Thetownend.com

Hello all,

I'm going to be recording a Q&A with Rob Angus on Sunday evening relating to all the stuff that's unfolded over the last 24 hours or so.

If you have any questions then, well, reply to this post!

Cheers,
Rich

Will the council still sell the CG 50-50 to any new owner + the Trust?

How can the Trust guard the club from yet another nefarious owner?

Have the Trust got any Lee Power voodoo dolls we can purchase - with or without needles?

1. can you please explain in layman terms what the 'game in play' is with the court appearance and what power is trying to do
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2. Do you know if anybody, anywhere, has had contact at any time with Able?

Adver, trust, etc?
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3. Although it's ultimately a personal choice, does the Trust have any opinion on how best to ensure the club survives (which means removing power imo)

starve the club of money?
  - season ticket purchases - yes/no
  - season ticket refunds, if offered
 
other?
 - join trust via red army fund
 - organised protests within covid rules

Is there any fall back plan of a Trust-owned Swindon Town, do the Trust have the means or the will to go down that route if the shit hits the fan?

Have the Trust had any contact back from the FA or EFL in regards to their open letter?

I'm sure many of the questions will be covered in the initial discussion, thank you Rich and Rob for sorting this out, it's a hugely worrying time for all of us.

What is Robs favourite cheese?

All very good points.

Thank God someone remembered the most important question! :)

If the Club has excommunicated the Trust, the threat to call for a full boycott by fans of club revenues must be a lever the Trust could use to get Power back to talking....

or doing so may be an excuse for power to label them 'busybodies' and try to discredit them.

That didn't work last time though .

1  Is it acceptable to the Trust that the owner of STFC now unilaterally cuts off engagement without explanation with it when
   a.  the supporters have contributed hard earned cash to the Trust and
   b.  the Trust has expended much of that cash and considerable time
in pursuit of a shared ground acquisition.

2.  If not, what does it propose doing about this, if the situation remains the same one month hence?

3.  Any views on whether the present financial clout of intending season ticket renewers/holders may be applied positively for the benefit of the club in a manner secure to them?

If the Club has excommunicated the Trust, the threat to call for a full boycott by fans of club revenues must be a lever the Trust could use to get Power back to talking....
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TBF I would suggest most fans have little or no appetite to put any money into the clubs bank account at present and therefore the trust do not need to communicate this one bit.

How many members does the trust have / of those how many have joined this week?

Have the trust considered going down the Luton Town 2003 approach and being loaned existing shares in the club (Morfuni), to then use ownership of those shares to force the club into receivership in order to remove Power from the club?

This method removed Andrew Gurney's toxic ownership at Luton in 2003, and none other than Lee Power was a linked associate of Gurney's at this time.

For disclosure, I'm not clued up on the specific ramifications of this, but may be a possible option.

120+ in the last 24 hours apparently. Very positive news.

Are the Trust in a position to buy any shares in the club should the opportunity arise as and when a new owner is in place? Simliar to what's happened at Newcastle (https://1892pledge.co.uk) and other clubs?

So the Trust has been excommunicated - which of course, suggests it was at some point “communicated” (!). Through all of the discussions with Lee Power and his CEO puppet, has the Trust felt a genuine willingness from them to engage, or was it more a case of the bare minimum from the club?

Is it plausible to think that Clem Morfuni has already reached an agreement with Standing to buy his shares assuming Standing wins his case against Power? This would make Clem the majority shareholder.

Yeah! Light the blue touch paper and stand well back, no, further than that.

Someone posted the link to join STFC trust today but fucked if I can find it now.

I assume it is this:
https://www.redarmyfund.co.uk/

Have I got that right or is that a Power Backed Scam to fleece me even further?

PS - who ever said earlier that they were expecting Bricktop to pop round to feed one us to the piggies had me pissing myself

Rich, could you ask Rob if he’s aware if Clem had any contact with Michael Standing?

Are the Trust aware of any criminal investigations or interest from law enforcement with regards to the club and individuals involved. If so what kind of impact could this have on the club?

Can the trust sort their multiple website heĺl out...

Sent from my SM-A125F

and make it clearer the red army fund IS membership.

it didn't used to be

Glad it is not just me a little confused, though I am, of course, a cunt soapy tit wank

~300 before that

You're welcome. We all need a little humour in adversity.

Surely, the crux of this problem is that Power hadn’t given any shares to Standing who thinks he owns 50% of Power’s share and Power thinks he doesn’t.

I think he meant IF Standing wins.

i.e. agreement in principle.

Problem is, Imo, that the court case is too far away. Needs resolving out of court now

Hopefully PaulD will be along to tell me I'm totally wrong. But...

There is always a dilemma of "what to do" for town fans regarding season tickets.
   - Will buying one give Power a last pay day
   - Will not buying one kill the club

Some fans simply don't want to boycott. And they be respected in their decision, especially after the year we've all had.

The same thing happened under Diamandis. IIRC  The trust (under Wolfie Davis leadership) recommended that if you were getting on, then buying a season ticket on credit card was a good way to go since the payments were paid pro rata to the club monthly.  Plus, you know, section 75 protection...

Probably not a direct question for Rob, but something to think ...

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None of what I have written makes sense though - maybe it was finance - that seems more likely...

That is a similar situation with asking the sponsors not to continue, the revenue is needed towards the running costs. The assumption that Power pockets all the revenue from it is too simplistic

Only saving grace with that is that those funds are usually paid upfront and in pre season so they will not be taking any out as such and with no one renewing hopefully it will just force his hand even more

Why was in it in your press release you mentioned that you had put a notice into the court at Clem's request backing him, Clem is trying to block power from selling to Able or putting the club into administration but the adver mentioned Standing had also added to this to block Power, can you clarify ?

Why do you think Lee Power does not want to communicate with yourselves or Clem ?

Did Clem hear anything when he made his offer to purchase the club ?

Have you had any communication with Michael Standing ?

Has there been any communication from anyone to yourselves about the FA charges ?

Assuming Power (or Standing / Barry) is putting no more money not the club and the administration option gets blocked, not able to sell to Able and refusing to sell to Clem is he then able to sit back and watch the go down the pan with debts mounting, HMRC not being paid and waiting for the first winding up petition

Do you know if the clubs are meeting / paying current bill's / players wages (and on time)

Assume if Clem offer is accepted he will then do due diligence on current debt, and check the cupboards for skeletons

Players were paid up to last month.

I think we should be grateful to whoever is funding the club through this as it sure as hell isn’t Power.

Grateful in the short term, but what are they getting in return?

This is THE big question, its obviously not Power, he himself stated he can't afford to keep us afloat.

A son that plays centre back for a league 1 side?

Whoever is paying, at least they haven't had to worry about goal/win bonuses.

Maybe that's why we keep losing and not scoring.................nah surely not..........surely?

Weirdly i would actually accept that if it was keeping us afloat and the only thing he wanted in return

same here

I was ok with it when it was a place in the squad and FLT appearances.

well not ok, but understanding is a necessary evil.

But I'm not OK with it now

Yeah that's understandable.

are we, the trust, now going to buy the freehold?

Well no, possibly yes.

As was posted the other day the council were all for a JV. However, things have taken a sudden twist haven’t they? As I see it until the club situation is resolved it is off.

However, if the club survives with new owners (in any division) and the trust and council ‘trust’ them enough to do deal then the original agreement could be resurrected surely? If the club folds completely and the trust are the only viable option they could still buy it if the council will let them. Without a club, income and or the trust owning it and taking on the upkeep and liabilities the council would be stuck with a dilapidated asset, no income and likely no appetite to spend tax payers money on something that is not going to get a return anytime soon, so in theory yes the trust ‘could’ buy it on their own. Then what?

The correct answer.

Wasn't there a backer for the Trust at the start of the CG purchase before the 50/50 joint venture and talk of ambitious redevelopment plans?.

Feels like Power has cut off his nose to spite his face. Without the JV with the trust the club is worth less (or even worthless) especially with the goodwill of the supporters going south rapidly.

Yes, there was talk of a redeveloped Town End that was to cost in the region of £10m. It was apparently going to be completely different to any other stand considered 'normal' although I can't remember the exact ins & outs!
I'm sure it involved the club not seeing any profitability from it for some considerable time. I remember it being an intriguing proposition though.
No doubt somebody on here will remember more about it or be able to resurrect an old thread with the content.

Would a purchase by the Trust and somebody else put a spanner in the Able works? If they’re prepared to get in cahoots with Power’s dodgy dealings, they can fuck right off.

Have you ever met Steve Anderson face to face, can you confirm he is actually a real person?

Sent from my SM-A125F

https://soundcloud.com/lspod/274-qa-with-rob-angus-trust-stfc

thanks Rich/Rob

Thanks for doing this. Good listen, of sorts.

Thanks both, an informative listen. Between this and the Price of Football, my morning run was entirely Rob Angus dominated :)

My mates who work at the club both work very closely with Steve Anderson and yes he most definately is real he just stays out of the spolight.

Much like Seamus brady, many fans seem to think he is a figment of the clubs imagination but he works very hard behind the scenes and is apparently a very likeable chap.

I wasn't being altogether serious.

However, one has to wonder whether, if he prefers to keep out of the spotlight, working as Chief Executive in such a public facing business for an owner who likes to keep out of the spotlight even more is the best career choice?

Unlike Power I'd imagine he'll remain a UK resident so probably didn't want his face too well known when shit hit the fan, which obviously it has now...

supporters club holding more Q&A with Vic hosting and trust in da house, 6pm
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🚨Monday Night Double Header

18:00 @swindonred chats to @TrustSTFC Board Members @socialPolly, @JSPhotographyUK and Stuart Wollard to discuss thier busy week!

19:00 Join us On The Sofa with @Gabs50Zakuani as we discuss his football career

LIVE 👉 https://t.co/AhpBKdGCxM

#STFC
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BBC wilts have scheduled a phone in at the same time 🤷‍♂️

I don't actually see the point of the BBC one if there will be no one from the club to answer the questions.

The BBC Wilts phone in with zero guests by the sounds of it? less a Q&A and more just a Q, or a chance for fans to just have a rant? Either way, seems a bit pointless.

agree it does seem to be a bit pointless.

was kind of expecting more on Social Media about things as they are.

but hey, if fans want to let off steam then go for it

it's just the schedule that's a pain

The sceptical in me wonders if the scheduling is kind of the point?

you're not the first

both will be available after the fact anyway.