In the wake of recent discussion about the organisation and running of the Player of the Year event, the Fans' Forum has sent to following note to the various branches of the Supporters' Club earlier today:
Dear Supporters' Clubs,
The Fans' Forum is contacting you to seek the views of your branch regarding the organisation and running of the annual Player of the Year event.
In recent years this event has been organised by the Greenwich & Bexley branch of the Supporters Club, particularly by Steve Bailey and Paul Nottage. While the event has always been run successfully, some fans have expressed concern about the way in which votes have been collected and have cited examples of people being unable to register their votes. A few fans have also raised questions about the financial aspects associated with the POTY event and these points have led to the Fans' Forum being contacted to see if we can take a more active role in the organisation and running of future POTY events.
The Fans' Forum has no wish to disrupt or undermine the current status of the POTY event, but we recognise that we are here to fulfil the wishes and expectations of fans in general. It is for this reason that we are contacting you to ask that you canvass opinion within your branch regarding the following questions:
1) In general, are you happy with the organisation and running of the POTY and think that things should be left as they are?
2) Are there aspects of the organisation and running of the POTY which you feel could be improved and, if so, what are they?
3) Have you or other fans generally found it easy to cast your votes for the POTY?
4) Do you feel that the opinion of the majority of fans is reflected in the POTY results?
5) Are you happy with the financial aspects of the POTY event?
6) Should the Fans' Forum play a more active part in the POTY event and, if so, in what capacity?
Depending on the outcome of the responses we receive, the Fans' Forum may decide to approach the Football Club to offer its services in whatever capacity is felt to be appropriate. As time is not on our side, we would appreciate a response by the end of January, if possible. E-mail to cafcfansforum@googlemail.com or to any of the individual representatives (contact details may be found at www.charltonfansforum.co.uk) would be preferred.
This e-mail has been sent to the the main contact at each of the following Supporters' Groups, however our information may not be correct. If we have missed a group, can you please let us know: West Country, West Sussex and Brighton, Basingstoke & North Hants, City Addicks, Bromley, Greenwich & Bexley, Hastings and Bexhill , Maidstone & The Weald, North West Kent, West Kent
We look forward to hearing from you.
Fans' Forum
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Comments
Well done.
thanks
do you know if there is one and if someone runs it?
some fans have asked the fans' forum about which charity any profit made goes to. it isn't clear whether the event makes a profit, whether it goes to a charity, or back into the club. I think a few years ago there was a small profit made and the money went to the CASC website which isn't updated with any information and therefore perhaps not the best use of the money. people were asking for more transparency.
There certainly used to be a group not that I was ever home in time to attend the meetings:-(
agreed - but you have to arrange for people to do that, however simple it may sound, it obviously hasn't been done. that isn't saying it can't be done exactly the same but with better communication its just helping out to make sure votes are heard.
would be interested on your involvement with the casc committee - can you send what that was and what it did to cafcfansforum@googlemail.com ?
I haven't heard from Laurence for about 5 years.
From what i can see / have heard, the POTY do is the only thing the main branch of the supporters club still has an involvement with, and it is questionable on how well it is still run.
As far as i'm aware it publishes no accounts of what the money it takes in for it comes to, whether it runs at a profit or a loss, and what happens to the profits. When pushed for an example at a meeting i was at last year, they said they spent something like £700 from the profits to get the bloke who set up the Addickted site to do them a new website that is never used (when i'm sure if they had asked amongst members / the fanbase they could of got this done for nowt).
Personably, i think an improvement would be if it was not just one groups responsbililty, but a seperate small committee made up of individuals from the representative groups that i still going (ie, the still active supporter branches (independent or not), FF, CADSA etc. Maybe someone on here, for example)
The whole principle behind the POTY should always be to bring the playing squad, and as many fans as feasibly possible, together.
Charlton Life is, de facto, a supporters' group and it would good if AFKA or someone else from here was involved in some form of POTY organising committee.
As I've said before the POTY dinner isn't my cup of tea but it is enjoyed by a lot of people so it is important that it run in a way that is as open and transparent as possible to fans and the Football Club.
Couple of years back I collected all the slips in the con club, and would be more than willing to do the same in the Lib this year if required.
there are plenty of ways votes could be collected - by telephone, by email, in person, online, they just need to be co-ordinated, which is hopefully what this process will establish and achieve for this season.
Why do we need a committee? This is such a simple thing to do. Correction, it is such a simple thing to do at any other club....
Not just about the voting.
That is just one part that seems to have slipped.
There's all the rest of organising the event, publicising it to as many fans as possible, setting prices that at least cover costs, deciding what will happen on the night, seating arrangements, food, trophies, presentations, accounts and deciding what to spend any profit on eg Demelza, the Street Violence campaign, etc, etc.
The voting slips are already printed. They are in your Season Ticket book.
Perhaps they could be given in at the turnstyles but you still need to publicise to as many fans as possible that the foot is taking place.
You try and make some suggestions...
No wonder the thing is a shambles.
H&S / council won't let that happen.
Calm down, I'm not sure but I think Suzi was replying to the previous comment not yours.
Quite possibly but that's why it would be better to have some sort of working party/committee to bring new ideas in and see if they will or won't work.
Sorry, that came out wrong if you're reacting to my post that was meant for the post above re the website vote. Ideas are great - from all fans, I was just trying to answer you to say that the club could run it all if they wanted to but it is meant to be a supporters event for all fans.
i think its great that the supporters/fans get an event at the end of the year and we just want to make sure it is accessible to as many people as possible and as simple as possible.
I think doing more printing would cost money to the club.
lots of people buying programmes would already have a slip in their st book.
lots of fans that don't buy programmes.
lots of fans don't have the internet
There needs to be a free way of collecting votes - via the already printed st form handed in somewhere, an email address, a phone number etc. just advertising those details to everyone is the key.
The event could be potentially run at a significant profit by whacking up the prices and excluding many of the people who currently attend in the process, but that's never been the point. On the other hand, it does seem sensible that the accounts should be published if the money is flowing out of the club and back in.
Been to a Derby one too, Chris Powell made the presentation. Probably more Charlton fans saw Rob Hulse pick up his award than saw Nicky Bailey pick his up last season.
If it is the right of the Supporters Club's 'right' to organise the event Suzi, do you expect to get a response from them?