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. We believed that was fundamentally wrong.

What are we now? The Junior Academy is now completely in-house and sits proudly under the club umbrella. In 2018/19 we had a total of ten teams playing under our Junior Academy – 135 players playing in the red and white of Kidderminster Harriers on a Saturday morning; with 135 sets of family and friends supporting them and their progress.

Thanks to our extensive social media presence, their achievements are being seen (and voted for in the case of Goal of the Season) by thousands of people every week. That doesn’t mean wins and losses, though that is important in its own right – it’s more about youngsters playing with a smile on their face and playing some great football while they do so.

What do we want to become? Just as our Academy and Education systems feed into everything we want to achieve with the first team, everything under our Junior umbrella must provide enthusiastic, bright and forward-thinking young people for the Academy. Great progress is being made – in 2019, one of our U16 players trained with the first team, and five new teams were added into the Junior ranks for 2019/20, taking the number of players to 200.

A major partnership was launched between the club and LUKE 1977, which sees the leading menswear label become the Harriers technical kit partner for two years from the summer of 2019.

LUKE 1977 was co-founded by Luke Roper, a hugely successful local businessman, whose company launched one of the most popular kits in Aston Villa’s history, the stunning design smashing all previous records by a considerable margin.

The company will produce and manufacture the kits being worn across the Harriers family, but benefits will also reach supporters with special discount codes, unique to Harriers fans so that they can purchase from the extensive, top-class range and make use of big discounts.

FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY

What were we? One of the club’s biggest failings was its relationship with its Community Trust. The Trust ran daily sessions across the year in local schools but received little, if any support from the club itself. It was another instance of there being only a superficial relationship but nothing meaningful. That was unacceptable.

What are we now? The Community Trust continues to deliver excellent provision across Worcestershire but now does so with the full support of the club. The club now has staff members fully dedicated to assisting the Trust with their delivery and overall strategy, whilst the launch and management by the club of dedicated social media platforms, for the Trust, has dramatically increased its exposure. All of those elements together were a fantastic part of what helped Kidderminster Harriers win the Community Club of the Year award at the 2019 National League awards evening. Without a proper relationship between the Club and its Trust, that doesn’t happen.

What do we want to become? The Trust continues to deliver to over 20,000 people every year and we must continue to do our bit to help grow that – from Anklebiters at age three all the way up to the walking footballers of 63 and beyond. We want to be a contender for Community Club of the Year every year, as it will prove we’re making a real difference to people across the Wyre Forest.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

What were we? Quite simply, we have very little recent history! A women’s team that had existed many years previously had folded, and there was no genuine option or way forward for young girls or women to play for Kidderminster Harriers.

What are we now? A new Ladies side was formed by Malcolm Cowell, one of the most respected figures within Ladies football in the Midlands. Since 2016, they have achieved a promotion, won a number of League and County Cups, and made phenomenal progress in the FA Cup in 2018, reaching the First Round proper and a game against Wolves at Aggborough.

The Club, for the first time, also has its own, dedicated Development Officer for Ladies football, which is enabling us to bring through the next generation of both female and male talent.

What do we want to become? Our Ladies team continues to compete for honours at a senior level and has one of the strongest squads in the area.

Underneath that, we will, for the first time in 2019/20, have a girls’ development programme that will see young girls being able to play regular football in a Kidderminster shirt and benefit from expert coaching – not least from England international Jill Scott, who is a figurehead for our new Girls Academy. Once again, we are able to link this with our education system with valued, real qualifications on offer to those enrolling.

To have one of the biggest names in women’s football on the planet endorsing what we’re doing is an incredible achievement.

E-SPORTS

In 2019, the club launched its own eSports programme – Harriers eSports – after merging with a leading, successful eSports team, spearheaded by Harriers fan, Stephen Cook.

As a result, eSports players will be representing Kidderminster Harriers in gaming tournaments across the globe, with games including CS:GO, Rocket League, Tekken and FIFA.

For 2019, there is an accompanying education programme that will enable new and emerging talent within the eSports field to gain an established qualification whilst enjoying the opportunity to play the sport. We believe this to be the only programme in the country of its kind that sees a club combine the two.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Through the expansion of the club’s Academy and education programmes, Kidderminster Harriers and its partners have become one of the area’s emerging employers, from specialist, top-level football coaches, to apprentices in business and more.

In addition to the player movement we’ve touched on, since 2015, we’ve seen first- team coaching and support staff secure jobs in the Championship and across the EFL, from Assistant Managers to Performance Analysts. One of our Ground Staff secured a job at a Premier League club after beginning his career as an apprentice with us.

As well as enabling people to move on and up, we are providing a starting point for countless careers; from footballers, coaches, and scouts, to other specialist fields like social media, business administration, and grounds care, to name just a few.

LAND ACQUISITION The club has, in the last few years, worked diligently to try and strengthen its own security and future with the acquisition of land and assets to help it succeed and grow. With 200 students in full-time education, as of 2019, we have rapidly run out of space in which to teach and educate them and have taken steps to overcome that.

The club is at an advanced stage of securing its first acquisition to improve the available education space, along with discussions over a second. CONCLUSION The progress the club has made towards making itself sustainable and to provide more opportunities to its local community is nothing short of phenomenal. While we can be rightly proud of that, there is much still to do – we must continue to drive forward.

The more we teach and educate, the closer we come to establishing the Wyre Forest as an area for sport and education. For generations, Kidderminster was a carpet town but, locally, this industry is almost non-existent. The town, and the wider Wyre Forest, has a chance to become synonymous for its employment and education opportunities and, as a bottom line, a very successful, ambitious football club. We’re confident there is absolutely nothing else that comes close to this in the area.

We need help to keep achieving and moving forward. As we detailed previously – there is no hiding from the fact that we have overspent and overstretched ourselves.

However, this has been to try and invest in the future of the football club and the Wyre Forest and match the ambition and desires of our loyal supporters who are desperate for success on the pitch. Investing in the infrastructure and people needed to make all of that happen means we struggle financially. We wanted to run before we could walk, and we wanted promotion, but in trying to do that we’ve created problems for ourselves.

The perfect example is that, despite looking to generate £750,000 income through education alone next year, and to grow that in future years, the football club’s costs even at the present day, are closer to £1.5 million every year. Those who’ve supported that up to now cannot continue to do so – that’s not healthy for them but it is especially not healthy for the football club.

What does that mean? That means we will live within our means and grow the business to the point that the business as a whole can provide the resource to challenge for what we all want – promotion and success on the football field.

There is absolutely no question that the future is bright, but we can’t reach the future on our own – this is an opportunity for everybody – individuals and businesses, to contribute to something truly special.

Would you, your business or someone you know benefit from building a partnership with the club and playing a part in its incredible future? Please make contact with [email protected] to discuss opportunities and possibilities.