The Dons Trust Board held its monthly meeting on Monday, 8 October, which included the subject of appointing our new first-team manager Neal Ardley.
The meeting was held on the same day as the final interviews for the club’s new first-team manager, and the Board was joined by members of the Football Club Board (Erik Samuelson, Ivor Heller, Nigel Higgs and David Charles).
There was a detailed and robust discussion between the two boards about the selection process, the relative merits of the final set of four candidates, and their suitability for both the post and the club. The FCB put forward strong and compelling arguments in favour of their preferred candidate, following which the DTB ratified its recommendation to appoint Neal Ardley as first-team manager, supported by his assistant Neil Cox.
The Board also agreed a proposal to make minor amendments to the rules governing the forthcoming election of DTB members, and considered proposals to strengthen our fundraising capability (which will be put before the Dons Trust AGM on 13 December).
Following the recent SGM at which the scope of Junior Dons activity had been raised, the board agreed to explore further how to reinvigorate what we offer to younger fans. Finally, there was a discussion about the practical implications of setting up a new charitable trust to be responsible for all the club’s community-based activity.