The eighth question asked about the current review of ticketing arrangements following the recent match with Liverpool. Julian explained that he has been to Ticketzone to try to better understand the issues. Having visited the ticket sales headquarters, the arrangements for ticket sales were outlined. It was explained that Ticketzone handle the ticket sales of premiership football clubs, however because of the complexity of our arrangements, average call handling times were upwards of 13 minutes (the average for Ticketzone customers is 2 minutes).

Julian explained that the club have been looking at all the issues raised in consultation with the Grecian Groups Forum, and Julian reiterated that detailed consultation with fans was going to prove vital to helping the club to addressing the many issues surrounding ticketing.

Having considered views raised, Julian outlined that the interim arrangement for future games, and explained that future big games would see a member of staff from Exeter City attend the Ticketzone headquarters, in order to solve problems and improve club – agent communications. It was further explained that the issues are not easy to solve, due to the number of ticket sales in question. It was then highlighted that when Manchester United tickets were on sale, the club sold 1900 tickets in the first day. Ticketzone had sold 5000 in the first day of sales for the Liverpool match.

The meeting heard about the arrangements that were in place prior to the Liverpool match and Julian explained that the opening of ticket sales to Trust members was actioned in order to grow membership. It was however noted that the growth experienced did surpass expectation.

Julian went on to explain that the club were looking at categorising matches, and had firm plans for the priority ticketing arrangements of each category of game. Further amendments to these plans would take place in consultation with the Grecian Groups Forum.

The ninth question asked Julian about the thoughts of Paul Tisdale on the season to date. Julian said that he attends Paul Tisdale’s weekly staff meetings, and outlined that the season so far will prove a benchmark of how far we have come as a club. It was generally viewed that there is now a sea change, as there was not too much in the way of booing at the final whistle. Julian outlined his belief that things would have been a lot worse if the club was in this position 5 years ago. Despite the poor start to the season, Julian outlined that there is a confidence that the problems can now start to be addressed with a fit squad, and together with the support of our fans, we will climb the league.

The tenth question raised a query about how the loan system worked in respect of fees and clauses. Julian outlined that negotiations are complex and many clubs do charge a fee. It was further explained that in many instances there are clauses actionable in the event of players not being played, and that the general advantage of the loan system was to the loaning club. The meeting did hear that there was a growing support from agents to send players to our club, which is a glowing endorsement that our reputation in the game is growing, and proof that we are doing something right.

The eleventh question asked about the progression of City’s youngsters. Julian explained that it was a massive step for our younger players to break into a League One club, and parallels were made with the successes of George Friend, Dean Moxey and Danny Seaborne all of whom made their debuts in the Conference.

The meeting heard about the progress of City striker Tom Nichols, and it was explained that there is a need to ease the youngster into the game, but much progress has been made on his game, and he will only get better. Julian also outlined the huge development potential of City midfielder Chris Shepherd who was the first of City’s youth players to make their debut in League One for City.

The twelfth question asked whether there were any plans to host the successful Exeter City ladies at St James Park. The club’s Chief Executive explained that issues with the pitch had previously made this difficult. It was also outlined that plans were put to play ladies games at the Cat & Fiddle training ground. These plans were however vetoed by the Ladies League, who would not agree to amended kickoff times (in lieu of other matches being played at the Cat & Fiddle on Sundays).

The thirteenth question asked whether sponsors and commercial clients were being more demanding of the club in the current economic climate. The meeting heard how it was getting tougher in an ever increasingly competitive market place. It was however emphasised that sales are comparable to last year, and we are continuing to attract new businesses to the club.

The fourteenth question asked about the commercial use of the St James Centre. Julian Tagg outlined work he was undertaking with attracting university fraternity groups to the centre and it was confirmed that 13 bookings form the University have now been placed. Julian then explained how the club was proactively working with the University over a graduate placement scheme, through which the club were to attract university students to undertake research projects – which would ultimately benefit the club in the long term. It was also explained that plans were in place to set up a University Grecians Group.

The fifteenth question sought to clarify what plans the club had to recognise the club’s heritage in the future. In response, the meeting heard that the club were looking at the establishment of a hall of fame, and that any plans for this would have to be incorporated into plans for the redevelopment of the ground.

Julian Tagg went on to explain that the club were already in discussions with the relevant authorities regarding marking the Brazilian world cup and centenary.

The meeting then closed with John Lee (East Devon Grecians) thanking Julian Tagg for his support and the results of the raffle were announced. It was identified that the raffle made upwards of £100 for our club.