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Tottenham Supporters Trust - meeting

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Today they've met with the people that they demanded were all sacked. It's my understanding, it's concluded.

We await with bated breath their update.

I wonder how many board members they've persuaded to stand down?
Being serious for a mo in such a dark dire backdrop of mutual suspicion will not be easy, but ostensively the meeting is 'only' to discuss an Advisory Panel and fan representation at the Board level.

Keep an eye on the Trusts website - I'm off for a snooze.....
 
Today they've met with the people that they demanded were all sacked. It's my understanding, it's concluded.

We await with bated breath their update.

I wonder how many board members they've persuaded to stand down?
Being serious for a mo in such a dark dire backdrop of mutual suspicion will not be easy, but ostensively the meeting is 'only' to discuss an Advisory Panel and fan representation at the Board level.

Keep an eye on the Trusts website - I'm off for a snooze.....


God I hope they told the Trust to pound salt. However, I know they didn't.
 
Future fan engagement at THFC

20/5/2021






stadium-bowl-2.jpeg

THST Board representatives met representatives of the Club Board, including Daniel Levy, on Tuesday 18 May. After the events of the last few weeks, this was not a business-as-usual meeting. Both sides agreed to meet in order to try to find a constructive way forward for the good of our football club. No independent mediator was present.




The meeting was attended by, from THFC: Daniel Levy, Chairman; Donna-Maria Cullen, Executive Director; Jonathan Turner, Non-Executive Director; Levi Harris, Supporter Liaison Officer.
And from THST: Martin Cloake, Co-chair; Katrina Law, Co-chair; Pete Haine, Secretary; Rob White, Board Member; Stephen Cavalier, Board Member.

The meeting acknowledged that the events of the last month had damaged faith in existing relationships, and that the best interests of the Club and its supporters would be served by creating something new. The Trust and the Club have both put forward ideas for how fans could be more involved in decision-making, and these proposals were the focus of the meeting. Both sides acknowledged that any detailed plans may need to consider the framework set down by the Government’s fan-led review.

Club Advisory Panel
THST asked the Club to expand on the proposals for future fan representation it had outlined in its statement of 11 May. THFC said that it wanted its proposed Club Advisory Panel (CAP) to be as representative of the diverse fan base as possible, and that it had been looking at structures currently in place at other clubs. The fan view would be funnelled through the Chair of the Panel to the Club Board, with the CAP Chair appointed as a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the Club Board.

The CAP would be advisory. The terms of the discussions with the ESL would have prevented discussing that proposal with the CAP, but the NEDs were fully aware of those discussions.

The Fan NED would have full voting rights on all Board issues at THFC and would be appointed annually by the Panel. That person would have to be agreed by the Club Board as someone who met the criteria for being a director at an enterprise such as THFC. The same person could stand for election as CAP Chair in consecutive years. The role would be remunerated with a donation to a charity of their choice plus expenses.

The Club is currently consulting its in-house lawyer and an external recruitment firm. It will also consult on the remit and composition of the CAP with THST, Proud Lilywhites, SpursAbility and its Official Supporters Clubs, plus any other groups it thinks will be able to usefully contribute, including the Football Supporters’ Association. After this first phase of consultation, it will move to agreeing how the Panel is to be constituted.

THST asked the Club why it was bringing these proposals forward now, and whether it acknowledged that there would be widespread scepticism about its commitment to fan engagement at Board level. THFC said that sometimes disruption was needed to create change, and that it was seeking to create a better framework for the future. The only way people would be convinced that framework was working was to see it working successfully, and that was the responsibility we all carried.

THFC said it was approaching the exercise from a positive perspective and wanted to achieve a framework that set the standard, while recognising that the report from the Government’s fan-led review would set the baseline.

Government’s fan-led review
The Trust asked for the Club’s thoughts on the fan-led review. THFC said it welcomed the review and would be very engaged if asked to give evidence. It stressed the importance of sustainable business practices being a key consideration. The Club also said it was open-minded on the issue of an independent regulator, and that the areas for regulation needed more definition. There did not, for example, appear to be a need for the rules of the game to be regulated, but in other areas it was perhaps evident that the game could not regulate itself.

Share ownership scheme
Asked to comment on the Trust’s suggestion to consider an equity release scheme, the Club’s view was that there are already 30,000 shareholders at THFC and there is brisk trade in those shares each month. The possibility of new equity is complicated because of the process needed to undertake it, and the need to be convinced the funds raised would be significant.

European Super League fines
Discussion on these issues concluded with THST asking the Club to clarify the position on whether the owners would pay any fines or costs resulting from the European Super League episode. The Club said its position was that the owners would be responsible for any fines.

AOB
Once discussion on the main focus of the meeting finished, we departed from normal practice as an organisation that deals with off-field matters to ask for a comment on the reports that Harry Kane wanted to leave the Club. THFC said it was focused on the final two games of the season and backing the squad for a strong finish. It was not prepared to offer any further comment on Harry Kane or indeed on any other player while two games of the season remained. That is their only focus.

It was agreed to reset and restart collaborations around the Tottenham and North Enfield Foodbanks (Kick Off Against Hunger), on a mental health awareness initiative (Terrace Talk) and on PCUK cycling fundraisers.

Next steps
In the coming weeks, THST will be setting out in more detail our ideas about how any future Advisory Panel structure could work. And we will be explaining our views. We welcome comments and ideas from our members. We will also continue to discuss the detail with the Club, without a running commentary. Once there is enough of a framework proposal to make an informed judgement, we will consult fully with our members. We are committed to achieving a robust structure that would avoid a situation such as the ESL arising in the future.

While these discussions progress, we are conscious that many people will have priorities they feel should be taken into account. We'd ask for your trust and support that we are seeking a solution that genuinely does deliver a real voice for fans in the Boardroom, and which increases the influence of ordinary fans on the direction of our football club. There will be no secret deals and no decisions taken by us without seeking the agreement of our members.

We thank all supporters who have backed us so far. You have helped create a situation from which there is a genuine chance of securing something many fans have wanted for some time.


THST Board
20 May 2021
 
Well , the focus on backing the squad for a strong finish went down like a lead balloon .

How exactly do they do that ?
Just don’t ask direct questions cos you won’t get an answer .
 
Hidden in the detail is the following:

The role would be remunerated with a donation to a charity of their choice plus expenses.

That proves to me that THFC are paying lip service to this role. If they did, they would accommodate a salaried person that could spend 100% of their working life in this role, whilst putting food on their family's table.

In my opinion, the club have deliberately set this role up to fail.
 
Hidden in the detail is the following:

The role would be remunerated with a donation to a charity of their choice plus expenses.

That proves to me that THFC are paying lip service to this role. If they did, they would accommodate a salaried person that could spend 100% of their working life in this role, whilst putting food on their family's table.

In my opinion, the club have deliberately set this role up to fail.

Yeah, you may be right here. However, I do think that making the position salaried could then create a dynamic that would work against the purpose of the role. If you make it that persons main source of income then it goes from being something they are doing for the love of the club, to something they rely on financially.
 
Hidden in the detail is the following:

The role would be remunerated with a donation to a charity of their choice plus expenses.

That proves to me that THFC are paying lip service to this role. If they did, they would accommodate a salaried person that could spend 100% of their working life in this role, whilst putting food on their family's table.

In my opinion, the club have deliberately set this role up to fail.

You missed this bit:

The Fan NED would have full voting rights on all Board issues at THFC and would be appointed annually by the Panel. That person would have to be agreed by the Club Board as someone who met the criteria for being a director at an enterprise such as THFC.

This effectively means someone with considerable and wide-ranging business experience, and who also happens to be a Spurs fan.

You can decide if they would reflect the average Spurs paying fans.

It should be noted that as a full board member they will have to sign serious undertakings both in confidentiality and painful legal remedies if they break board confidences or leak sensitive info.

Once you understand how Plubic company directors/large enterprises work, especially with full voting rights (which are recorded and a matter of record) what you can't do is say that it's 'lip service' - it maybe contrived to get the profile of the board member you want (as I have done many times), but it's not set up to fail - as that in itself would spark another crisis/battle with fan group(s).

I believe it's a serious role that they have to take seriously.
 
Yeah, you may be right here. However, I do think that making the position salaried could then create a dynamic that would work against the purpose of the role. If you make it that persons main source of income then it goes from being something they are doing for the love of the club, to something they rely on financially.

In major enterprises 99% of all NED roles are salaried. What you do with it is up to you. My guess is it will be an honorarium of around 25k-50k p.a. Basically a standard NED's package in a major business.

As I said, it's all about manipulating the profile of the type of NED you'd want/expect/need e.g after the financial crisis you saw many banks appoint NED's who had nothing to do with any financial background whatsoever but were ex-PR, ex-consumer groups etc etc but the one thing in common was they were all seriously wealthy.

If you're forced to have a NED to represent one segment of the interested groups in your business, you want him/her to add value, either in their field of expertise or their general business acumen.

So ask yourself a question, if you were the owners, what's the perfect NED profile you'd create of an addition to your board?

What you don't want is a fan who has no business experience., or of low intellect who can't grasp the financial reports and has never been exposed to strategic planning.

There are many many successful Spurs fans, but would that satisfy the average fan who possibly isn't, would it instead just reinforce the elitism and sense of isolation that many fans think already exists?
 
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You missed this bit:

The Fan NED would have full voting rights on all Board issues at THFC and would be appointed annually by the Panel. That person would have to be agreed by the Club Board as someone who met the criteria for being a director at an enterprise such as THFC.

This effectively means someone with considerable and wide-ranging business experience, and who also happens to be a Spurs fan.

You can decide if they would reflect the average Spurs paying fans.

It should be noted that as a full board member they will have to sign serious undertakings both in confidentiality and painful legal remedies if they break board confidences or leak sensitive info.

Once you understand how Plubic company directors/large enterprises work, especially with full voting rights (which are recorded and a matter of record) what you can't do is say that it's 'lip service' - it maybe contrived to get the profile of the board member you want (as I have done many times), but it's not set up to fail - as that in itself would spark another crisis/battle with fan group(s).

I believe it's a serious role that they have to take seriously.

I may be missing something but it was never lost on me about the gravitas of the person required or the voting rights.

However, how can anyone of that stature represent the diverse fan group and be the true advocate unless it is a full-time dedicated role? In my opinion, you can't just work for expenses on top of your existing job if you really want to do it justice. You need to have the bandwidth to be immersed into every relevant topic. When you think about it, it is more than a 40 hours a week engagement and those hours are nowhere near regular if you're taking it seriously.

Perhaps I'm not getting it, but for me it's no different from Caplehorn, Collecott, Cullen etc. They get out of bed every morning to work for THFC. So should this person.
 
I may be missing something but it was never lost on me about the gravitas of the person required or the voting rights.

However, how can anyone of that stature represent the diverse fan group and be the true advocate unless it is a full-time dedicated role? In my opinion, you can't just work for expenses on top of your existing job if you really want to do it justice. You need to have the bandwidth to be immersed into every relevant topic. When you think about it, it is more than a 40 hours a week engagement and those hours are nowhere near regular if you're taking it seriously.

Perhaps I'm not getting it, but for me it's no different from Caplehorn, Collecott, Cullen etc. They get out of bed every morning to work for THFC. So should this person.

BTW, when I read "expenses" I think about things like travel, hotels, meals etc. I don't think about £25-50k for advisory services.
 
I may be missing something but it was never lost on me about the gravitas of the person required or the voting rights.

However, how can anyone of that stature represent the diverse fan group and be the true advocate unless it is a full-time dedicated role? In my opinion, you can't just work for expenses on top of your existing job if you really want to do it justice. You need to have the bandwidth to be immersed into every relevant topic. When you think about it, it is more than a 40 hours a week engagement and those hours are nowhere near regular if you're taking it seriously.

Perhaps I'm not getting it, but for me it's no different from Caplehorn, Collecott, Cullen etc. They get out of bed every morning to work for THFC. So should this person.

Mutts,

the role is NED i.e. part time, as NED you lend your experience and wisdom, you have neither the authority or the brief to get involved in the day-to-day running of the business, and frankly, you are legally not allowed to., if you do, that's called being a 'shadow director' and if subsequently that's found to be the case you can personally help responsible under the fiduciary obligations and duties rules. When a business carries the liabilities that we do, you be utterly stone stark raving mad to even contemplate behaving that way.

You can master your brief without being full-time, I've done it many times.

It's about asking the hard questions, the questions the execs don't want to or doing like answering - these answers and the data that supports are all recorded in the board meetings.

Smart, clever, successful people always find time for a labour of love and moreoften put in far more hours/time than the role ever asked for, which is why I am of the firm belief that whoever takes the role, to do it justice, will have no need of any remuneration - hence the reference to ging it away to charity - which tells me the club know exactly the profile of the NED they want and as I said earlier - when someone is appointed like that - will the average fan be satisfied or just even more pissed off?
 
BTW, when I read "expenses" I think about things like travel, hotels, meals etc. I don't think about £25-50k for advisory services.

My daily 'expenses' for a role like this are @£2k - £2.5k a day, I hope and expect that they get someone of at least this calibre, otherwise, in my mind, he'll (or she!) will be a weak rubber stamp and what we really need is a first-class Intelect with a passion for Spurs.
 
Mutts,

the role is NED i.e. part time, as NED you lend your experience and wisdom, you have neither the authority or the brief to get involved in the day-to-day running of the business, and frankly, you are legally not allowed to., if you do, that's called being a 'shadow director' and if subsequently that's found to be the case you can personally help responsible under the fiduciary obligations and duties rules. When a business carries the liabilities that we do, you be utterly stone stark raving mad to even contemplate behaving that way.

You can master your brief without being full-time, I've done it many times.

It's about asking the hard questions, the questions the execs don't want to or doing like answering - these answers and the data that supports are all recorded in the board meetings.

Smart, clever, successful people always find time for a labour of love and moreoften put in far more hours/time than the role ever asked for, which is why I am of the firm belief that whoever takes the role, to do it justice, will have no need of any remuneration - hence the reference to ging it away to charity - which tells me the club know exactly the profile of the NED they want and as I said earlier - when someone is appointed like that - will the average fan be satisfied or just even more pissed off?

OK, understanding it more. So the newbie CAP Chair brings mostly their own opinion and experience to the board room rather than bringing a formalised collective voice of the fans i.e. a true VoX activity set through formal engagements with "customers" and forums / panels etc.

Taking something small from yesterday as a good example, that NED should be telling Levy never to throw the "£250m spend" in the fans faces before he thanks them for his support in a comm. Not if he wants to have the right relationship with the fan base. Hopefully that would encourage the comms team to run important comms past the NED in future and get him or her to enhance the message before it hits the chairman's desk for approval. For me, as small as that is, it would go a long way to get the trust back.

We do need a positive disrupter in that board room. Perhaps even someone that the club are happy for the cameras to be pointed at to represent their message.
 
OK, understanding it more. So the newbie CAP Chair brings mostly their own opinion and experience to the board room rather than bringing a formalised collective voice of the fans i.e. a true VoX activity set through formal engagements with "customers" and forums / panels etc.

Taking something small from yesterday as a good example, that NED should be telling Levy never to throw the "£250m spend" in the fans faces before he thanks them for his support in a comm. Not if he wants to have the right relationship with the fan base. Hopefully that would encourage the comms team to run important comms past the NED in future and get him or her to enhance the message before it hits the chairman's desk for approval. For me, as small as that is, it would go a long way to get the trust back.

We do need a positive disrupter in that board room. Perhaps even someone that the club are happy for the cameras to be pointed at to represent their message.


If I were the NED, I'd be entitled to ask for validation of the figures mentioned. I would demand a comprehensive breakdown, including all expenses that related to the spend/sales cost etc (which would likely be extensive).

I would be entitled to request that in the future figures issued should only be net, so as not to intentionally or unintentionally mislead anyone.

But this would be most likely have to be moved as a board motion and voted upon.

I would also under this subject ask for reports from our Fan liaison officer of his activities and how they've been shaped and of course why i.e. what is his remit, goals, and responsibilities.

For example, I'd be asking what concessions (if any) can we make to the fans (or what can we afford) for their support through this historically difficult period.

I would also demand (if it isn't done already) that ALL communications and actions in respect of fan, ticketing etc be presented and cleared for publication only by unanimous vote of the board. (I suspect this would be a material change from what happens now).

If I were the NED I would not be the face of the board or the club, they should employ the right comms team to do that (whom I have little faith in now) so would be agitating for someone who is the top of his/her profession as a PR appointment.

All our current appointments in respect of these officers look distinctly second class to me and not the sort of thought leaders I'd want in these roles. The current crop smack of the 'old boy network' and were appointed as being 'good enough'.
 
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