I have received a letter dated 8th January from Michael Slater, in which he advises that the new Chief Operating Officer, Steve Bradshaw will be making the necessary arrangements with regards to the Fans Forum.
A very positive sign, which was confirmed in yesterday's Valley Review and one which indicates that the Club are fully aware of the need to restore the lines of communication with its supporters.
0
Comments
I doubted it would ever be resurrected so proved me wrong (or maybe they just read the five year season ticket thread and thought that talking to your "customer" was actually a smart idea!)
What I will say is that unless a director attends the forum meetings it is being downgraded again. I hear good reports about Steve Bradshaw, but he is not a director and his role is not an overview of the business.
A director needs to attend or the link between the fans and the board is broken. And for practical purposes it will be more difficult to get things agreed.
Prothero should be justifying his enormous part-time salary by attending these meetings. But will he?
If that's right then I don't suppose it really matters if one of the three turns up or not, does it? I mean, what are the realistically going to say or do, other than give it a bit of lip service?
However, I understand that the structure is that the chief operating officer, the chief finance officer and the chief marketing officer (not yet named, although rumoured to have been appointed) report to him. He was supposed to deal with strategic matters, like the academy development, but I am not clear if he is in practice. He will also do the legwork on transfers. It's not really about who has the power, though. The fans' forum doesn't have any realistic influence on the football side and Jimenez has shown no interest in the nuts and bolts of running the club and wouldn't have anything useful to contribute on the kind of things the forum tends to discuss. Prothero as supervisor of the three senior staff should know what is going on, feed back anything relevant and be able to act as the link.
My guess is he won't because I think he wants to keep as low a profile as possible. There's no reason why he couldn't attend and chair the VIP meeting. But perhaps he will.
The fans' forum was (is) a club inspired initiative with terms of reference all framed by the club.
That is not inevitably a bad thing but a statement of fact.
The Supporters' Trust is an embryonic fans' inspired initiative which eventually could veer into any number of directions but what does happen will be determined by the members, ie the fans.
The two organisations could complement each other and, if members are savvy rather than parochial, work to the mutual benefit of all.
Here's a suggestion. Invite the Trust to join the Fans Forum.
I am not knocking the Trust just advocating, Long Live the Fans Forum.
Read more about the Charlton fans' forum and how you can contact members
The Charlton fans' forum was reconstituted in its current form during 2010. However, members of the forum recognise that many supporters do not know what the forum does, who is on it and how to express their views.
Input from fans is an integral part of the success of the forum, and we would like to outline here a little more about its workings and how you can contact forum members.
The forum, which stemmed from the elected fans' director who historically desceneded on the Charlton board, comprises representatives from various groups, including regional supporters' groups, VIP five-year season-ticket holders, the disabled supporters' association, travel groups and others.
It is much more than a vehicle serving those within each represented group, though. Fans are encouraged to contact any member of the forum and should not be discouraged simply because they are not part of an official group.
The forum's membership is designed to ensure that it contains a wide cross-section of Charlton supporters, all of whom have the best interests of the club at heart, and is not intended to exclude anyone.
We are all very approachable and look forward to hearing from you either by email, by telephone, or in person at matches.
We meet regularly to discuss issues affecting fans and new ideas. Matters discussed may include transportation, communication, fans' events, the matchday experience, player appearances, regional matters and much more.
To be successful, the forum is reliant upon input from supporters, whether that is raising issues which affect them or suggesting solutions and ideas. As such, we would like to hear from you.
In return, the forum recognises that two-way communication is important, and we will endeavour to update fans regularly with news of what we discuss and any action that is taken.
The forum currently has a representative from each of the supporters' groups detailed below. Feel free to contact any of the representatives and we will ensure that your query reaches the right person within the club.
Finally, if you are a member of a significant supporters' group and would like to elect a representative to join the forum, please get in touch.
Contacts
Syd Cheeswright (coach and group rail travel**) 020-8688 3916
John Commerford (Ashford & Shepway Addicks) ashfordandshepwayaddicks@talktalk.net
Jean Huelin (North-West Kent Addicks) jeanhuelin@sky.com or 07757 661403
Heather Robertson (Charlton Athletic Disabled Supporters' Association) m_robertson57@yahoo.com or info@cadsa.org.uk
Craig Parrett (VIP season-ticket holders) craig_cafc_vip@yahoo.co.uk
Vernon Roper (West Sussex & Brighton CASC) vernon.roper@btclick.com
Ian Wallis (Bromley Addicks) ianlwallis@aol.com
David White David.White@axiafx.com
* If you have an issue you wish to raise regarding coach travel organised by the football club, please contact Wendy Perfect or Lisa Squires in the commercial centre in the first instance. On the other hand, group rail travel is organised by Syd independently of the club.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
History of the fans' forum
For 16 years, Charlton had one of the most unique positions in English football - a fan, elected by their fellow fans, to sit on the board of the football club and represent the views of all supporters.
However, changes in corporate law placed an increasing burden on the elected fans' director in the final years of the role, so in summer 2008, the Addicks announced the club would introduce a new fans' forum to ensure supporters' views would still be heard at the highest levels of the club.
The precedent of the supporters' representative director began in 1992 when the Valley Investment Plan (VIP) was launched to help finance the work necessary to enable the club to return to The Valley from Upton Park.
The VIP scheme established the opportunity for one of its members to be elected to the football club board to represent everyone who had contributed.
From 1993-2003, this position was held by four outstanding individuals - Steve Clarke, Craig Norris, Mick Gebbett and Wendy Perfect - who participated with great enthusiasm in the decision-making processes of the club.
The end of the VIP scheme then led to an expansion allowing all adult season-ticket holders to vote for a representative in 2003, leading to the election of Sue Townsend and, subsequently, Ben Hayes, in 2006.
The duo, also outstanding, continued to offer sound and constructive input and most importantly made sure the views of ordinary supporters were heard in the boardroom.
I signed up for the Trust last night and signed up Henry Jnr.
Richard was impressed that he had got such a coup : - )
Think he missed a trick not giving MS and CP honoury membership though.