HCST opens new dialogue with Club management

They only need to share the views of the trust as a whole as well you know so again stop filling the thread with the same old ****e cos you're really getting boring now.

 

So you think they're unaccountable for their own views? The leaders of a Trust?

Interesting.

You've always been boring btw.

 

Its a fu cking supporters trust ffs. I'd seriously suggest you need to get a life away from this board, maybe then you'll realise its not that important. Good luck to them in all they do but whether or not they want allam in or allam out or any other matter is not really that important in the grand scheme of things.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, I am posting this in my role as Secretary of the Supporters’ Trust.


This thread is a perfect illustration of why attempting to have a reasoned debate on supporters’ trust matters is very difficult to achieve on this board. The original posting from the Trust was followed by some perfectly reasonable comments from posters (DMD, highpeaktiger, BleedAmber, HappyTiger, muffinthegoat, to name but a few), but it very soon descended into a familiar pattern of repetition and insult. It’s of no use to me as Secretary of the Supporters’ Trust when threads decline like this so rapidly. I’m not saying the threads shouldn’t follow that pattern, it’s of course for posters to decide – but it’s not helpful to me as Secretary when they do.


Dutch, I hear what you are saying about communication, and I’ve responded to you privately a few times about this in the past. I do as much as I can, with the time and resources I have available to me (I have a very busy full-time job plus a family and home to look after) and with the help I get from people that maintain the Trust’s presence on various social media and message boards. It’s not enough for you, I get that and I’m sorry about that. I can reassure you that the point will not be further reinforced by you making it again. We are developing a fully functioning message board for the Trust’s website, but we are reliant on the voluntary kindness of web experts and that inevitably takes a lot of time.


Happy Tiger has once more raised the matter of the hip flask picture posted on Twitter by Mark Gretton, the HCST chairman. This is something that has been answered before over the last 16 months - however it is clearly still a bugbear for more than one poster on here, so here is what I believe to be a definitive response.


A friend of Mark gave him the hipflask as a present. The inscription on it was not something he has ever said (to my knowledge, and I attend most matches in his company) but was an attempt at humour by his friend – when Mark was on radio and TV being measured, polite and even-handed in his discussion of matters to do with the Allams, his friend was apparently expecting that at any time he might come out with the words on the inscription. He didn’t, of course – that was the joke. My own view is that it was a lame joke, that it was ill-advised to post it on Twitter (while it’s true that he wasn’t elected as Chair of CTWD at the time of the tweet, he had put himself forward for the role) and that the whole thing was a needless distraction. It made me ****ing furious, and I told him so. And I believe that he was (and is) contrite about that. I know that because he contacted every one of the interim Trust board around the time of the AGM and formation of the revamped Trust (just before the Board meeting that elected him Chair of HSCT), and told us that if we were uncomfortable with his Chairmanship as a result of the hip flask tweet, then he would step aside. No-one took him up on that offer – his Chairmanship had, and continues to have, the endorsement of the Board.


If any Trust member believes that Mark’s conduct on Twitter in April 2014 continues to be a problem for them in the context of him being the Chairman, there is a recourse in the Trust’s Rules to seek to remove him from the Board – see paragraph 80 at http://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/wp-content/uploads/HCST-Rules.pdf and the Board’s Conduct Policy at http://hullcitysupporterstrust.com/wp-content/uploads/HCST-Board-Membership-and-Conduct-Policy.pdf. It isn't necessary to read all that stuff though, just drop me an email at [email protected] if want me to initiate a process, please include your membership card number in the email.


All of that said, we are still eager to hear the views of supporters – Trust members or not – about how the Trust’s business can develop over the coming months and years. I will ask OldLambrettaMan to start a new thread on here for that purpose – please keep the positive suggestions on that new thread, and keep the arguments on this one, and I will be most grateful.

 

If people like you stopped jumping in without even reading what had already been posted, I wouldn't have to repeat the same answer to the same ridiculous point, and we could get on with actually discussing the topic of this thread.

 

Bollocks, its cos of people like you repeating the same old ****e over and over again that makes people like me not read the bloody thread.

 

Thanks for the the reply. It is appreciated.

I understand what you're saying about the way things can and do deteriorate on here, it is certainly a problem that needs to be addressed. I actually think your reply goes some way towards helping with that.

I believe that a big part of the reason these threads decay, is that it's unclear if the trust are responding or not. I think the trust could save a lot of time, gain some good ideas and actually improve their image and credibility issues, by simply answering some of the questions rather than letting them spin round and round. If not, the trust need to make it crystal clear that they're not engaging in discussion with supporters on this forum.

If the trust don't want to be involved in discussions on this forum, then they need to do their bit by not asking on here for opinions. It can't work both ways.

 

He repeated.

 

I didn't say that. This is hopeless DMD - you simply aren't reading what's on the page.

 

Oh I am. Right between the lines.

If you're now saying that you DO want people to comment on trust issues on here, and that the trust will respond on here, could you make that explicitly clear, because it's clear from some of the replies in this thread, that some don't see it that way.

I think that occurring would be progress. I think if it had happened when it was first raised over a year ago, a lot of the argumentative threads, credibility and image issues for the trust could have been reduced considerably and saved you a lot of time in the process.

 

I'm running out of popcorn....

 

Thanks Lambo,

Cheers Al. I have honestly never seen anything that approaches a response to what as you correctly point out is a bugbear of mine like you have given. If I had, I would have accepted it and moved on. As it is, again thanks, I really do appreciate that, and I won't be mentioning it again.

The problem with these threads I think, is, some people think they're being helpful by sticking their oar in, when all they do is encourage the stupid circular arguments we see on here and personal attacks, abuse etc. A lot of responses are personality based too of course, which never helps.

As I've said from the start, I want the Trust to succeed, but for me, it has to be accountable, and for everyone, not a select few, I do believe you're trying your best in this regards, and later on in the season, once I see how things progress I'd like to think I'll be a member of the trust.

 

I hope OLM will start a new thread for people to bring their thoughts on the Trust's direction, which can form the basis of the Board's work and our future discussions with the club. The Trust will report back on its work through its weekly newsletter for shareholders and its publicly available website, as usual.

But if people want to post their ideas on this thread in the meantime, that would be appreciated.

 

^^^^ This.
It's been repeatedly pointed out that this board has been here as a facility for the Trust to engage with supporters all along, but at least it seems it's eventually being seen and used as that. Hopefully, it's a sign of more inclusion to follow.

 

Just to clarify, is that going to be a two way communication between fans and the trust, or fans posting thoughts and the trust committee considering them later, with no direct discussion on the board from the trust?

 

You know very well the Trust has hundreds of members and an elected commitee, how do you expect OLM or PLT or any other member of the Trust commitee to get involved in a forum debate on behalf of the Trust.
The Trust has clearly laid out aims and ambitions. Press releases and other new things get approved by the commitee then released to the general forum world where they are discussed.

 

The trust seem to be disagreeing with you.