Thank you for your kind comments and great summary. Early days but a great attendance and between me and you: P49, myself and Mark have had our fuse lit by last night, We can make a difference, and if we don't , it won't be for the lack of trying. UTG
Well done to the 50 in attendance and in particular to the organisers. If the bloody team had shown half the commitment last season as you folk have in getting this up and running there probably would nit have been a meeting taking place last night. We'd have been content to still be in the FL albiet Div 2 ! That just shows how low our expectations are and its perhaps no wonder that NH feels so in control and basically continues to duck and dive when it comes to factual statements which is what the fans really want. They say no news is good news sadly my experience of NH and the present board is that in their case the opposite is true. Come on Board pick up the gauntlet set by these activists and report something instead of playing dumb and dumber and dumber still. Not sure any of them are able to speak without the approval of Big Nick. Well done again to the 50. In solidarity UTG.
Contribution by Ras on Gaschat: 'Ok so firstly let me thank JTS, Mark C and Pirate49 for organising such a successful meeting. I know there has been a lot of talk recently about the 'fan divide' and the factions that have developed over the last few weeks and I do hold some sympathy with the reservations some hold about this. If there was one thing this meeting did well it was that it was unreservedly inclusive. There were many 'groups' of fans representing themselves here with the dignity, respect and voice that we have all earned through our passion, support and suffering. It played no small part in creating an atmosphere of fan unity that I feel has been lacking since the FFS drew us all together. I am grateful for the opportunity to voice my opinions and concerns as well as to share the room with others that although may not see eye-to-eye do at least want the very same thing. Those that know me will know that I feel that anger comes easy and that we have without question been given more than enough reasons to feel that way in recent times. It is harder though to take that frustration and use it to create something positive. It is easy to destroy but harder to rebuild and even though I appreciate that in theory it should not be our job to knuckle down and fight the fires that someone else has ignited, duty and responsibility is born from the will for change and tonight I saw us as fans step up to the plate. It would have been all too easy to have simply condemned those responsible and to demand their heads but we didn't do that at all. We all sat down, discussed what the problems were and said 'right then gasheads, how do we fix this?' It was massively constructive and hugely uplifing. Firstly we discussed and voted upon what we thought were the main issues that needed addressing at the club. There were some suggestions passed around that had been suggested and discussed on various social media platforms. We were encouraged to decide which issues we felt most strongly about and of course to add any others we felt needed attention too. Some of those discussed were the relegations in such a short timeframe, the injuries, youth setup, the apparent failure of successive managers, the club review being internal and so far unfruitful and the continuing poor standard of fan representation and communication. Of course there was lot to be said on each issue and there was a unanimous agreement of these points. Also mentioned was the apparent unpreparedness for the stark reality many fans could see coming for some time in the form of our relegation from the FL. I will leave the specific details of the suggestions made to address each issue for the hosts to publish when they are ready but it is safe to say that there were many ideas presented from a range of viewpoints. There were many fans there who were clearly much more informed than myself and their input was invaluable. This addressed the practicalities of some suggestions and helped keep us on track to achieve a genuine direction that was achievable and reasonable. We then discussed the potential actions we may be prepared to take if these deep rooted issues were not addressed satisfactorily or at all. As you imagine, there was a broad range of suggestions and feeling across the room. I was not looking forward to this on a personal level as I felt like anything that would take money away from the club would be a poor choice given our fragile circumstances. I was massively enthused however to see us gasheads working together to find a happy compromise that addressed thevissues but also fears like my own. Representation at the SC etc would be need to be made but we would also stand together under our own flag as fans and fans alone. There was a reasonable disposition reached about how to act if needed and that it would be a warning shot across the bow so to speak whilst still doing what we gasheads do best which is supporting the team on the pitch. There seemed to be an acceptace that if the club would act there need not be any further action in the immediate future provided we were satisfied with said action but that time would tell. We would need fan input to assist the logistics of such actions and they would not be extreme to begin with. There was also talk of how to present options to the club that could be seen as positive incentives for the change we all long to see. Rather than just performing negative actions to make a point, why not present an incentive for the club to provide the changes we want to see. This I feel was a great suggestion and one that needs to be considered in more detail in the coming months. It was agreed there would be another meeting to complement and build upon this one. However, it was stressed that such a meeting should not be at the expense of taking positive action in the immediate future and that any subsequent meeting should be as an addition to the actions suggested rather than delaying anything. As one chap said, we can piss in to the wind for as long as we like, we need to get our feet on the ground. It really was a fantastic experience and I urge all to attend the next meeting with an open mind. It is not a board bashing or rose tinting exercise. It is simply a bunch of (primarily bald!) people wearing their hearts on their sleeves and sitting down together saying right, how are we going to fix this and turning anger and frustration in to real and positive action. Cheers guys, These are not minutes they are just how I saw things. It is so easy to moan from the sidelines. Lets actually make positive things happen.'
seems all positive stuff. well done again P49 and everyone else who organised and turned up to make it work.
"great to be in a room (marquee) full of likeminded Gasheads wanting to revive our great club and get it back to being something that we're all proud of." This BB !! And thanks for all the detailed report ! Mark
Mark, Jon and I are meeting tomorrow night to plan next step/s. If you have any news/views please PM one of us.
UPDATE. Jon, Mark and I had a good and fruitful meeting last night @ the Wellington; and... - reviewed Tuesday's meeting - decided upon some actions based upon what was agreed at that meeting - made initial plans for our next meeting - discussed topics for the next meeting * We thought Tuesday's meeting went really well. About 50 people there, all showing an undoubted commitment to the club and wanting steps to be taken to bring about improvement. Besides improvement on the pitch we want to see a far better relationship between the board and the fans and more transparency in the running of the club. Other areas covered were the possible appointment of a CEO (with a knowledge of football!), a Chief Scout; and far more reserve/Professional Development games...especially with local clubs. There were sometimes differing views and many spoke; but there was respect throughout. Almost all of the feedback we have received through various channels has been positive. * We intend writing to Nick Higgs to request details about the Q&A (date, time, structure); and clarification about the 'Review' ( who, what, when...reported to whom?) If no answers are forthcoming we will not let it rest there! * We have pencilled in TUESDAY 1st JULY for the next meeting * Topics could include: - review of what is said at the SC EGM - plan how to respond to the Q&A (if it happens!) - respond to developments over the next two weeks - agree actions should progress in the close season not be satisfactory - decide if we want to formalize these meetings under a named structure If you have anything to add please contact any one of us. Please watch this space. It may go quiet now and again but we're not going away!
Really enjoyed the meeting with P49 and MC last night, constructive and progressing. Particularly, liked the fact we are prepared to debate against/amongst ourselves to get the right plan of action. I think acceptance of self criticism is important in any organisation whether small or large. .......X
Hi everyone, There is a big article in today's Bristol Sunday independent (about 6/7 columns long) which addresses the protest meeting which was held at The Wellington Pub last Tuesday. The article is very positive and describes that over 50 Gasheads attended many of them who have supported the club loyally for 40/50 years. It goes on to state that the attendees took a massive part in discussing and debating the supporters' greatest concerns with the club(through the agenda used on the night) and also allowed for many indivduals to speak up about what they considered to be the big faults and issues which need addressing by the club asap, in a constructive and respectful manner. The article concludes that a vote was taken by those who attended to demand action from the club hierachy on those concerns agreed upon or otherwise there will be peaceful protests taking place at the first home league game of the season. The paper costs £1 - hope many of you buy it to read it. Cheers, Mark
As regards keeping up the pressure on the board perhaps 'phone calls to the club on 0117 9096648 'innocently' enquiring when the Q&A is as July is barely two weeks away and you want to put the date in your diary might be a good idea!
. After last nights Supporters club EGM - URGENT MESSAGE FOR PIRATE49.....WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER MARQUEE!!!!!!
Marquee booked...everyone breathe in! Tuesday 1st July...Wellington...7.30pm........all fans welcome.....
I have advertised this on twitter for you I had to put it 3 different tweets though to get the whole message across Here is what I have put.... 1, https://twitter.com/Not606_TheGas/status/479345790658576384 2, https://twitter.com/Not606_TheGas/status/479345853392752640 3, https://twitter.com/Not606_TheGas/status/479345888348090368 Let me know if you guys want me to put anything else or even reminders and I will get it done for you
