INTRODUCTION
Andrew Hounsell (AH) chaired the meeting in the absence of Paul Davis. AH began by thanking members for their attendance, and
briefly running through the agenda.
1. New board members.
AH explained that two existing board members, Alan Hayward and Iain Huddy had recently resigned due to work and health issues,
and introduced Sam Binstead as a newly co-opted member of the board. Sam, along with James Walsh, were the two unsuccessful
candidates for the Trust board at the last AGM. Both have been co-opted to fill the vacancies and will need to stand for election
again at the next AGM.
2. Protests / lack of protests at Tranmere game.
At the previous open fans meeting, votes were taken in support of a series of protests to take place before and after the Tranmere game. In the event, only the after match protest went ahead and members were invited to give their views about this.
It was asked what was the point of the previous meeting, when in the event the actions decided on that night didnt take place, the only protest being essentially a spontaneous after-match protest with no organisation.
In defence of the decision, some members felt that the ground had shifted between the fans meeting and the game in view of the announcement that a deal had been struck with the Inland Revenue, and Paul Sturrocks call for no protests before the match.
It was also asked, what plans the Trust have for future protests in the event that there is no satisfactory conclusion to the current takeover talks. The Trust do not have any plans in hand, but it was felt that if the takeover were to collapse, that the momentum for active protests would return.
3. Status of the current takeover.
AH gave a broad outline of the Trusts understanding of the current situation which is essentially the same as the story printed in the Swindon Advertiser the previous Saturday. That the Andrew Fitton led takeover was proceeding and looking likely to be successful. That they would take over the club for a nominal amount, but assume responsibility for the clubs debts.
There have been conflicting rumours regarding the fate of the current board. Some members expressed concern at their possible continued involvement. AH stated that as far as we can tell, the indications are that Fitton would want to bring in his own senior management, as reported in the Adver on Saturday.
4. MyFootballClub.com - Ebbsfleet situation.
AH gave a brief account of the Trusts position on the recent takeover of Conference side Ebbsfleet by the internet based company with 20,000 members voting on various issues of team selection, player purchasing etc...
While we are in favour of democratic fan representation in the running of football clubs, the model in use now at Ebbsfleet is not how we would want to see any club run. While it is undeniably democratic, one problem is that virtually none of the 20,000 shareholders are fans of the club. The real fans have been marginalised.
Another major problem is the taking of such decisions as team selection and player purchasing by popular vote rather than leaving it in the hands of the manager. This will clearly undermine the managers position, and also give rival clubs an advantage of knowing what they are potentially going to bid for players.
5. Any other business.
Promoting the Trust was raised as an important issue, especially given that there are a lot of memberships due for renewal at about this time of year. A new newsletter should be ready for publication soon, and should be ready to be sent along with renewal notices. Members were supportive of retaining the current £1 membership fee.
The Red Army fund is still running and has sufficient funds to be potentially very useful to Paul Sturrock for one or two loan signings, or even for a small permanent fee. It was confirmed that once the transfer embargo is lifted, the fund is available for the club to use at any time.
The possibility of a fundraising event along similar lines to the Lou Macari evening from last season was mentioned. Members were supportive of the idea, but it was felt that any such event should wait until the new year at the earliest rather than clash with the pre Christmas season.
For future fans meetings, it was felt that a guest speaker would attract more fans to come along. It was suggested that if the takeover is successful, a representative of the clubs new owners could be invited to the next meeting.
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