What Are The Trust Doing Now, On Tuesday 14 September?

[honved]

I'll start with a caveat. What follows is all my own work, as a member of the Jags Trust board and a slightly obsessive reader and poster on this forum and no one else's views are assumed.

 

Representatives of the Jags Trust board are meeting with representatives of the club board on Friday morning. At present I don't really know what to anticipate and have no hard and fast views as to where the discussion may go. Obviously, the club's attitude to the supporters is one of the main concerns and this is reflected by the current stalemate in relation to the club board rep not being invited to join the board. I understand that there will be a club board meeting on Friday and it seems unlikely that the Trust will be present at that meeting.

 

Whilst this is an important indication of what the club think of the Trust, is it an indication of what the club think of its supporters? I hope that we don't spend too much time on Friday talking about the board rep position - it's much less important than the fact that the club is visibly short of money and seems incapable to do anything in the short term to turn that position around.

 

In the meantime I've been looking at the comments folk are making here and also the many suggestions about what the Trust might want to do about certain issues. The lack of formal response from the Trust is understandable to an extent, after all there is a Jags Trust website with open (albeit moderated) comments, but being realistic, a forum like this is much more of a two way street than a blog that allows comments.

 

I have been reading the various posts on here and at the same time trying to clarify my own thoughts about where the club is headed and what the Trust's role in that might be. I can't find myself an answer right now and I think it's unhelpful to speculate until after the meeting on Friday. What I will say is that I have been listening to all that is said here, as well as to other Thistle fans that I know and all of that will be reflected by me in Friday's meeting. I am hoping that the club board will be honest with us and will provide some answers to the big questions that we all have - what is wrong with the club, what are you doing to fix it and what do you expect of us, the supporters? Once those questions have been asked, the Trust will need to communicate the answers ASAP.

 

In the meantime, all of the good stuff on here about share buying, finding investors and so on, is noted and may well need acted upon soon.

 

As for Friday, it will be much later in the day before any news of the meeting comes out. I'm not saying that because anyone on our side will have anything to hide, it's just the practicalities of having a possibly long meeting, sitting down to digest what has happened, pulling together those thoughts and getting it published.

[lady-isobel-barnett]

thanks for posting all that, Tom.

 

Good luck to all at this meeting.

[Blackpool Jags]

Do we know which members of the club board the Trust will be meeting with? Will either Cowan or Hughes be present?

[honved]

Do we know which members of the club board the Trust will be meeting with? Will either Cowan or Hughes be present?

 

We do know, but to be honest, I don't think it would help for the Trust to make that known in advance. The reason is that the Trust representatives, (me, David and Morag) want to play this with as straight a bat as we possibly can - whoever we are meeting, it's in a capacity representing the board of the football club. We may well have opinions of our own, but a round of speculating on why it's so and so and such and such, instead of him and that other guy, wouldn't be helpful.

 

Incidentally it was us that suggested keeping the meeting to three from each side and we didn't ask to see anyone in particular.

[northernsoul]

Bring up the idea of a public meeting. Open to ALL fans. Time for answers. We get treated like shit from these buffoons at the top.

[Blackpool Jags]

We do know, but to be honest, I don't think it would help for the Trust to make that known in advance. The reason is that the Trust representatives, (me, David and Morag) want to play this with as straight a bat as we possibly can - whoever we are meeting, it's in a capacity representing the board of the football club. We may well have opinions of our own, but a round of speculating on why it's so and so and such and such, instead of him and that other guy, wouldn't be helpful.

 

Incidentally it was us that suggested keeping the meeting to three from each side and we didn't ask to see anyone in particular.

 

Thanks, Tom.

[sandy]

Good luck Tom, I know you will do your best.

 

Difficult times ahead...

[lady-isobel-barnett]

Bring up the idea of a public meeting. Open to ALL fans. Time for answers. We get treated like shit from these buffoons at the top.

Aye, if you can. Elsewhere we're pointing out we're not getting media coverage but it's not so long ago we had Dougie Vipond linking a meet the board night direct to Radio Scotland.

[Robert Dunn's Potential]

It's time to ask the club representatives if they believe there are any members of the current club board who, rightly or wrongly, are damaging the image of the club in the eyes of the supporters/customers. Do they think that there are directors who are responsible for some fans not attending Firhill?

 

Do they think that the club would benefit from seeking new blood either from within the support or outwith it to re-energise the club.

 

Above all, in my opinion, the Trust should openly thank some of the directors for the time and effort that they have undeniably put into PTFC but call on them to acknowledge that their day is up, that while once they were an asset now they are a liability and it is time for them to resign and move on.

 

If the club ask who is going to step in - tell them you'll offer them a list of names within a week.

[stolenscone]

As for Friday, it will be much later in the day before any news of the meeting comes out. I'm not saying that because anyone on our side will have anything to hide, it's just the practicalities of having a possibly long meeting, sitting down to digest what has happened, pulling together those thoughts and getting it published.

 

 

Just to follow up on this: both Tom and I live on the east coast, so there's a bit of travelling involved. My expectation is to write up the notes from the meeting over the weekend, discuss with the Trust board and then provide a comprehensive update on the Trust website at the start of next week. My own feeling is that an open meeting of fans should be oragnised by the Trust shortly thereafter so that people can have their say and a productive way forward can be agreed if possible. I would like to get Friday's meeting out of the way first, since the outcome of the meeting may impact on how best to move things forward.

[B.C.G. JAG]

It's time to ask the club representatives if they believe there are any members of the current club board who, rightly or wrongly, are damaging the image of the club in the eyes of the supporters/customers. Do they think that there are directors who are responsible for some fans not attending Firhill?

 

Do they think that the club would benefit from seeking new blood either from within the support or outwith it to re-energise the club.

 

Above all, in my opinion, the Trust should openly thank some of the directors for the time and effort that they have undeniably put into PTFC but call on them to acknowledge that their day is up, that while once they were an asset now they are a liability and it is time for them to resign and move on.

 

If the club ask who is going to step in - tell them you'll offer them a list of names within a week.

 

The reply that Cowan gave to MMW is indicative of where we are. To simply reply with an immature taunt of "Do you think you could do any better?" to fans questioning the BOD's performance is to completely ignore the point that they themselves are failing, and spectacularly at that.

 

They have dragged us down to a position where we are on the brink again. What is clear now is that this current regime isn't capable of doing anything more positive than postponing the inevitable death of Partick Thistle. If they can't offer anything more than that, then they should clear the way for others to come in.

 

Who these people are, I don't know. But what I do know is that no-one is going to work with the current incumbents/incompetents. Their vanity is going to be the death of Thistle. If they can't provide a strategy for the future beyond simply treading water as the ship goes down then it will be time for a concerted effort by the Trust to bring about change in the boardroom. Despite much of the apathy directed towards the Trust on here, I have no doubt that if the Trust adopted an aggressive posture as a result of this meeting, then it would find itself the recipient of a lot of support again.

 

I'd like to wish the Trust reps here the best of luck in this meeting, but I'm also pretty sure you guys will do a great job representing us. The Club is in crisis now, of that we have no doubt. The BOD has cynically decided to bite the hand that feeds it recently, so unless they can convince you that that position has changed, and back that up with a positive strategy for rebuilding this once great Club, then we draw a line in the sand. They've got the ball, now let's see if anyone knows what to do with it...

[Big Welshy]

Good luck, Tom et al.

[Vom Itorium]

It's time to ask the club representatives if they believe there are any members of the current club board who, rightly or wrongly, are damaging the image of the club in the eyes of the supporters/customers. Do they think that there are directors who are responsible for some fans not attending Firhill?

 

Do they think that the club would benefit from seeking new blood either from within the support or outwith it to re-energise the club.

 

Above all, in my opinion, the Trust should openly thank some of the directors for the time and effort that they have undeniably put into PTFC but call on them to acknowledge that their day is up, that while once they were an asset now they are a liability and it is time for them to resign and move on.

 

If the club ask who is going to step in - tell them you'll offer them a list of names within a week.

Spot on.

 

The time for sitting and listening to what these tits have to say, absorbing it, writing it up a week later and then having a meeting of what few members the Trust has left is over. When you are told the inevitable then there should be a plan in place to launch an all out attack. The Trust is a LARGE shareholder in a business that is being shovelled down the shitter by the clowns. Lodge a notice of no confidence in the BoD then start the rallying cries for the fans to be called to arms. The talking is and should be over. The Trust has been led down the garden path far too often and it's time to stand up or shut down.

[The Big Man]

My prediction after the meeting, Jags Trust do **** all as usual !

[stolenscone]

My prediction after the meeting, Jags Trust do **** all as usual !

 

 

sigh - maybe you're right. we should probably chuck it. well, that frees up my Friday quite nicely. I hope the weather holds

[Woodstock Jag]

My prediction after the meeting, Jags Trust do **** all as usual !

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence

[The Big Man]

Thanks for the vote of confidence

 

Your welcome Jags trust couldnie run a game of bingo at an old folks home.

[MMCF]

Your welcome Jags trust couldnie run a game of bingo at an old folks home.

 

I believe that the current response to this is "If you think that you can do a better job......"

 

Seriously, I have had an uninspiring and recent first hand experience of how difficult it is to engage with the powers that be at Firhill and the response that I have had from the Jags Trust has been light years ahead of PTFC. So I wish you all the best on Friday.

 

The question that I would like to know is whether the Board are meeting before they meet the Trust's representatives or afterwards?

[Phoenix]

Thanks for the vote of confidence

Comes from experience

[falklandal1]

I'll start with a caveat. What follows is all my own work, as a member of the Jags Trust board and a slightly obsessive reader and poster on this forum and no one else's views are assumed.

 

Representatives of the Jags Trust board are meeting with representatives of the club board on Friday morning. At present I don't really know what to anticipate and have no hard and fast views as to where the discussion may go. Obviously, the club's attitude to the supporters is one of the main concerns and this is reflected by the current stalemate in relation to the club board rep not being invited to join the board. I understand that there will be a club board meeting on Friday and it seems unlikely that the Trust will be present at that meeting.

 

Whilst this is an important indication of what the club think of the Trust, is it an indication of what the club think of its supporters? I hope that we don't spend too much time on Friday talking about the board rep position - it's much less important than the fact that the club is visibly short of money and seems incapable to do anything in the short term to turn that position around.

 

In the meantime I've been looking at the comments folk are making here and also the many suggestions about what the Trust might want to do about certain issues. The lack of formal response from the Trust is understandable to an extent, after all there is a Jags Trust website with open (albeit moderated) comments, but being realistic, a forum like this is much more of a two way street than a blog that allows comments.

 

I have been reading the various posts on here and at the same time trying to clarify my own thoughts about where the club is headed and what the Trust's role in that might be. I can't find myself an answer right now and I think it's unhelpful to speculate until after the meeting on Friday. What I will say is that I have been listening to all that is said here, as well as to other Thistle fans that I know and all of that will be reflected by me in Friday's meeting. I am hoping that the club board will be honest with us and will provide some answers to the big questions that we all have - what is wrong with the club, what are you doing to fix it and what do you expect of us, the supporters? Once those questions have been asked, the Trust will need to communicate the answers ASAP.

 

In the meantime, all of the good stuff on here about share buying, finding investors and so on, is noted and may well need acted upon soon.

 

As for Friday, it will be much later in the day before any news of the meeting comes out. I'm not saying that because anyone on our side will have anything to hide, it's just the practicalities of having a possibly long meeting, sitting down to digest what has happened, pulling together those thoughts and getting it published.

 

thanks for the info,very best of luck

[The Big Man]

I believe that the current response to this is "If you think that you can do a better job......"

 

Seriously, I have had an uninspiring and recent first hand experience of how difficult it is to engage with the powers that be at Firhill and the response that I have had from the Jags Trust has been light years ahead of PTFC. So I wish you all the best on Friday.

 

The question that I would like to know is whether the Board are meeting before they meet the Trust's representatives or afterwards?

 

Its not about wether i can do a better job or not, and for that i think i could. The trust are the puppets of the board of directors, always have been and always will be until they grow some cahones and start siding with the fans - and thats all fans not just the ones who pay for a paper certificate to be part of the in crowd. It is time for action from the Trust but as usual i feel they will be left years behind and playing catchup, believe me if i thought the trust could make moves to oust the board and take control or help others to control i would be there but until then its just an old mans club where you all pat each other on the back and have pointless meetings that go nowhere.

[Ma Ba']

Its not about wether i can do a better job or not, and for that i think i could. The trust are the puppets of the board of directors, always have been and always will be until they grow some cahones and start siding with the fans - and thats all fans not just the ones who pay for a paper certificate to be part of the in crowd. It is time for action from the Trust but as usual i feel they will be left years behind and playing catchup, believe me if i thought the trust could make moves to oust the board and take control or help others to control i would be there but until then its just an old mans club where you all pat each other on the back and have pointless meetings that go nowhere.

 

Idiot response, if you think you can do better, do it and stop moaning about others trying to do what they think is best.

[Dr.D]

Your welcome Jags trust couldnie run a game of bingo at an old folks home.

Thoughtful, constructive suggestions along these lines gives us all great hope for the future of the Club.

However the Trust Board may well be the only hope of meaningful conversations with these Directors before unleashing the depredations of some of the more "Articulate" of our correspondents.

[B.C.G. JAG]

I have a theory that the most negative posters on here are actually the life and soul of the party in their 'real lives' - popular, charismatic, supportive and loving friends/colleagues/relatives. I envy the Big Man's friends, they know that no matter how difficult things become, he will always be there with something helpful and constructive to say, something to boost morale, and bring a renewed, rejuvenated sense of optimism and co-operation to the problem. God bless him.

[twinny]

The trust are the puppets of the board of directors, always have been and always will be until they grow some cahones ...

 

Perhaps the OP is an indication that the Trust's baws are dropping?