Not a great deal to report:
There was a big crowd despite the weather All three directors re-elected, with each asked to backup their achievements and hopes for the future (apart from Martin Gilbert who wasn't there); Milne confirming things hadn't quite gone to plan New stadium tenders are out; will go in front of council in February then expected to be called in by the Scottish Government; Hopefully final decision in April (sounds a bit hopeful for the Scottish Government!); Contract to be awarded 1Q 2012; Construction to start 2Q 2012; Finished by start of 2013-2014 season Stadium to cost approx. £35M; £20M to come from sale of Pittodrie (approx. £17M), mortgage and share issue; Remaining money will be a combination of naming rights, sale/rent of offices inside stadium, and thin air Even if we get relegated, the plan is still to move to Loirston; There is no Plan B! Soccer Academy would cost about £4M and funded separately Milne confirmed that the 10 team SPL is AFC's preferred option, seemingly its the only option that works Willie Miller spoke at length with a great deal of passion about the youth development; we now have centres in Dundee, Glasgow and for the first time Edinburgh; He claims we have the best youngsters of any club in Scotland; He also expressed his frustration about the hard time he gets when he is working hard behind the scenes on the youth development; He also says he has been criticised for firing managers but pointed out that he has just hired his 3rd manager in the 6.5 years he has been Director of Football; He spoke very well but he always does compared to Milne Milne confirmed that pay offs for the last management team won't affect the football budget Miller confirmed that Brown and Knox (who were in attendance) have total control over signings and anything to do with the first team; Hoping to make a couple of signings in January I got stuck in the snow on my way back
Anyway, on to the best quote of the evening. Hugh Little had to take over the proceedings during the re-election of Milne. He confirmed that Brown and Knox both spoke to Fergie before accepting the job at Aberdeen. And to quote Fergie directly, he told Craig Brown that "You won't find a better chairman in British Football!". Presumably it was Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas!?