The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC

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What An Own Goal

By: Humberston Mariner
Date: 06/11/2003

THIS time last year we were promised something that would change things for the good of the supporters, some of us had heard of these helping other clubs for the good of the game.

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It was called a supporters trust and after a year nothing has happened because they aren't keeping the supporters in formed with what they are doing.

They have a website that isn't worth looking at because they haven't anything worth reading about. I've even read the acting chairman of the Trust complaining about apathy in Grimsby Town supporters. The Trust poorly organise things to boost their funds, so why blame the supporters. People who know me know my thoughts on this matter and for the love of Grimsby Town I would have liked to be proven wrong about my thoughts.

I'll take a bit of flack for writing this but what the hell because the Trust has none nothing worthwhile in my eyes. We get scraps of information that gets put on the Fishy MB but that's all, so they need to improve how they inform the supporters firstly.

So why don't we have a monthly article about what the Trust has done on both their site and on the Fishy! A lot of people I've talked to that were Trust supporters have lost their enthusiasium because of the lack of information coming out of the Trust and seem to think they look after themselves instead of supporters (for which it was set up to help)

So in all I think they missed a perfect opportunity to help the supporters of Grimsby Town and it's frazzled out to a non entity that supporters don't give two hoots about. If supporters knew what they are doing and why they are doing it that might help the apathy, but the Trust are being ignorant to people they are suppose to be helping.

Billo says:

I think Humbo Mariner has missed the point of the trust. It is not just a website. The work of the trust is a very slow process particularly with a club like GTFC, which has really had no official supporters voice in the affairs of the club.

The formation of the trust was intended not only to address that problem but to seek to gain supporter representation at club level.

It will take time. Both the club and the trust have to find mutual ground, understanding and trust. That will not happen overnight.

The trust committee are working full time and the trust does not have the funds to employ a full time officer nor should they. The current fundraising income is being directed to the purchase of shares in the club. Something that is vital to the trust's aims.

The trust will never be in a position to be issuing statements every day. It is a very slow process and those who believed that things would happen overnight are kidding themselves.

The creation of the Supporters Trust was a step in the right direction and it will eventually play a key part in the future of this club, if only the supporters would recognise its importance, as other club's supporters have done.

Without the supporters supporting the Trust it will have no weight in its dealings with the club.

These are early days yet and patience is the key.

(Although I do not agree with Humbo's views on the trust, he has every right to express them. The Fishy is not responsible for what he says and sometimes we don't think he is either!)


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