GLF 72: Graham still has worries about the Trust
MOTHERWELL SUPPORTERS TRUST
In the last GLF I wrote an article giving my humble opinion of the august body and how I thought it needed to change to keep in touch with the Well support. I was interested to get some feedback from one or two members of the Board that I appeared to have hit a few nails on the head and that they appreciated what I had written. Little did I realise that this would appear to be a catalyst for the demise of the organisation. During the summer I heard that a number of "progressive" members of the Trust Board had resigned and as a result the board did not have sufficient numbers to meet the constitutional requirements for the trust to continue.
I then spotted that the Trust Website was offline adding further confirmation that the trust was indeed in trouble. While I had great misgivings about the way our trust was run, I think I would rather we had one than not.
I would prefer it if any trust we had could galvanise the broad church that is the Motherwell support and have them work together in a positive fashion with a view to providing finds to the club itself. This work would have to be done selflessly and with no political or hidden agenda. In my last article I mentioned that I was disappointed that one of the aims of the trust was to gain enough of a shareholding to gain a seat on the board. If the Trust is to reappear in another guise I hope this is an aim that is left to the side.
In any new organisation there needs to be much more openness about the work being carried out and where the funds are going. I also believe the aims need to be simplified and communicated in a way that people can relate to rather than the legal mumbo jumbo that the constitution of the trust seemed to demand.
With the alleged demise of the current body there are a number of questions that still need to be answered;
1.What will happen to the funds that have been raised through subscriptions, fund raising and the Pitch In scheme?
2.What will happen to the shares gifted to the Trust by John Boyle that gave them a 5% share holding?
3.Will Martin Rose now be able to decide who he represents on the Board, himself or the Trust?
I hope that there can be a new body formed from the ashes of the Trust and, as I said earlier, galvanise the Well support and be an effective voice of the fans and help the club get closer to the people who provide it with its largest source of revenue.
Graham Barnstaple
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