Trust Elections

Mate, it's that kind of reaction that doesn't do the Trust any favours. I'm not criticising the Trust totally. Like I said, I like the idea of it but it's just something that hasn't been managed in the right way.

If you can drum up support and get it promoted to the fans then all the power to you, I'd back you all the way but I think the amount of apathy amongst our fans towards the Trust shows how little impact it's having on the supporter base.

My reaction? It's simple. If you ain't happy with it, join it and change it. I agree, there's apathy and even hostility. I want to change that but if the few on here who are members now opt out, how's that gonna help?

so how much did the bucket collections make then towards the Fred Kenor statue coz nobody from the Trust has bothered to inform any of its members yet ??

Mate, it's that kind of reaction that doesn't do the Trust any favours. I'm not criticising the Trust totally. Like I said, I like the idea of it but it's just something that hasn't been managed in the right way.

If you can drum up support and get it promoted to the fans then all the power to you, I'd back you all the way but I think the amount of apathy amongst our fans towards the Trust shows how little impact it's having on the supporter base.

My reaction? It's simple. If you ain't happy with it, join it and change it. I agree, there's apathy and even hostility. I want to change that but if the few on here who are members now opt out, how's that gonna help?

There's your first challenge Dreamlike! You're a well respected member and I included always enjoy reading your posts. You've got a job on your hands though to change the mentality towards the Trust. Maybe look at ways to get the Trust more proactive with the fans and increase awareness and excitement?

I'm not joking now but I'd love a Trust where the fans embody it. If everyone from here joined the Trust then that would be great. It's the Trust's job now though to get people involved. It won't be easy but it's possible.

so how much did the bucket collections make then towards the Fred Kenor statue coz nobody from the Trust has bothered to inform any of its members yet ??

I heard £2,500 or thereabouts. A great effort.

thats good but another 1 of your tasks is better communication to all its members plus a statement posted on the message boards and the Trust website thanking the fans and the collectors would have been a nice touch too ! Well done everyone involved tho

Mate, it's that kind of reaction that doesn't do the Trust any favours. I'm not criticising the Trust totally. Like I said, I like the idea of it but it's just something that hasn't been managed in the right way.

If you can drum up support and get it promoted to the fans then all the power to you, I'd back you all the way but I think the amount of apathy amongst our fans towards the Trust shows how little impact it's having on the supporter base.

My reaction? It's simple. If you ain't happy with it, join it and change it. I agree, there's apathy and even hostility. I want to change that but if the few on here who are members now opt out, how's that gonna help?

There's your first challenge Dreamlike! You're a well respected member and I included always enjoy reading your posts. You've got a job on your hands though to change the mentality towards the Trust. Maybe look at ways to get the Trust more proactive with the fans and increase awareness and excitement?

I'm not joking now but I'd love a Trust where the fans embody it. If everyone from here joined the Trust then that would be great. It's the Trust's job now though to get people involved. It won't be easy but it's possible.

Thanks, mate. You're right it's a massive challenge and I've crossed swords with some already. I'm intending to shake it up or die in the attempt (not literally but if in 12 months time it's not changed substantially, I'll be off as well).

Meanwhile, can I appeal to the good people on here to join and get involved in changing it for the better instead of knocking it?

thats good but another 1 of your tasks is better communication to all its members plus a statement posted on the message boards and the Trust website thanking the fans and the collectors would have been a nice touch too ! Well done everyone involved tho

It's on the list Martyn, along with plenty of other stuff.

how about a monthy update showing the fund total so everyone can see how its progressing ?

Here we go again. If you all wanted Tony so badly, why didn't you join up and vote for him?

Easy to snipe from the sidelines, boys. Either join up or shut up.

Mike I respect you highly and I think you are ideal for the Trust (& that is not intended as an insult)

I can understand the 'join up and change it' view but it is also an easy excuse for those in charge to hide behind when they face criticism. Please don’t follow them and do the same, we don’t need the same old.

My advice for what it is worth is if people have grumbles listen to them even if they are directed at you. We all know the Trust bollocks up over the protest march and have a poor attitude to some members of this board. But that doesn’t mean our opinions should be shunned by hiding behind an array of excuses and keeping things as a closed shop.

The Trust needs more vocal members if it is to change for the better and I hope you will be so in a responsible way.

Just to show you what I mean I went to the recent open meeting of the Trust Board and I was very concerned about some of things I saw. Whilst the main players like Tim, Tracy and Phil are very professional in the way they go about things, they do lack a cutting edge when it comes to possible confrontation.

Without going into detail there was an issue with the Trust's bank account and charges which were being applied. The bank was clearly out of order and action was needed.

However they took 20 minutes to decide whether they were going to write a letter of complaint about an issue which had been occurring for months! Frankly the letter should have already gone out ages before and there was no real need to debate the issue it was clear cut.

The issue of away day membership was brought up and even though Sludge tried to argue the case it was dismissed out of hand without even a referral to the membership or sub-committee. Same thing happened with membership fees when Sludge tried to get them to see that the system was far too complicated and expensive.

I brought up the issue of the season tickets and the likes of Chippy who hadn’t renewed so far and couldn’t afford £300 in one go before 1 May. I asked them to take this up with the new owners after 22 May if we got promoted.

There was a look of horror on some faces and the excuses to avoid confrontation started spilling out. I was told that I was making ‘assumptions’ in that there might not be ‘new owners’ to talk to. Well in all honesty that didn’t really matter because if the old ones were still there then I expected the Trust to take it up with them!

Eventually they agreed to look at it again after 22 May, but of course Annis has already sorted it any way with TG/Borley.

My point is Mike the job you have is going to be a hard one should you try to change things, but if you want the Status Quo then it is a very easy one.

Here we go again. If you all wanted Tony so badly, why didn't you join up and vote for him?

Easy to snipe from the sidelines, boys. Either join up or shut up.

Mike I respect you highly and I think you are ideal for the Trust (& that is not intended as an insult)

I can understand the 'join up and change it' view but it is also an easy excuse for those in charge to hide behind when they face criticism. Please don’t follow them and do the same, we don’t need the same old.

My advice for what it is worth is if people have grumbles listen to them even if they are directed at you. We all know the Trust bollocks up over the protest march and have a poor attitude to some members of this board. But that doesn’t mean our opinions should be shunned by hiding behind an array of excuses and keeping things as a closed shop.

The Trust needs more vocal members if it is to change for the better and I hope you will be so in a responsible way.

Just to show you what I mean I went to the recent open meeting of the Trust Board and I was very concerned about some of things I saw. Whilst the main players like Tim, Tracy and Phil are very professional in the way they go about things, they do lack a cutting edge when it comes to possible confrontation.

Without going into detail there was an issue with the Trust's bank account and charges which were being applied. The bank was clearly out of order and action was needed.

However they took 20 minutes to decide whether they were going to write a letter of complaint about an issue which had been occurring for months! Frankly the letter should have already gone out ages before and there was no real need to debate the issue it was clear cut.

The issue of away day membership was brought up and even though Sludge tried to argue the case it was dismissed out of hand without even a referral to the membership or sub-committee. Same thing happened with membership fees when Sludge tried to get them to see that the system was far too complicated and expensive.

I brought up the issue of the season tickets and the likes of Chippy who hadn’t renewed so far and couldn’t afford £300 in one go before 1 May. I asked them to take this up with the new owners after 22 May if we got promoted.

There was a look of horror on some faces and the excuses to avoid confrontation started spilling out. I was told that I was making ‘assumptions’ in that there might not be ‘new owners’ to talk to. Well in all honesty that didn’t really matter because if the old ones were still there then I expected the Trust to take it up with them!

Eventually they agreed to look at it again after 22 May, but of course Annis has already sorted it any way with TG/Borley.

My point is Mike the job you have is going to be a hard one should you try to change things, but if you want the Status Quo then it is a very easy one.

Tony, I can assure you I don't want the status quo. I'm all out to change things for the better. Your observations confirm my thoughts about some backbone being needed.

If it is £2,500 personally I think that's piss poor, the Rams with the help of the CCSC raised £13,000 with one bucket collection for the Tsunami appeal and we had a crowd of only 15,000 that day.I didn't even see a bucket on my way in way out or in the ground, something just ain't right and whilst |I did give serious thought about standing for election and trying to help, some people I spoke to high up in the club,helped sway my opinion, I would have liked to think I could have helped to change things, but it may be the people there at present are happy the way things are and don't want change.

Democracy is needed, structure and organisation is important, but it would appear that more effort is taken making sure everything is P.C. and in line with National guidleines etc. that sorting out and generating more red tape is leaving liitle time for issues that stimulate interest and support from the masses.

If it is £2,500 personally I think that's piss poor, the Rams with the help of the CCSC raised £13,000 with one bucket collection for the Tsunami appeal and we had a crowd of only 15,000 that day.I didn't even see a bucket on my way in way out or in the ground, something just ain't right and whilst |I did give serious thought about standing for election and trying to help, some people I spoke to high up in the club,helped sway my opinion, I would have liked to think I could have helped to change things, but it may be the people there at present are happy the way things are and don't want change.

Democracy is needed, structure and organisation is important, but it would appear that more effort is taken making sure everything is P.C. and in line with National guidleines etc. that sorting out and generating more red tape is leaving liitle time for issues that stimulate interest and support from the masses.

I see what you're saying Gwyn but using a comparison between a statue fund and an appeal fund for a travesty where hundreds of thousands of people died isn't really the best one to use!

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

I REGRET I ever renewed, But I will Never make that mistake again.

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

my views are the same Gareth and it looks like I gave them £60 for f**k all really !

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

I REGRET I ever renewed, But I will Never make that mistake again.

Never say never. I still think there is hope for the Trust. It just needs to re-evaluate how it approaches itself with the fans. It needs to represent, not lead.

I agee a disaster and a statue fund can not be compared, but when you are asking people for only a pound, I can't imagine anyone really holding back a pound because it isn't as worthy a cause as a disaster.I am questioning more the enthusiasm or lack of it to get out there amongst the fans and be far more pro active, was it apathy of the fans to the Trust, the statue or was it simply a lack of application on the night.

My god if they'd been standing outside all the exits after the game the feel good factor amongst us all would have generated enough cash to at least make a dent in the 100,000 pounds needed for the statue.

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

I REGRET I ever renewed, But I will Never make that mistake again.

I'm giving it one more chance to see if Mike can ruffle a few feathers and make them see how I (as a member) feel.
I don't expect to be consulted on every little matter , but something as big as a show of lack in confidence in the chairman (ie the march) should have been put to the membership. If the members had voted against the Trust backing the march then I would accept the Trust staying clear of any public backing (I'd still have marched myself tho).

Thanks Annis for giving me a platform on which I could show my lack of confidence in the chairman. And , good luck Mike , get in there and shake it up !!!!

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

I REGRET I ever renewed, But I will Never make that mistake again.

Never say never. I still think there is hope for the Trust. It just needs to re-evaluate how it approaches itself with the fans. It needs to represent, not lead.

"represent, not lead" - very good words , exactly the point I'm trying to make !!!!

I agee a disaster and a statue fund can not be compared, but when you are asking people for only a pound, I can't imagine anyone really holding back a pound because it isn't as worthy a cause as a disaster.I am questioning more the enthusiasm or lack of it to get out there amongst the fans and be far more pro active, was it apathy of the fans to the Trust, the statue or was it simply a lack of application on the night.

My god if they'd been standing outside all the exits after the game the feel good factor amongst us all would have generated enough cash to at least make a dent in the 100,000 pounds needed for the statue.

Very true - I had a couple of quid in my pocket for the bucket - yet didn't see one. We actually went looking too. I was lucky to be with Tony , so gave it to him to pass on , but most people didn't have that option

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

my views are the same Gareth and it looks like I gave them £60 for f**k all really !

If it helps, I feel pretty much the same as you 2.

The problem for me, Dreamy one, is that the Trust was lauded as giving fans the voice, the power.

What we''ve seen with the elections is that, assuming 4 votes per person, there was a low number of people voting, compared to the numbers the trust has claimed as members.

If they can't be bothered to vote - or indeed, are young children who cant vote, signed up by mum/dad - then the simple argument is that members *paying* to be in the trust are generally apathetic.

The fact Dai Hunt even got a single vote just shows there are people voting for shits and giggles. Obviously, in a democracy he's free to stand, people free to vote for him, but if he'd actually got in, it would have been a black eye for the trust on a credibility level, because clearly the members would have been more interested in voting for a joke candidate.

It's obvious that for the Trust to survive, things need to change - more power to you if that's your goal. Things I'd suggest are looking to see the attrition rates of members - it's all well and good claimng 900 members, but it's unique households that's the relevant figure. If there's say a churn of 25% a year of people not renewing, then that's something you need to address as to why they are not renewing - maybe send a letter / email out to those people to get feedback?

Unless the Trust can address those issues, and there's willingness on a wider scale to do so as one person can't change the world, over time the Trust won't realistically have any claim of "power" or representation for the fanbase, as the fanbase is rejecting the notion. And then why should any owner, director of the club have meetings with an organisation clearly not representing anywhere near a majority of fans?

I have been seriously contemplating whether I wish to remain a member of the Trust. At the initial meeting , I was very impressed with the ideology behind it (ie the idea that every Trust member is equal and has an equal say) , but on the biggest recent issue (the march) , I was not contacted by the Trust for my opinion. Surely a simple email ballot would have sufficed (perhaps I'm not as equal as others , therefore my view on what should happen doesn't count).
I marched with pride , but would at least liked to have had my say in Trust backing for the event.

I shall stay a member and see if Mike can change attitudes (it's a pity Tony's not alongside him) , but if not then I'll be cancelling my membership.

my views are the same Gareth and it looks like I gave them £60 for f**k all really !

If it helps, I feel pretty much the same as you 2.

You have chance to tell them how some members are feeling now Mike. It's been like Animal Farm (Orwell's book , not the film ya dirty buggas).

I agee a disaster and a statue fund can not be compared, but when you are asking people for only a pound, I can't imagine anyone really holding back a pound because it isn't as worthy a cause as a disaster.I am questioning more the enthusiasm or lack of it to get out there amongst the fans and be far more pro active, was it apathy of the fans to the Trust, the statue or was it simply a lack of application on the night.

My god if they'd been standing outside all the exits after the game the feel good factor amongst us all would have generated enough cash to at least make a dent in the 100,000 pounds needed for the statue.

Very true - I had a couple of quid in my pocket for the bucket - yet didn't see one. We actually went looking too. I was lucky to be with Tony , so gave it to him to pass on , but most people didn't have that option

I saw 2 buckets down by the Walk gates .......................... and as for voting for Dai Hunt then yes I did but because I knew there are other Trust committee members and not just him making decisions and the main reason I voted for him was the fact that he's CCFC's most enthusiastic fan plus I had 4 votes anyway so why waste 1 on somebody Ive never heared of ? I bet more people know or have heared of Dai then anybody else on the Trust ?

What I find sad about the whole thing is the total votes add up to around 620, now when you consider that each person could make 4 votes and you would assume most people used their whole 4 votes, then just over 155 people voted in total.

And out of the 155 voters, some of them would have obviosly come out of the same household, not suggseting that anyone would tell their wives who or how to vote, but I'll leave it to your own imagination to work out if it could have happened.

Not getting a dig in, but hardly a mass dmonstration of grass root broad spectrum interest, but don't know how they can turn it around or solve the apathy.

you could argue the same about MB and fans pressure in general.

How many of the 26,000 odd read or write on here? How many of them went on the demonstration.

Small acorns. But I agree to gain more credibility and carry on the good work done by Corky and others the rust needs to get more members and support. Well done to all those volunteers as it must be a committment of time and effort.

That's democracy gentlemen and clearly some of you don't like it.

It's very sad, childish even, for people to now resign from CCST just because their favoured candidates didn't get elected.

Surely the mature attitude is to remain a member and change from within. After all, you have a committee member who's a regular poster on here so you can vent your spleens at him.

Perhaps a little less "sniping" (this boards favourite word at times) and a little more constructive criticism wouldn't go amiss? Although some posters do make fair criticisms of CCST, there are far to many who just throw abuse.

I find that rather sad as we are so close to moving into an exciting new era at our great club. A time I never forsaw in my 42 years of watching the Bluebirds.

I agee a disaster and a statue fund can not be compared, but when you are asking people for only a pound, I can't imagine anyone really holding back a pound because it isn't as worthy a cause as a disaster.I am questioning more the enthusiasm or lack of it to get out there amongst the fans and be far more pro active, was it apathy of the fans to the Trust, the statue or was it simply a lack of application on the night.

My god if they'd been standing outside all the exits after the game the feel good factor amongst us all would have generated enough cash to at least make a dent in the 100,000 pounds needed for the statue.

they probably wanted to watch the game Gwyn.

Personally I thought £2800 was a good shout when I was told about it today.

Sorry lads unlike our brilliant football team I failed to make the cut on the Trust Elections, results shown below.

1. Phil Nifield 147 votes
2. Anthony Wedlake 137 votes
3. Mike Roderick 114 votes
4. Gareth Jones 83 votes
5. Brian Mertens 77 votes
6. Anthony Williams 53 votes
7. David Hunt 08 votes

So Phil Nifield, Anthony Wedlake, Mike Roderick and Gareth Jones are elected to the Trust Board. On the bright side Mike Roderick (Dreamlike or Chic) did make it with a very creditable 114 votes.

Unlucky Tony, i for one voted for you, but congratulations to the other 4.

Both Phil and Anthony are very hard working and have done an enormous amount for the Trust, and Gareth had a very good written presntation to back him up, Mike we all know off here, all 4 of them were very good candidates.

For those who don't know these guys you are SO wrong to be whinging about the results. Tony would have been excellent, but these lads all deserve a fair crack too.

Claude,

From the election figures, 619 votes were counted.

Last membership figure I heard quoted as 950. I'll use that as a base figure for calculations.

Best case? Each member only voted once. That would mean 65% of members voted. Worst case as I believe members had 4 votes they could use, 16% of the members of the trust voted. We know, as people have stated here, they used the four votes, hence it's perfectly reasonable to believe the true percentage is closer to the worst case scenario than the best case scenario. Granted, I'd expect there was an age restrcition which prevented a number of young kids voting, but still not ideal from people you'd expect to be more committed.

Which would indicate that the average member is pretty apathetic. Want the idea of the Trust, want to pay to be in it, just not really that bothered about the policies and direction it should take.

Now, taking that best case scenario, of 1 person 1 vote, 619 members took part in the democratic elections out of a possible 950. 950 members, taking a base figure of 15k STs, is 6% of the fanbase that can be considered "committed". If 619 voted, that figure drops to 4%. Obviously that figure decreases based upon the lower the number of people voting was.

We know the trust get media coverage, comments are regularly printed in the Echo when views sought. The point being, unless the trust can figure out a way to actively recruit more members who want to take part actively, it'll be a footprint in the sand within a few years. The key figure any Trust offical needs is the retention rate - some people will have joined for the novelty, then not renewed. Some will have become disgruntled and not renewed.

It's the case, like it or not, that for whatever reason the Trust - either the idea of the Trust, the actions of the trust or the leadership of the Trust have not grasped the hearts and minds of supporters out there. With that in mind, unless things change around, the Trust will be left an irrelevance as it doesn't have the weight of numbers behind it.

To get things into perspective, the march organised here, organised virally, without meetings and subcommittees attracted what, 2k people. Which is double the Trust membership.

So whilst you want constructive criticism only, I post the question back to you. Without having anywhere near the backing of a substantial number of fans, how can the club, media, other fans be expected to take the trust seriously? I mean, the letter "reminding" Paul Guy of what to do for example. How credible does the Trust look doing that when the numbers are so small?

That's democracy gentlemen and clearly some of you don't like it.

It's very sad, childish even, for people to now resign from CCST just because their favoured candidates didn't get elected.

Surely the mature attitude is to remain a member and change from within. After all, you have a committee member who's a regular poster on here so you can vent your spleens at him.

Perhaps a little less "sniping" (this boards favourite word at times) and a little more constructive criticism wouldn't go amiss? Although some posters do make fair criticisms of CCST, there are far to many who just throw abuse.

I find that rather sad as we are so close to moving into an exciting new era at our great club. A time I never forsaw in my 42 years of watching the Bluebirds.

Claude, Its Not Sniping My Opinion OF THE TRUST is they dont achieve anything and Do not represent hardly anyone, Its a Joke.