Trust STFC message

[Phil_S]

Just wanted to let you all know that the Trust have sent out a newsletter today (by e-mail). It has been sent to current & recent members. If you want a copy or feel you should have had a copy please pm me with your name & e-mail address & I will send you a copy.

The headlines are as follows:

Following discussions with the club the Trust have bought shares in the football club.
The Trust AGM is on Wednesday 20th April at 6.30 pm at the County Ground. (Trophy Room)
The Red Army Fund is still very much alive & kicking
The New Trust Website will be online shortly

I will try to put the full news letter here (attached) for any who are interested

[Reg Smeeton]

 A while back I did post suggesting that it might be as well for the Trust to become active again.

These are dark days of a different kind, our worst Div 3 season since its formation in 58. Now it might be that this will have no knock on effect, I hope so, but it could just as easily presage, the present Board deciding enough is enough and looking to sell up.


I realise it's easy for me to sit on my fat arse and suggest other people do stuff, but are there any people left out there with a commitment, or has it all been swept away on a season of atrophy?

[Simon Pieman]

Is it really our worst div 3 season sice 1958? You haven't mentioned it before.

[Arriba]

i would hope the board would try and put right the mess,rather than jump ship.
i have no reason to think they will fuck off and leave us in more shit than we are already in

[london_red]

i would hope the board would try and put right the mess,rather than jump ship.
i have no reason to think they will fuck off and leave us in more shit than we are already in

Especially as they've sunk £8m or whatever it was into the club.

[Reg Smeeton]

Is it really our worst div 3 season sice 1958? You haven't mentioned it before.

For some reason I felt impelled to repeat the message.

[Reg Smeeton]

i would hope the board would try and put right the mess,rather than jump ship.
i have no reason to think they will fuck off and leave us in more shit than we are already in

I would hope so to....but you may recall an emotional Fitton talking about walking away at the end of last season, disillusioned.

Many fans have already stated they'll be doing the same....and the Board aren't even fans.

[Moose]

I would hope so to....but you may recall an emotional Fitton talking about walking away at the end of last season, disillusioned.

Which has since been qualified by Fitton as having been to do with the Diamandis court case... So I don't think you should take much notice of that statement.

[pauld]

Reg has a point here, it is a worry - I don't think they'd jump ship (although I wonder whether they might rearrange things a bit to make Fitton a bit less "front of house") but they've often said that they'd match the ambition the town shows for it's football club and I think they measure that in season ticket sales. So you could well see a kind of "dance of death" where fans say "I'm not buying a season ticket till the board put it right" (ie by chucking a chunk of money at the team) and the board think "Well we're going to limit how much more we put in until the fans show they're willing to play their part again". Resulting in a kind of spiral of mutual disillusionment. Who I think were a concept band in the 70s.

[Reg Smeeton]

Reg has a point here, it is a worry - I don't think they'd jump ship (although I wonder whether they might rearrange things a bit to make Fitton a bit less "front of house") but they've often said that they'd match the ambition the town shows for it's football club and I think they measure that in season ticket sales. So you could well see a kind of "dance of death" where fans say "I'm not buying a season ticket till the board put it right" (ie by chucking a chunk of money at the team) and the board think "Well we're going to limit how much more we put in until the fans show they're willing to play their part again". Resulting in a kind of spiral of mutual disillusionment. Who I think were a concept band in the 70s.

Yeah good shout....think they did a funky version of Floyd's...Several Species of Small Fury Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict...it bombed.

[Dr Pierre Chang]

Reg has a point here, it is a worry - I don't think they'd jump ship (although I wonder whether they might rearrange things a bit to make Fitton a bit less "front of house") but they've often said that they'd match the ambition the town shows for it's football club and I think they measure that in season ticket sales. So you could well see a kind of "dance of death" where fans say "I'm not buying a season ticket till the board put it right" (ie by chucking a chunk of money at the team) and the board think "Well we're going to limit how much more we put in until the fans show they're willing to play their part again". Resulting in a kind of spiral of mutual disillusionment. Who I think were a concept band in the 70s.

This is true, but Fitton has been very public with his expectations for the club this season - play offs was the aim he set at the start of the season. He has to put in a fair bit of cash if he expects the club to finish top 6, fair enough we didn't spend big last season but we had that stroke of luck with Austin and we made the play offs. Look at the clubs up there this season - Brighton, Southampton and Huddersfield - the top 3 who have all spent a fair whack and are up at the top because of it.

Fitton expected us to compete with these by spending much less (didn't he laugh off Brighton and Huddersfields challenge?) - and trying to replace our best players on a shoe string. Kevin Blackwell made a good point on the football league preview program on sky sports last week when he said that replacing a £1 million + striker with a player who cost less than £100k is never likely to bring in the same amount of goals. There are of excpetions of course, Austin, but we cannot expect history to repeat itself.

I know of course he has invested, credit to him, some was spent wrongly by Danny Wilson, but if he wants this club to challenge for promotion he has to put in a good amount of money regardless of the number of season ticket holders.

[leefer]

This is true, but Fitton has been very public with his expectations for the club this season - play offs was the aim he set at the start of the season. He has to put in a fair bit of cash if he expects the club to finish top 6, fair enough we didn't spend big last season but we had that stroke of luck with Austin and we made the play offs. Look at the clubs up there this season - Brighton, Southampton and Huddersfield - the top 3 who have all spent a fair whack and are up at the top because of it.

Fitton expected us to compete with these by spending much less (didn't he laugh off Brighton and Huddersfields challenge?) - and trying to replace our best players on a shoe string. Kevin Blackwell made a good point on the football league preview program on sky sports last week when he said that replacing a £1 million + striker with a player who cost less than £100k is never likely to bring in the same amount of goals. There are of excpetions of course, Austin, but we cannot expect history to repeat itself.

I know of course he has invested, credit to him, some was spent wrongly by Danny Wilson, but if he wants this club to challenge for promotion he has to put in a good amount of money regardless of the number of season ticket holders.

Agree...really good post that.

[Simon Pieman]

I think the problem is no matter how well we do in league one we'll always have a ceiling on our attendances/season ticket uptake.

I think it's more likely the price of watching Swindon will rise if we have a good season next time and return to league one than Fitton and friends leaving us dead and buried. Don't forget Fitton has his reputation to think about too.

[Batch]

Reg has a point here, it is a worry - I don't think they'd jump ship (although I wonder whether they might rearrange things a bit to make Fitton a bit less "front of house")

Fitton himself said he thought 2-3 years as chairman was enough, things need freshening up from time to time. I would not be surprised to see him step down (not leave the club) at the end of the year. That said, he seem a determined chap. Maybe he will decide to stay and try and undo the bad season.

[nochee]

A while back I did post suggesting that it might be as well for the Trust to become active again.

These are dark days of a different kind, our worst Div 3 season since its formation in 58. Now it might be that this will have no knock on effect, I hope so, but it could just as easily presage, the present Board deciding enough is enough and looking to sell up.


I realise it's easy for me to sit on my fat arse and suggest other people do stuff, but are there any people left out there with a commitment, or has it all been swept away on a season of atrophy?

Plant the seed and the whole thread turns into "Is Fitton leaving?" Maybe, just maybe it's a thread about the STFC trust?