Open Meeting - 21st April 2008
The meeting was opened by Jonathon Burkin who introduced;
Rob Bradley - representing Supporters Direct and Lincoln City Trust
Darryl Keys - representing Sheffield Wednesday Trust – Wednesdayite
Mathew Barnett – working group member Nottingham Forest Supporters Trust
Supporters Direct and Lincoln City
Rob Bradley spoke briefly about the history of Lincoln City Supporters Trust and how it came into being following the owner putting the club up for sale. No buyer came forward and the Trust was formed and raised £400,000 in order to acquire the major shareholding. The Lincolnshire Co-Op also invested in the club as they could see the clear synergy between themselves and the Trust, both being Independent and Provident Societies (IPS).
There followed some turbulent years both on and off the pitch but the club is now financially sound and the Trust still maintains a 28% holding in the club which provides them with two places on the board out of a total of seven.
Putting on his other hat Rob explained there are currently 150 Supporters Trusts throughout the UK with 120,000 supporters involved as members. To date Supporters Trusts have raised £28m.
Supporters Direct exist to help set Supporters trusts by providing set up funding, legal advice, providing Regional Meetings and training facilities.
Whilst Supporters Direct is a cross party political initiative they have recently secured sponsorship from Virgin Media. In addition they have been asked by UEFA to explore expanding the Supporters Trust initiative across Europe.
Rob believes being a member of a Supporters Trust is an enjoyable way of supporting the club, raising funds and having a voice.
Sheffield Wednesday – Wednesdayite
Darryl Keys started by asking who is the one constant at any club? The Fans. There may not be any problems at the moment but long term who will still be around? Introducing the democratic angle of a Supporters Trust Darryl stressed each member gets one vote and with the Trust being fully inclusive ‘pro board’ and ‘anti board’ fans can live side by side and provide a fully democratic view. That is to say Trust’s are not there to simply cause trouble but it is their duty / responsibility to point out shortfalls in a dignified manner. For example Wednesdayite have recently carried out a study of Season Ticket prices in The Championship following the clubs announcement to increase prices. They found Wednesday have the third highest prices in the league and are the most expensive for children. They have presented this to the Board stating they should have conducted the research and consulted the fans. The Trust want the same as the Board ie to fill the ground and maximise revenue.
In addition Wednesdayite try hard to garner the fans of the future. Bear in mind their Season Tickets are the most expensive in the league and their neighbours allow children in for free. The Trust buys tickets at full value and give them to families who cannot afford to attend games.
The Trust started in 2001 as the Owls Trust and at the time had a 9.6% shareholding with 1200 members. In 2004 Ken Bates ostracised the Trust and many members were lost before it was reformed in 2005 as Wednesdayite with 300 members. It now has 1200 members and a 10% shareholding.
The Trust carries out two member surveys each year and any critical decision is decided by the members and not the Trust Board and if you are a member you have the right to vote on these issues. The only criteria for becoming a member is to be a fan of Nottingham Forest.
The club will not entertain the Trust, but Darryl does not see this as a reason not to have a Trust. There is no problem in having an opinion and expressing it in a dignified manner. He would urge people to get involved, become Board Members get others to join and remember it is for the long term not the short term.
Jonathon and Matt
Today is the direct result of years of witnessing our club slip further and further away from us.
- How many of you have written letters of complaint to the club or the Nottingham Evening Post?
- How many of you have vented your frustrations on internet forums or Match Talk?
- How many of you are staying away in protest?
What’s changed?
For the past two months myself and five other lifelong Nottingham Forest supporters have been working with Supporters Direct to get to where we are today. It has been a lot of hard work and effort. We have been assisted along the way by a number of other people, all with the same ambition, to try and give the fans a voice.
Today is not about protesting against individuals within our club. We do not set out today to try and overthrow Nigel Doughty. We accept that the club may not assist us in fact we expect it.
At present the only thing that is a fact is that a large proportion of us are not happy. However, some people are complaining about Calderwood, others about Mark Arthur and some aim their protest at Nigel Doughty. So many factions scattering their protests via differing media diluting the effect it has.
We hope today will see the beginning of a change. By organising ourselves into a Trust, we can begin to be heard. So, what’s a Trust? Firstly, it is a democratically elected group, anyone can be a member and therefore anyone can sit on the board. For those of you who have concerns regarding a clique mentality, sign up as a member and stand for election. The Trust will set out with specific aims discussed with and agreed upon by all of its members. Those can and will take on a variety of forms but ultimately it is a chance for the supporters to voice any fundamental concerns they have and to have a real voice.
- How many times have you thought to yourself – They don’t care what I think?
By unifying its member’s it can and in my opinion will give the average fan a sense of worth again. It is very easy to disregard 1 person’s opinion or indeed 10 people’s opinion as not a reflection of truth. This is the situation, I believe, we are in at present. However, if your have a calm and rationale statement of dissatisfaction by a democratically elected and organised Trust with hundreds of members, suddenly that voice will be heard.
We have tried to capture all of the different feelings expressed by Forest fans over the last few years, whether that be in the pub, in the ground, in the NEP, on Matchtalk or on an internet forum.
Difficult as it is, we have tried to separate the performance on the pitch from the feelings fans have about our club.
Forest fans on the whole feel disenfranchised and frustrated. Not only are we in our worst position in our history but we are treated, I believe, without much regard. Some die-hard fans now only attend occasionally, others only travel away, many don’t attend at all. I’m sure we all know some friends or colleagues that feel that way.
I look at with envy, clubs like Charlton Athletic, Plymouth Argyle and Sunderland. They try to foster good relationships with their fans, creating a sense of belonging and togetherness, something lacking at Forest.
Our hope is that we can form a well-supported trust which will lobby the club on behalf of its members. There are so many issues at Forest affecting all of us;
- New Stadium proposal
- Levels of customer service
- Stewarding policy
- Match-day experience – catering etc
- Ticketing policy – at many clubs fans can already buy season tickets for next year… even those in relegation battles or vying for promotion. At the end of last season Forest were in the last 3 of clubs announcing their prices for the season we are in now. And that includes Leeds…who were in administration!
- Transparency at the club… be it ill-conceived rallying cries or mixed messages at transfer windows.
We believe that the fans have an independent vehicle by which to express their feelings about decisions made affecting us all.
We are not looking to take over the club! We are looking to unite the fans as one voice.
The trust would be a form of insurance policy for the fans of the future. Situations change, sometimes very quickly in football. Just speak to Mansfield Town, Leicester City,
or Southampton fans. It is well- documented that SD push for trust representation at board level hence it is listed in our aims, however, we are realistic enough to know that this may not happen for many years.
I hope that the club embrace the trust.. after all businesses pay thousands to garner customer feedback – we hope to provide it for free.. as well as any recommendations we may have!
As the trust grows in number our voice would become louder and more difficult to ignore.
Questions and Answers
Have the Club responded to the Trust?
- Whilst the Club is aware this meeting is taking place but at the moment they have nothing to comment on. The Trust has not been formed at this moment in time.
Do any clubs have a good relationship with the Board?
- Yes some do have a very good relationship such as Bristol City, Norwich City, Reading.
What is the difference between the Trust and the Supporters Club?
- The SC hold meetings every three months with the board and any supporters ‘moans and groans’ can be placed through the Supporters Club. The Board also attend the Supporters Club’s AGM. We cannot see where the Trust will differ.
The Trust believes it can work alongside the Supporters Club and by offering more of a lobbying presence can best serve the views of its members. The Trust has no wish to work against the excellent work carried out by the Supporters Club indeed it hopes that by having two bodies expressing the concerns of Supporters can only enhance the position.
If the Trust is successful in gaining a representative on the board, how will that person effect change?
- If that position arises the person elected to represent the Trust will have the full force of the Trust membership behind them representing the voice of many fans which is a powerful statement.
If I vote for the formation of the Trust, I want to be sure the voice will be heard and taken notice of.
- We can answer the first point, in that the Trust’s view will be heard whether it is taken notice of is down to club. However, when the heat was turned up on the club earlier this season we suddenly saw the CEO giving interviews in the paper and on the radio.
The Vote
35 people in favour
5 people abstained
The motion to form a Supporters Trust was carried.
People are now invited to join the ‘Steering Committee’ to assist with getting the Trust registered and through the Launch Meeting to the first AGM. The Trust is fully inclusive so anyone can join.