To all friends of the Trust - who perhaps haven't had much time but can help just for the below, or anyone interested in being more involved generally
Help needed with
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Handing out flyers before Huddersfield match
Photographer, taking quality photos of the launch
Help at event taking registrations, and other stuff
General committee stuff, roles etc
please email chair@castrust.org
BR
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Comments
Cheers
My experience was entirely positive. Thanks everybody, see you all on the 5th at Bartrams.
All 2.8k flyers were gone by around 2.40.
Didn't see a thing.
I will be in black, with a Charlton 'life badge'......And as it is you give you a copy of the CAStrust news special.
I assume that you have signed up as a trust member?
And no, haven't signed up to the Trust yet as am still unsure what it's all about/for. Perhaps the flyer would help me understand?
All trust supporters will receive a free e version of the newsletter shortly. All registered supporters are doing is showing their support for a charlton supporters trust.
If you like I'll talk to you about what the trust can do over a beer and present you your own paper copy (£1 suggested donation)
To be representative, to hear all viewz and for it to properly engage with the fanbase... if people don't sign up and get involved then it won't kick off and won't have a voice - simples !
With that attitude you might find that people get off the fence by saying, "fuck the trust" which I presume is not what you want.
The trust is whatever the members make of it... it is not Charltonlife where people sit in armchairs and type in their views, their arguments, it has the potential to honour the past endeavours of Charlton fans but in a different age ... with a different club ownership and a different technology!
The owners of football clubs (whether the local car dealer or a foreign consortium) have every legal and financial right to make whatever decisions they like. This could be in the club's interests or in their own interests.
But ownership of a football club goes way beyond the financial and legal. Supporters and their families have deep emotional investment which, while meaning nothing legally or financially, could be said to be a more profound and longer term sort of ownership.
A supporters trust is a vehicle for representing that emotional ownership.
A trust aims to ensure that the legal owners at least listen to what supporters are saying, even if they choose to ignore it. Because a trust is a legally formulated society with elected officers and an AGM, and because it regularly canvasses supporter opinion it can be seen to be democratic and representative of supporters views.
CAS Trust aims to engage with the owners of CAFC whoever they may be. It is NOT against the owners. At the moment we understand the current owners have no interest in dialogue with supporters, but the formulation of a healthy and representative trust might encourage them to be more open.
And, of course, if everything goes horribly wrong, CAS Trust would be in place and prepared to play a more central role - maybe by purchasing some equity in the club. That is what is happening at the moment at Portsmouth and Hearts.
Hope that makes some sense.
*I must remember to not let the activity wall wind me up so much*
We don't have any policies yet including on safe standing (my personal view is I'd like to have it if it were viable as I think it might bring back the atmosphere and fill stadia, but as I said that is my view); other than we think there is a need for a supporters' trust and fans surveyed overwhelmingly agreed - while also listening to fans and trying to represent them.
However also from surveys so far I don't believe Charlton Fans want a trust to be anti the Board, I think they want it to try and work with current or future owners in a positive a way as possible. Indeed there is no evidence to suggest such a negative course would be anything other than counter productive, so we are continuing to try and build up a relationship with the club, e.g. We have extended invites to the bttv event to all staff and Board members, but of course we haven't had an AGM yet and are focussing on increasing our subscriber network before we can really formally begin some of this.
I believe a trust is a way for supporters' to do something for their club rather than just sit back and moan or be entertained, I can't see that that motivation should be incompatible with the interests of the owners of a club, more something to be taken advantage of, a large untapped resource.
BR
It is possible that the current (and future) owners will indeed engage in dialogue with supporters. A supporters trust seems to be an excellent group for owners to have dialogue with, given the examples of the positive, even vital, work of trusts elsewhere. There are over 160 of them so a lot of people out there think they're worthwhile.