[Archived] Rovers Trust

[Paul]

Who would represent you on the board? A utd season ticket holder

The Trust membership would decide who represented them on the board. It would not be for the Steering Group to decide. Just for interest and I doubt it would happen at Ewood some years ago Bolton had a Rovers season ticket holder on their board! It has happened elsewhere.

or a committee member who got threw out at Bristol for threatening fans? ( is the second point true or a rumour)

Abbey firstly there isn't a committee, there is a steering group. That isn't a dig but I don't want anyone having the impression we perceive ourselves as a committee. Again it would be the membership who decide who represented them on the board.

As for the rumour you mention, I've heard it as well. Sometime ago in fact. It's a rumour, I don't more than that. I wasn't at Bristol.

[ABBEY]

Cheers Paul , like I said just want truth that's all.

[Paul]

I'll try to do my best Abbey. I'm going to get the bike out now so any more will have to wait till later.

Might head over to Rishton and block the roads for a bit

[ABBEY]

To late I've broke me empty stellad around cut wood .. Popped tyres

[glen9mullan]

To my knowledge none of the steering committee are United Season ticket holders, one has a box at United, but thats purely in a professional capacity to entertain clients as they didnt get one at Ewood this year.

Regarding the rumour of one being ejected at Bristol for threatening supporters, sadly this is true

[Ricky]

Thanks for shedding some light on it Glen, I've been speaking to Abbey and said similar to the first part although I had a different view of the second as I thought the person in question was still there at the end of the Bristol game. I am happy (well not happy, but you know what I mean) to be corrected on that as I was just watching the game with my wife.

[AggyBlue]

Again it would be the membership who decide who represented them on the board.

A seat on the board keeps being mentioned. What makes you so sure the trust would be offered a seat if they acquired a percentage of the club?

I also have noticed that many trust supporters have in the past voiced concerns and disgust at fans meddling in the clubs affairs, isn't this hypocritical in supporting the trust seeking to gain a seat on the board?

[ABBEY]

To my knowledge none of the steering committee are United Season ticket holders, one has a box at United, but thats purely in a professional capacity to entertain clients as they didnt get one at Ewood this year.

Regarding the rumour of one being ejected at Bristol for threatening supporters, sadly this is true

Would a box / table not entail a season ticket ?

[Parsonblue]

I've been think this one through Parson while I replied to Mark's point above. Both posts are my personal view as I try to answer supporters' questions. I think you're both asking the same question though coming from different directions? Baz has also made the point regarding the Trust's stated willingness to be in discussion with any potential owner or future owner.

Is my distinction between working at board level on a day to day basis and shareholder influence the answer to your question? I think it is. None of us know what the future brings and we could see a situation where several bodies hold shares in the club, at that point shareholder influence increases in importance in deciding the club's future direction. The Trust doesn't seek confrontation but influence on behalf of the support and as a shareholder there would be two different opportunities to bring influence to bear.

I'd just add here in the past I have been a company director and minor shareholder, it wasn't as grand as it sounds!. On a daily basis I was responsible for product development and sales - sometimes great, sometimes a real grind. On a longer term I, along with two colleagues, reported back to our owner's main board and tried to influence their decisions on investing in the company's future. This is where I draw my distinction from

Thanks for that Paul. I appreciate you taking the time to answer and I think I can see the distinction you are making although I remain to be convinced that the Trust is a workable or good idea. If the Trust became shareholders surely there would have to be an election onto the board and if the majority shareholders - be it Venky's or another group - wanted to fill the board with their own people they would have the votes to do it.

[Tom]

To my knowledge none of the steering committee are United Season ticket holders, one has a box at United, but thats purely in a professional capacity to entertain clients as they didnt get one at Ewood this year.

Regarding the rumour of one being ejected at Bristol for threatening supporters, sadly this is true

The first point is pretty much an irrelevance but the second sadly is disappointing and for me should have been dealt with and I'm sure the guy in question (heard the name but don't know the bloke) won't get elected to a position if people are aware of it

[Ste B]

Two sides to every story. Theres a different one told by the person in question. Ultimately this was the problem with the protests / kean out chanting, it divided the fans irrepairably.

[Paul]

Thanks for that Paul. I appreciate you taking the time to answer and I think I can see the distinction you are making although I remain to be convinced that the Trust is a workable or good idea. If the Trust became shareholders surely there would have to be an election onto the board and if the majority shareholders - be it Venky's or another group - wanted to fill the board with their own people they would have the votes to do it.

I can only give you my direct personal experience here, I don't know if it applies in this case. If you want a more technical answer I'll get it for you from the relevant person.

It's nearly 30 years since I was a company director. Then I was employed and sat on the board along with two other employees. Our shareholders, there were three, each had a seat on the board and we had a chairman, seven in total. If as employees we wanted to take the company in a certain direction we had to persuade, influence, the shareholders and win the vote, if one was necessary.

Today I'm general manager of a small company and report to my directors who are also the shareholders. Again if I wish to steer the company in a certain direction I have to win their support, in this case if I don't get 100% support it doesn't happen. That's how we are structured and it's what I have to achieve..

This is the extent of my experience and I don't relate it in any form to Rovers or Rovers Trust now or in the future. If you want me to get more please ask.

[glen9mullan]

I must say you answer questions very well and you are great asset to the Rovers Trust, Thanks for answering these questions people are posing as it really does help with the understanding

[only2garners]

Thanks for that Paul. I appreciate you taking the time to answer and I think I can see the distinction you are making although I remain to be convinced that the Trust is a workable or good idea. If the Trust became shareholders surely there would have to be an election onto the board and if the majority shareholders - be it Venky's or another group - wanted to fill the board with their own people they would have the votes to do it.

The reality would be, should we ever get to that stage, that taking a % stake in the club might very well lead to a place on the board - it would certainly be an item in any negotiations. Of course it we were talking about a very small % that would be unlikely but for say a 20% share you would normally expect a place. But it would all be down to negotiations and would completely depend on who the other parties were.

[thenonda]

Can I just remind people that Alisher Usmanov owns 29.92% of Arsenal and does not have anyone on the board....

[Wayne Wild]

For a number of personal and professional reasons I have tried to distance myself from online discussions as I have found ultimately the person asking questions or making comments do not want genuine answers, merely want to create negativity or cause upset to genuine people. I am not accusing anyone on this thread, just my observations of various forums and websites. It is even more difficult when accounts are anonymous, the reasons for this are obvious in that one has no idea who they are potentially conversing with.

However I feel it now necessary to clear this up.

As Group Director of WEC Group I championed the idea of stand sponsorship 4 years ago and was extremely proud, as a lifelong fan and Blackburn born and bred, when the first unveiling was done. We have spent hundreds of thousands of £££s with BRFC in this time and I for one think the management and owners should be proud of what they have done to help support the club.

We also do various projects whether that being free donations of the Darwen Tower or the new spitfire built by our apprentice academy. We also do a number of differing corporate hospitality events for our customers such as The Open Golf, F1, horse racing cards etc etc. the Marketing team decided this year to also purchase a corporate table for 4 at Old Trafford for this season (not a box) due to a high demand from our customers. We also retained our window table for 4 in the Premier suite at Ewood. Both these facilities are used by a vast array of our staff and their customers. Last year we also had a private box but decided not to renew this year. I personally have a season ticket in the Blackburn End.

In reality this is private company business but I can see that it's being used by individuals to personally criticise me and use it as a constant tool of attack. Others above thought they could answer the question for me but obviously did not know or understand the full facts. I would not normally discuss private company business on public forums but decided enough was enough.

So to clarify, ofcourse I am not a Man Utd season ticket holder, I am a BRFC season ticket holder. I have used the MUFC table facilities only once to entertain customers and the BRFC facilities numerous times.

Rovers Trust held their sporting dinner at Ewood that attracted 300 guests and the cost and their spending will have created approx £15000 spending at the club. Rovers Trust also agreed a deal to sponsor Leon Best, again spending money with the club. Last night we held our first annual WEC Group Annual Awards night, again at Ewood, costing many £1000s. It was a fantastic and succesful event. My wife (also company director) and I have an excellent working relationship with the BRFC Commercial team and Northcote.

Hope this clarity's things. If anyone has a genuine and honest questions that they would like answers to on a professional level then please ask me direct by emailing me at waynewild@wecl.co.uk. If there are any specific questions regarding the Rovers Trust then please direct them to me at wayne.wild@roverstrust.co.uk so I can be sure it's a genuine request for information, not to be secretive. If I then don't answer your request to your satisfaction then by all means post away.

[ABBEY]

Cheers for clarity . I wasn't trying to dis credit or anything . I was merly querying what I was told.

[Tom]

Thanks very much for coming on and opening up Wayne

I have said on twitter and on here that I wasn't keen on your comments around the Ian's potential interest that time and that was putting me off initially HOWEVER I realised that was petty of me as we all say regrettable things so I came to the cathedral last week and must say i was impressed with your presentation (I was late but what I saw of it) and indeed the sleekness and professionalism of the whole operation.

I haven't decided yet how I feel about it but I would say everyone would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't at least look into the trust and what it wants to achieve before writing it off.

[Wayne Wild]

Thanks very much for coming on and opening up Wayne

I have said on twitter and on here that I wasn't keen on your comments around the Ian's potential interest that time and that was putting me off initially HOWEVER I realised that was petty of me as we all say regrettable things so I came to the cathedral last week and must say i was impressed with your presentation (I was late but what I saw of it) and indeed the sleekness and professionalism of the whole operation.

I haven't decided yet how I feel about it but I would say everyone would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn't at least look into the trust and what it wants to achieve before writing it off.

Thanks Tom for your comments. Again to clarify. I had personal issues with the process with regards to Ian's potential interest that will remain private so the reasons for the twitter comments were valid. However, in hindsight I acted too quickly and emotionally and should not have put it into the public domain. I have personally apologised to Ian, he accepted my apology and we shook hands and agreed it was now dead. We now have a good relationship again.

I will post a more detailed set of information on Rovers Trust later but the key fundamental point is that we, like 170 other UK supporter trusts, want fans to own a share in the club we support. How big a share depends on how much we can raise and if the current or any future owners agree to sell us a share. We have a very highly committed and driven set of steering group members trying to achieve this. The official membership will vote on the official committee members. The £10 initial membership fee is to enable us to raise funds that are necessary to run an organisation. It is also a rule to have a membership fee governed by the official government body, Supporters Direct, who fully back our trust. No steering group member receives any fees or expenses in any form whatsoever. All their time and efforts are given for free for the cause.

[PAFELL]

Thanks Tom for your comments. Again to clarify. I had personal issues with the process with regards to Ian's potential interest that will remain private so the reasons for the twitter comments were valid. However, in hindsight I acted too quickly and emotionally and should not have put it into the public domain. I have personally apologised to Ian, he accepted my apology and we shook hands and agreed it was now dead. We now have a good relationship again.

I will post a more detailed set of information on Rovers Trust later but the key fundamental point is that we, like 170 other UK supporter trusts, want fans to own a share in the club we support. How big a share depends on how much we can raise and if the current or any future owners agree to sell us a share. We have a very highly committed and driven set of steering group members trying to achieve this. The official membership will vote on the official committee members. The £10 initial membership fee is to enable us to raise funds that are necessary to run an organisation. It is also a rule to have a membership fee governed by the official government body, Supporters Direct, who fully back our trust. No steering group member receives any fees or expenses in any form whatsoever. All their time and efforts are given for free for the cause.

Like Tom, I also was not happy about things you had put on twitter - but thank you for your posts on here clearing things up.

[Paul]

The People's Game in Full Cry

"it is considered very important in Germany that people who do not have very much money are able to come to the stadium"

"We want to have our whole society as part of our football, in our stadiums"

http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2012/dec/01/german-fan-owned-clubs-bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund £9.00 entrance

Average Bundesliga attendance across all clubs 45,000

By law fan ownership must be 50% plus one vote

[PAFELL]

The People's Game in Full Cry

"it is considered very important in Germany that people who do not have very much money are able to come to the stadium"

"We want to have our whole society as part of our football, in our stadiums"

http://m.guardian.co...lubs-bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund £9.00 entrance

Average Bundesliga attendance across all clubs 45,000

By law fan ownership must be 50% plus one vote

Very impressive

[Paul]

Scott Maclachlan on his Walk the 92 expedition visited Ewood for the Bolton game and was the Rovers Trust guest for three nights while he was in the Blackburn area staying at a local hotel for two nights, paid for by Steering Group members, and with a long standing Rovers fan for the third.

Scott is a Pompey Trust board member and gave us a real insight into the workings of the Pompey Trust in their campaign to buy their club from the administrator.

https://twitter.com/...6415104/photo/1

http://www.walkthe92.co.uk/

Any donations supporters can make to towards Scott's chosen charity, Prostate Cancer UK, will be very welcome

http://www.justgiving.com/Walkthe92

[RoverScot]

I hadn't previously warmed to the idea of the Trust for the reasons of lack of financial muscle. However:

If we stay in the Championship for 2-3 more seasons and the financial fair play rules come in, could Rovers being owned and potentially supported more greatly by the fans, actually be more financially advantageous than Venkys continuing to own the club?

If there are more fans coming through the gate and aspects such as a paying sponsor(should be a given for a football club but nevermind Venkys) and the rest of the commercial side being run with more care - could this be better way of running the club than if its run by the current owners through sporadic subsidy that they wouldn't be able to continue to make?

[Ozz]

If any of the discussion on this thread has encouraged you to consider becoming a member of the Rovers Trust, here is a link to our website where you can sign up in a matter of minutes. £10 for a year. Alternatively you may consider buying a years membership for someone as an unusual Christmas present!

Sign Up Page For Rovers Trust