Chester City a fans run club going out of business.

Floridagull  


As Florida rightly says, the drop off in Trust membership isn't massively significant from a financial viewpoint. Indeed, Chester's sponsorship deal with MBNA is of massive importance to them. They've also got a relatively modern stadium, so not everything is against them. But I'm sure they would have hoped that being an 'Owner' would have proved to be sufficiently interesting and exciting (and no huge drain on the purse at £12 a year) that Trust members would be successful in spreading the word and recruiting even more to sample the joyous experience. But down to 1,060 members, while 2500 others have ripped up their Trust membership ?....if it's not a concerning stat then I'd suggest it should be.

But there's clearly a strong feeling for the club and many who value it's continued existence. They've now topped the £40,000 mark in next to no time since the crisis was admitted last week.

But will it be a move from life support back to temporary good health only to repeat the cycle. Is Chester's current method of operation a broken model, and is there the will or the scope within it's Trust regulations to make significant changes. Does a Trust club attempt to soldier on until that money spinning F.A Cup draw emerges from the velvet bag ?


In contrast to the 'Pravda meets The Freemasons' approach we've experienced more locally this week, Chester fans were only too willing to express their own 'unofficial' views on their big Trust meeting last week. Here's just one post from their Deva-chat forum




Three Chester Trust Directors resigned at the weekend, and another who came in for scathing criticism for being less than truthful to the membership, also fell on his sword midweek. But will the same pattern just get started again ?  Longstanding fans, people more widely known and probably liked, but how much serious time and thought or even knowledge among the electorate as to their decision making strengths and abilities. That fourth Director with truth issues was only 23, but no doubt the younger fans wanted to be represented at board level by someone who joined in the chants with them and had a ring through his nose, but how much careful consideration was given to his probable competence to contribute effectively at Directorship level ? Well if you've a substantial chunk of your own money resting on the outcome rather than giving it £12 worth of thought, then you might come up with a better answer.






I'd prefer it if the bank where my cash is held is strong stable and well managed. But it's not much of a consideration, as if I've made a poor choice the Government will bale me out and make sure I'm fully refunded.

Just as huge Government debts indicate we'll elect politicians who'll spend today and leave the bill for future generations, do Trust members need more of their own money on the line in order to concentrate their minds on the financial well being of their club to a larger degree, and less as fans prioritising expenditure on players or seeing a pal on the Board ?

A few weeks ago Paul Tisdale highlighted the approach he's tried to take in producing, improving, and selling on players, while all the time aware that Trust members priorities and viewpoints could result in him leraving



The Supporters' Trust which owns the club, issued the board with directions to serve notice on his rolling two-year contract: effectively telling him they wanted no guarantees he would be manager beyond this summer.

Tisdale is running down his contract and it is hard to avoid the sense that the supporters' vote cut him deeply.

'At the time, the directive from the supporters was to ask the board to renegotiate the contract with me,' he says.

'It's only going to be a contract on lesser terms. They knew as well as I did that wasn't going to happen. Supporters at all clubs say they want a healthy club but when it comes down to it they all want to win games.'

In a sense, management is constantly about having the courage to prevail with a plan, when the supporters demand something else.

'Say you're one-nil down with ten minutes to go,' Tisdale explains in the highly acclaimed study of management 'Living on the Volcano', by journalist Michael Calvin.

'You're desperately trying to get that goal, blocking the supporters out because they think about it for two hours every week and then they go home. You think about it 16 hours a day.

'At that point it's very easy for a manager to think, 'I want someone on the pitch to reflect what that lot behind me are thinking.'

They're usually saying: 'F**** get stuck in. So, to take off the player who is putting himself about, running everywhere, and putting tackles in but doing all the wrong things – my God you've got to be brave. And I know I'm brave.'

link- Tisdale v Trust




Is the democratic Trust system always more likely to struggle with a conflict between an intended financially stringent outlook, and Directors voted in to please supporters who prefer to see such rules bent or maybe even disregarded ?, resulting in bills and commitments racking up, as at Chester, while the 'Owners' desert in droves when the going gets tougher ?