1998/99 Season Summary

In the FA Cup they reached the Second Round, and only the First Round in the League Cup. Although in the Football League Association Members' Cup Exeter fared better and were knocked out in the Quarter Final South. 

League Stats:
Position: 12th P: 46, W: 17, D: 12, L: 17 Goals For: 47 Goals Against: 50 Points: 63.

FA Cup
First Round: Tamworth (A), 2-2. Replay, 4-1 Second Round: Bristol Rovers (H), 2-2. Replay, 5-0

League Cup
First Round: Ipswich Town (H), 1-1 and (A), 5-1.
Exeter lost 2-6 on aggregate Football League

Association Members' Cup
First Round: Bye
Second Round South: Southend U (H), 3-1
Quarter Final South:
Cambridge United (A), 1-1. Exeter lost 3-5 on penalties.

EXETER CITY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BERNARD FROWD . LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

I felt that this was the opportune moment to bring everyone up to date with the redevelopment plans for St. James' Park and the position that the club overall now finds itself in.

We are working towards situation where the club generate enough income, not only to balance the books, but also to invest in team building. This will in reality only occur after the redevelopment of the ground is complete and the marketing and commercial activities are on stream with the opening of the new social building (the former St James' Road school).

Whilst we still have to be prudent with finances for the next twelve months, once we get through that period, we feel that the club will really go forward off the field to enable us to generate success on it as well. We want to get out of this division as soon as we are able, next season if possible, and with the basis of a very strong squad of players that we now have, together with a few new faces, we will be having a real go to achieve that aim.

Finances are still tight, but then they are at most of the clubs in the lower Divisions. The redevelopment of the ground will give us the ability to generate income from the various marketing activities, and we would be very disappointed if we were not achieving, after 12 months, a target of £75,000 per year more than we are at present earning in terms of commercial income. And that should increase to around £500,000 per year more by year five. So you can see that the redevelopment is not just important in terms of providing first class facilities for everyone, but also from the finance angle, which in turn will enable the club to invest more in team building.

Our aims off the field is to provide a stadia that meets all the legal requirements; that is comfortable for spectators whether it be seated or standing; create a family and disabled section in the new Cowshed stand; provide first class catering for all; have a social club that we can all be proud of; look after our sponsors and guests much better than we are able to do at present; have facilities whereby we can offer matchday lunches and also be utilised during non- matchdays for such events as conferences, meetings and wedding receptions etc; involve the local community by inviting them to use the social club/centre during the week.

There will also be ten hospitality boxes at the rear of the 2,200 seater Cowshed stand. Two of those will be for the use of the Exeter City and visiting directors and guests. A third one will, hopefully, be for television and media use and we are currently in active discussions with Westcountry Television. That box would also be used if and when Sky TV covered a game at the Park. This would leave five boxes to be sold on a season's rental basis, and two others which we would sell on a matchday basis. We are already encouraged by the interest shown in these, and have had at least half a dozen firm enquiries for the use of them. Obviously this again will bring in much needed additional income to the club.

The interest in the actual plans of the new look St. James' Park has been equally encouraging, and many have told us that they wish to become more involved with the club once the facilities are in place. We are sure that as soon as the building work commences during the summer, there will be an upsurge in interest and support for the club, as this has certainly been the case where similar projects have been undertaken.

One area in which we are to make a conscious effort is to raise the awareness of Exeter City Football Club. To that end we are using the club's unique nickname of the Grecians on all our merchandise, including the new look kit which is to be launched later this evening. Image is important, and we will admit that there is room for improvement and is a very important aspect which we will be working hard on in the next 12 months or so and into the future.

We set at the start of the 1998-99 season, what we felt was a realistic budget for the club, but unfortunately, despite a good home playing record, our attendances at St James Park have been disappointing. However, the club's directors and Peter Fox have already met to discuss the 1999-2000 budget, and you will have seen in the local Press that Peter has been in talks with players he wishes to retain. The redevelopment of the ground and playing matters go hand in hand. The Football League, the Football Trust and the Football Licensing Authority have been kept fully informed of the progress we have made with the plans for our ground during the past year or so. It was important for Exeter City FC that we made everyone aware what we wanted to do, and we feel that this openness. went a long way to the club securing the large grant from the Football Trust.

Next season the capacity will be reduced as the work is ongoing. The Big Bank area is the first phase of the plans, and the ground capacity will be reduced to around 6,000. However, we will be contacting all the visiting clubs, particularly those who do not bring a lot of support, and inform them that their fans will be accommodated in the grandstand only. This will allow us to use the St James' Road (away end) terrace for our own supporters at certain games. The St James Road end also has to have work carried out to it during the summer, with the replacement of the crush barriers, to enable us to gain approval for use

by the Football Licensing Authority. Although work will not be started on the Cowshed stand until the New Year, we will be making a start on converting the old school building as soon as possible, as obviously when this is complete, the club can start to generate income. To that end we have been in talks with at least two or three companies who have expressed an interest in coming into a partnership with us to complete the scheme for the new social area, club offices, hospitality areas, and club shop etc.

At the same time we have kept the local residents around the ground informed as to our plans and a committee has been set up to discuss any problems that may arise, or indeed any suggestions that they may have. This has been a very worthwhile and positive exercise, and the residents are looking forward to completion of the social club as they themselves will be able to use it as a form of 'community centre' for various events etc. The other major aspect of the ground plans concerns the housing which is to be built at the Old Tiverton Road entrance to the ground. The Exeter Housing Society have now obtained planning permission for this and they will also contribute towards the new access road from Old Tiverton Road, which in effect will then become the main entrance to the new look St James' Park.

To sum up, the future is very exciting both on and off the field for the club. We have the nucleus of a good squad of players. We have a thriving youth policy which has seen players make the transition to the first team. We have the Centre of Excellence which is a great step forward for the future.

There is a good deal of optimism for the future and the club is really buzzing again after several years of struggle. It will be hard again next season until the redevelopment plans are complete, but, after that, we can ALL look forward to an exciting future for Exeter City football Club. We are sure the supporters want to be part of it.

The following is from a programme article (May 1999 v Halifax) 
Peter Fox writes 

We finally reach our last game of the season a season in which we have once again made progress. It may not have been the progress that we all wanted to make - i.e. promotion we were convinced last August that we had the best squad of players here since we took charge, and that has proved to be the case.

The annoying thing is that had we picked up a few more points at home then we will have been featuring in the play-offs. Whilst our home record was good, we did drop some silly points and that has ultimately cost us the chance of possible promotion. Our away form took a turn for the better when we won at Carlisle at the turn of the year, and at that time the team were full of confidence and really buzzing. Our best form probably culminated in the win here at the Park against Swansea City, who we literally played off the park!

It is now up to everyone at the club to take the next step forward, that being installing a little more consistency in the team, and to bring two or three new faces to the squad, to enhance the already strong set of players we have. We are not in a position to compete in the big money transfer market, so we will be making full use of talking to players who will become available in the next few weeks, whether they are available on free transfers or as a result of the Bosman ruling. As you will have read in the press, we have already spoken to couple of players. There will be an awful lot of players out there seeking new clubs, but we want to get in early and have the pick of the best of them. That is the main reason why we have been busy during the past couple of weeks agreeing new contracts for the players we want to retain, so that we knew who wanted to stay for next season.

Signed on at the moment are - Noel Blake, Geoff Breslan, Chris Curran, Steve Flack, Shaun Gale, Jon Gittens, Chris Holloway, Barry McConnell, Graeme Power, Jason Rees, Darran Rowbotham, and John Wilkinson. We have also offered one year deals to three of the clubs' promising trainee's, Warren Waugh, Robert Speakman and Pete Smith.

As we penned these notes we were hoping that Jon Richardson will also accept a new contract with the club, and we will also be speaking to goalkeeper Danny Potter who has stepped into the departing Ashley Bayes' shoes recently.

Those who have signed, have expressed a really positive attitude for Exeter City, and they can see, like all of us, that the club, after many difficult seasons, are really going forward now. The plans for the redevelopment of the ground are exciting, and this should generate much needed income to help us on the playing side as well. Anyone who stays with the club during the next 12 months or so, will be part of a new era for the Grecians, and we want to support the off the field efforts by working hard on it and gain the sort of success that we all so desperately want after too many lean years. This afternoon we welcome Halifax Town to St James' Park, and you can rest assured they will really be up for the game, as they have to pick up the points to guarantee themselves a play-off position. They have enjoyed a great season and made the transition from Conference football as if they have never been away from the Football League.

Finally, it goes without saying that all the players, management and backroom staff, thank the most important people the Exeter City fans for coming along to games, both home and away. Your support is appreciated especially when you get behind the team on occasions when results are not going for us. We also thank the many equally important sponsors who have supported the club during the past season. Have a good summer break and we will be making another push next season to improve on this, and work towards that promotion place. -

FOXY & BLAKEY.