GTST - The Past, The Present, The Future

Hello All:

I know that there has been criticism about the lack of a 'statement' from GTST following John Fentys resignation on Monday night.  I have been working away for most of this week so have had time to put some serious thought to the current state of affairs.  I came to the conclusion that rather than simply comment on the situation at the club, it would be better to comment on the current situation with GTST.  This is how I see things - so here goes....    

GTST - The Past, The Present, The Future

The events of the past week have sparked discussion in some quarters about whether there is a role that the supporters of Grimsby Town Football Club can play in helping to ensure the future of the club.  The apparent ‘stand-off’ between the two largest shareholders, John Fenty and Mike Parker, leaves some uncertainty as to where funding to maintain ‘business as usual’ will come from in the future.

This has naturally led to questions being raised about whether the Grimsby Town Supporters Trust (GTST) is a suitable vehicle for supporters to provide input to the football club – be this financial or otherwise.

I’ve given some thought this week about how best to address people’s questions and concerns regarding GTST, and came to the conclusion that the best approach was to be open and honest about where we are at.  The past provides context for the present situation.  The future is open for debate and is really in the hands of the supporters.  

The Past
Supporters’ Trusts first started to appear in 2001/2002, when supporters of football clubs that were experiencing financial difficulties were looking for ways in which they could invest in clubs en masse in a democratic manner.  The premise was simple – Supporters Trusts would raise funds which would then be invested in the football clubs they supported on behalf of the supporters.  The Supporters’ Trust would be run by a board elected by the members, with each member having a single share in the Supporters’ Trust and thus a single vote.  Some Trusts, like Notts County, even gained control of the football club they aligned to.  It was seen as the ideal way for supporters’ voices to be heard in a business that was becoming increasingly about making money.

During the summer of 2002, discussion via the Electronic Fishcake sparked a number of GTFC supporters to meet up face to face to debate the formation of a Supporters Trust for Grimsby Town.  I was one of those supporters.  We were all pretty convinced that forming a Supporters Trust was a good thing to do, but that the decision wasn’t one that we as a small group of people could make alone.  We decided the right thing would be to arrange an open meeting during which the idea would be presented, and put to a vote.

After a well-attended meeting at the Memorial Hall in Nov 2002, the motion to form a Supporters Trust was passed, and an energetic and enthusiastic group of people formed the first GTST board.  We recruited members, raised money, bought shares in GTFC, wrote newsletters, launched a website – even built a whacking great wooden fish and paraded it on the back of a lorry down Cleethorpes seafront.  More importantly, we had fun.

GTST had a fantastic chairman in Dave Otter who was always willing and able to be the public face of the Trust in the local media.  Dave struck up a strong relationship with the board of the football club, leading to GTST being consulted consistently on matters that affected supporters.

The tax debt came and went, and John Fenty (and more recently Mike Parker) continued to support the club financially.  Attendance at Trust organised fundraising events dwindled to levels where it becoming financially unviable to continue with them.  With the football club have 2 wealthy individual investors and no impending financial crisis, the club and the supporters mostly carried on as usual.  

As for GTST, as the years have passed, members have come and gone.  Board members have come and gone (crucially, Dave Otter stepped down as chairman in 2009).  And somewhere along the way the fun went away too.  

The Present
At this moment in time, GTST could be described as dormant, at best.  

The board is made up of a number of individuals most of whom do not live in the Grimsby / Cleethorpes area and all of whom have quite important things that take up huge chunks of our time – like jobs and family commitments.  In that respect, we’re no different from anyone else, so I’m not looking to make excuses here – just provide the facts.  We all have other interests and hobbies, and again in that respect we’re no different from anyone else.  

There is one key difference, however, which is that over time we have allowed our lives and those interests and hobbies to occupy more and more of our time, with less and less time being made available for GTST commitments.  For those board members that have been involved in GTST since day one, the difference between our lives back then and our lives now has also played a part – a lot can change in 10 years.

To put it simply, the current GTST board aren’t able to devote the time that is required to run GTST as a successful going concern.  

And finally there is the complacency and procrastination.  I’ll admit that I’m guilty of letting the days and sometimes weeks slip by without giving GTST a second thought.  Sometimes there are good reasons for that (personal and family issues that must take precedence), but often not.  Yes, it’s pretty unforgivable, but when there is no-one banging on the door and challenging that, it’s easy to do.  

So, those are the honest facts.  But now there are people banging that door quite hard so it’s time for me – as the current Chair - to remove my head from the sand and do something about it.  It’s clear that GTST is going absolutely nowhere in its current form, and that the time has come to do, or die.

The Future
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way first – does the Grimsby Town Supporters Trust have a future?
  
Firstly, if there is serious interest in maintaining a democratic supporter body, GTST provides the mechanism to support that and so the answer is probably YES.  GTST is a pre-existing legal entity, governed by strict rules and regulations.  There is a membership administration system and an existing (albeit small) membership base.  There is a bank account and other regular sources of minimal funds such as The Weather Lottery and buy.at.  There is an identity and a website.  It’s all packaged and ready to go.

Secondly, if there are enough people willing to step up to the plate and run such a democratic supporter body, the answer is definitely YES.

Failing that, in all honesty the answer is probably NO.  That would be a real shame, especially for the few people who have put in so many unpaid hours over the years to keep GTST ticking over.

So, where do things go from here?  

From reading the messageboards this week, it seems like there is some interest in forming a supporter body that can work with the football club, and be mobilised in times of crisis.  Which is fantastic, however the next challenge is to turn words into actions.  Are there people with the necessary energy and skills required to pick up a dormant GTST, wake it up and get it working to full effect?

From experience, I envisage that it would take 15/20 willing volunteers with a good mix of skills to get things moving.  Ideally, the core of these would live in the local Grimsby / Cleethorpes area in order to provide flexibility in arranging meetings.  There are no perks, there will be criticism from some corners (some of it personal), and you won’t get much thanks for your time.  But the satisfaction comes from knowing that you are at least trying to make a difference.

Time is needed for the basics – membership administration, accounting, general administration and basic communications.  These are probably the most time consuming and frankly thankless tasks, but absolutely necessary to underpin everything else.  Once those things are running smoothly, there are the slightly more exciting things to consider like maintaining the website, social media updates, more structured ongoing communication.  Finally, there is liaison with the local media and the football club itself.  There is a large workload that needs to be spread out to prevent over-reliance on single individuals and to recognise that there will be times that people have to step back.

Back in the summer of 2002 in those initial Electronic Fishcake discussions, someone suggested a date, time and location and those of us that were interested in getting involved just turned up.  We didn’t know each other, but somehow we managed to work together and things happened.  I don’t think it’s my place to dictate what happens next, but maybe going back to square one wouldn’t be such a bad idea?

I can’t speak for the other board members, however I would happily work with any supporters that are serious about taking GTST forward and would more than happy to spend the time helping them get up to speed before disappearing quietly into the background.  

Thanks for listening, and Up The Mariners.

Emma Blackbourn
GTST Chair

Excellent, much needed and very honest post Emma and i for one would like to step forward and help in anyway i can?Personally i think a meeting should be called on a non matchday for local people that want to get involved and i would hope that any personal differences from the past ie Dave and Tony be put aside for the greater good.UTM

A meeting would be a really good start.  If someone can sort out a time, place and venue then I will do what I can to make myself available to provide assistance / answer questions.

Well lets see what response this post gets for a week or so first Emma but sorting a venue etc wont be a problem and i will gladly do that.

i think organising a meeting could be a step to far

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

i think organising a meeting could be a step to far

You have to come mate otherwise we will never sell enough ale to qualify for a free room anywhere

Quoted from 1mickylyons

You have to come mate otherwise we will never sell enough ale to qualify for a free room anywhere

i dont drink

I would be more than willing to both attend and contribute anything I can.

well done emma. I know from my running athletics clubs background how hard it is to maintain that level of enthusiasm over many years when you have other committments and are not getting any return for your input.
i hope that there are enough local people to at least keep it going, if not drive it forward. I am sure that finances would not be a problem - an appeal on here or at matches for donations or new members would bring in capital, I'm sure.

down to you gy people out there!

as they say - USE IT OR LOSE IT!

The hardest thing facing the Trust in my opinion  is that fact the gates have just about halved since the last time they were Active on a regular basis.