Letter from the Brentford FC boardroom, 15th May 2006
Dear Supporters,
I feel absolutely gutted at losing (again) in the play-offs. It is a massive disappointment to everyone associated with the Club. When I got home I thumbed through the programme and read on page 7 about Bees supporter Luke Healy who sadly died on 30 April aged 9 year old. For me that story put my feelings into perspective. I am sure we all extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
Following this defeat we have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and work again to move our Club forward. It is no good feeling sorry for ourselves; we have to move on. The Football Club board will be meeting on Friday (19 May) to continue planning for next season. Our prime consideration has to be the long-term survival of the Club.
When I was at Swansea I had the opportunity to tour their new stadium. It is very impressive. Since their move their gates have increased by 75% and their off pitch revenues increased significantly. This helps them sustain a very large, expensive squad and allowed them the luxury of having two quality strikers on the bench in both play-off games against us. It just emphasises again why we need a new stadium. It is frustrating that this is slow and painful process for us and one the board are trying to accelerate.
I would like to acknowledge the work the Club staff and volunteers put in selling tickets for the play-off games. They worked long hours under considerable pressure to deliver a service to you. Their efforts are very much appreciated.
Finally, I attend the Bees United board meeting on Wednesday. There was extensive discussion about the issues related to Rod Gowers’ resignation from the BU board, namely transparency and priorities. I was pleased to observe that the board accepted that these were issues that need addressing and are now working to resolve them.
Let’s work together!
Jon Gosling
Comments can either be sent to me on or directly via comments page.
15th May 2006