Quote: Adeybull "You might want to take on board the input of those who tried to make a go of BISA, which was itself formed in a time of adversity and with a mission.
In particular, you need people who are prepared to put in a shedload of work, for no personal reward, and yet prepared to be criticised by the fans for what you do and for not doing more. And to be in there for the long term, prepared to make the hard yards on an ongoing basis. Most of what is required is not sexy, interesting, public-facing stuff. It's behind the scenes hard work.
And, if you DO manage to achieve engagement with the club, you may then find that you, too, become party to a few inconvenient truths that you cannot divulge. You need to think carefully how you will handle this sometimes-impossible situation - when you might find yourselves supporting the board, when most fans cannot fathom why you would entertain doing so. And you can't tell them why!
You will likely also find that a hard-pressed club will seek to offload fan-related activities onto you (such as organising away travel or running a fan club), so you need to think if you are really in a position to do this.
And you need to recognise that any club or organisation's membership tends to consist of a large number of people supportive of the aims but who do not (or are not able to) get involved to any degree, and a small number of people who work their nuts off because they passionately believe in what they are trying to do.
Speaking in a personal capacity, as a co-founder of both BISA and later Bullbuilder (which, built on firm foundations, and has been achieving fund-raising and engagement successes as a result), some things to think very carefully about before you start deciding on what you intend to do once this week is over.'"
I bet if Peter,Ryan & Andrew read this it would be with an ironic smile Adey!
