Autobiography

chairmen in action, how they operated and
how they coped.
His enthusiasm and blunt talking impressed
me, and I readily confess I am a fan of this
larger-than-life character. He seems to have
the ability of the India rubber man to work his
way out of difficult positions in which others
would throw up their hands in despair. I was
thrilled in the summer of 2002 as I loaded my
helicopter with my briefcase and overnight bag
for a two-day stay among football’s elite at
Stapleford Park, a beautiful hotel in the rolling
Leicestershire countryside. Suddenly I was
chairman of a Premiership club of some size
and reputation. I was due at my first
Premiership meeting, scheduled for the 7 th of
June, and I was to arrive the evening before
for dinner with Ken Bates.
As I landed my helicopter in the grounds of
Stapleford Park, I felt apprehensive but
excited. At dinner I met, for the first time, the
very affable David Richards, chairman of the
Premier League, and chief executive Richard
Scudamore, who I had met previously when he
was the chief executive of the Football League.
I remember when, after handing in his
resignation to the Football League, a number
of chairmen expressed their annoyance to
Richard for leaving them for the Premiership.
Richard silenced the dissenters brilliantly by
saying, ‘I’m only doing what every chairman in
this room dreams of every day – promotion to
the Premier League.’
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