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York City’s Matt Uggla vows to learn from mistakes made in his first year in charge

York City’s Matt Uggla, co-chairman of the National League club, vows to learn from mistakes made in his first year in charge.

Nearly a year has passed since Matt Uggla took over as owner of the Minstermen, and we had the pleasure of having him back at the Hospital Radio studios to look back on this period and provide a glimpse into the club’s present and future.

They finished the 2023/24 season sitting 20th, a place and a point outside the relegation zone, picking up 53 points from 46 games played.

Matt openly discusses the ups and downs of the past year, offering hope for the future of York City, read what he had to say below…

“To me it feels like an eternity, it’s been a really long year. I’ve not lost any hair, but definitely some sleep over the course of the year,” Matt Uggla says to York Hospital Ball Podcast.

“The measure of someone is that everyone is human, we’re going to make mistakes.

“Do you have enough about you to recognise the mistake, learn from it and put it right? I think that hopefully I do, last year wasn’t a success in many ways, but I love this club with all of my heart.

“The losses hurt me probably more than anyone in ways that were pretty heavy, and at certain points of the season it was pretty exhausting.

“I think we’ve come out unscathed in terms of the division we’re playing in, hopefully you can already see the signs of things starting to turn with being far more sensible in what we’re doing, rather than maybe being a bit more trigger happy and saying yes to everything.

“It’s a far more measured approach.

“Even by this time last year we weren’t in the door, so you can see how much business we have done already.

“I think that we potentially missed the boat last year with a lot of the free agents coming out of clubs, our club had also already been offered new contracts so we were left in a bit of a weird place.

“The recruitment was extremely rushed, it was almost like throwing darts at a darts board blindly and saying that we’d take that guy and that guy, some of them have worked out really well.

“Most would agree that Dipo Akinyemi is a superstar for this level and is also a great person, and others haven’t worked out so well.

“It was a real kind of roulette, but coming in, getting our business done earlier and having a plan in place for what we want to do once the season ended will hopefully pay dividends.”

Matt Uggla spoke more on his side’s 2-0 win against Woking in mid-April, saying it wasn’t until then that he could finally start preparing for another season in the National League.

He continued: “It was a weird one, because it took a while to understand what division we were going to be in.

“Once things started to clear up, and I know that it was the last day that we stayed up, but I think that internally we felt that after the Woking game it would have taken a lot for us to [go down], and we would have been very, very unlucky.

“Probably after that we started to move forward with our approach on things, doing our homework and throughout the year already having lists in place.

“It was just doing those final bits, which I don’t think we really did last year, but finding out about players’ personalities.

“A lot of the times last year we had just one target where we had to get that player in, it made us desperate and that showed by overpaying on not just the fee but wages, but this time if our top target doesn’t work out or their being silly, the agent is being silly then that’s fine, see you later, onto number two, three or four. We’d be happy with all four of them.”

Uggla on a post of his via social media back in January, which read: “Goes to plan I feel January could be the biggest month we as a club will have had for a long time and help us really move to the next level.”

He explained more on bringing in new signings: “I’m not going to lie, I completely forgot about January but there was one deal that was close that would have been really big.

“For some reason it didn’t go through, that was probably what I was alluding to, but other than that I don’t think that we looked too much to add in other than Billy.

“I think you’ve seen it so far in this Summer too, players are coming in at ridiciously high demands but as a club we have to set non-negotiables and say ‘look, this is what we pay for this’ and ‘this is what we pay for that’.

“I rate that structure no matter what, if we can do that then hopefully, in time, that reputation will restore itself and people will become more realistic.”

Head of Recruitment David Stockdale and Recruitment Analyst Matt Lever, Recruitment Analyst came into the club but it hadn’t worked out an they soon left the club, despite having a year left.

Uggla said: “The idea with those guys was to have a system in place there to help the manager, and I think that they both did a good job but were just new to their roles.

“Maybe that didn’t help, but it is what it is, they’ve moved on and we wish them both the best.”

Reflecting on the 2023/24 season, he credited manager Adam Hinshelwood with sealing safety.

“I think watching, and it was maybe a bit of a phoenix out of the ashes moment, but everyone watching and maybe themselves had written the team off, and had condemned us to going down,” he said.

“There was a lot of negativity towards Adam, which I know really affected him because we speak often, so I know that it really affected him.

“Watching him turn that around gives me a tingle just thinking about it, it was special and I don’t think it could have happened to a better man.

“Watching that and watching them all kind of turn, whilst also going from that Altrincham game to going to the final game of the season [a 1-0 defeat to Solihull Moors, with York surviving by goal difference], it was pretty surreal.”

This is how fans reacted as York City’s Matt Uggla vows to learn from mistakes made in his first year in charge…

@Dan19451945: Great interview amazing to hear a york city chairman that cares . Accepts the mistakes made last year and has put plans in place to stop this happening again massive respect for that Matt. In other hand you deserve praise for what you did right & changed for the best last season

@sam_elsegood: Absolutely fantastic interview, thanks @yorkhospball and @matt_uggla for both of your time, and honesty. Interesting points: Cordner moving on loan, new signing imminent. Love the thoughts of one day owning the stadium ourselves, pipe dream but would love it to happen

@Aaaaaaa20611573: 50 odd years I’ve supported york city, & I have always said if only we had owners who cared, & listened to the fanbase. Well after listening to Mat, it’s great to hear his plans & passion for our proud football club. #The Uggla effect!

@Moody_Chops: Enjoyed that 👍

@MickCordukes: Great interview. Good times ahead for our football club with Matt and Julieanne at the helm and Adam as manager. Roll on August 🔴🔵

@BensonDiseworth: Excellent listen , so positive and passionate about York City 😊 great things are coming to this club with a owner like this , just what the club and fans needed, will be renewing my season ticket come pay day in June , going to be great season ⚽️😊

@Rathman30: Great listen as ever. On point questions and great to hear @matt_uggla reflecting on what must have been a really tough year for him. Some people are too quick to forget the person. Thankfully, we have a few of the good guys @YfrontFanzine

@27alfie27: Great interview, questions spot on and Matt open and honest. Bring on the season❤️

@Charliebwright1: An owner who communicates to the fans properly ❤️ An owner who’s not afraid of admitting to mistakes 💙 An owner who is actively looking to make positive change for the #YCFC community ❤️ This is why we renew our season tickets 💙

@bixie2016: Still think his spat with Greening/Scarborough is childish mind, and wish he would be a quieter presence as an owner.

@YCFC1972: Great interview Matt. Informative and honest. Fans love transparency. I’m enjoying the ride and not getting off. Keep up the good work, ignore the trolls and we’ll back you, your Mum and the management team all the way through ups and downs. 💪🔴🔵

@JumbledUpJim: It was a really good interview, great insight into the challenges of last season. Refreshingly honest on all aspects. Let’s just remember if it’s not all going exactly to plan by sticking together we will succeed. I hope Tyler gets his footballing mojo back.

@FMTreq: Fantastic half hour of chat fellas, once a season might not be enough 😉

@Alanlharris62: Enjoyed it. A good insight into how things can quickly change and the effects it can have on the people involved. My Euro 24 comp with City prizes is sinking faster than the Titanic at the moment . On the + side with so few entries I have a fair chance of the season ticket prize

@mike_w78169: All good stuff, appreciate the info, keep up the good work, ST bought can’t wait to see a better season on and off the pitch. COY thanks Hospital Ball

@OlCrabtree: Excellent interview covering the highs & lows of Club ownership. Matt makes good points on learning from mistakes, progress & the turnaround Adam performed on the pitch & in supporter’s minds. We have good people leading the club who care, have passion & give their time. #ycfc

@spattinson001: Excellent ❤️ #ycfc

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