So when the Bolton council people came to look at Huddersfield, they realised that by moving the Wanderers out of Burnden, they could put new life and jobs into the Horwich area. "The reason Coventry council are heavily involved in this scheme is not, with great respect, to save Coventry City. If you've promised them 10 seats, give them 12." Fletcher had already had "a real wake-up call" about stadium safety and design before Lord Taylor's blueprint for change. The Bradford fire of 1985 made him remember, with horror, how he and his fellow Bolton apprentices swept the litter under the wooden floorboards in the stands. "It could have been Burnden Park that went up in flames, or Ewood, or Deepdale, but it was Valley Parade My family had sat in that stand.
I also played at Hillsborough when it was packed on semi-final day, not unlike it was when they had the terrible tragedy." But after graduating to the post of chief executive at Huddersfield Town, when they were still at Leeds Road, he noticed that whenever ground improvements were on the agenda, "the board didn't want to discuss it - all they wanted to talk about was buying players". "I found it harder to sell a £50 perimeter board to a local butcher than to sell a £5m sponsorship to Reebok. He used to ring me, saying: 'I've noticed some mud on my board.' I learnt that when people invest in football, they really care about the money they've put in Now, I try to over-deliver to sponsors. "I've never been an academic, but he taught me to be a great team player. I know how to get a team together." Sounds a natural for football management "That was the one thing I didn't fancy It's too nomadic. I married my childhood sweetheart; I've lived in the same house for 33 years; my kids grew up there Also, to be honest, I hadn't a clue how to set up a side.
We could come in 3-0 down at half-time, Jimmy would change things round and we'd win 4-3. I never understood what he'd done!" The game's commercial aspect intrigued him, however, and he began working for the ambitious but short-lived Colne Dynamoes. "But I remember his building a new stand, which Ted Heath opened. In this village - well, town of 80,000 - his philosophy was, 'Put in quality facilities and you'll draw a crowd' It's the Field of Dreams idea, build it, and they will come. Look after your public and they'll return." He also learnt from the manager who took him to Burnley, Jimmy Adamson. "I don't agree with his chip-shop comment because football contains a cross-section of intelligence, just as it gives you a broad range of ability," Fletcher says.
