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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 5, 2024 16:02:07 GMT
After drowning our sorrows after the match on Saturday with more than several pints of Bass 7/8 of us were discussing all things SCFC when one of the guys mentioned the Supporters Club.
Blank faces, who? and a couple of “I’ve never heard of them” comments followed.
Does anyone know if they’re still active, do they hold events of any kind, do they consult with the club following the close down of the Supporters Council etc.
Are there any posters on here that are members or know of anyone who is?
I can report back any info received
Thanks in advance
At least this post helps move us on from Saturday 😂😂😂
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Post by kidcrewbob on Feb 5, 2024 16:06:40 GMT
They both retired a few years back.......
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Feb 5, 2024 17:21:13 GMT
After drowning our sorrows after the match on Saturday with more than several pints of Bass 7/8 of us were discussing all things SCFC when one of the guys mentioned the Supporters Club. Blank faces, who? and a couple of “I’ve never heard of them” comments followed. Does anyone know if they’re still active, do they hold events of any kind, do they consult with the club following the close down of the Supporters Council etc. Are there any posters on here that are members or know of anyone who is? I can report back any info received Thanks in advance At least this post helps move us on from Saturday 😂😂😂 Thank you for that very timely and relevant question, owdestokie2. The Supporters Club has been moribund since Covid and to be honest hadn't been doing a great deal before that, which wasn't helped when its place on the Supporters Council was removed, on the recommendation of the Council itself, and the Club said it would only talk to fans through the Supporters Council. Only 5 of the last Committee haven't resigned. But all that is water under the bridge. We need to look forwards rather than back, and deeply bury any hatchets which need to be buried. We are I think the only Championship Club which doesn't have an active central supporters Club/Trust. In the words of the song, that's just embarrassing. It's also very topical because the football Club is launching its new fan engagement strategy, and the Government is about to publish the Bill establishing the new football regulator, which will have fan engagement in its remit. The Tracey Crouch report which proposed it, which the Government accepted, proposed new Fan Advisory Boards (FABs) at each Club, on which a properly established, democratic supporters Club/Trust would be represented. But it would have to demonstrate that it is fit for purpose, which it isn't at the moment at our Club. At the 2nd fan engagement meeting, Stoke City announced "Stoke City Connect", in effect their FAB, and we can expect the launch of the fan engagement strategy very soon. I think most fans who went to one or other or both of the 2 fan engagement meetings came away feeling very positive about the club's approach. To that end, at Stoke City's first fan engagement meeting I stood up to ask anyone who would be interested in helping me to revive the Supporters Club it, to come forward, and a number did, and we held a meeting to discuss what to do to get it going. Stoke City are very supportive and will give us help with publicity, meeting room, etc etc. We will aim to have a re-launch meeting. So if anyone reading this would like to get involved, please get in touch with me via a PM. The more the merrier ! The first step is to join the Club if you are not already a member. Membership is free and I can email you an application form, for basic details - address, contact details etc. Even if you can't get actively involved - still join ! It's not just about Stoke City issues. An active club can contribute fully through the FSA to the various national debates about an away price cap in the Championship, policing and stewarding, licensed standing areas, fixture scheduling and TV games, etc , etc, etc. At the moment we have my voice there on that - but that's just my voice, and I don't have anywhere to take a mandate from or report back to, which is not ideal. Don't be shy - step forward ! |
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Post by Robo10 on Feb 5, 2024 17:46:37 GMT
Hi Malcolm
In our town we have the Knypersley & Biddulph Stoke City Supporters Club - 600+ members, we take 4/5 coaches to every home game, 1/2 to away games (based from Knypersley CC)
I'm on the committee as is @towrateek , and we had John Slaney from our ranks on the old supporters board.
We had a similar consultation evening with Anthony E and Adrian H (Simon K was due to be there), we host multiple Stoke meet the player nights, old boys evenings etc
I suggested on the night we need strong supporters clubs with some representation to drive change forward so hopefully this has been actioned from that!
Give me a shout if you need anything
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Feb 5, 2024 18:58:02 GMT
It is my understanding that all members of the council had to be democratically voted on,no free places.
Kynpe and Biddulph stood and were voted on
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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 5, 2024 19:46:31 GMT
After drowning our sorrows after the match on Saturday with more than several pints of Bass 7/8 of us were discussing all things SCFC when one of the guys mentioned the Supporters Club. Blank faces, who? and a couple of “I’ve never heard of them” comments followed. Does anyone know if they’re still active, do they hold events of any kind, do they consult with the club following the close down of the Supporters Council etc. Are there any posters on here that are members or know of anyone who is? I can report back any info received Thanks in advance At least this post helps move us on from Saturday 😂😂😂 Thank you for that very timely and relevant question, owdestokie2. The Supporters Club has been moribund since Covid and to be honest hadn't been doing a great deal before that, which wasn't helped when its place on the Supporters Council was removed, on the recommendation of the Council itself, and the Club said it would only talk to fans through the Supporters Council. Only 5 of the last Committee haven't resigned. But all that is water under the bridge. We need to look forwards rather than back, and deeply bury any hatchets which need to be buried. We are I think the only Championship Club which doesn't have an active central supporters Club/Trust. In the words of the song, that's just embarrassing. It's also very topical because the football Club is launching its new fan engagement strategy, and the Government is about to publish the Bill establishing the new football regulator, which will have fan engagement in its remit. The Tracey Crouch report which proposed it, which the Government accepted, proposed new Fan Advisory Boards (FABs) at each Club, on which a properly established, democratic supporters Club/Trust would be represented. But it would have to demonstrate that it is fit for purpose, which it isn't at the moment at our Club. At the 2nd fan engagement meeting, Stoke City announced "Stoke City Connect", in effect their FAB, and we can expect the launch of the fan engagement strategy very soon. I think most fans who went to one or other or both of the 2 fan engagement meetings came away feeling very positive about the club's approach. To that end, at Stoke City's first fan engagement meeting I stood up to ask anyone who would be interested in helping me to revive the Supporters Club it, to come forward, and a number did, and we held a meeting to discuss what to do to get it going. Stoke City are very supportive and will give us help with publicity, meeting room, etc etc. We will aim to have a re-launch meeting. So if anyone reading this would like to get involved, please get in touch with me via a PM. The more the merrier ! The first step is to join the Club if you are not already a member. Membership is free and I can email you an application form, for basic details - address, contact details etc. Even if you can't get actively involved - still join ! It's not just about Stoke City issues. An active club can contribute fully through the FSA to the various national debates about an away price cap in the Championship, policing and stewarding, licensed standing areas, fixture scheduling and TV games, etc , etc, etc. At the moment we have my voice there on that - but that's just my voice, and I don't have anywhere to take a mandate from or report back to, which is not ideal. Don't be shy - step forward ! Blimey Malcolm Thanks for the very detailed and informative reply. Instead of trying to explain to my mates I’ll simply refer them to your post 😁 I do think it’s important to have an active supporters club especially as the club is reporting its progress with their engagement programme “Stoke Connect”. By your reply it appears that there’s great opportunities for significant supporter representation at both local and national levels. A bit embarrassing that we are possibly tne only Championship club who doesn’t have an active supporters club. Hope people take up your invitation, good luck and please keep us updated. 👍 |
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Post by silsdenstokie on Feb 5, 2024 19:50:08 GMT
Whatever happened to Nic Mansfield?
Always had a little slot in the programme in the 80s
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Post by marylandstoke on Feb 5, 2024 20:23:40 GMT
Early 90’s I travelled with the Southern Supporters a couple of times.
The bus from the side of Euston Station.
Also played a couple of games for them when they were on the fields down towards The Scrubs of a Sunday.
Wonderful people.
Always regret not getting to one of the ‘meetings’
Had heard tales of many, many pints of ale being saved from going bad.
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Post by Robo10 on Feb 5, 2024 22:21:45 GMT
It is my understanding that all members of the council had to be democratically voted on,no free places. Kynpe and Biddulph stood and were voted on Yes mate thats correct, was a free vote for the old council. |
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Post by idle on Feb 6, 2024 7:16:55 GMT
Is it true that you don't have a Supporters Club? Hell, we have 600 members in the Norwegian supporters club FFS!
You need to get something up, organisation is the only way to get heard for normal fans. If something happens, like Bet365 putting the club up for sale, you need to be prepared. Otherwise we'll end up in a consortium with Milan, some no-name German and Dutch clubs, and a south american club, owned by a mafia boss who doesn't care about Stoke City at all.
Also, it's hard to build a supporters trust from scratch if we need to take ownership of the club ourselves. This is my dream.
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Post by owdestokie2 on Feb 6, 2024 9:27:00 GMT
Is it true that you don't have a Supporters Club? Hell, we have 600 members in the Norwegian supporters club FFS! You need to get something up, organisation is the only way to get heard for normal fans. If something happens, like Bet365 putting the club up for sale, you need to be prepared. Otherwise we'll end up in a consortium with Milan, some no-name German and Dutch clubs, and a south american club, owned by a mafia boss who doesn't care about Stoke City at all. Also, it's hard to build a supporters trust from scratch if we need to take ownership of the club ourselves. This is my dream. I think you’re absolutely right about having a voice. 600 members………..Well done to you guys and gals |
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Post by leicspotter on Feb 6, 2024 10:56:00 GMT
Whatever happened to Nic Mansfield? Always had a little slot in the programme in the 80s Nic still travels home and away supporting the team. I guess he might feel he has done more than his fair share...I wouldn't argue with that |
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Feb 6, 2024 11:14:51 GMT
It is my understanding that all members of the council had to be democratically voted on,no free places. Kynpe and Biddulph stood and were voted on You are of course right, David, that the original Council structure was replaced by one in which there was only one route to membership i.e all members were directly elected from the same electorate. But I don't think it's right to describe the supporters clubs (there were I think 4 of them) places as being "free" places, whatever that means. There is more than one way of being "democratic". The Supporters Club was a democratic organisation. Any supporter could join, stand for office or put themselves forward to represent the Club on the Council. One difference between such club reps. and those directly elected to the Council was that the former had somewhere to take a mandate from on specific issues, report back to and be accountable to. The fact that the previous K & B rep then stood in the general poll and was successful as an individual doesn't alter that point. As readers of this Board may recall, I and others tried unsuccessfully over several years to find out what the turnout was in the general Supporters Council poll - i.e what proportion of eligible supporters had actually voted in the Council elections but (bizarrely in my view) the Club and the Council declined to release that information. That would have been relevant to assessing the approach adopted by the Club and Council and the credibility of the members in representing fans. But, as I said above, all that is now water under the bridge and all hatches should be well and truly buried. We should all work together to make the new arrangements work and ensure that Stoke fans are properly involved and represented. It is significant that Tracey Crouch recommended that a properly constituted supporters' Club/Trust should have a place on a Club's Fan Advisory Board |
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Feb 6, 2024 11:15:38 GMT
Whatever happened to Nic Mansfield? Always had a little slot in the programme in the 80s Nic is still around and involved |
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Post by idle on Feb 6, 2024 13:16:35 GMT
As readers of this Board may recall, I and others tried unsuccessfully over several years to find out what the turnout was in the general Supporters Council poll - i.e what proportion of eligible supporters had actually voted in the Council elections but (bizarrely in my view) the Club and the Council declined to release that information. That would have been relevant to assessing the approach adopted by the Club and Council and the credibility of the members in representing fans. This is a problem in all dictatorship models (which the club is) of governance. The only solution is for the supporter clubs to run their own polls, and to demand that such information is available. |
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Feb 6, 2024 14:07:01 GMT
As readers of this Board may recall, I and others tried unsuccessfully over several years to find out what the turnout was in the general Supporters Council poll - i.e what proportion of eligible supporters had actually voted in the Council elections but (bizarrely in my view) the Club and the Council declined to release that information. That would have been relevant to assessing the approach adopted by the Club and Council and the credibility of the members in representing fans. This is a problem in all dictatorship models (which the club is) of governance. The only solution is for the supporter clubs to run their own polls, and to demand that such information is available. Hopefully it's now one for the history books ! I think the football Club now has a much more open and positive approach to this whole area. |
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Feb 6, 2024 14:32:08 GMT
Is it true that you don't have a Supporters Club? Hell, we have 600 members in the Norwegian supporters club FFS! You need to get something up, organisation is the only way to get heard for normal fans. If something happens, like Bet365 putting the club up for sale, you need to be prepared. Otherwise we'll end up in a consortium with Milan, some no-name German and Dutch clubs, and a south american club, owned by a mafia boss who doesn't care about Stoke City at all. Also, it's hard to build a supporters trust from scratch if we need to take ownership of the club ourselves. This is my dream. A very wise contribution, idle. In relation to your "dream", if it ever came to pass that some, or even a majority, of shares were owned by fans, the supporters organisation would need to be a Trust (Community Benefit Society). |
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Post by idle on Feb 6, 2024 14:50:24 GMT
Is it true that you don't have a Supporters Club? Hell, we have 600 members in the Norwegian supporters club FFS! You need to get something up, organisation is the only way to get heard for normal fans. If something happens, like Bet365 putting the club up for sale, you need to be prepared. Otherwise we'll end up in a consortium with Milan, some no-name German and Dutch clubs, and a south american club, owned by a mafia boss who doesn't care about Stoke City at all. Also, it's hard to build a supporters trust from scratch if we need to take ownership of the club ourselves. This is my dream. A very wise contribution, idle. In relation to your "dream", if it ever came to pass that some, or even a majority, of shares were owned by fans, the supporters organisation would need to be a Trust (Community Benefit Society). Thanks! As Luton has shown, it is possible to be a fan owned club (and not a single or a couple of fans, but all) and be successful. They went through a lot of dark years though, and there was no guarantee it would work. I salute (and envy) them for doing it the right way, and hope they stick to it. AFC Wimbledon has had more trouble, but I guess it's harder with more competition being a London club. |
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Post by silsdenstokie on Feb 6, 2024 17:53:02 GMT
Whatever happened to Nic Mansfield? Always had a little slot in the programme in the 80s Nic still travels home and away supporting the team. I guess he might feel he has done more than his fair share...I wouldn't argue with that Would imagine he processed my application in the mid eighties Still got my supporters club pin badge from that time |
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