Former Millwall Chairman looks at Woolworths

The man who revived Millwall Football Club is reported to be one of the parties interested in buying Woolworths.

Theo Paphitis became chairman of the South-East London club in April 1997 and soon set about improving its image.

"When someone says, this is a dog, I see it as an incentive," said Paphitis at the time.

Reminded that Millwall fans main chant was '"No-one likes us. We don't care!' Paphitis retorted with 'The fact that no-one likes us, that was me all over. That job had my name on it!'

Paphitis, recently in the limelight because of his appearances on Dragons Den, was asked why he was keen on taking over at Millwall.

"It's got to have a good brand image and a name. All the companies I've bought, the City hated. But the customer perception was totally different... If the product is right and there's a market for the product, if you believe in those things, the rest is a piece of cake."

Paphitis has turned around several companies such as high-street stationer Ryman. When he purchased this company it had liabilities of £13m. Not long ago the company had no borrowings and profits in excess of £3m a year. It was said to be worth £20m.

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"Millwall's slightly different, because I'm football nuts and I used to live in Peckham. I was pretty confident that with Millwall I could actually do something. And, basically, there was no-one else there."

He gave the club a five year plan which said it should go back to its roots and in particular develope young talent.

"There were a lot of groans and moans about not being ambitious enough," said Paphitis. "But, actually, a lot more got behind me than I thought would. A lot said, 'Yes, let's do it right this time - but don't let us down'."

Another part of his plan was to get the fans on board. He set up a supporters club and also fans forums at which any supporter could ask any question of any of the management team.

"They've got every right to give me a hard time," Paphitis retorted. "Their job is to keep you on your toes. I consult with them on a lot of things, just to get the feedback. But if it's whinging just for the sake of whinging, I ignore it. One of my skills is that I can separate the bull from the shit."

Paphitis was the boss and admitted he had to take tough decisions especially when it came to managers. One of those was to appoint Dennis Wise as Millwall manager.

"Don't get me wrong, we're not democratic in that view. We don't do things by committee. I'm prepared to put my balls on the line and take unpopular decisions without blinking an eyelid.

"That's the shit part of being chairman of the football club.

"There's no point in hiring them (managers) and then getting in their way. I'd love to be a lot closer to the players than I am, but that's because I'm a fan. I'm in danger of letting that spill over. I see them at dos and things like that and I see them about their contracts, but then I leave the manager alone.

"We could be a reasonable force to be reckoned with. I'm not saying we'll beat the Manchester Uniteds or Arsenals or Liverpools of this world, but we could be there to be a serious irritant to the big names. And that's me all over."

Pathisis resigned as chairman in July 2006. Some thought he had become bored at the helm, but there's little doubt his hard work had put life and soul back into the club. He was said to have brought professionalism into the boardroom without losing sight of what the club was really all about - the fans. And many of those fans thought Paphitis was the best chairman they've ever had not only for his business acumen but also for giving his managers plenty of authority and for his work in reducing football hooliganism.

And soon he might be in charge of Woolworths.

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