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Post by mftc on Aug 18, 2021 17:48:15 GMT
So what was said to the volunteers?
I really think it would make a big difference if they were allowed back and sold programmes and 50/50 in their usual places.
The club can't afford to lose any money, but the approx £2-3000 loss in progs and 50/50s so far this season just compounds the non attendees ( due to JB) and their potential food and drink sales.
If wael has a personal wealth of 20mill we can't expect him to cough up £20 mill to cover £20 mill loses every 5 years. It just doesn't add up. I mean, who else is going to put in the money?
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Post by Tilly's Thighs on Aug 18, 2021 17:52:48 GMT
Interesting. I was under the impression that it was basically made up bollocks. It was half and half. A very well intentioned goodwill gesture was seized upon by Steve Hamer, Jim Chappell and Ken Masters who used the Chair of the WSM SC in name to report the incident of safeguarding and grooming of a child to the FA, EFL, Council and Police as well as trying to sell the story to the press. All the authourities found no evidence of anything wrong and even the newspaper, which is known for a good sleaze story, thought it was a bit far fetched to go into print so didnt bother. Thank you - you've explained it far better than I could have. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2021 18:01:36 GMT
Interesting. I was under the impression that it was basically made up bollocks. It was half and half. A very well intentioned goodwill gesture was seized upon by Steve Hamer, Jim Chappell and Ken Masters who used the Chair of the WSM SC in name to report the incident of safeguarding and grooming of a child to the FA, EFL, Council and Police as well as trying to sell the story to the press. All the authourities found no evidence of anything wrong and even the newspaper, which is known for a good sleaze story, thought it was a bit far fetched to go into print so didnt bother. I’m sure “Horfield” will be along to comment soon… |
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Post by bs10er on Aug 18, 2021 21:20:49 GMT
So what was said to the volunteers? I really think it would make a big difference if they were allowed back and sold programmes and 50/50 in their usual places. The club can't afford to lose any money, but the approx £2-3000 loss in progs and 50/50s so far this season just compounds the non attendees ( due to JB) and their potential food and drink sales. If wael has a personal wealth of 20mill we can't expect him to cough up £20 mill to cover £20 mill loses every 5 years. It just doesn't add up. I mean, who else is going to put in the money? Have been speaking to the volunteers who went to meeting,another is being arranged. Will try to update as and when. |
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Post by aghast on Aug 18, 2021 21:25:39 GMT
Christ I was totally unaware of this ,I wonder what levels so called supporters of our Club will stoop to drag our name through the dirt,I just don't get it. And yet very good people are blocked from standing for SC positions so you can't even remove people by a fair voting process if there are no viable alternative candidates. That's what happens to well-meaning but misguided people, who are so convinced their views are right that they eventually cannot tolerate anyone who challenges those beliefs. |
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Post by Tilly's Thighs on Aug 18, 2021 21:26:48 GMT
So what was said to the volunteers? I really think it would make a big difference if they were allowed back and sold programmes and 50/50 in their usual places. The club can't afford to lose any money, but the approx £2-3000 loss in progs and 50/50s so far this season just compounds the non attendees ( due to JB) and their potential food and drink sales. If wael has a personal wealth of 20mill we can't expect him to cough up £20 mill to cover £20 mill loses every 5 years. It just doesn't add up. I mean, who else is going to put in the money? Have been speaking to the volunteers who went to meeting,another is being arranged. Will try to update as and when. It sounds encouraging that there will be another meeting - not just a straightforward case of "you're no longer wanted", hopefully. |
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Post by Henbury Gas on Aug 18, 2021 22:16:32 GMT
Christ I was totally unaware of this ,I wonder what levels so called supporters of our Club will stoop to drag our name through the dirt,I just don't get it. are blocked from standing for SC positions so you can't even remove people by a fair voting process if there are no viable alternative candidates. We have some of them wow, care to name some ? |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2021 8:47:44 GMT
Jim looked shellshocked when I walked past him on Tuesday night. The relationship between the SC and the football club has clearly totally broken down. I would have expected Chris Gibson to have intervened before everything went public but perhaps that does not suit the SC agenda. Ken must be pulling the strings behind the scenes, using Jim as his mouthpiece, trying to disrupt and cause further division after his dismissal from the board last year.
For those either calling for the end of the SC or the creation of a new independent SC, it's worth remembering that the SC share scheme has a 4% stake in the football club (diluted from 8% when Wael did his debt for equity swap last year). Fans like me have put money into this over the years, and it's helped the football club's cashflow on many occasions. The share scheme is the formal way in which Gashead's get representation, and a voice, in the running of the club. This should not be given up (indeed, it can't easily be nullified without resolutions being put to a SC EGM).
A possible way forward is for Jim to stand down as Chairman immediately (something he should have done when the fraud took place five years ago), and for the football club to ask (i.e. tell) the rest of the SC committee that it has a role to play as a liaison/feedback mechanism for the football club to receive feedback on everything from ticket prices to merchandise to the quality fo the food and bev etc. In return the football club should ask the SC to review its committee membership and seek new blood, update its rules, convene an EGM and start the process of electing at least one and ideally two SC Directors on to the board, which is specifically allowed under the agreement between the football club and the SC. An EGM is required as the rules state that fans Director elections can only take place every June. I know of at least two people in recent years who have approached the SC to put their names forward but were batted away by Ken Masters who was trying (in vain as it turned out) to protect his own position on the board. Ideally I'd like to see one of these new Directors either a woman, from a minority, or ideally both, thereby ensuring we are seen as a diverse family club.
My alternative suggestion is for Wael to invite applications for one or two non-exec roles on the board from fans - not for the adulation and title, but from genuine fans who can work hard at engaging between the fans base and the club's hierarchy. The process should be done transparently, with all applicants being invited to write a short statement for all fans to see, explaining what they feel they can bring to the club. The board would make the final decision. The 4% share holding then remains but without the formal representation from the SC. This would in effect probably totally neuter to SC.
If we don't care about the SC share scheme and fan's representation on the board, then how can we have any legitimate say in how the club is run? After all, Wael, like all owners, is only a temporary custodian. I've been a Gashead for fifty years, others on this forum for much longer, and the current state of the club, notwithstanding Waels' genuine desire to fix things, genuinely depresses me.
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Post by gashead1981 on Aug 19, 2021 9:20:26 GMT
Jim looked shellshocked when I walked past him on Tuesday night. The relationship between the SC and the football club has clearly totally broken down. I would have expected Chris Gibson to have intervened before everything went public but perhaps that does not suit the SC agenda. Ken must be pulling the strings behind the scenes, using Jim as his mouthpiece, trying to disrupt and cause further division after his dismissal from the board last year. For those either calling for the end of the SC or the creation of a new independent SC, it's worth remembering that the SC share scheme has a 4% stake in the football club (diluted from 8% when Wael did his debt for equity swap last year). Fans like me have put money into this over the years, and it's helped the football club's cashflow on many occasions. The share scheme is the formal way in which Gashead's get representation, and a voice, in the running of the club. This should not be given up (indeed, it can't easily be nullified without resolutions being put to a SC EGM). A possible way forward is for Jim to stand down as Chairman immediately (something he should have done when the fraud took place five years ago), and for the football club to ask (i.e. tell) the rest of the SC committee that it has a role to play as a liaison/feedback mechanism for the football club to receive feedback on everything from ticket prices to merchandise to the quality fo the food and bev etc. In return the football club should ask the SC to review its committee membership and seek new blood, update its rules, convene an EGM and start the process of electing at least one and ideally two SC Directors on to the board, which is specifically allowed under the agreement between the football club and the SC. An EGM is required as the rules state that fans Director elections can only take place every June. I know of at least two people in recent years who have approached the SC to put their names forward but were batted away by Ken Masters who was trying (in vain as it turned out) to protect his own position on the board. Ideally I'd like to see one of these new Directors either a woman, from a minority, or ideally both, thereby ensuring we are seen as a diverse family club. My alternative suggestion is for Wael to invite applications for one or two non-exec roles on the board from fans - not for the adulation and title, but from genuine fans who can work hard at engaging between the fans base and the club's hierarchy. The process should be done transparently, with all applicants being invited to write a short statement for all fans to see, explaining what they feel they can bring to the club. The board would make the final decision. The 4% share holding then remains but without the formal representation from the SC. This would in effect probably totally neuter to SC. If we don't care about the SC share scheme and fan's representation on the board, then how can we have any legitimate say in how the club is run? After all, Wael, like all owners, is only a temporary custodian. I've been a Gashead for fifty years, others on this forum for much longer, and the current state of the club, notwithstanding Waels' genuine desire to fix things, genuinely depresses me. Thank you WUI. This is exactly what I said 2 years(ish) ago after I attended the last in person AGM. I put my head above the parapet to try this only to be removed from the running and banned from standing in the future due to a comment I made on here about another fan who happened to be friends with the exec commitee. |
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Post by peterparker on Aug 20, 2021 15:03:56 GMT
Club President Wael Al Qadi updates supporters on several topics in his latest open letter...
Dear Gasheads,
I hope that you are all keeping well and like me you are enjoying being back at the Mem supporting the team. It has been heart warming to see and hear the support we are getting from the stands and I hope that we can now build on the positive performance and result from Tuesday night.
Through these letters, I have always tried to keep all supporters up to date on our progress and the thought process behind key decisions. As many of you will already be aware and to my great disappointment, there have been ongoing issues between the Football Club and the Supporters’ Club. As I think has been clear, the breakdown of our relationship with the Supporters Club has been long running and up until now, we have opted not to discuss this publicly.
First of all, it is important that I put on record that I know the vast majority of people within the Supporters’ Club are hardworking and dedicated supporters that selflessly commit both time and effort in fulfilling the Supporters’ Club mandate of supporting the football club. We are and always will be, extremely grateful for this support.
Despite the breakdown of communication, we have attempted to engage with the Supporters’ Club over the past year, to no avail.
Back in April 2020, we understand that unsubstantiated claims were made to the EFL about financial irregularity, generated by a Supporters' Club representative relating to the Football Club which was immediately dismissed. Despite contacting the Supporters’ Club requesting information to address any concerns that they had we did not receive a response.
I was therefore extremely surprised that no Supporters' Club representatives attended the club’s AGM on 28th September 2020 nor were any questions posed on the public fans forum that was held virtually in July 2020, to ask any questions or raise any concerns that they had.
Over the past year we have also asked the Supporters’ Club about their planned process for appointing a new representative to the board. Whilst we have been informed there are two potential candidates that have put themselves forward we have advised the Supporters’ Club that we cannot make progress on this matter until other issues are first resolved, Nevertheless my position has remained constant, and we look forward to welcoming supporter representation on the board in due course. In addition, we continue to welcome feedback and engagement from all supporters as we all want the same thing, to see the club improve and to help us reach our full potential.
There are matters raised in the most recent statement from the Supporters’ Club that I and the Football Club considers to be incorrect. Whilst it is not appropriate, in my view, to address these issues in a public forum in the manner that the Supporters’ Club has chosen to do there are some points that we must address so that the wider fan base can better understand the situation.
Over the past 18 months the pandemic has cost the club £3,000,000 and in addition we have invested heavily to build The Quarters, a facility that we are really proud of. Added to that we have sadly had the added financial pressure that relegation brings.
Despite this, as mentioned in their statement, the Supporters' Club have raised an issue in relation to a proposed payment of £50,000 by them towards the training ground facilities. This was originally suggested to us by the Supporters’ Club which was approved by them at their meeting on the 2nd November 2017.
The Supporters’ Club claim that the training ground is "owned by a third party". I want to make it crystal clear that I am the ultimate controlling shareholder of the Football Club and The Quarters, where the training ground is located. The training ground is not owned by a "third party"; it is ultimately owned by me. With Phase One of the Training Ground now nearing completion, this payment would be very welcome.
The next issue I would like to address is the 50/50 match day draw and programme sellers. Unfortunately, as a result of the breakdown of the relationship with the Supporters' Club, our loyal volunteers who make the draw happen have been caught in the middle and they have been unable to provide their usual excellent services for the first two home fixtures of the season.
I am pleased to say that on Tuesday night we were able to invite those special volunteers into the Club to invite them to enjoy the game against Oldham in hospitality as our guests. We are now working with them directly to ensure that they are back on their posts by the next home league game. I would like to place on record my personal thanks to all volunteers for their continued hard work and dedication that they have shown this football club over many years.
I also wanted to express a personal message to the shareholders. I want to assure you that we value your support and we will continue to engage and work with you moving forward.
Lastly, I feel sad to write that the relationship with the Supporters’ Club has deteriorated to a point that without change to its structure and/or representation I believe it cannot operate in the manner that is mutually beneficial for our supporters and the Football Club.
I really do hope that this letter has helped you understand that we will continue to engage and listen to all supporters and that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make improvements to drive the Football Club forward. It has been a challenging last 18 months for all of us in many ways, personally and in business. Despite this, we feel positive about the future and if there is ever a time to pull together as a group then that time is now.
I look forward to seeing a full away end at Exeter cheering us!
Thank you again for all of your support and understanding.
UTG
Wael
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