The trial of Paul Hart - Day Three - The chairman testifies
17/12/03 | Exclusive to LTLF

Paul Hart stands accused of failing as Forest manager and faces 10 years unemployment if found guilty. The third day of proceedings begins…

Judge Robert Wollaton: [To the prosecution counsel] I believe you have your principal witness for us today.

Jeremy Radcliffe for the prosecution: We do indeed, m'lud.

Usher of the court: Call Nigel Doughy!

A smartly dressed businessman in his forties with short hair and one pierced ear enters the witness box. Awed gasps are heard from the jury.

Please state your name and occupation.

Nigel Doughty: My name is Nigel Doughty and I am joint-owner of private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co. I am also chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club.

Prosecution: Mr Doughty, am I right in believing that you have been Chairman since April 2002 and a major stakeholder in Nottingham Forest since 1999?

Doughty: That is correct.

Prosecution: Whose decision was it to promote Paul Hart from the youth team to the first team in July 2001?

Doughty: The board decided he should be made manager after the departure of David Platt.

Prosecution: Were you involved in these discussions?

Doughty: No. I was on holiday at the time and wasn't able to come back in time. The decision was made that very afternoon.

Prosecution: Would you have liked to have been involved in those discussions?

Doughty: Yes, of course.

Prosecution: What do you think of the club's recent league performances?

Doughty: It's been very disappointing these last few months. I really expected us to do better, especially after what we achieved last season.

Prosecution: Why is it, do you think, that a team who came so close to promotion last season, now looks like being dragged into a relegation battle?

Doughty: There have been a lot of changes to the team, with players leaving and new ones coming in. Also, we've been unlucky with injuries.

Prosecution: Do you think the players who have come into the club are better than the ones who left?

Doughty: Judging by league position, I suppose it is fair to say that they are not, or in theory we would have improved since last season.

Prosecution: I see. So why did you allow these other players to leave? If last year's team was better, surely it would make sense and be in the chairman's interest for the club to keep hold of its successful players, rather than sign ones of lesser quality.

Doughty: That is entirely the manager's responsibility. A lot of football chairmen take an active involvement in team affairs, but I prefer to keep my distance. I don't think being an interfering chairman is my style really.

Prosecution: So it was entirely the manager's decision as to which players released in the summer and not yours?

Doughty: Obviously there were financial considerations to be taken into account, but money was available to offer contracts to a number of players whose contracts had been expiring.

Prosecution: Which players were those?

Doughty: Jack Lester, Jon Hjelde, Jim Brennan, Marlon Harewood... money was available for new contracts for all of these players.

Prosecution: Why did they leave then?

Doughty: You will have to ask the manager that.

Prosecution: Don't worry, I will. [Pauses for a moment to consult his notes] Mr Doughty, you recently said that you would not be investing any more money on transfers until the club was in a competitive position. What did you mean by that?

Doughty:serious We've tried buying success before, and all we got back was a load of debt. When we are in a position to make a challenge it will be worth putting some money up to help us make the final push.

Prosecution: Like you did by signing Darren Huckerby last season?

Doughty: Yes, precisely. Until we are in a position to seriously compete, there is no point in investing. That is what we have tried before and it got us nowhere. But when we are in a competitive position, an extra player or two could make all the difference and get us into the Premiership.

Prosecution: Some might say that is a very negative attitude to take. How will the club ever be in a competitive position without investment?

Doughty: We plan to continue using the youth academy and developing the players we have got now. I have already invested a lot of money in giving us the best academy in the country and that is where the future of the club lies.

Prosecution: I see. How much money have you invested in the club so far?

Doughty: About £20million all together.

Prosecution: What do you expect to get in return?

Doughty: I'm not expecting to make any money from this. I just love the club and didn't want to see it go out of business.

Prosecution: That's a lot of money to invest for the love of a football club. I bet most football fans wish they could spend that much on their team.

Chuckles are heard around the courtroom.

Doughty: I guess I'm just fortunate.

Prosecution: Yes, you must be. How much money do you actually have, Mr Doughty?

Doughty: [Sharply] Mind your own business!

Prosecution: I did not mean to be rude. Shall we just say that you are the joint-owner of a very, very successful company that currently handles over €5billion worth of investments. All these people must trust you a great deal with their money and expect you to invest it soundly.

Doughty: [Calm again] Absolutely.

Prosecution: [Turning to the jury] Ladies and gentlemen, this man is clearly an extremely capable businessman. He is also a very committed supporter of the club, investing his own money in order to keep them in business. One could think of few people better qualified to run this football club than him. He has their best interests at heart and the business mind to back it up. [Turning back to the witness] Mr Doughty, you said that the last time you spent money trying to 'buy' success, as you put it, all you got was load of debt.

Doughty: Yes…

Prosecution: Other clubs have proven that it is possible to buy success, as it were, so why didn't it work at Forest?

Doughty: I think it was a case of not spending the money wisely. We wasted a lot of it needlessly and when we actually needed it, it wasn't there. I don't want that to happen again.

Prosecution: Is it safe to assume that, were your views otherwise and you wanted to spend money now, funds would be available?

Doughty: Yes, but we are saving them for when the time is right.

Prosecution: Then what you are really afraid of is that if you invest money for transfers into the club at the moment, the same thing will happen as last time as the money will be spent unwisely?

Doughty: Yes, I suppose so….

Prosecution: And having already assured us that any transfer activity at the club is sole responsibility of the manager, your unwillingness to risk your money at the current time is hardly a great endorsement of his talents. Thank You. [Sits down]

Judge: If that is the end of the prosecution counsel's questioning, the defense may now question the witness.

William Snenton for the defense: [To the jury] My learned friend is clearly trying to imply that the witness has a significant lack of confidence in the defendant's ability as manager. This may not be entirely incorrect. However, that does not necessarily damage my client's case. [Turning to the witness] Mr Doughty, how many football clubs have you been involved in previously?

Doughty: None. Forest are my first and only club.

Defense: While I'm sure nobody doubts that you are a very good businessman, that does not automatically make you a good person to run a football club, does it?

Doughty: I'm learning every day.

Defense: When you were asked about the meeting in which Paul Hart was decided upon as the manager of Nottingham Forest, you said you would have liked to have been present. Perhaps it was a good job that you were not.

Doughty: What do you mean?

Defense: I am referring, of course, to your previous, personal choice for manager.

Doughty: Ah...

For the first time since he took the stand, the witness looks nervous.

Defense: You were, of course, responsible for appointing David Platt as manager of Forest. Let's just take a look at his record, shall we? In his first season, Forest finished 14th. In the second, they finished 11th. In this time he managed to spend over £10million!

Not only does that appointment speak volumes about your ability to pick managers to run your team, it also tells us what you meant when you said last time you tried to buy promotion and only ended up with a load debt.

Paul Hart managed to finish 6th without spending any money. Is it really fair that he, who has proved himself as a competent manager, unlike David Platt, who you appointed, should suffer because of the mistakes made by the previous manager?

Doughty: [Slightly flustered] We've learnt from our experiences and the experiences of others and spending money now would be the wrong thing to do...

Defense: So instead of being given the money and support that David Platt had, Paul Hart is forced to work with little or no budget, conditions which have led to him being in the dock today.

Prosecution: I think we proved yesterday that, even if he was given the money that David Platt had, Paul Hart's signings so far have demonstrated that he would not spend it any more wisely than Platt.

Defense: Or perhaps he would. Perhaps it is the case that the financial restrictions placed on Mr Hart by the witness have prevented the defendant from signing players of the quality he needs.

Mr Doughty, you say you do not interfere with the manager's business, but that is not entirely true, is it? It's true that the club currently has a wage cap of £4,000 a week, isn't it?

Doughty: Yes it is. We feel that such a cap is needed to reduce outgoings as we try and get the club out of the red.

Defense: Isn't that interfering?

Doughty: My main concerns are that the club should remain financially viable.

Defense: Don't you think that limit is restrictive?

Doughty: No. It is very high compared to the average wage in the First Division.

Defense: But it is not high compared to the average wage in the Premier League, which you claim is your target for the club. How is the defendant supposed to attract the kind of players needed to gain promotion with this low wage cap?

Doughty: We think it should be adequate for what we want to achieve.

Defense: You want to achieve promotion, yes?

Doughty: Yes. I think that is where this club belongs and we are working towards that.

Defense: Do you think Paul Hart is a good manager, Mr Doughty?

Doughty: I think he has done a good job so far.

Defense: Is that why, when my client was linked with a move to the vacant Leeds manager's job, you issued the following statement on the club's official website:

I think I speak for everyone connected with us in saying that I would very much like Paul and his backroom team to stay on at the City Ground and continue the excellent job they have done in the last two-and-a-half years.

Doughty: Yes, of course it is. I felt it right for me and the board to show our support for the manager.

Defense: So if you claim to support the manager, why are you now appearing as a witness for the prosecution in his trial?

Prosecution: Objection!

Judge: Objection sustained. The witness may appear before whichever counsel is required provided it is for the benefit of the course of justice. It is not a statement of their position or opinion within the case.

Defense: Apologies, m'lud. That was my last question. [To the jury] It is clear to see that Mr Hart should not be the one on trial here. He has proved himself as a manager, but is powerless to stop the club's current decline in fortunes thanks to the restrictive financial measures Nigel Doughty has imposed on him. With no money to spend, how is my client supposed to replace the players he has been forced to sell to pay off the debts amassed by his predecessor?

Meanwhile, though no-one doubts Mr Doughty's commitment to the club, both financially and in terms of ambition, he has set the defendant up as a scapegoat because he fears a repeat of what happened last time he gave a manager money to spend, a fact he will not admit because he resents not being able to chose the current manager.

While publically he shows support for the manager, he is undermining him by restricting his transfer activities. If anyone is to blame for the current situation at the club, it is Nigel Doughty, for appointing a duff manager in the first place and giving him £10million to spend, and now for refusing to put right the damage he has done by putting forward the money in order for my client to effectively rebuild the team. The defendant's hands are tied therefore he cannot be blamed. [Sits]

Judge: Before we allow Mr Doughty to go away and count his money, does the prosecution have anything to add?

Prosecution: Only to say that the we proved yesterday the extent to which Mr Doughty's wage cap does allow Mr Hart to make his own choices, such as that to release Jack Lester. It is not Nigel Doughty who is looking for scapegoats in this court. The accused's hands are not tied, they are merely tethered by the financial realities of the situation. Therefore he should be blamed for not doing what he could have and should have done within the limits he has been set.

Judge: Very well. Does that conclude the prosecutions case?

Prosecution: It does, m'lud.

Judge: In that case, the defense can begin tomorrow.