Club Review Summer 2019 AN INTRODUCTION In 2019, Kidderminster Harriers enters into arguably the most influential phase of its history as negotiations continue with even more prominent partners. Our aim for this partnership is to establish Kidderminster as a lead educator as a University town. Cities like Worcester and Wolverhampton have thrived in that regard and there is absolutely no reason why Kidderminster cannot follow suit. Our desire is to build and establish a University that can thrive and support the football club as it does so. At this time, we’re able to reflect on the fantastic progress that has already been made by Kidderminster Harriers and the hopes for the future as we continue to develop, improve and progress. Discover more: • FIRST TEAM • EDUCATION • U19-23 ACADEMY • JUNIOR ACADEMY • FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY • WOMEN’S FOOTBALL • E SPORTS • CAREER OPPORTUNITIES • LAND ACQUISITION • CONCLUSION FIRST TEAM Where were we? In 2015 the club was staring relegation in the face and playing an uninspiring and unidentifiable brand of football that excited nobody. Despite significant improvements in the second half of that season, the damage had been done. Relegation was confirmed with zero prospect or idea as to how the club would do anything other than spend decades at the levels below. What are we now? In our first season we identified top playing and coaching talent in the likes of John Eustace, Matt Gardiner, Ryan Croasdale, Elton Ngwatala and Arthur Gnahoua to develop a brand of football that suited us, and that was extremely entertaining. In the following summer, we chased dreams and began to live beyond our means. We were guilty of pushing the boat out to attract big-name players who would benefit us. In short, we made some decisions purely for short-term gain which is completely against our own logic as a business. We wanted to match the aspirations and ambitions of our fans who wanted success as desperately as we did and overstretched ourselves. For that we must hold our hands up and apologise. In the three seasons since that relegation, the team has finished in the play-offs twice, and twice reached the First Round of the FA Cup. 2018/19 represented a season where mistakes were made, but these have been identified and, we believe, rectified. With a new management team at the helm we’re confident of being able to restore the relative norm – competitiveness in the division whilst sticking to our philosophy and what we believe in. This has taken us far closer to achieving our aims than reverting to type. What do we want to become? Quite simply, to be a successful EFL Football Club should be the aim of every single person associated with Kidderminster Harriers, from the Boardroom to the terraces. It will not be easy and the challenges are vast, but the signs are there that we can make this happen. Since 2015, 14 players have left us to go on and play in the EFL, with transfer fees received in excess of £250,000 – but we want to become the EFL club able to give players the chance to go on and play in the Premier League. Quite simply, the only way they’ll do that is if Kidderminster Harriers is succeeding as a team. What we have to make sure of is that we do this in the right way. We have said since day one that the club’s previous benefactor-led model is not unsustainable but, in actual fact, that’s still arguably what has happened. Whilst the bigger picture was to build around our education partners, one person was largely responsible for footing the bill for that. We must use our expertise to live within our means and generate the kind of income that can sustain the football club and its team properly. This is how we intend to do it: EDUCATION Where were we? In 2015, the club had an established education partner, but there was no true relationship to speak of. At that time, education provision, in terms of income generated for the football club, was around £30,000 per-year. Based on current terms, the same number of students would generate in the region of £150,000 worth of income to the football club, which speaks volumes as to the strength of the subsequent negotiations and the structures put in place. Education was one income stream, and nothing more. What are we now? Education has gone from ‘an’ income stream, to becoming the strength behind everything the football club does. In the space of less than four years, education provision is now the biggest income stream for the football club, generating in excess of £450,000 in 2018/19, a forecast £750,000 in 2019/20 and in excess of £1 million per annuum beyond that. Through the hard work and dedication of everyone involved, there will be almost 200 students who are studying and learning under the Kidderminster Harriers umbrella – on football-related courses alone. Both Further and Higher Education courses are on offer to young people in the local area and around the world. It is about education and sport in that regard – and sport doesn’t need to be confined to football. We want to push into hockey, netball, rugby, cricket and disability sports – all to give people in the Wyre Forest the right kind of aspirations and opportunities. What do we want to become? It became apparent in 2015 that, after the club had previously lurched from one financial crisis to another, that education would help provide the platform for the football club, its team and its community, to thrive and prosper. Many people may well associate that happening with a new stadium facility – but that isn’t and never has been an immediate, priority for us. To educate the footballers and sportspeople of the future, in the Wyre Forest, at the levels we’ve just described, we need a space in which to do it. Catering for up to 1,000 people from around the world, 24 hours a day at Aggborough Stadium just wouldn’t be realistic. To that end, we were encouraged by our local Council to submit some initial plans and ideas to them that could be factored into their multi-year plan. For that to happen, we had to pay for and make those ideas public – but many just assumed that our wish was to immediately knock down Aggborough and move out. To be explicitly clear: the stadium is not the cornerstone of the business – the education it might one day house is. Nobody would want to move for moving’s sake, the desire is to move when the business is ready. At that stage, what better way to align everything we’re working towards than to house that facility within a football stadium? Playing attractive, successful football that fans can be proud of – that is our goal. We always said that could take three to five years, and that’s still the case – maybe even longer. Our desire is to become a University town and, most fundamentally, our ambition is to be the biggest educator, biggest employer and biggest influencer within the Wyre Forest. This benefits not only the club, but everyone it serves. We will always be a football club with a football team at its pinnacle. With the success of the above, Kidderminster Harriers teams of the future will be sustainable, ambitious and successful. ACADEMY Where were we? As we’ve detailed, our Academy link-up in its infancy provided the minimum by way of a meaningful relationship with key providers and the production of home-grown talent for the club’s own team. In the two years prior to 2015, only three players had been involved with the first team and had been offered professional contracts. However successful the Academy teams may have been, there was no defined, dedicated pathway on which they could progress. What are we now? The Academy system trains daily alongside the first team and, from a range of U19s teams to our U23 side, Kidderminster Harriers have teams regularly contesting for trophies and constantly producing first team talent. In 2018/19 alone, eight Academy players contributed to almost 40 appearances in the first-team, as the chart illustrates. On top of that there have been more than ten instances of players within our Academy being offered trials with Premier League or EFL teams. That this system provides the revenues that now fundamentally support the club is hugely important, but what’s even more crucial is that players, as young as eight, know that there is a direct link to the first team they enjoy watching on a Saturday. What do we want to become? In the summer of 2018, Kidderminster Harriers were voted the top developer of footballing talent in non-league football – according to industry experts, nobody produces more talented footballers, who’ve gone on to achieve in their careers, than we do. It’s a lofty goal, but why can’t Kidderminster Harriers fans be watching a team made up of entirely home-grown talent at Aggborough? Crewe Alexandra have managed that, and there’s no reason we can’t reach for the same. JUNIOR ACADEMY Where were we? In 2015 the club had no presence of its own in terms of junior footballers – the next generation. The youth programme for those 16 and under, was in the hands of extremely dedicated and skilled coaches, but these were all volunteers; well- intended parents and those like them, that had so much to offer but absolutely no way of gaining an affinity with the club.