Quote: Fordy "Why were your Supporters Trust not doing everything in their power to be that body? That is one of the main aims of Supporters Direct of which I assume your Trust is a member.
Having been through this with Wakefield 18 months ago, the Wakefield Trinity Supporters Trust was not set up and established at the time and by the time we were, Andrew Glover had rescued the club. Your Trust has been up and running for quite a while hasn't it? Surely they should have been liaising with Supporters Direct to help them achieve this aim.'"
I am getting sick and tired of know-it-alls from Wakefield coming on here and telling us what we should have done. And we having to explain to them ad nauseum why what they "advised" was totally impracticable in our very different circumstances.
You guys really do not have the first idea of what was and was not practicable here. Do you think a fundraising effor on this scale could have been organised in the very few days we had between the catastrophe being suddenly dumped on us and the dealine to avoid winding up? Do you really think a fans' effort in those circumstances could have raised anything like the money the club raised (which incidentally included over £100k that was not directly from the fans, and of the £400k that WAS, not a small part came from outside the fanbase? And the first we fans knew of the looming catastrophe was when the club mailed everyone and announced it. Did you seriously expect the club to suddenly pull that whole operation because the fans said they were going to try and do one of their own? When the clock was ticking, and as directors they had to do whatever they could to stave off insolvency? Can you simply not see that the club would almost certainly have had to continue with their own efforts? Thereby dividing the income and demonstrating a schism between fans and club, in all likelihood
to the detriment of BOTH efforts?
What the hell do you think Supporters' direct could have added? Their rugby league operation, lacking any meaningful external funding, consists of one extremely busy lady who also has a range of other responsibilities? I was speaking to her only last week, about the current situation, and she said the same thing - just not enough time to resolve the immediate crisis, you could only look at a longer-term solution one the immediate crisis is over.
And, perhaps most importantly of all, where was this massive groundswell from the fans? I don't think we had one existing member urging us at that time to seek to intervene, and indeed even since then I think only one or two new members have put such proposals forward. Conversely, we had quite a few members saying they agreed that the club's pledge was the only game in town in the circumstances - something the society board advised the members and the wider community that it had concluded after considering all the options. Bear in mind we had no advance warning.
The society board comprises a small number of very busy volunteers doing what they can in their spare time. Something on the scale of what you propose - even if it was practicable in the timeframe, which it was not - would have required a massive increase in resources available to the task as well as a load of legal and other work. Just who the hell do you suggest was going to do this? And in the timeframe? There was no mad rush of people demanding action and volunteering their services. the nearest we managed was a handful of people for the leeds match bucket collection. And if the society board members had been crazy enough to try and attempt the task anyway, what mandate would we have had to do so? Alsmost certainly, as a minimum we would have had to convene an emergency EGM, given the major change to a remit reconfirmed by the members only two months before at the AGM, and we are bound by the notice provisions in the society rules and time was waiting for no-one.
Please, when you have managed to raise half a amillion for YOUR club, in a matter of days and from a standing start, come back and tell us how we should have done it. Otherwise, can I please ask you to stop giving us advice on a matter you are in no position to advise on?
EDIT: Its only fair that I add that if you WERE well-meaning in what you said, then you have maybe caught some of the anger I feel about the disgraceful situation what is left of the club is now in, and the way the head coach, players and other staff have been treated. If you did not deserve my anger, then to you I apologise. But please take on board what Mike and I have said, and maybe dissuade some of your fellows for flogging the issue to death?