Investment
"Progress is being made... need to maintain confidentiality... some of the most critical decisions in the club's history... will make a further statement at the earliest possible moment"
Accounts
£12.6m profit on player sales, up £12m on last year. Largely due to Spud and Mickey
Wages down £2m to 53% of turnover - Deloittes say under 60% is "acceptable"
6% down in TV revenues - 3% of which is due to finishing 5th rather than 4th
Income this season will depend on progress in the CL and FAC, and further squad rebuilding
Rick Parry
"I've said repeatedly the aim of this club is to win trophies"
"Invested a record £46m in players" (across 2 seasons due to accounting period out of phase with transfer window) - includes Xabi, Luis, Nando, Carson, Pepe, Crouchy, Momo, etc
Sold Milan "to help fund the acquisitions" (though that won't appear until next year's accounts)
"We did not win the Champions League on one night... we proved we were a match for 3 of Europe's biggest clubs"
Re Carling Cup Final: "we don't dwell on second places"
CL format will not change 2006-2009, but overall TV revenues expected to increase by 25% with English clubs getting an extra 12.5%
Deal between the Premier League and the European Commission for 2007-2010 is close to agreement - there will be 138 live games but no exclusive deal
Steve Morgan
Started off being extremely complimentary
"Wonderful to see the trophy there... what a fantastic night we had in Istanbul"
"One to add to" wedding & birth of children
"Financial situation has deteriorated quite signifcantly" over last 5 years
"Imperative we get this extra investment... to the club's credit we have backed [Rafa] so far"
"We need the cash in from gate receipts to match Manchester United and from next season Arsenal"
Acting chairman Keith Clayton responded: "Steve and I do argue furiously about the other liabilities" (such as including ST money received in advance)
Other business
David Moores and Terry Smith re-elected as Directors, unanimously as far as I could see
Terry Smith gave thanks on behalf of them both, saying "it is not a position to be savoured but a job to be done"
PKF (UK) LLP reappointed as auditors - again looked unanimous
Rafael Benitez
"You know how difficult it is for me to talk in English" - said he thought it would be easier this year, but he gets asked exactly the same questions in interviews every week, and gives exactly the same answers!
"Thank you again for your support through the good times and tough times"
"Real aim remains to win the Premier League"
"We need to wait for another news" on Momo - but things were looking better today than yesterday
"It isn't always necessary to buy the most expensive players, but the right players... sometimes it is just as important to say no"
If a player is worth £5m then you pay £5m, or maybe £6m. But not £12m
Daniel Agger - didn't get him in the summer and looked at other options so "decided to take a gamble and wait"
We have "watched many right sided players"
"I will work really hard thinking about the right winger"
"We are building a team, not simply collecting players"
"Robbie's enthusiasm is evident to all of us"
Robbie, Nando and Crouchy have problems as "we don't cross a lot of balls"
Gonzalez - "fantastic left winger... playing well now in Spain... next season we will have him with us... fantastic pace & ability"... he will give us more possibilities and crosses"
Paletta - "outstanding player ... a player for the future"
"Fantastic job of the scout department to target him and sign him"
Unsurprisingly, he got a great round of applause
Other bits and pieces from the questions
New stadium
"£160m is not far away" from the total costs for the new stadium now
"There are plans A, B & C... doing nothing is not an option"
"Definitive link between the new stadium and investment"
"An equity investment is the more comfortable way of [funding new stadium]"
Can fund new stadium through debt IF we have success on the pitch
15th April game
HFSG agreed to game going ahead on this date (reluctantly) - but requested it be an away game
"Everything we have done has been with their co-operation"
"Under a lot of pressure because of the foreshortened season"
Left decision until late due to seeing if we were still in CL and FA Cup
Rick Parry: "we will always do our best to ensure it is not repeated"
"Impossible to speculate on" financial penalties of not fulfilling the fixture
Fan cards
70,000 issued so far - no ceiling on this number
"At least gives us a name and address"
Checks are made on how many different cards at any one address
"We want everyone who interacts with the club to have a fan card" - not just match-goers, but people who buy from the shop, etc
End goal described as "we contact you to see if you want the ticket you qualify for"
"Looking over the summer at a cup scheme on a direct debit basis"
Other things
Shareholders lounge too expensive - costs more than ST
Rick said "I'm sure there's a lot more we can do" regarding an ethical policy. Seemed happy that all was OK with major suppliers (reebok were at the forefront of a code of practise within the sports trade". But "a perfectly valid issue and one we need to look at"