http://www.gtst.net/site/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_view/gid,29/Itemid,64/Name of Meeting Grimsby Town Supporters Trust – ‘The Way Forward’
Date 1st Oct 2011
Venue Study Support Centre, Blundell Park
Author Emma Blackbourn – GTST Chair
Attendees (in surname order)Rob Bartlett
Ed Blackbourn – GTST Board Member
Emma Blackbourn – GTST Chair
Nick Bradley
Richard Cole
Steve Crosskill
David Douglas
Paul Fenty
Steve Fenty
Ian Fitzgerald – GTST Board Member
Bill Jenner
Jack Johnson
Tim Mosey
Dave Otter
Chris Parker
Marc Reed
David Roberts
Pete Roberts
Chris Stephenson
Ian Townsend – GTST Board Member
John Wood
Meeting Background / OverviewThis meeting was arranged in response to a lengthy post made on the forum area of ‘The
Fishy’ by myself (Emma Blackbourn) about ‘The Past, The Present, The Future’ of the
Grimsby Town Supporters Trust (GTST). The post itself was prompted by the reaction of
the fans that post on the same forum of John Fentys resignation from the board of GTFC,
the subsequent interview with Mike Parker broadcast on Radio Humberside and further
statements made by John Fenty about the boardroom situation at Blundell Park, and
GTSTs response.
The reactions to the ‘The Past, The Present, The Future’ post were mixed, however some
fans expressed an interest in providing help to GTST.
In response to those offers for help, I arranged for a meeting to be held on 1st October 2011,
at Blundell Park. That time and location of the meeting was initially communicated via email
to those that had offered their assistance, and subsequently included in a post on
the forum. I did not intend the meeting to be a totally open ‘free for all’, predominantly
because the room that had been provided at Blundell Park only held 20 people (which was
deemed adequate based on the number of people who had offered their services). A
reasonably loose agenda was set, which was to discuss whether the attendees felt that
GTST had a role in the future, and if yes what they believed that role to be.
On Friday 30th September, Mike Parker made the offer of a gift of 500,000 of his shares in
GTFC to GTST. This inevitably sparked further interest in GTST, with additional supporters
who had not offered their help earlier in the week choosing to attend the meeting.
Meeting NotesDue to the number of attendees, and the subsequent amount of discussion that occurred,
it has not been possible to provide a verbatim transcript of the meeting. Rather, I have
outlined the main areas of discussion, and noted specific points under each.
The initial point was raised that everyone in the room was there for a single reason, and
that was out of concern for the future of the football club that we all love.
Mike Parker Share Gift• It was requested that EB provide details of Mike Parkers offer
o EB confirmed that an offer has been made by Mike Parker to transfer
500,000 shares in Grimsby Town Football Club currently owned by him to
GTST
o The share will come at no cost to GTST, with no conditions or obligations.
o The is no obligation for GTST to take a place on the board of GTFC as a
result of the proposed transfer
• The question was asked whether GTST have accepted the offer of the shares:
o EB explained that advice had been sought from Supporters Direct and that
a call had been scheduled for Monday with the current GTST board and an
SD representative
• The view was put forward that if GTST do not accept the offer, then GTS has no
future credibility and may as well close
• The view was put forward that if the shares come with no legal implications, then
GTST should accept them
• It was asked that if GTST accepted the shares, what would GTST propose to do
with them
o The response was that should GTST accept the shares, it would provide
immediate influence at the AGM, and allow GTST to engage in more
meaningful dialogue with the club
o The point was made that it would also provide the supporters with the
‘golden share’ should any outside party seek to gain ownership of the
football club in the future
• It was asked that if GTST accepted the shares, would GTST be willing to listen to
other potential investors. The view was that GTST should be open to the idea of
new investors, and not stand in the way if any new investment was for the long
term benefit of the football club.
• The question was raised as to whether GTST should demonstrate pro-activity in
trying to gain further investment. Some felt that GTST should be doing that.
• There was some discussion about the mechanics of purchasing shares in the
football club
GTST – Current Situation• It was asked how many members GTST currently has.
o The response was in the region of 200, with the majority of these being life
members (single payment). There are a number of members who pay via
standing order, which provides a small ongoing revenue stream.
• It was pointed out that DO is currently seen as the ‘figurehead’ of GTST, and that
he has been vocal in the past about his support for JF
• It was recognised that whilst GTST is currently dormant, what better driver is there
to re-ignite GTST than the offer of these shares. Putting to one side the current
boardroom troubles at the football club and the reason for the offer, GTST should
aim to articulate to supporters what a golden opportunity this is.
• GTST need to go back to basics and use this as an opportunity to open lines of
communication between the club and the supporters – the message being that if
you want a voice within the football club, the join GTST and get your voice heard.
• EB asked what barriers currently exist to supporters joining GTST. Responses were
as follows:
o Apathy
o Inactivity
o No visible benefits
o Don’t know what GTST is there for
o Don’t think that GTST can make a difference
o The current position the club finds itself in
GTST Relaunch• Initial thoughts were that GTST having a presence within Blundell Park on
matchdays would be a good initial step. GTST board members making themselves
available to supporters, be it to field questions, have membership forms available
or just to have a chat.
• GTST needs to be ‘doing things for the fans by the fans’. GTST needs to focus on
‘our fans’ and ‘our club’.
• Discussion was held around what should come first, recruiting new members or
deciding what GTST stands for?
• The view was shared that GTSTs objectives need to be simplified to make it easier
for supporters to understand what membership will mean and make it a more
compelling proposition. If we were starting with a blank sheet of paper, what would
we in the room want GTST to do? Step away from the micro and build on the
foundations that are already there, remembering that this is a golden opportunity
for GTST to step in and be the voice of the fans.
• Following extensive discussion of objectives, the following revised set were
proposed:
o Working to maintain the long term viability of the football club
o Helping to improve the matchday experience for supporters
o Ensuring that GTST is an all-inclusive supporters organisation
o Work to increase the transparency between the fans and the club –
providing a mechanism for supporters to have their say in the GTFC
boardroom
• The recruitment of new members was discussed, with the following views shared:
o GTST needs to work with the club to try and recruit new members
• The view was put forward that GTST should re-brand itself totally, to include the
logo and the strapline.
• Matchball sponsorship by GTST was raised as an idea – publicised to show how
GTST are contributing in a small way to the club/
• Need a whole week of a co-ordinated communication strategy for the re-launch.
Get people ‘by the balls’ using as many media outlets as possible
• GTST also needs to have better ties with both the local media and the local council
• The GTST website is a quick and easy way of getting messages out (but does
require an overhaul both front end and back end)
• The general feeling was that there were a lot of people who would be willing to help
out, but they just need to be more convinced about GTSTs long term aims /
objectives
• In order to be successful, GTST needs new members of the board who can bring
fresh ideas. With their being 6 (six) elected and 1 (one) co-opted board members
currently, there is room for a further 5 (five) cop-opted board members
immediately. The following people put themselves forward to be cop-opted onto
the GTST board:
o Dave Otter
o Dave Roberts
o Marc Reed
o Tim Mosey
o Chris Parker
• Other attendees showed willing ness to joint GTST – EB committed to distributing
membership forms via e-mail
• It was highlighted that prior to any official re-launch, there are some administrative
tasks that need to happen, to include holding a GTST AGM as soon as is practically
possible.
• Immediately, and official GTST statements will be made via the GTST areas
available on the official messageboards.
• In addition, it was requested for anyone involved with GTST to step away from the
negativity, and refrain from getting involved in any nastiness and backbiting that
seems commonplace on messageboards.
• Examples of Supporters Trusts that have had success or are aligned to clubs that
have experienced hardship were mentioned. It was agreed to make contact with
those Supporters Trusts to see what GTST can learn >> Dundee United (Arab
Trust), Telford United Stirling Albion
Supporter Involvement Ideas• Identifying ideas that would help bring more supporters to GTFC, to benefit the
club financially and improve the matchday atmosphere:
o Work with the club on initiatives that will improve the matchday experience
for supporters. Ensure that the supporters feel that they are getting value
for money over and above the 90 mins of football.
o Work hand in hand with the club on initiatives designed to increase
matchday attendance
o Use an unoccupied area within the Osmond Stand, with GTST liaising with
local schools and giving out tickets (possibly widening the net in terms of
the local areas that are targeted – Skegness was cited as a possibility). The
importance of engaging supporters at a young age was made.
o Offer a free ticket to ex-season ticket holders (although the potential for
this to irritate existing season ticket holders was discussed and noted)
o The security implication of housing both home and away supports in the
same stand was highlighted.
• GTST should be aiming to try and help with any such initiatives – providing ideas
into the club and supporting them
• It was pointed out that to an extent, gates will increase if performances/results
improve
• It was mentioned that the commercial department at GTFC have tired many
different initiatives before – they do work hard to try and make the club appeal to
the supporters.
• The opinion that local businesses do not view the commercial setup at GTFC
favourably was offered
Fundraising Ideas• Identifying revenue streams that do not rely on memberships. Ideas raised were:
o A GTST run bar at Blundell Park – giving the supporters / GTST members a
place to meet up. Possibly shoeing highlights of recent away matches.
o Matchday Catering
o Events, with some involvement from ex-players. Possibly engaging the help
of Dave Boylen who is a very good organiser.
• EB / DO explained that from experience, some initiatives / ideas simply won’t work /
take off, but you have to not let it get you down and just try something else.
Finally, the need for a follow up meeting was identified, which should be open to a much
wider audience and made as inclusive as possible.
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