Firstly can I say thank you to all who lent their enthusiasm to the idea of getting a co-ordinated approach towards ensuring as many Eels supporters as possible are able to be stay abreast of what is really happening in Parramatta politics.
To be honest, I thought we’d get 20 or so people and based on that premise, the original email group idea probably would have been suitable. Instead, there were over 100 Eels supporters who either put their hand up in the thread, via private message or email.
That has caused me to have a re-think and to consider whether we cannot achieve something bigger and as such, I would like to propose the idea of establishing the Eels Supporters Trust.
Supporters Trusts are a big deal in the UK. To quote Wikipedia; “a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support”. There are over 140 such clubs in the UK, mainly in soccer but also League and Union and their influence ranges from complete community ownership of teams to simple but significant influence. Indeed, there is an organisation in the UK called Supporters Direct (www.supporters-direct.org) which helps supporter groups to set up these trusts.
I would see the goals of the Supporter’s Trust would be:
1) To ensure all members of the Trust are kept abreast on club matters and to ensure that the board collaborates with members when establishing strategies
2) To give informed supporters a base of strength from which to influence future decision making and strategy
3) To demand appropriate levels of governance and transparency and to be able to take action when those conditions are not being met
4) To act as a lobby group on behalf of supporters, in regards to issues that might relate to the NRL, governments and State Council
I would want the Eels Supporters Trust to be independent of the club, of any political faction, indeed of this website. I would like to create something isn’t dependent on one person to sustain it.
Why do I feel the club needs this:
1) We have a flawed constitution and voting system that can not be trusted to provide a representational view
2) Even with better representational voting, we may end up with popular decisions/elected officials, rather than informed decisions. I think the Trust could help balance this situation.
3) We need to break down the factions that have come about through alliances with past administrations and encourage people to make decisions on policies and abilities not personalities and allegiences
So to be clear, an Eels Supporters Trust is not a “faction”; it won’t tell people how to vote, but it will educate its members and promote informed discussion and debate on key club issues.
Nor would I see that a Supporters Trust would ever put together a “ticket”, but it might endorse candidates who agree with its principles, or it could stand its own director to represent the Trust. I would see that it would have its own (non-remunerated) executive,it’s own membership and be a democratic organisation.
So I guess the question I’m asking all those that expressed an interest in the initial idea is do you think this is too much or is it an idea worth pursuing?
P.S. I also want to make clear that this is very different to the PESC group. This is not to organise supporter buses or social dinners, or whatever. It is purely supporter activism.
Replies
How do we stop this from being a faction or a 1Eyed organisation? Might be tough to be completely impartial.
Is Leagues Club / Football club membership a pre-requisite to join? In order to give it power being a voice for members makes sense otherwise the Trust is merely a loud group of people who don't have the power to effect change through votes.
I need to think through this further.
Phil its a great idea in theory, but to pull it off will be another thing.
It will end up being factional, or seen as factional, and fair enough imo.
Im in, and im willing to see how it goes and see what you can pull off, but the factions are worlds apart, and imo theres no way one can separate a supporter trust from being infiltrated by factions, but i trust your vision is greater than mine, im willing to see it through your bigger picture, im not saying it cant work, who knows it could work and end up being a fantastic idea, its just hard to picture.
Anything that encourages fan's to be educated about the club(s), and to vote in the elections can only be a good thing.
As Muttman says, it will be a significant undertaking. I was a member of the trust that owned my football team before I left the UK, and even from the position of power of literally owning the club, it was difficult to get members involved and keep its own directors open and honest.
But to be honest, you're going to be writing up blogs, informational snippets and opinion pieces around election time regardless. Might as well collect a group of people who are keen to be involved, and hopefully gather enough to keep the guys upstairs honest, and the guys in the bleachers quiet.
An excellent idea but it will be a ton of work and not just in the establishment phase.
Who would do this heavy lifting ?
Get Smokin' Joe Hockey ...he loves that stuff
But seriously, this looks like something Bill Moss could be the figurehead (patron) of.
How could we ensure diversity of opinion?
I liked the email group idea because it was about keeping people informed, I'd worry that this Trust could be used for those in charge of the Trust to direct votes on particular issues, which makes us no better than the existing block voting factions.
So in effect we could become a powerful voting block - think like the gray vote in a federal or state election. That very power would inevitably lead to someone wanting to run for a seat on the board, or perhaps nominating a candidate for election.
Could we, once organised, ask certain people who are considered to possess the skills we think necessary to join us? For example, Bill Moss?
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
of 8 Next