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Thread: Supporters Trust Public Forum - 7pm 2nd July, Newcastle Town Hall

  1. #21
    Junior Member robnuts's Avatar
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    Looking forward to it

  2. #22
    Occasional Podcaster furns's Avatar
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    I will be there as well, and I will be recording the proceedings to release as a podcast for those who are unable to make it.

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by furns View Post
    I will be there as well, and I will be recording the proceedings to release as a podcast for those who are unable to make it.

    perfect

    Sorry tobs et all dont think i will make it into newy after work

  4. #24
    in awe of baz GazFish35's Avatar
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    Toby, my pledge still stands.

  5. #25
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    How did it go? Getting there wasn't an option for me, but I am still interested in how i pans out.

    Can anyone that was there update those of us who couldn't?

  6. #26
    Senior Member baldrick's Avatar
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    I went along to see what happened & my observations were

    The Newcastle Lord Mayor spoke first & I got the impression that this was aiming up to be a total takeover from HSG. I also got the impression he didn't want to piss Nathan Tinkler off in anyway. After the other speakers had finished, I also felt that he had a better understanding of how supporters' trusts worked around the world (as did I) and any trust would be complementary to the A-league licence holder.

    The second speaker Melina (?), from the International Year of the Co-Operative secretariat had limited football knowledge, but spoke with enthusiasm & showed what could be achieved. It was also good to know that there are organisations out there that can offer support.

    Blackmac then spoke extremely well, outlining what he had researched over the past 18 months/2 years. I wasn't previously aware of how supporter's trusts worked or how common they were, even in the large leagues. (Barcelona anyone ?) Congratulations & thank you for all your hard work. I can't imagine the hours he'd spent researching this.

    There was a call for volunteers to start a Steering Committee to begin drafting a draft plan/constitution, but I'm not sure if anyone did. (I had to leave straight away)

    It was also interesting to hear that a group of supporters from Western Sydney has also started this process for the WS Wanderers.

  7. #27
    Occasional Podcaster furns's Avatar
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    I will have the audio up in the next 24 hours. Apologies for the reduced sound quality as I had to use my dictaphone for the recording, I was unable to connect the sound system at the Town Hall to my mixer/laptop setup to record it properly.

  8. #28
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    Blackmac79,

    Well done organising this. You had a good turnout for the start of something. I'm fully supportive of it.

    I've been reading the public comments about the trust without delving into the detail and I haven't listened to the podcast yet, so I may be saying things that you've already answered. There are a few things that I find a bit confusing which I want to comment on:

    1. The purpose of the Trust. I find this very vague. To be talking about the football community in general makes it hard for me to pin down what the short, medium and long term objectives are of the trust ie. to give it purpose now and in the future. Football gets very political and the organisation could lack direction or be forced into a negative direction by a rogue board if it starts to accumulate money or wield influence. The members need a clear vision so that they can keep the board honest over time. It will be clear that the organisation is doing what they signed up for and if it isn't they can see this clearly and vote the board out. Given that members will not be able to get their money back, I think this is important.

    I would recommend something simple like: (a) to represent the collective interests of Newcastle Jets supporters (our members) in dealings with the club; and (b) to ensure a team from Newcastle is always represented in the National competition.

    To me this gives the trust a direct purpose. I would feel that as a member of the trust, I could count on it to act as my voice in a collective when talking to the club about things like ticket pricing, seating, season scheduling issues, supporter communication and relations. This gives it a direct and clear purpose now. It would give the trust legitimacy and authority to work on my behalf whilst acknowledging that the trust may not represent every Newcastle Jets supporter.

    Essentially, if 2,000 people say that they delegate authority to the trust to deal with the club on their behalf, it would be silly for HSG not to listen to the trust.

    2. My second point is about the trust acting as a contingency fund. I see that the short term and long term objectives of the trust may conflict with each other. You will quite easily be able to attract members who want to use it as a form of union in dealing with the club, so long as the annual fee reflects that role ie. maybe $10 per annum. However, if you want to build a fund to be ready to take over the club, you may scare away people who don't want to contribute. To me, a reasonable target of the fund needs to be set on which ordinary members will contribute eg. to raise $100,000 by the time Tinkler's A-League license expires ($10 x 2,000 people x 10 years should be enough to achieve this). I can't see anyone agreeing to fork out enough money to raise $5million. People can donate more to a fighting fund if they want, and you can fundraise, but hopefully over time relations will be so good between HSG and the trust that you will have advanced notice of his intention to withdraw and you can negotiate a planned takeover well in advance and can build the finances quickly from your member base if needed. I would much rather keep the money in my pocket but by signing on as a member year in and out show that I am prepared to tip in if the trust was going to buy the club outright.

    3. The only other thing is I saw that Andrew Poole was mentioned on 442. I don't think it is a good idea to form a framework which is seen as a threat by HSG. Not only will that prevent you acting as a supporters union in the short term but it might also make them outright hostile toward you and undermine everything you are trying to achieve.

    Anyway, best of luck. I think more people will be attracted once the structure is in place and they can see the value in it. Good start.
    Last edited by hauss; 04-07-2012 at 02:40 PM.

  9. #29
    in awe of baz GazFish35's Avatar
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    Blackmac,

    Well done, my hat is off to you.
    You spoke wonderfully, clearly and passionately.
    I have no skills to offer, but will do anything I can to help.

    Where can I get a commitment form?

    And thanks to Furns for recording this.
    (was great sound quality, until question time!)
    Anyone who hasn't listened to the podcast ...... Listen to it!
    And get everyone you can to listen to it too!

  10. #30
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Just wanted to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I have just been doing night shifts since getting back from the public forum and so I haven't had time to sit down and go through things yet, debrief, so to speak.

    Will get to this tomorrow.

  11. #31
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Anyone wishing to add their name to the database (pretty much the idea of the commitment forms), should send an email to powerwiththefans@gmail.com containing:\

    Name:
    Email:
    Suburb:
    Phone (optional):


    I will finally finish updating the database tonight and be sending out emails tonight as well. Its time to get back on this horse.

  12. #32
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    Minutes from the public forum:

    Minutes

    NUCOST Public Forum – at the Newcastle Town Hall
    Monday, 2nd July 2012 at 7:00 pm

    Welcoming address by chairman Graham Hills, Men of Football Inc.

    Graham warmly welcomed the audience and introduced the panel of

    Speaker 1: John Tate, Lord Mayor of Newcastle

    Speaker 2: Melina Morris, 2012 International Year of Cooperatives

    Speaker 3: Toby Mills, Spokesman for NUCOST

    Attending: David Eland, CEO NNSW Football

    Apologies: HSG was unable to send a representative

    Graham explained that the aim of the meeting today is to inform the community about
    the objectives of the Supporters’ Trust, to foster and maintain a good relationship
    between the flag ship of football in the Hunter region, the Newcastle United Jets, the
    grassroots movement, youth development and the supporters of football in general.

    He recounted that the local A-league football team was reborn too many times and the
    Supporter’ Trust is about sustainability for the Newcastle United Jets.

    Graham invited Mayor John Tate to speak.

    The Mayor acknowledged the important role the ‘Jets’ play for the Hunter region.

    He recommended that any group associated with the ‘Jets’ should be complementary to
    the existing structure put in place by the HSG and progress into the future.

    Financial security is not a given and support for the local development involves also the
    funding through the government/council.

    He committed to listen to the speakers and the questions from the audience to get
    informed about the Supporters’ Trust.

    Graham invited Melina Morris to speak.

    Newcastle United Community Ownership Supporter’s Trust

    Melina first clarified the definition of co-ops:

    Co-operatives are businesses owned by their members.
    Co-operatives make profits to benefit their members.
    Co-operatives are democratic and locally based.

    Co-operatives include eg: credit unions, farmers and electricity producers as well as
    multi-million dollar businesses and global brands such as Sunkist, The Associated Press
    and many more with a participation of over 1 billion people worldwide.

    Co-ops in general create community cohesion, reduce poverty and enhance the
    socioeconomic status.

    For the footballing community it means that the fans can be stakeholders in the club
    and own it collectively. With legal structures in place, the benefits are staying local and
    supporter community ownership can contribute to the sustainability and prosperity of
    football clubs.

    All over the world are thousands of sporting clubs operating as co-ops or Supporters’
    Trusts under various models.

    The UK has an umbrella organization, ‘Supporters Direct’, with the goal to promote
    sustainable spectator sports clubs based on supporters' involvement and community
    ownership. Since 2000 it has helped to set up over 170 Trusts.

    Germany has adopted the ’50 + 1’ model where the supporters maintain a majority of
    their football club with a controlling share.

    Unlike many other football clubs, FC Barcelona is fully owned and operated by its
    150,000 supporters. It is the world's second-richest football club in terms of revenue,
    with an annual turnover of €398 million.

    Melina pointed out that, through its flexibility, the Supporters’ Trust is complimentary
    to any existing structure. In addition to that it encourages loyalty in the community,
    embraces also inter-generational participation and puts ‘bums on seats’.

    She commended Toby for his passion and drew attention to the growing trend of
    development of co-operatives.

    Toby welcomed the audience and thanked the panel for their valuable contribution.

    After a short preamble of how the idea of the Supporters’ Trust became to be significant
    he continued to lay out the main objectives:

    To give the supporters of the ‘Jets’ the opportunity to speak with one voice.
    To have a ‘One member – One vote’ policy.
    To maintain a democratic and transparent process and social inclusion.
    To be a ‘Not for Profit’ organization.

    Newcastle United Community Ownership Supporter’s Trust
    To raise enough moneys to keep the ‘Jets’ flying for 1 year should unforeseen
    circumstances arise.

    The objectives of the Trust are through itself, for the benefit of the community and acting
    under its control:
    • To encourage the Club to take into proper account the interests of its supporters
    and the community it serves in its decisions.
    • To benefit present and future members of the community served by the club
    by promoting, encouraging and furthering the game of association football as a
    recreational facility, sporting activity and focus for community involvement.
    • To provide and maintain facilities for the enjoyment of professional football in the
    area.
    • To promote and widen interest in association football, regardless of gender,
    religion or ethnic origin of those involved.
    • To further the development of the game of association football nationally and the
    upholding of its rules.
    • To encourage and promote the principle of supporter representation on the board
    of any company owning or controlling the Club, and ultimately to be the vehicle
    for democratic elections to the board.
    • To promote, develop and respect the rights of members of the community served
    by the Club and people dealing with the Trust, and having regard in particular to
    the need to provide information to members and conduct the affairs of the Trust,
    in accessible and appropriate ways.

    Toby cited a friend: “Newcastle, in football terms, can be compared with a sleeping
    giant. Why not wake him up and turn him into a powerhouse!”

    Toby referred to pledge forms which were available for people who are interested in
    formation meetings of the Trust.

    Graham invited the audience to Open Question Time.

    Q: Peter: Does FC Barcelona also receive government subsidy?

    A: This question could not be answered outright with yes or no, but the co-operative
    model leaves room for other stakeholders, such as the government or businesses being
    collaborators.

    Q: Grant: What is the timeframe to get the Supporters’ Trust up and running? Does the
    Supporters Trust pose a threat to the HSG?

    A: There is no exact timeframe for the Supporters’ Trust. We will gather information and
    work on the legal side. We will work closely together with the HSG and there will be a
    direct link between the club and the community.

    Q: John: Are there already similar Supporters’ Trusts in place in Australia?
    A: The Brisbane Broncos are a listed company and similar Trusts a found in the AFL.

    Newcastle United Community Ownership Supporter’s Trust
    Q: Greg: Is the position of the FFA in favour of the Supporters’ Trust?
    A: The FFA has encouraged strong community involvement in the process of setting
    up the Western Sydney Wanderers and has welcomed the supporters as an involved
    consortium. There is a realization that the numbers are with the members and the task is
    to connect the people with the idea of a Supporters’ Trust.
    A: David Eland addressed the audience:
    He thanked the panel sincerely for the informative meeting and expressed his positive
    reception about the objectives of the Trust. Being on the Board of Directors for the
    Northern NSW Football Association, which works closely together with the ‘Jets”, he also
    expressed his willingness to put across the concept of the Trust to the HSG.

    Q: Alex: What can the Supporters’ Trust do if Nathan Tinkler hands the A-League
    licence back to the FFA again?
    A: Nothing at the moment! The Supporters’ Trust relies on membership fees and
    fundraising. The aim at present is to raise funds for the next 8 years (Tinkler’s
    commitment). Should then the need arise, the Trust can keep the ‘Jets’ afloat for 1 year
    and look for alternate investors in the meantime.

    Q: Robert: How will the Foundation Group finance itself in the beginning?
    A: Mostly through volunteer work and goodwill. A good example is the ‘Men of Football
    Inc.’ who has lent a hand with the preparation of the present meeting.

    Q: Timmy: Why is no representative from the HSG present?
    A: Robbie Middleby was very supportive of the meeting and apologized that he was
    unable to attend.

    Q: Jack: What is the minimum number of members or amount for investment required?
    A: The minimum number of members for a co-operation is 8 members; a Trust can start
    with 20 members. Leeds United started with 50 members and is counting now 5,000.
    There is no minimum amount of moneys.

    Q: Timmy: Who else is pushing for the Supporters’ Trust?
    A: Toby is in contact with various people who could not attend the meeting tonight due
    to different reasons.

    Mayor John Tate addressed the audience.

    After a greatly instructive meeting, the Mayor expresses his agreement for the idea of
    the Supporters’ Trust to the panel and the audience. His recommendations are to put in
    place a solid constitution and to stay in communication with the HSG.

    Graham Hill thanked everybody for attending and especially the panel and David Eland
    for their contributions. He complimented Toby on all the good work he has done so far
    and pledged his support for the cause.

  13. #33
    Senior Member Blackmac79's Avatar
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    New email sent out to those on the database (31/7/2012)

    Fellow Supporters,

    Firstly I would like to apologise for appearing to drop off the face of the Earth for the last few weeks. As is the unfortunate way with life there is always something to do. For a long time through the lead up to the Supporters Trust public forum, everything else in my life took a back seat. I could not continue ignoring important issues that kept arising, and so the Supporters Trust took its place for a while on the back seat. It was however not forgotten.

    I hope that you, like myself, have been enjoying the last few weeks without the future of our club being up in the air. It has been nice to be able to focus on the upcoming season and all the delights that it will bring without the worry of a perilous situation.

    However despite this period of perceived stability should in no way discourage us from our goal of the fans having a say in our club. It should encourage us to continue this journey, and work towards this goal in an effective manner. Further, this period of stability gives us time to develop our idea, our goals, and how best to achieve these.

    The public forum was the first step forward towards our end goal, a voice for the fans. For those of you that were unable to attend the night, I have attached the minutes from the forum. However if you would prefer to listen to the audio from the night a podcast is available by searching for "Jetstream Podcast" in iTunes.

    Thank you to those that were present and contributed to the night. It was a successful evening that enabled the conversation to begin in the wider community. So where to from here?

    After some discussion from the night, and afterwards we have decided on 5 key points, key steps, that we believe will enable us to build for the future and continue to reach our goals. These goals are:

    1. Create a formative committee from those present tonight, those who have already expressed an interest, and those who hear of our plans and wish to contribute.

    2. Build an organisation that invites and allows the community to be involved

    3. Inform and keep the community informed of our progress and of the opportunities to be involved

    4. Encourage those, who commit to get involved, to invite their friends to join us as we grow

    5. Foster and maintain positive relationships with organisations within the football community, and the general community, so as to enhance and contribute to community building in the Hunter.


    I would like to bring your attention to the first point, as this is the primary point of this email. The next step in the creation of this revolutionary organisation is the creation of a committee to steer its direction and draft the would be constitution.

    I have received expressions of interest already about joining such a committee, and I ask for others now. No special skills are required to have your say, in what will one day be your organisation. However if you believe you have any skills that would be beneficial to the development of a Supporters Trust and are willing to lend them to the cause then that would be fantastic. If you have already expressed your interest in joining the committee, I ask that you maintain your patience with me and express it again, I have well forgotten many names of those who had. Those that wish to do so can respond in this email with their expression of interest and if applicable any skills that they think would be beneficial to the development of the Supporters Trust.

    I would also like to note that if you have received this email then you are part of the Newcastle United Community Ownership Supporters Trust Database, and that you will continue to receive updates about the Trust's progress and any activities organised by the trust. If you would like to be removed from the database then please respond to the email saying such.

    Please feel free to distribute this email and forward it to other people you think may be interested in the development of the Supporters Trust. At this stage word of mouth is our greatest asset to growth. If you are reading this email but have not received it directly from Powerwiththefans@gmail.com, then please feel free to send an email to that address with your details to add to the database.

    Over the coming weeks I hope to provide a regular news letter which will provide further information regarding Supporters Trusts, community ownership and related information from other sources overseas and here in Australia. There will also be regular emails with updates to our own progress.

    I thank you for your support and commitment to the cause. I hope that I can continue to provide hope that one day football in the hunter will be owned by those that are football in the hunter, the fans.

    Thank You,

    Toby Mills

  14. #34
    aka WLG pv4's Avatar
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    yo blackmac

    i have no idea where else to put this news, thought if you hadn't seen it already you'd be interested.

    http://www.football365.com/news/2155...ng-Portsmouth-

    Fans close to Portsmouth deal
    Pompey Supporters' Trust has moved a step closer to buying Portsmouth after agreeing a sale with the club's administrators.

    The only stumbling block to the sale appears to be over the purchase of Fratton Park after owners Portpin rejected an offer for the ground.

    Trevor Birch, PFK partner and joint administrator of the club, has confirmed an application has been submitted to the court for permission to sell Fratton Park.

    Portpin, the investment firm owned by former Pompey owners Balram Chainrai and Levi Kushner, has a legal charge over the ground after it was used as security for a £6m loan to the club.

    Portsmouth Supporters' Trust chairman Ashley Brown told their website: "We are thrilled and proud to have signed a sale agreement with the administrator to buy and run Portsmouth Football Club.

    "We hope to finalise the sale by Christmas, and go into 2013 with a fresh start for our great club. This is a special day for the thousands of Pompey fans who have stood by their club and stood up to be counted."

    A statement from Birch on the official Pompey website read: "We can confirm that we have signed a sale agreement with the Pompey Supporters' Trust (PST) to acquire the business of Portsmouth Football Club.

    "Portpin has rejected the Trust's offer for Fratton Park, so the sale has to be conditional on receiving the Court's permission to sell the ground. We are therefore in the process of submitting an application to the Court.

    "I'm sure every member of staff, every player and every supporter will join me in wishing to see a speedy resolution to what has been a protracted administration."
    OK

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