case.

Aideen (from 11:33, apologies for the slow response!). All of those are fair points and definitely weigh in the "is the club well run?" question - I suppose that i was basing it on the fact that the standard match day operation feels pretty well organised - but undoubtedly we have made some big errors of judgment (in particular, I suspect that the fact that the mystery £400k loss can't be talked about for legal reasons also has the dual benefit of sparing the blushes of several people in the club hierarchy)

OI - exactly, I knew kids who went on to go to prison, to commit suicide, to run companies, to go to Oxford/Cambridge, etc etc - not all the same person/people, to be clear 🤪 and not always the ones you might have expected to do either/any of those things…. 🤷🏻‍♂️

It also feels like knuckling down and doing a modestly-waged job day in day out is no longer a route to being able to afford even a modest life.

It’s society not the kids. One day they’ll be parents too and how are they supposed to raise decent human beings based on their own life experience?

Kids are badly behaved but it used to be catapults and ball bearings or pea shooters they (we?) had as well as eggs (maybe they still do). Thinking this generation is particularly dreadful is generally wrong. At least two of the people in my class at Holly Mount primary (very middle class) were in trouble with the police by age 11.

Can't beat a bit of fools and horses [Link]

Exactly keefy,those making excuses for kids are part of the problem ,.🤔

7 am up for a Paper round at the age of 13 around the streets of Raynes park. 7 days a week. Home for breakfast. Walked or cycled to school Yes the cane and slipper was used too often at the time. Did it do me any harm? Not sure! We never gave the plod any lip. Thank god there were no mobile phones or internet at the time. Left school at 16 and never been unemployed. Mum and dad were never my besties and had to do household chores to earn my pocket money. Lucky me.

You don't need to necessarily beat the kids at such a young age. The tone of voice would normally do the trick. If that fails, then the slightest little tap on the back of the hand would suffice.

“Bring back the birch - it never did me no harm… wibble…” 😬 I started the year after CP was outlawed, not sure having it made much difference - flawed kids are flawed, and those that got beaten in school were usually the ones already being beaten at home by drunken and violent controlling dads… ☹️

The parents of most of those types of kids were exactly like that themselves, and similarly their parents before that - mind you, who can cast the first stone, etc….?

Discipline should start at home at a very young age when children are toddlers and their brains are like sponges. I get fed up of seeing young kids misbehaving in supermarkets, climbing on trolleys and constantly touching stuff, and the parents' excuse is, "they're only kids". No, they are ill Disciplined little brats who will grow up being nasty shits and a burden to society.