Just to restate from my previous post, I'm keen to put time, effort and indeed money in. I've got no history or experience with this sort of thing, and would certainly not be able to lead or organise from sratch, but I do have a heck of a lot of passion for this club, a reasonably sound business background and a relentlessly positive attitude.

So, before I start to sound like I'm writing a job application, if anyone is keen to take the plunge and lead then please count me in and I'll be there.

I very nearly added that,but thought I'd said enough.

But yes. Exactly. If some who are so keen to berate Hood had actually tried to run something on an unpaid and effectively voluntary basis, maybe they too would be able to see the other side a bit? Maybe some have and still feel as they do nevertheless; but it strikes me as significant that the ones I KNOW have are not the ones abusing him.

Hi,

I'm not one of the frequent posters on here but I do spend a lot of time reading through other peoples posts and enjoy reading the vast amount of different opinions people have.

I am 100% happy to sign up to the sponsor a player scheme but can I throw another idea into the hat please? Rather than sponsor a player who is already on their way to a regular first team spot, why not sponsor a player who has yet to make their debut? Pick one of the brightest prospects and we get that special feeling when he makes debut........ may sound a bit emotional but it would be great to see 'our player' grace the hallowed turf for the first time.

I have quoted the post from block5bull as I too would be very very willing to put time and effort into the club that has given me so much. Like block5bull, I have no experience of being involved in committees and trusts but what I can bring to the table is my time, effort and the skills from my day-to-day job.

By trade, I am an accountant/auditor therefore may either have some skills a trust can use (such as advise on finance, record keeping, legislation changes, treasury keeping) or have access to the right networks to source further information we would need.

Again, I am willing to devote time to the course and don't expect anything in return, only the chance to get involved in he greatest sport on earth and the club I love.

Thanks

And, in a Wigan Bull stylee...

...people who [imight[/i be interested in a Supporters Trust / ISA:

1. Block5Bull
2. Debaser
3. MDF
4. Bit_of_Bully

Plus those who would be willing to give a little help without becoming too involved:

1. Adeybull
2. Dilligaf

As with a few others on this thread, i'm another regular reader who rarely posts but would also be willing to devote time and effort into a supporters trust should there be the appetite for it.

Again, no previous experience of being in such an organisation and I do live the wrong side of the hills these days which might limit the amount of time i could spend in Bradford if required, but I do have a good business and planning background and would be willing to help wherever possible, so count me in!

I'd be interested in putting some time and effort into this idea.

I have no experience of being a member of a supporters association, but I would be certainly be interested in finding out more about what is involved and would be prepared to contribute my time.

my experience of such ventures as this is mainly on the Football side, and it all left a rather bitter taste.

We started as a group of fans who wanted to try and help give a fans point of view to the club, raise funds for them, arrange regular (2-4 weekly) fans forum type things, where the club send out a player to a trust event for a q&a session. City where at quite a low eb at the time, and we felt we wanted to have a positive effect on the situation.

Sound familar? What happened next?

Apathy from 99% of fans who didn't know or care what we were doing, internal squabbling between us, then finally of the band of 12, only 3 put any efforts in.

The theory behind supporters trusts is sound, but in practice not many suceed in achieveing much.

Despite all the above, Good luck to those who want to take part, I wish you all the best and hope your potential venture works out well for our club

It seems to me there are quite a few people on here who are willing to give up a little time to a potential trust but aren't 100% sure of exactly what's involved/what the aims are etc.

If you would like, I would be more than happy to come and meet with you all to discuss things a bit further, give you some more information both about supporters trusts and about the support you would receive from Supporters Direct and that way you as a group of people can decide if you a) definitely want to be involved and b) want to proceed with the trust idea.

I'm not sure if there is a pub where you all meet up at all or anywhere similar but if you would like me to come down, just let me know and I'm more than happy to do so.

Cheers

I'd put myself in to the latter category.

As I've said before, distance, work and family would be a pretty big barrier for me.

Are there specific roles / duties . tasks / etc that need doing? Can these be posted. This may give people a little more idea how much is involved and indeed where their individual skills can be used.

Personally I'm in the food industry on the food science and safety side of things, so don't really know if / where my "skills" would be utilised. Happy to help in any admin type stuff though

I'd be open to hear what is involved, maybe following that be prepared to give some time towards this.

Looks like we have an offer of someone explaining to us what's involved, do we think the club would support us with a location for that to happen?

They did when we founded BISA...

Defo Groundhog Day feeling for me.

That sums up most voluntary groups, not just sports.

What I would say is "What do you want to get out of it?" Keep thinking of it on those terms & then ask yourselves is it possible to actually achieve these goals. I think you will find it unlikely.

I think it is worth having the meeting and finding out what is involved and what we can hope to achieve. Maybe someone from the club would be prepared to attend the meeting?

I would imagine Mr Duffy would be happy to attend, although I'm with tigertot.....we need to procede with caution....

I think any such group would need to have a very clear aim in mind - maybe the trouble in the past has been too many issues that not enough time or energy could be focussed onto any one.
Just a thought?

Indeed. Excellent point, and maybe where we struggled with an ISA. A more focused supporters' trust may substantially reduce the time input - especially if you can avoid time-consuming activities like putting together newsletters, organising events and regular engagement with the media. Although in practice, I think these activities would still play a part?

I do suggest though that those interested in pursuing this route on an active basis give serious thought to:

1. Whether you really will be in a position and be prepared to put in the sort of time and effort that is involved?

2. Whether you are the sort of person who will stick at and with it once the initial novelty and kudos has worn off?

3. Whether you - or enough of you - are comfortable with and are prepared to attend to the detail, not just the top-level magic wand-waving?

4. Whether you - or enough of you - are prepared to stand up and be counted when difficult or contentious decisions have to be taken, or challenged?

5. Whether your shoulders are sufficiently broad to dismiss the inevitable brickbats and criticisms from the armchair experts?

6. Whether you are prepared to do a load of work when you see others, often the most vocal, sitting on the sidelines telling you what you should be doing and pointing out all the things they think you are doing wrong?

Those points - as Tigs says, are relevant (I would suggest) to people standing for office in any voluntary organisation (or for that matter, rugby club board...), not just a supporters' trust or ISA. I can speak from my own experience of several voluntary organisations including an ISA.

Those who can truthfully answer yes to the above will make excellent active committee members/trustees, and I salute you. And you can count on my full support.

I'd be interested to see what is involved. I couldn't give up too much time, because I have other commitments with my coaching, but would be happy to help when it's convenient.

I'm pretty good when it comes to organising fundraisers.

I'd be happy to help with anything from newsletters, sending e-mails, or anything that needs doing really.

I think it is important that everyone is honest about the commitment they are prepared to make and the time they can put in on a long term basis. That's why I think it's sensible to have a meeting together with a club official so that we know what we can realistically achieve, and decide if the time/effort required would be worth giving. Again, with no prior experience of this kind of thing, I have no idea what's required or achievable.

Wigan Bull had a meeting with Mr Duffy on a similar line a few months back IIRC. Maybe a PM to him could entice him out onto this thread as I know he was very positive about the outcome of the meeting?

My apologies if I am mistaken in any way (my head is a bit pickled at the mo as I have the Swine Flu) but I seem to remember that that is what happened.

Indeed.
Stuart was more than happy to work with a group of us in a CONSTRUCTIVE manner.

Maybe a meeting could be set up with a view to discussing what's been mentioned on the club interaction thread and sound out some views / opinions on what could be achieved.

Again though, I think it needs to start off very simplistic and let’s see if and how it evolves.

Ploughing in and setting up a full blown trust / committee / whatever straight away, will be destined for failure.

Not wntirely linked to the thread, but didn't Duffy and Hood say there would be another fan forum at the end of this season?

Agreed.

And agreed. As one who has been there.