LMA Business Club e-news issue 1 - January 2010

The CEO's Perspective - Wolves' Jez Moxey

Ryan McKnight, editor of F.C. Business, recently interviewed a man who has been at the same football club for the last ten years - Jez Moxey, Chief Executive of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

When a player is approaching ten years at a club it is quite obvious that he is both adored and has played consistently well over that period. It is a moment for positive reflection, applause, gala dinners, golf days and a friendly game against either the local rivals or one of the giants of the game.

As Jez Moxey, Chief Executive of Wolverhampton Wanderers enters his tenth year at Molineux, one thing you can be sure of is there will be none of the above, well publicly at least. Being a Wolves fan myself I am ideally placed to say that the general attitude toward him is, well, mixed. Mixed in the sense that some like him, some hate him, others hate him part-time and the rest either haven't thought about it or don't care, but certainly don't hold him with the affection of a player in his position.

Yet, perhaps they should?

As things currently stand Wolves are without doubt, financially speaking, one of the healthiest clubs around. Add in a reasonable start to the toughest League in the World and plans for continuous growth a real possibility, you then have to start wondering where the love has gone?

Jez Moxey has played the role of bad cop for most of his career. However, maybe just maybe, the Dark Knight may be able to come out of the shadows soon. Two years under a new custodian at Molineux in Steve Morgan, Moxey is producing the sort of results that can leave the Wolves faithful with little to complain to him about.

"Steve's introduction into the company was part of the plan five years ago. We had just got promoted to the Premier League and Sir Jack (Hayward) had given all he could. He was ready to leave. Of course, we didn't know it was going to be Steve but we had an idea of the kind of person we wanted."

F.C. Business was fortunate enough to interview Steve Morgan directly after his takeover of Wolves that cost him a grand total of £10. Sure he had to put up an addition £30million in share capital but essentially he bought it for £10 and then had £30million to invest. Something Jez still can't believe today.

"Sir Jack was always very dear to my heart and still is, but what he did in the way he sold the club was phenomenal. It didn't get anywhere near the coverage it deserved, but I guess Sir Jack liked it that way. We knew what he had done, so did the fans."

Indeed we did. Let us not forget that Moxey and Hayward turned down a strong offer from a consortium fronted by Graeme Souness partly on the ethos that he wasn't the right personality for the club. How I bet Liverpool, Newcastle and Chester City fans would have liked some of that thinking at their clubs.

"All I want to do is whatever is best for the club. Sometimes I need to make decisions that are not popular but that is true of all business, not only football; you have to be strong.

"The takeover gave everyone a lift, as did promotion. I still believe in the potential here, we (himself, McCarthy and Morgan) support each other and we want to build great things here at Wolves."

It is fair to say that since the takeover happened Wolves have been riding a wave that has felt good for everyone attached to the club, both on and off the pitch.

"Our business is one of the healthiest in the land. We have a wages to turnover ratio far lower than the average, we have no debt, a fantastic commercial operation, great staff, superb sponsors, big gates and Premier League money.

"I'm about to go into my tenth year here and I've had four managers. The notion that if you bring a new manager to the club all of your business will be better or will see improvement is ridiculous. Too often there is knee jerking, short term thinking and failure to understand that sacking your manager often is not the right thing to do at all.

"I never fail to be amazed by the clear lack of understanding some directors and owners actually have. I'm talking about the specifics of running a football club; agent fees, dialogue with the police, licensing, and legalities around transfers. There is so much to learn."

There is no doubt that Wolves and Jez Moxey are in their best position for years, yet there is almost certainly more twists and turns to come, perhaps during his second decade at the club.

By Ryan McKnight, Editor - F.C. Business

Please note that the above is an abridged version of the full interview featured in the November 2009 version of F.C Business.