Fleet Trust - A practice in MyFC democracy?

[Tex]

In spite of all the recent developments and news the club has received, am I the only supporter that feels FleetTrust is not doing enough?

 

A quote that I has been repeated in the papers is this;

 

Jessica McQueen, Ebbsfleet United Supporters' Trust chair commented: "Being a Trust, our members understand the MyFootballClub concept immediately.

 

"We very much look forward to working with the MyFootballClub members for the benefit of Ebbsfleet United."

 

Our _democratic_ trust lets the supporters have a voice in the football club, but when the trust goes out of their way to make comments like this without a word from supporters can be said is about as democratic as the MyFC "democracy".

 

A spokesperson from Supporters Direct (they do a lot of great work for supporters) issued this statement;

 

Spokesperson Kevin Rye, said: “Fundamentally, playing fantasy manager is not about responsible democratic supporter representation or community ownership, which are the core values of the trust movement.

 

“Indeed we are one of the most vigorous exponents of reform of the ownership structures in football, but our interests are in long term sustainability and governance of clubs.

 

“This might be seen as a one off gimmick, and harmless enough by many, however this is a real football club, these are real finances, and real fans. The question needs to be asked what happens to the club finances and its supporters if the novelty starts to wear off?”

 

A general concern for the fans and supporters, the ones who make this club what is today. Is it that much to ask for MyFC to set up a meeting with real supporters? Or do we need a new supporters trust, one that actually can convey the thoughts and concerns of the supporters to the club.

[bsmith]

I would think twice about questioning the loyalty of the Fleet Trust, they've proved themselves to be acting in the best interests of the Club over the years and have put in a lot of effort in that time. Don't go trying to throw them out of the window over one line (which as discussed in several topics elsewhere on this forum, doesn't mean much anyway.)

[rvr]

Either right now or last night, the Fleet Trust and members of MyFootballClub met to discuss the deal and concerns.

 

They're going to tell you what was said on Wednesday. You should have a much better idea of what the Trust think of this then.

 

rvr

[Trebor1975]

Hang on, there's not a lot in those initial comments.

 

"Being a Trust, our members understand the MyFootballClub concept immediately."

 

Yes - democratic principles apply to both organisations, so it's not hard to see why there would be an understanding, although the two groups of course have very different approaches to things.

 

"We very much look forward to working with the MyFootballClub members for the benefit of Ebbsfleet United."

 

That's just the bland sort of statement that any new owner would be greeted with. And the emphasis is probably on "for the benefit of Ebbsfleet United" which is obviously the trust's main concern and may not always tie in with MyFC's interests.