Darragh MacAnthony Question And Answer Session.

Darragh MacAnthony was present at a Question and Answer session in ‘The Venue’ before last evening’s friendly against Leicester. It was a very good event with some interesting questions asked. Unfortunately, due to the very poorly attended friendly matches, not many fans were able to be present. Here is a report on what Darragh said during the Q+A.

The evening’s first question was one about the development of the stadium. Darragh stated that he is paying the council £500,000 a year for rent on the ground. He feels this is a little unfair as they had previously agreed this price whilst the club was in the Championship. The council wanted more rent if promotion was achieved, Darragh asked for the rent to be reduced if the club were relegated, which is what ultimately happened. The council though have not reduced the rent following our relegation last season however. Darragh also stated that he has little in-put into the changes made to London Road – the planned renovation of the Moyes End will be under the council’s guidance – as Peterborough United Football Club do not own the stadium. MacAnthony felt that in an ideal World we would have been able to build a stadium on the Embankment – he felt that a 15,000 to 20,000 all-seater would have been available for under £30 million but this wasn’t possible. In the end though the council buying the stadium ensures our safety, so although not the first choice option it has still been a step in the right direction for the club.

When asked about the reason for the friendly matches being so highly priced MacAnthony said that “it is because teams like Aston Villa don’t come cheaply”. He refused to say he was disappointed with the low attendances at the friendly matches as he understood prices were very high. Darragh stated he would try one game at £10, as many fans have suggested, but if attendances remain poor prices will be raised again for the season after. The Chairman also stated that, being as optimistic as ever, “when we get promoted to the Championship there will not be as many friendly matches at London Road anyway” as he is planning to take the squad on a tour of the U.S.A.

The club’s transfers were the next subject of discussion. When asked whether the club would be signing any more players by the end of the transfer window MacAnthony said that he knows Gary Johnson wants to bring in one or two more players but the club is not desperate to bring in anymore – his new nickname for Gary Johnson is “Gimme Johnson” due to his demands transfer wise. Darragh also stated that he will back the manager and unlike some Chairmen he will provide the manager money to sign players before squad members deemed surplus to requirements are offloaded. In regards to Barry Fry, who was praised by many supporters and MacAnthony himself, stating that “Posh are going to smash their transfer record” in the Peterborough Evening Telegraph a few weeks back he said that “a 750k offer was accepted by an un-named club, for a striker, but the player was away on international duty and simply did not want to speak to us”. Frank Queudrue never entered contract talks with us as the offer from Greek side Panionios – Tax-free money, free education for his children, a car for him and his wife and a two year contract – was so good that even MacAnthony would of said take their offer. On the selling of players MacAnthony stated that there are more players that need to be sold. He commented specifically on one, un-named player who was offered an 80% pay rise and regular first team football at another club but turned it down to sit in our reserves. Darragh said he was signed by another manager and was told he was surplus to requirements by Gary Johnson.

Although reports are stating that MacAnthony said if three songs were recommended him to play after a goal he would give them a trial run this is not true. MacAnthony stated that these three songs were to be played as the players came out of the tunnel to get the atmosphere around the stadium going on a trial basis – think Sheffield United’s rendition of their famous anthem before kick-off – if the song is liked by the majority of the fans then it will be continued throughout the season. The topic of songs being played after a goal did come up but Darragh did not give a definitive answer about whether music would be played or not.

Other minor issues brought up were vuvuzelas, which Darragh unofficially banned saying anyone he saw with one “would be shot”.  The sound-system in the London Road terrace was also a topic of discussion, MacAnthony said it was not a priority but he would get Bob Symns to look into it and if it wasn’t too expensive to fix he would solve the problem. If any supporters group asks him to do something for them he will – whether that be a Q+A or attending an event. Darragh concluded the event by stating that “I must be losing my popularity around here as I was only asked ten questions and nine were by the same person” after one overzealous fan continued to ask about a number of different issues.