This section of our website is to highlight questions sent to HUST by our members and put to the club on their behalf, whether that is via email, at a fan’s forum or other club event.
As always, we thank club board members and any other club representatives for their time and for providing answers.
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Supporters’ Panel – 26th February 2025
The following questions were sent to HUST by our members week commencing 17th February 2025 and they were considered at the Supporters’ Panel on 26th February 2025. Below, we have tried to give you a fair, succinct summary of the club’s responses.
Generally, answers came from the director with responsibility for the relevant area. Similar questions were grouped together into sections and the ‘Selling Club’ section appeared fifth with Mr Singh answering these questions.
We asked to record the meeting in order to capture answers as fully as possible but the club and some attendees preferred to stick to written minutes. As a result, these answers are based on notes taken at the meeting and are not word for word.
There was wider discussion that didn’t link directly to our questions. This will be covered by the club’s write up of the meeting, which will include everything raised. The most important points were Lennie Lawrence’s detailed assurances about the quality of staff on the football side of the club. As well as praising Joe Monk’s work in recruitment, which he described as excellent, he also said what good coaches Anthony Limbrick and Gavin Skelton are. Overall, Lennie’s assessment was that the set up at the club is strong and that we have a good club. He also explained that the recent switch of managerial roles with his assistant was planned from the outset with only the exact timing of it left to decide in the course of the season.
Rose Stoker explained how the commercial side of the club is doing well including statistics relating to year-on-year performance in retail, hospitality and other areas.
Selling club
Q1: Does Mr Singh have a genuine intention of selling the club and how would he define “a credible offer” as we seem to have heard this phrase a number of times over the last few years?
A1: Yes, the club is for sale.
Q2: Is there any more news on a sale of the club and what will happen end of season with Mr Singh?
A2: It is for sale, no progress to report, what happens at the end of the season is still undecided.
Q3: Exactly & specifically how much would Mr.Singh accept for the sale of the club?
A3: There is no asking price.
Q4: Does Mr. Singh’s have a deadline for selling the club?
A4: Not answered specifically. However, the overall impression was that there isn’t a deadline. Mr Singh said that his response after the Crawley game was an emotional response to criticism as he felt he was doing a good job with the club at that point.
Q5: There are rumours about the levels of debt at the club and I’m worried about whether that is putting off buyers. Can you ask what debt the club currently have and whether it is a concern?
A5: Not answered.
Q6: Are there any interested parties still looking at the club? There was reportedly interest from the Americans and then through the consortium.
A6: Not answered directly but Mr Singh did make unsubstantiated remarks about Consortium members during a wider criticism of HUST, which included asking us to justify the content of letters to our members in which we were critical of him/the club. Our representative tried hard to do this by pointing out that many of our members are concerned about the way the club is heading in many areas and that being critical when necessary is part of a supporters’ trust’s job. Mr Singh interrupted repeatedly referring back to last January’s takeover attempt and a radio interview that our representative gave. This made a proper discussion difficult and hindered the progress of what had been a positive meeting with polite discussion from all up to that point.
Q7: Is the club really up for sale and is there a price tag on the club or is it just words ” the club is up for sale”?
A7: Yes, it is for sale, no there is no price.
The Board
Q8: Why aren’t there more regular updates from the board or Mr. Singh?
A8: The idea is for the Supporters panel to fulfil this function.
Q9: Is Mr. Singh still involved in a day to day capacity?
A9: Routine running of the club is delegated through the appropriate area, for example recruitment is through Joe Monks. Major decisions are then discussed by the whole board and the ultimate sign off lies with Mr Singh. This is normal in any business.
Q10: Who is going to answer the questions fans send in?!
A10: On this occasion the whole board but usually Mr Pearson or other invited club employees or representatives.
Q11: Are there any plans for a meet the board type event? And can we expect any further updates from Mr. Singh or is he not now involved in the running of the club?
A11: No plans at the moment but the idea was discussed. See Q9 for level of involvement.
The Pitch and Stadium
Q12: I’ve got to ask, why is the pitch so bad?
A12: There are deep drainage issues which will be fully investigated and rectified in the summer (there are a number of possible solutions depending on the results of the investigation). In the meantime work which can be done during the season is being done.
Q13: Is there a plan to invest in the pitch?
A13: The work in the summer will be expensive but exact costs are not yet known. Work is carried out throughout the season and every summer. Last summer the pitch was scarified and a lot of sand was added.
Q14: Do we actually have access to grass training pitches? All pictures show us training on 3g which can’t be helpful when we play on a poor grass pitch currently.
A14: Yes. There are 14 4G pitches at the training site at Durham University. Over the road, there are well maintained grass pitches at the Agricultural College. We used these until November and will be back on them in March. During the winter we train on the 4G pitches.
Q15: Is there a budget set aside for ground improvements and pitch improvements.
A15: Yes, but priorities can fluctuate and change. For example, the boiler providing heating and hot water to some areas of hospitality and the away changing rooms recently needed to be replaced. This type of investment is invisible but essential, hence the knock on impact on other priorities.
Q16: In addition to the recent headlines about the poor state of the club’s pitch, Victoria Park is looking very shabby round the edges: churned up penalty areas and touchlines, flickering lights in the Town End, several bulbs out in the floodlights, LED lights not working on the scoreboard, and broken signs on the tops of the stands, new bits of which break off every time they’re hit by a stray football. I would like to ask what plans the club has to remedy these, and improve the pitch, to make the Vic a nicer place to visit given that there is little prospect of moving elsewhere any time soon and that these would all be fairly inexpensive.
A16: Scoreboard now fixed, issues with the lights and the speaker system have been caused by rain. The problem with the advertising boards was caused by wind and will be resolved with new backing materials once it is possible to move a cherry picker onto the pitch without causing damage. This will be when the season finishes.
Q17: The ground is a bit of a state and falling to pieces. Advertising boards hanging off are particularly bad given local businesses are the life blood of clubs like us. Is there a plan to tidy up the ground, maybe using volunteers?
A17: The advertisers have been contacted and the issue with the backing materials has been explained. They have been very understanding. There are volunteers working at the club full time and the use of shorter-term volunteers will be explored. Work has been done on this previously by Michael Weir from HUST.
Q18: It is clear that there is no maintenance or improvement plan for the ground. Because of this the facilities and the pitch is deteriorating with little hope of enhancements. The match day experience should be better than it is.
A18: There is regular maintenance, the ground is better than many of our rivals and we have not suffered lots of postponements.
Q19: With the recent concerns about the state of the pitch, would there be any benefit in trying to arrange for an army of volunteers, to join the groundsmen at some point/s during the summer, to help make ready for next season. The groundsmen could advise and organise the work as required. This would also promote a community spirit, and help fans to feel part of the club. Some volunteers may even have experience as groundsmen, which would surely help, I realise that investment is also required, but the use of free labour may help.
A19: See Q17 an increase in volunteers is being considered.
Q20: I’m interested to find out more about why the pitch is not in as good a condition as previous seasons. Has the budget been reduced and what plans have the club got for next season to improve it back to previous standards?
A20: No response on the budget but the plans to investigate and resolve the drainage issues are in place.
Q21: In respect of catering if you want food and drink from behind the Mill House stand why do you either have to miss the end of the first half or the beginning of the second half because of the queues and the slow service. It’s especially galling when you can see a food kiosk in the town end without a queue but you are not allowed to use it.
A21: The need to keep the different areas of the ground separate means this can’t be allowed to happen. However, work is already being done with the operations manager to improve the speed of service, starting with the York match.
Ambition
Q22: There is evidence of the ongoing decline of things on and off the pitch and it feels like the club is dying. What can you say to reassure us that the club has a future?
A22: Not addressed directly other than through other related questions.
Q23: We’re still here but fans want some hope that we can compete. Is there a plan to grow income or bring in fresh investment?
A23: The club is already performing at League 2 levels in most commercial respects, if we gain promotion we’ll be ready.
Q24: Where do you see the club in the next 2 years, 5 years and 10 years and how do you expect to get there?
A24: Not addressed.
Q25: Is there a club in the country whose fans are treated worse than ourselves?
A25: Not addressed.
Q26: Do you expect the fans will purchase more season tickets than last season, are season ticket prices going to be increased and what will the excuse this season should this be the case?
A26: No answer given regarding numbers but season tickets are under consideration now. It was asked whether supporters would be consulted and the answer was that it would be discussed with the Supporters Panel. It was unclear whether this discussion would take place before a decision was made or after.
On Field
Q27: I’d like to ask a question about the recruitment. We have a director of football but it seems that at the end of the 2023, 2024 and now seemingly 2025 seasons the squad was in need of overhaul. Appreciate squad building at this level has its challenges but why is this consistently happening each summer? What lessons have been learnt from previous years and what steps are being taken this summer to ensure that we aren’t going to be in the same position in 12 months time?
A27: Lennie Lawrence explained that Joe Monks is an excellent head of recruitment and that long contracts are very rare in the National League with one-year contracts being most common. Longer contracts have been given to younger players with potential to be sold to other clubs at some point but this always involves an element of risk. The uncertain nature of the loan system was also identified as a risky area for all clubs.
Q28: Why have we averaged one manager per season – this can’t have been the owner’s intention?
A28: Mr Singh laughed at this question and said, no it wasn’t his intention. Lennie Lawrence explained that players, not owners, get managers sacked.
Q29: What is the plan with the academy next year?
A29: The academy now has a sustainable plan and will continue despite the loss of Football League funding. If we regain Football League status the money which follows for the academy will be a welcome boost but we no longer need it. The sustainable model has come about through a lot of good work with local partners.
Q30: Are there any plans for the women’s team to play at the Vic? It would be great for their team morale and raise the profile of the women’s team. Thanks.
A30: Yes, there is a lot of enthusiasm for this and although the poor condition of the pitch makes it difficult just now it will happen.
Other
Q31: Can you ask about cars parking on the Millhouse side of the ground as people are parking 10 yards away from the entrance to the ground for free (especially on the town end). When you leave the ground drivers are trying to force their way through the crowds 2 mins after full time. Whether it is the council or Pools or the Police someone should be enforcing a safe exit and entry to the ground. There is even a barrier there but no one mans it and it is never down.
A31: There were discussions about who is responsible for this and it seems to be Pools. The club is looking into sorting this out.
Q32: The Millhouse side of the ground is run down. The pub is shut. The Odeon has been demolished. The Leisure Centre will presumably be closed. The skateboard park has been vandalised. My question: What happened to the strategic partnership between the Council and the Football Club? What happened to the Millhouse Action Plan? At what point does someone take ownership of the issues and actually address them with a budget and a timescale?
A32: The club does meet with the council but they had other priorities with the new leisure centre maybe things will move forward once that’s done and the baths are demolished.
Q33: The entire Millhouse site is planned as housing in future, removing all match day car parking? Bad news for fans. Was there, or will there be, any consultation with the club or fans on this?
A33: Partially covered in the discussion above. The housing plans are part of a town-wide plan and by no means certain to happen.