The following has been sent to select supporters earlier tonight by Supporters Direct:
Firstly to be clear, in case it has somehow been lost in the last couple of days I do appreciate the huge volunteer time and effort the Trust Board and others have put in to protect the club; I apologise therefore if my comments have been seen as criticism of the Trust by people outside of this list. That is unfair.
What I have done is given SD’s view on what is desirable when reforming a club if everything is up for grabs.
I managed to catch up with Chris by phone for 30 minutes this evening. He has explained to me in greater detail why the Trust has recommended and helped shape a model which has significant supporter involvement, albeit stopping short of a totally democratically controlled club as we would define it - http://clubdevelopment.coop/homepage/clubs-network-area/the-community-club-network/
As we all know there is a tight timescale to meet the requirements of the Council and the football authorities, and make sure that the number one priority is met – a club playing at Edgar Street in the football pyramid next season.
From the discussion we had at the moment it is clear that the Trust/Benefactor proposal is the most likely to achieve that. Chris did say (please correct me if I’m wrong) that should an alternative proposal be put forward that gave supporters more control then the Trust Board would consider it.
Our view (certainly in terms of meeting the football deadlines) would be it has been done before but it would take a massive effort, and would require a committed and credible working group to give up a lot of time over the next 3 months.
The starting point would be whether there is sufficient interest in, and resource to support a supporter community owned club (over and above the existing proposal)
- If no, then the decision is made for everyone
- If yes, then we would very quickly need to ascertain whether the objective of a ‘club playing at Edgar Street in the football pyramid next season’ was feasible going down the supporter ownership route. With a remit from supporters, and a sense that we could meet this objective SD would be willing to help you through the process as we have done with many other reformed clubs.
I guess the purpose of these supporter meetings is partly to establish that, so we await a response and will support you whichever model you choose.